Archive for the ‘weight loss’ Category

The Power of Strength Training

Posted: November 7, 2012 by Eric at Prime in challenge, dedication, fat loss, fitness, group exercise, health, inspiration, lifestyle, personal training, weight loss, wellness, womens' fitness
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Welcome back to the Prime Fitness Blog. After some time away, Christy and I are back and ready to reconnect with everyone on all things health, fitness and wellness. I start this new blog era with yet another story of inspiration from one of Prime’s very own. If you have ever been to one of Prime’s large group training sessions, you more than likely have met Gina. If not, allow me to introduce her to everyone. Once you meet Gina you will quickly recognize her warm heart, her endless generosity and her unyielding desire to help others. Gina has been one of Prime’s stars and also one of our biggest supporters. Gina herself is a fitness professional, she has been teaching yoga and Pilates for 7 plus years. Gina realized back over the winter this year that even fit pro’s sometime need a kick in the butt to jump start a change in their body. She noticed a rise in blood pressure and like many of us, pure vanity was another motivating factor. With her motivation driving her she took a leap into a new world of exercise.

Gina discovered the realm of strength and metabolic training. Jumping in with both feet she started working out in this new way 3-4 days a week. The results were quick and dramatic. Changes in her shrinking waistline and leanness were clearly visible to all those around. Gina was already a relatively healthy eater so with the addition of weight and metabolic training she made these great changes( by the way, when I say weight training I don’t mean little 5lb weights, Gina used weights that were challenging and in many cases body weight exercises were some of the most challenging…. Think pull ups and push ups!). From these changes, Gina was hooked and she wanted to see if she could push the envelope a little further and continue the change. The next logical step was to analyze her diet and see how to tweak that. A few simple changes of limiting sugars and breads to increasing protein intake have taken her to the next level. Since this journey started back in Feb/March 2012 Gina has lost an astounding 7% of her body fat(that is a great deal for an already fit woman!), she is stronger and in much better health. She feels great but is ready for her next challenge. She is now starting to increase her cardio(just ran her first 5k this past weekend!!)

Needless to say we at Prime are very proud of Gina and are very grateful to have her as one of the Prime family. So proud, we made her our first employee and Gina now teaches a series of TRX based classes.

At the end of the day, we want everyone to recognize the importance of strength and metabolic training. Both types of training can be accomplished by people of any fitness level you just have to be ready to start and commit to making the change.

My wedding gown debacle….

Posted: June 13, 2012 by christyatprime in fitness, health, lifestyle, muscle, Uncategorized, weight loss, wellness, womens' fitness
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I have been debating on whether or not to write this post, but decided for my own sanity that I had to share a story from a week ago.  As many of you know, Eric and I are getting married on August 17, 2012.  I have purchased my wedding gown and on Sunday, June 3 I ventured to Neiman Marcus to discuss alterations with a tailor. 

I am lucky that I spend my life in sneakers and workout clothes, so I am not very accustomed to shopping in Neiman.  Despite this, I realize our wedding day is very important so I am stepping out of my comfort zone. :)   When I walked into the store, even getting someone to assist me took 10 minutes.  After wandering through the couture section and into “the galleria” I finally found where I was supposed to be.  I was assisted into the fitting room where a seamstress would be with my shortly.  For only the second time I slipped into my wedding gown, which I should inform you no one has seen me in the dress, and stood admiring myself in the mirror.  Soon after there was a knock on the door and in walked the seamstress.  As she walked around me, analyzing, the first words out of her mouth were “you have a very large round behind”.  I agreed and said unfortunately that wasn’t going away especially before August.  She began to touch my thighs asking what the lumps and bumps were.  I assume she was “admiring” my quadriceps that I have worked so hard in the gym developing.  Little did I know muscles are not acceptable when wearing a gown….we must “minimize and compress you”.  Within minutes the sales associate knocked on the door with various versions of Spanx and other compression materials.  I agreed to try one on that didn’t seem as if it would suffocate me for our August wedding.  Once I put the dress back on I was told how much better it was now that my “lumps and bumps” were smoothed out, minimized, and compressed.

I am by no means of the mindset that my body is perfect….in fact I’m not even sure what the perfect body is…..but I have become more and more comfortable in my own skin over the years as I realize that health, body composition, ease of movement, and strength are far more important than the number on a scale, but that experience shattered me.  Over the next 8 weeks before our wedding my goal is to rebuild my self confidence knowing that muscles are beautiful and I would much rather be FIT than skinny.

I Scream, You Scream….

Posted: May 15, 2012 by christyatprime in challenge, dedication, fat loss, fitness, health, inspiration, lifestyle, weight loss, wellness, womens' fitness
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We ALL scream for ICE CREAM!  Yes, it is that time of year when it’s hard to drive past the frozen yogurt shop or resist the temptation of a fantastic twisty cone!  If ice cream isn’t “your thing”, I am sure you can relate.  You have one special treat that seems almost impossible to give up…whether it be something salty, your nightly glass of wine, a weeknight beer, or pizza Tuesdays….so how do we live life in balance where we can still enjoy our “treats” and reach our goals?  I have found that as I continue to get lean I am wanting ice cream more often….almost as if my mind is playing some trick on me.  I am committed to starting my “get serious plan” on June 15th as I approach the 8 week mark to our wedding.

I am now coming to YOU, my clients and friends, to find out what advice you may have to fight my nightly ice cream craving….you have all made fantastic progress over the last 6 months and I couldn’t be more proud.  How are you finding balance between a little self indulgence, eating well, and exercising?  Are you setting daily, weekly or monthly goals?  Please share your success stories!

Worth The Time??

Posted: April 23, 2012 by Eric at Prime in challenge, fat loss, fitness, health, lifestyle, muscle, Uncategorized, weight loss, wellness, womens' fitness
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This weekend I had a great time at my soon to be in laws home. Sunday morning  I was the first person awake(as usual) at about 5:30 a.m. I made my way down to the living room and decided to flip on the T.V. to catch anything to help me wake up a bit. As I surfed the channels, I was blown away at the number of “Fitness Infomercials”. It seemed every non major network had some form of health, fitness or beauty infomercial playing! Flat abs this, boost your butt that, burn all you need in 6 minutes a day and of course a few products to “reduce” fat and or cellulite! I knew all of this advertising was abundant, but was shocked at just how much was out there and the message it is sending.

As a fitness professional I was immediately disgusted at all of these items/programs that promise the easy road and the answer to all your fitness, health and beauty problems. I was originally going to blog about this insanity and more or less rant and rave about the lunacy that is the “easy road” to fitness. Instead, I decided to take a different approach. I want to begin The Prime Fitness Effectiveness Study. In this study, I want to reach out to YOU the reader and ask YOU which of these programs or products  you want to know the truth about. We will choose 10 products or programs and we will research each for its effectiveness, safety, validity and fun factor. Need examples

P90X, Insanity, AB Lounge, AB Rocker, Brazilian Butt Lift, The Shake Weight, Weight Watchers, etc…the list goes on and on and on. We will test each program/product in our exclusive Prime Fitness Laboratory and report back to you our findings!

I am opening the floor to you now!! Let me know what has your curiosity peaked. Respond by commenting to the blog and we will make our choices by May 1st.

Music and Exercise

Posted: April 4, 2012 by christyatprime in fitness, group exercise, health, inspiration, lifestyle, Uncategorized, weight loss
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It is rare these days to walk into a health club or to drive down the street without seeing an iPod in the ears of someone exercising.  In all honesty, I don’t know if I could make it through one of my runs without some type of tune pumping into my head.  But what are the effects of music on exercise?

I looked to Dr. Len Kravitz for some more information on this.  “In a well-designed study, Ellis and Brighouse (1952) noted that respiration rate increased significantly with the onset of jazz music and tends to return to pre-music levels with the cessation of music. Heart rate was only moderately effected by the introduction of the music. The average heart rate is between 72-80 beats per minute while music tempos may range from 70 to 170 beats per minute. A review of studies indicates that heart rate tends to only moderately follow the music; increasing in response to fast music and decreasing in response to slow music (Dainow, 1977) . Dainow cites several investigations that actually show any type of music (sedative or stimulative) will show a moderate increase in heart rate. Much of this increase in heart rate by all types of music can be explained due to the fact that music does produce some kind of emotional effect, thus increasing the heart rate.”

What are your thoughts on working out with or without music?  Do you benefit more from the energy?  Does it allow you to “keep time” throughout your workout?

As Confucius says, “Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without.”  So whether you like to pump the jams while you workout or you prefer silence, just KEEP MOVING!

A Client’s Take on Fitness by our very own Barbara Root

Posted: March 14, 2012 by christyatprime in dedication, fat loss, fitness, health, inspiration, lifestyle, muscle, personal training, weight loss, wellness, womens' fitness
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A Client’s Take on Fitness

Written March 1, 2012

I’ve always considered myself a fairly fit person, even if my favorite form of exercise was a “brisk read” as Phyllis Diller once said. When I could drag myself away from a good book, however, I walked every day, did aerobics, yoga, and qigong and ice skating—at least sporadically, and took the occasional dance class. This approach seemed to work pretty well until I hit my early fifties, when my formerly flat stomach went squishy and I started getting recurring rotator cuff and deltoid injuries to my right shoulder, on top of arthritis and spinal stenosis. I gritted my teeth and asked my daughter Kathy, who’s a personal trainer, to teach me to lift weights. I might be getting older, but I was determined not to be decrepit.

Thus began my adventures in high-intensity intervals, balance, and strength training—and my obsession with Jillian Michaels! Kathy trained me for about 4 months before she liberated me—or was that, fired me? Evidently, even great trainers who love their work don’t want to train their moms when they get home! After getting over my shock, I realized that it was probably one of the best things that ever happened to me. Kathy had laid the groundwork and taught me things I never thought I could do, but no one else was going to take charge (I thought)—I was going to have to be responsible for my own fitness.

Enter Jillian, who’s not quite the screaming meanie in her videos as she was on Biggest Loser. Well, Jillian was great… and Tamilee, and Jackie… until the knee injury. Nothing dramatic, just bone on bone arthritis. Sidelined by my doctor, who said, “No more squats and lunges, ever!” but also said “strengthen your quads” without telling me how, I quickly sought referrals for personal trainers from Kathy. I’ve been blessed over the past year to work with three amazing trainers, including two from Prime Fitness. It’s taken about 6 months, but the swelling in my knee has finally gone down and I now have two perfectly matched knees! In the process, I’ve lost body fat and gained a lot of strength—AND I do squats and lunges. I can’t say enough about how important knowledgeable trainers are in teaching you proper form and in finding creative ways to work around injuries and in making you work harder than you might on your own.

Barbara Root

It all starts with a positive mindset….

Posted: February 27, 2012 by christyatprime in challenge, dedication, fat loss, fitness, group exercise, health, inspiration, lifestyle, personal training, Uncategorized, weight loss, wellness
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Ralph Marston says it best:  “You’ve done it before and you can do it now. See the positive possibilities. Redirect the substantial energy of your frustration and turn it into positive, effective, unstoppable determination.”

Having been in the fitness industry for over 12 years I am always asked if I actually like working out.  When I respond yes, the next question is how in the world could you like working out?  I have found it all starts with a mindset.  Approaching anything in life with positivity will yield positive results.  As a society, we are caught in the rat race with an expectation of immediacy.  Instead of focusing so much on the end result, why  not enjoy the experience?  Set an extremely short term goal.  For example:  I will enjoy my workout today.  I will smile during burpees.  I will feel better when I complete my workout.  What you believe becomes reality!

Try not to allow frustration to take over.  Instead view each task as a challenge that you can overcome knowing that you are becoming stronger, more balanced, more healthy.  Look in the mirror each morning and be excited that you have the chance to do anything you set your mind to.  You are in complete control of your day!

The next time you find yourself frustrated with whatever life has thrown at you, choose a positive mindset.  Go for a walk.  Plank on a TRX Suspension Trainer.  Register for your first 5K.  Know that you are powerful and you can do whatever you set your mind to do!

True Commitment!

Posted: February 13, 2012 by Eric at Prime in dedication, fitness, inspiration, lifestyle, personal training, weight loss, wellness
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Commitment and dedication, those are two concepts that can be uniquely individual, because they may mean something completely different to everyone. This past weekend at PRIME FITNESS we witnessed yet another way one person demonstrated his dedication to a fit lifestyle.

John “Biggie” Bigatel began training at PRIME back in October 2011. John has always worked out but had never experienced the types of workouts that he started at PRIME. He was hooked after his first and John quickly became a true ambassador of what PRIME’s philosophies are. First, John’s mobility and flexibility increased so well he was able to move more and more athletic every day. Second, his joint pain and his “sore” muscle recovery time was greatly reduced. Now lets talk about looking better. John set a goal to reduce his body fat to 15% by April. Well, he crushed his goal by getting to 14% by February! John kicked some serious butt and we could not be more proud. Consistency and dedication!

What really showed us John’s commitment to the fit lifestyle was his special request for his 30th Birthday. He wanted a Birthday Bootcamp held for him on his actual birthday this past Saturday, February 11th. PRIME FITNESS was moved by this and thought what better way to reward one of our own then to give him and his friends a grueling 60 minute boot camp for his birthday. So, we did and the result was a group of exhausted yet exhilarated participants and of course a very happy John! PRIME wants to recognize “Biggie” for his devotion to fitness and his drive to always push himself!

To see a sample of the boot camp click JOHNS BDAY BOOTCAMP

Here’s to you John! Congrats and Thank you.

"Don’t Stop Believing"

Posted: February 3, 2012 by Eric at Prime in challenge, fat loss, fitness, group exercise, health, muscle, personal training, weight loss
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Yesterday Prime Fitness was witness to the culmination of an amazing personal journey that began in March of 2011. Josh Rosario made a decision to create a much needed change in his life. Reaching a point on the scale that was nowhere near healthy, Josh knew it was time to do something. So the journey began. Over the course of the next 8 months Josh lost an amazing 80 pounds on his own by changing the way he eats and adding a few cardio sessions a week to his exercise routine. This was only the beginning though, as all of us(friends and family) were blown away by his dedication and consistency Josh was encouraged to take it to the next level. Thrilled with his own results Josh knew he could keep pushing. So, Josh joined us here at PRIME FITNESS where he began training his body in a way he never had before. Being part of the Tuesday/Thursday PRIME ENERGY group training was definitely the boost that Josh needed.

The holidays were upon us and PRIME decided a “fitness challenge” was needed to help everyone stay focused during the grey of winter and the temptations of the holiday season. The challenge was simple, who could lose the most body fat percentage by the Thursday before The Super Bowl. The challenge was to last about 10 weeks with everyone throwing $25 into a pot for a little extra incentive for the winner.

The results were in last night and PRIME could not have been more proud of the folks who were part of it all. Between all the participants 47 lbs. of fat was lost and 30 pounds of lean mass(muscle) was gained! Outstanding performances from everyone. As the numbers were tallied and we got down to the winner, what was witnessed next can only be described as truly amazing.

Beginning the contest at 20.42% body fat, the next 10 weeks proved to be just the thing that Josh needed to take it to the next level. The final count for Josh was only a 2.4 pound change on the scale, but his body fat % changed greatly. He completed the contest at 10.9% body!! That means Josh lost 21.52 lbs of fat and gained 19.22 pounds of muscle! Amazing work! Dedication and consistency were Josh’s training partners(with a little help from PRIME ) and we are thrilled to have him as part of the PRIME family. We want everyone out there to know that you can do it. What is your own challenge? What is your goal? It can be anything! Make the decision, turn the page and get started on your own fitness journey, “Don’t Stop Believing”!!

Thank You Josh for your inspiration.

PRIME FITNESS
www.primefitnessmd.com