Fitness Tips - Tracking Your Progress

Most people like to judge their fitness progress in a couple of ways. Do I feel better? Do my skinny jeans fit? Do I like what the scale says?

Those are important things, but remember, there are many ways to track progress in regards to your overall fitness levels. How do you know when you have increased your fitness level? At Fitness Together, one of the first things we do is a comprehensive fitness evaluation. We track your weight, body measurements, body fat, blood pressure, resting heart rate, lung capacity, upper body endurance, flexibility, and oxygen efficiency. As you progress through your training program, your body changes in more ways than you may realize. Most clients are pleased to see improvement in metrics other than scale weight.

Fitness evaluations are not the only way we measure progress. Your trainer records each workout with weight lifted and repetitions accomplished. Changes reflect an increase in your strength and endurance levels. We have also mentioned the benefits of tracking your food intake on our on-line tracking system. These ways are all measurements that reflect the clients various goals.

Sometimes the numbers don’t change. This information is just as good as when they do change. It means something needs improvement and needs to change. Tracking also gives you a target to aim for. The more focused the path the easier and faster it can be to get there.

Remember to make YOU a Priority in 2009!

New Team Member - Gretchen

We have a new addition to the training team to share with everyone. Gretchen has joined the FT - West Seattle Team and will be working with all clients who schedule workouts on Saturdays. She brings a wealth of great experience to help all of our clients achieve their goals. So if you miss a workout during the week, remember we are open on Saturdays to make it up and you'll get a chance to work with Gretchen. Welcome to the Team!

Here is a little bit about her fitness background in her own words. "Fitness hasn't always been an important part of my life. A former couch potato/smoker/Twinkie eater, and a car accident that left me with a broken femur and a metal rod in it's place changed all of that. My limited mobility and exhaustion after each rehabilitation session made me realize the importance of being fit and healthy. Ten years later, I am an avid runner, strength trainer, and enjoy sharing my passion with others. I am a certified personal trainer through the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) with a specialization in Pre and Post Natal Exercise."

Fitness Tip - Working Out With Injuries

Working out with injuries can be challenging and frustrating. Here are some things to think about if you get an injury and how to avoid them in the future.

Types of Injuries

There are 2 types of injuries that occur “acute” or “chronic.”

Acute injuries, such as a sprained ankle or strained muscle may occur suddenly during activity.

Chronic injuries usually result from overusing one area of the body while playing a sport, exercising over a long period, or a repetitive motion. Examples of this may include carpel tunnel syndrome from daily computer use or a knee injury from marathon training.

What Should I Do If I Suffer An Injury?

Whether an injury is acute or chronic, there is never a good reason to try and "work through" the pain of an injury. When you have pain from a particular movement or activity, STOP! Continuing the activity only causes further harm. It’s best to lay off exercise from the upper body if there is a shoulder injury, but instead focus on the lower body to keep your fitness levels up while you are recovering.

If the inflammation subsides, doing non-weight baring range of motion exercises will bring blood flow to injured area. This helps with repair and breaks up the scar tissue which creates stiffness in the joint.

Injury Prevention

Due to the fragile design of our joints, there are 3 TOP Common Injuries:

Rotator cuff - Strengthening the tiny muscles that support the shoulder joint is key to reducing shoulder injuries

Lower back - Core strength and hamstring flexibility is so important for lower back pain.

Knee injuries - Along with wearing good shoes, strengthening all the muscles around the knee joint will help with the proper tracking and stabilization of the knee joint

Doing exercise with the proper form always reduces your risk of injury. Stretching and strengthening your muscles will help support the body to repair and prevent injury. Make sure you drink plenty of water so your body is hydrated. If you don’t drink enough water, your body will take moisture out of the tissues which leave your body prone to injury. And lastly, utilize a personal trainer to keep that well trained eye on your technique.

Chasing Rainbows and Leprechauns

Under snowy skies, the 25th Annual St. Patrick's Day Dash was held with its approximately 3 and 3/4 mile run. There were no rainbows on this day as winter was not about to let hold of its grip. Snowflakes as big a eggs showered the crowd while waiting for the start of the race, which turned to rain as the race started.

This year's course was new, as 2008 was the last year of the Dash on Hwy 99 (the Viaduct). While there were no views due to the weather this year, the course had its share of hills with a steady climb at the start and a fun descent to the finish.

Despite the weather, adults and kids alike joined in the fun to celebrate St. Patrick's Day and let out their inner leprechaun. Congratulations to the FT clients who participated in the event: Kathy, Jeni, and Antoinette. Hopefully, spring weather will return so we can break out the shorts for the next running event.

Fitness Tip - Exercise Frequency

How much exercise you need depends on many factors.

The Surgeon General says:

“It is recommended that Americans accumulate at least 30 minutes (adults) or 60 minutes (children) of moderate physical activity most days of the week. Even greater amounts of physical activity may be necessary for the prevention of weight gain, for weight loss, or for sustaining weight loss.”

For weight control or weight loss, we recommend:

Strength Training: At Least 3 times per week for 30 - 60 minutes a day.

Cardiovascular Training: 3 – 6 times per week with vigorous activity 20 - 60 minutes a day.

Flexibility Training: As much as possible during the week (e.g. Add 10 min or more to the end of your cardio or strength training routine to stretch or attend a yoga class each week).

When it comes to weight loss or weight control, more is not necessarily better. Try to focus on intensity rather than long hours at the gym. Intensity will improve your overall fitness level as well as boost your metabolism for fat burning.

Luckily a little bit of exercise goes a long way for disease prevention! When it comes to exercise we think Nike says it best –“Just Do It!”

Remember to make YOU a priority in 2009!

Fitness Tip - THE #1 way to Lose Weight!

Sounds like an Ad for something right?

Wrong! The #1 way people lose weight is by writing down your food intake on a DAILY basis! Sounds simple? We know this isn’t easy, but it’s proven to work. Studies show that people who track their diets daily are 10 times more likely to lose weight than people who don't.

Tracking your diet keeps your food intake at the forefront of your mind. Being aware of what you put in your mouth and how much you take in, can make or break your weight loss success.

It doesn't matter if you write it on a scrap of paper or track it on a fancy computer system; just as long as you do it consistently throughout the day.

Make sure you write down your meals right after you eat. If you wait to track what you eat until the end of the day or even the next day, people tend to get "calorie amnesia." They forget about the piece of cheese they had with lunch or the latte they had during their break. They may forget to write it down in their journals, but unfortunately the body never forgets!

The next step is to show your journal to your personal trainer. This accountability is INVALUABLE! Just doing this can influence your decisions for many meals ahead. Sounds like a lot of work? We didn't say it was easy, but it is definitely well worth the effort. Remember, this is your health we are talking about! Start tracking today, then watch your food choices change as well as your body!

Remember to make you a priority in 2009!

March Client of the Month - Anne Galt

Anne Galt was selected as our Client of the month as she sets the example for consistency. Anne has been coming in a half-hour early to do cardio, then working out for another 45 minutes, 3 times a week without missing an appointment. She frequently says " I can do more" and is putting all the important components of wellness together; strength training, cardio, and nutrition . It's great to work with such motivated client. We can't wait to see the results of all her hard work.

In Anne’s own words. “In December of 2007, my son sent me an e-mail with the message said ‘check this out – Fitness Together West Seattle’. He has been encouraging me to ‘take care of myself’ and so I thought I owed it to him to at least ‘check it out’. It is now a little more than a year later and I am still excited about coming ‘to the gym’.

The staff has been friendly, encouraging, supportive and understanding. The trainers focus on me (they aren’t gabbing with other people like some trainers I have had at regular gyms) and show me how to do the exercises correctly and encourage me to give it my all. Just about the time I think I have it ‘nailed’ my trainer bumps it up a notch. All good things!

I like the one on one with the trainer. It keeps both of us focused on our ‘job’ of getting me in better shape. My workouts are tailored for my personal needs. My trainer listens when I tell her/him that a body part is being cranky – and he/she works around the cranky part. But they still gives me a good workout and push me to my limits. The fitness evaluations help me to see my progress and also what areas I need to work on harder.

February Client Competition Winners

Stairs, Stairs, and more Stairs! The battle this month was climbing 3 sets of stairs as quickly as you could 4 times. Congratulations to following winners for their fast feet:

Female: Marci
Male: Joe

Joe had the fastest time of everyone. Nice work not only by the winners, but everyone who participated the contest. There were many improvements due to consistency in client's cardio workouts. This fun little interval will help everyone as the weather improves and we all start to go outside. Next month's competition: 1 mile Time Trial on the bike. Goal is to finish under 3 minutes.

Blackout Cardio Bingo Contest II Winners

Another long, hard contest has reached its conclusion. This masked person was one of two people to complete the Blackout card. Congratulations to Rich and Antoinette on their accomplishment. Both will receive $50 gift certificates to a store of their choice.

Here are the winners for the raffle drawing:

Free Session - Afsi

$15 PCC Gift Card - Jeni B.
Stability Ball - Bette

Great work by all who participated in this contest. Next contest is just around the corner, so keep hitting the cardio and you will continue to see the results.