I Don't Have The Time

Ask a Trainer, from Scott Fushi, trainer at Midtown Fitness Center, Putnam CT.

Question: I know I need to exercise but my time is stretched as thin as my wallet… any suggestions?
Answer: In today’s tighter economy, time and money are usually the biggest obstacles for most folks when it comes to taking care of yourself through fitness and exercise. Here are a few tips.

You can be efficient and effective with your exercise by using high intensity interval training. This technique is proven to increase your fitness levels while burning more calories throughout not only your workout but the rest of your entire day. You accomplish this by doing short 1 to 2 minute bursts of near maximal effort followed by 1-2 minutes bouts of low intensity activity (no complete rest … don’t lay down…that’s a no-no). These intervals (at first, try 4-5 sets and slowly increase up to 8-9 throughout your workout) can be integrated into any activity or workout you do. It is not limited to weight training or running. You can use it with ellipticals, rowers, indoor or outdoor cycling, walking and even gardening or lawn mowing for that matter. Any activity that requires exertion can fit into this formula for improved fitness.

The benefit of saving time is achieved by working at a higher level of effort; therefore your activity can be completed in 20-40 minutes instead of 60-90, depending on your ability to tolerate the workload. An example would be to walk at moderate pace for 5 minutes (warm-up), then try a 1 minute increase in pace or incline that elevates your heart rate or at least gets you breathing fairly hard. Lower the pace or incline for 2 minutes then repeat the higher load setting and try a little longer duration or higher intensity each successive cycle. The goal is to safely challenge yourself to higher levels of workload, which quickly improves your stamina and strength.

Some people will also monitor heart rate through a simple pulse check to better track performance and improve their results. A range of 70-90 % of training heart rate zone (220 minus your age is you maximum baseline number) attained in the intense intervals is a great starting point for most beginners. The higher your initial fitness level, the higher you can raise this range; some athletes using 100-110% of this training rate. Please consult your physician or therapist if you have any physical limitations prior to starting this or any new exercise/activity. You can also ask your local certified trainer for more information on this very effective technique.

High Intensity Interval Training can increase your metabolism (therefore assist with weight loss) by placing higher energy needs on your body. It is especially essential to adhere to proper nutrition and hydration schedules for this or most any fitness program to be effective. HIIT also requires your body to continually adapt to these ever changing increased workloads or exertion levels and that is why the significant improvements in fitness and strength can take place.

It is difficult at times for people to recognize the long-term benefits of investing their time and money into their own health. The medical field and insurance companies have endless data that without a doubt proves that it is both time and money well spent. You are worth it!

Stop by Midtown Fitness for more information on this or other health related topics and a list of current classes (ask about the free week memberships). Visit midtown-fitness.com or call 860-928-9218. Please submit your ask a trainer question to Scott at scott@midtown-fitness.com

Subtle Changes – Healthy Lifestyle

Subtle Changes – Healthy Lifestyle

Each January a New Year arrives. With the each New Year, Midtown Fitness hosts its own “Biggest Loser” contest. Midtown’s owners, Mike Bogdanski and Kristin Duethorn, along with our staff of personal trainers and fitness instructors have the privilege of watching the participants work toward their weight loss goals. The contest comes to its 12-week end this week, on Thursday the 18th with the final weigh out and announcement of our 2010 Biggest Loser.

It is our hope, as fitness professionals, these participants will continue their pursuit of a healthier lifestyle by incorporating exercise and healthy eating habits into their routine. How do they accomplish these changes? How do any of us? And why should we? I cannot stress enough the importance of a healthy lifestyle. For any individual, adult or child. It is an investment in your future, your family’s future, your children’s future. As adults we can make the decision to make these healthy changes for ourselves, and set a foundation for our children through example…children learn healthy habits from their parents. Why should they eat properly, play a sport or exercise if you don’t?

What all of us need to remember is this – the weight comes off one pound at a time. A lifetime of neglecting both exercise and healthy eating will not be shed in a month’s time. And, unfortunately, the older we get the more effort we need to put into achieving the end result. That said, the time to start is now. It takes tremendous dedication and commitment, and it is not always going to be easy – or fun for that matter, but looking down the road, meeting challenges, achieving personal goals, seeing and feeling changes are huge rewards.

Small, subtle changes at home are a great start to big improvements in health and weight control. One less can of soda a day, no more sugared cereals, eliminating junk food from your house and placing more emphasis on fruits and vegetables as available snacks, or mainstays at mealtime. Portion control is incredibly important, and will make a noticeable difference in your waistline. Unfortunately, the food companies have made good tasting, low nutrition food easy to store by packing them full of preservatives, and keeping them affordable by using chemicals rather than real food. All the money families “save” by buying these items is lost when poor health factors are plugged into the equation. Poor health is worsened through poor nutrition.

Incorporating activity and exercise also needs to become a habit in order to make this lifestyle change. You don’t need to spend 2 hours a day at the gym – unless you want to! But a gym membership is a great investment in your health. Most people say they don’t have the time to exercise, but what harkens more true is that they fail to make the time for it. If you get in the habit of saving 30 minutes (for beginners) that is all you need to start making long-term improvements in your health and happiness. A fully rounded, healthy lifestyle-including weight loss, is not possible without exercise. Personal trainers and class instructors at the gym are great resources to help with your efforts, and give you the encouragement you need. It is easy to get caught up in the chaos of “life”. Don’t let the cycle of stress, poor diet and sedentary lifestyle be your theme.


Melissa Richards -Certified Personal Trainer

Is Your Exercise Going To The Dogs?

The obesity problem in America is growing faster than we can add notches to our belts. Over 60% of American adults are overweight; over 15% of our children are overweight, and becoming more so at a rapid rate. As a society, we would rather endure almost anything-including a month-long tax audit-than exercise for half an hour. And, now, thanks to the trickle-down effects of our overindulgent, inactive, lifestyles, another weighty crisis is looming. Man’s best friend – the family dog – is battling the bulge too. Not a great way to treat your best friend, in my opinion…

We are given one body to last us for our entire existence here on this planet. Why have the majority of us decided to neglect, even abuse this privilege? Physical fitness is ignored, and replaced with time spent in front of a computer screen or our new 46” flat screen. How has it come to be that we have become a nation transfixed by reality television at the expense of our own health? And in the cases of those of us who choose to achieve a high – or even moderate - level physical fitness, why have we forgotten about our canine companions?

The situation of obese canines has reached epidemic proportions. A report from Veterinary Pet Insurance, Inc. indicates that 25% of dogs are overweight, but most veterinarians believe that the real number is closer to 50%. With over 62 million dogs in the U.S., that is a huge number of overweight four-legged companions. Dogs, by nature, crave attention and affection – rewarding them with food, or “giving love through treats”, is in fact causing more harm than help. By inflicting our sedentary lifestyles on our pets, we are shortening their life spans and limiting their quality of life – which is exactly what we are doing to ourselves!! Your buddy would be much better off, much happier - and well behaved - if you dusted off his leash and spent some quality time on a walk around the block – or, for that matter, a 5-mile run! Even a tennis ball in the back yard for 20 minutes will benefit your dog, and deepen the bond you share. And, unlike their human counterparts, once dogs start a regular exercise routine, they beg for it to be a part of their daily routine. The same remedy that is prescribed for human obesity is also being pushed for pets: regular exercise.

As a fitness advocate, personal trainer, and proud owner of two Labrador Retrievers, I know first hand the importance of incorporating regular exercise into a daily routine – not only for myself, but my dogs. I see the benefits every day. Just as exercise keeps me in shape physically, mentally and spiritually, it does the same for my “best friends.” I shower them with affection through a healthy lifestyle. And by keeping myself healthy and fit – getting to the gym on a regular basis every week – I ensure I am able to provide the same for them. My gym membership is their life insurance policy! So, get to the gym for yourself…get on the trail with your companion! Get fit together!

Melissa C. Richards
Personal Trainer, Midtown Fitness & Martial Arts

Med Ball Tips

Single Leg V-Ups
1. Start position: Lie back onto floor or bench with knees bent, both hands behind head. Keep elbow back and out of sight. Head should be in a neutral position with a space between chin and chest.
2. Leading with the chin and chest towards the ceiling, contract the abdominal and raise shoulders off floor or bench. Extend arms and also raise one leg up toward ceiling.
3. Return to start position.
4. Remember to keep head and back in a neutral position. Hyperextension or flexion may cause injury. To increase resistance, hold medicine ball in hands. To decrease resistance, position hand closer towards body.

Myofascial Release

Self Myofascial Release

If you belong to a gym, are involved in yoga or are addicted to foam you may have heard of Self Myofascial Release, which is a great way to stretch out your muscles (more specifically fascia). It is done by grabbing a foam roller (a long foam tube formed into a pipe-like shape), which most exercise facilities have now, and placing it on parts of the body that have lack of motion, the inability for the body to go/stay in anatomical neutral (a 'tip' for another time), or just bother you.

The most common area to 'foam roll' is the lower body. It is done by applying simple body weight onto the foam roller in the area where you desire to stretch. If you have seen this done before, I am sure you have seen people that roll back and forth on a spot to supposedly stretch. That is not the correct way to do it. When you foam roll, you are trying to find spots that hurt when the foam roller is below them, and then hold there until the pain subsides (no, I am not twisted and sadistic, try it). It is finding spots where your fascia has bonded to other fascia and is 'tight', and relieving those spots, which usually ends up hurting a good amount. Always perform Self Myofascial Release slowly. Here is what happens in your body when you foam roll...

You have thousands of muscle fibers in each muscle group in your body. When you lose range of motion or you are tight in certain areas of your body, you have what is commonly known as a 'knot'. Literally the muscle fibers get knotted up, begin to spasm and stop functioning properly. While that is occuring scar tissue begins to form around the spasming muscle fibers, which then become dormant and stop functioning with the rest of the crew. You also lose the ability to burn the calories/use the energy that those muscle fibers could be utilizing.

What foam rolling does is it relieves those muscle fibers of the 'knots'. Apply pressure to those spasming muscle fibers, and when held there it will generally produce discomfort in that area. As the foam roller is held for at least 30 seconds (up to 2 minutes) the spasming muscle fibers begin to loosen up as the scar tissue slowly breaks away from the spasming muscle fibers. The pain should then reduce significantly since the scar tissue has broken away from the muscle fibers, and then the 'Golgi Tendon Organ' (look it up) in each individual muscle fiber tells those fibers to relax, bringing them back into the game along with the rest of the muscle fibers of that muscle group.

Foam rolling increases range of motion, allows you to work harder, burn more calories, get/use more energy, get into shape quicker, move more efficiently...it does much good. Just make sure you drink water immediately after so that you don't get dehydrated. If you have more questions about this, please ask one of the Midtown trainers.

Do You BOSU?

BOSU is an acronym for "both sides up". The BOSU Balance Trainer can be used with the platform side either up or down for different types of balance challenge. Two recessed handles on the bottom of and towards the sides on the platform make it easy to turn over or carry. This hybrid fitness product has its genesis in the field of medicine, as well as balance, functional and sports specific training. Neuromuscular physiology, which helps to define human movement, provides the science that backs this remarkably complete approach to training. The BOSU Balance Trainer offers a different means to make exercise more appealing and effective for average people, fitness enthusiasts and highly trained athletes.

For more information on how to use the bosu stop by Midtown Fitness Center for serious training. Please consult a professional trainer before using this device.

Ten Safety Tips For Weight Training

Please keep the following key points in mind when performing any strength training exercise:

* Never hold your breath while lifting weights. This can cause you to feel lightheaded, dizzy, and lead to fainting.
* Never lock your joints (knee, elbow, etc.) while lifting weights. Locked joints are put under an enormous amount of stress, which may lead to injury.
* Always use collars on the bar when lifting weights.
* Focus on controlling the weight. To avoid injury and maximize the effectiveness of the exercise weights should always be lifted and lowered slowly.
* Always have a "spotter" present when performing free weight exercises. Spotters can assist you with form and ensure that you avoid injury.
* Keep both hands at equal distance from the center of the bar when using free weights. Not doing so could result in harmful stress to one side of your body.
* Never excessively twist or bend the spine, which can cause lower back problems.
* When standing, always maintain a slight bend in the knees to reduce stress on the lower back.
* The knees should always remain in alignment with the toes when performing leg exercises.
* Always replace weights to the proper racks so that others do not trip over them. that others do not trip over them.