Spring Clean Your Body

Many people like to kick off spring with some heavy duty spring cleaning, but why stop with your house? Your body could use some spring cleaning, too.

Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring

It’s natural to accumulate an extra layer of fat—and possibly a few bad habits—after a long, cold winter. Spring is a season to shake off the doldrums and start fresh. In fact, Eastern medicine views spring as the season of the liver and an opportunity to cleanse this important organ.

A clean liver is critical for optimal health, but how do you know if your liver needs some TLC? Poor digestion, abdominal bloating, migraines, allergies, excessive gas, constipation, diarrhea, frustration, resentment, and irritability can all be signs of a sluggish liver in need of a cleanse.

What is a Cleanse?

A cleanse is an opportunity to hit your body’s reset button. As a general rule, a cleanse or detox is two-fold: first, you avoid certain foods that aggravate the liver and second, you add foods and activities that support the liver.

There is no one right way to cleanse. Some people benefit from drastic fasts, whereas others benefit from a three-day tune-up during which they avoid fatty foods. A cleanse doesn’t have to be dramatic to offer some benefit.

How to Cleanse

If you’re trying a liver cleanse for the first time, three days is plenty. Some experienced liver cleansers opt to cleanse for two to three weeks in the spring. First-timers should keep it simple and avoid drastic programs that call for extended fasting. A simple first-time cleanse might include the following:

INCLUDE	AVOID
Lots of organic fruits and vegetables.	Refined and processed foods
Fresh fruit and vegetable juice.	Sugar
Whole grains, such as quinoa or brown rice	Alcohol
Drink plenty of water	Caffeine
Get extra rest	Tobacco
Opt for gentle exercise, such as walking or yoga	High fructose corn syrup
Make time for daily meditation	Fatty foods
Plenty of citrus—consider sipping lemon water throughout the day	Fast food and junk food
	Animal products

Ready to Reboot?

If you’ve never cleansed before, don’t be intimidated—and consider consulting a doctor or nutritionist before starting. You don’t have to adopt a vegan diet or swear off caffeine and alcohol forever—but giving your body a break from these things can help it to reboot.

A simple three-day commitment to purifying the body can make a world of difference. At the end of the three days, you’re likely to feel lighter and brighter—both physically and emotionally.

Three Unhealthy Habits to Break Now

Bad habits—we all have them and we all wish we could break them. But breaking bad habits is sometimes easier said than done. Still, there are some bad habits that deserve our attention. Here are three you should break—right now.

Bad Habit: Skipping Meals

It’s a classic mistake—you’re short on time or worse, looking for some quick weight loss, so you skip a meal or two or ten. But this habit will come back to haunt you—in the form of fatigue, brain fog, low blood sugar, and ultimately, even weight gain. If you regularly skip meals—especially breakfast—you’re not only depriving your body of necessary calories and energy, you also run the risk of disrupting your metabolism, which can result in weight gain.

Good Habit: Eat at Regular Intervals

Eat at least four times per day to keep your blood sugar levels stable and your energy strong. Stoking that internal fire throughout the day will help keep you fueled and ensure peak performance—from mind and body—for the whole day. If you’re too busy to stop for meals, keep a stash of snacks with you at all times. A handful of nuts can go a long way to keeping your energy high.

Bad Habit: Sleep Deprivation

Sleep deprivation is one of the most common ailments in our culture today. In fact, studies show that more than 50 percent of Americans don’t get enough sleep. Some people are so busy that they choose to forego sleep in order to get achieve more, whereas others are so stressed that they can’t sleep. Many of us treat sleep as if it’s a luxury, but the truth is that sleep is an integral component of our health. Sleep deprivation can lead to drowsiness, irritability, lack of concentration, impaired performance, and a compromised immune system. Skipping sleep is a surefire way to compromise your health.

Good Habit: Make Sleep a Priority

Make healthy sleep a top priority. Create a sleep plan and stick to it. It helps to have a relaxing nightly ritual to help you wind down for bedtime—maybe 30 minutes to take a bath and read, or whatever puts you in a calm state. Also, for several hours prior to bedtime, avoid anything that may interfere with sleep, including alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, exercise, and large meals. Make sleep a priority and watch your health—and life—improve.

Bad Habit: Skipping Exercise

We know, you’re busy and it’s hard to find the time for exercise—but exercise is important no matter what, and there is really no good excuse to skip it. Exercise is crucial to physical and mental health. When you put exercise on the back burner, your health suffers and your stress level rises.

Good Habit: Make Exercise a Non-Negotiable Habit

You don’t have to spend hours in the gym to reap the benefits of exercise. In fact, high intensity interval workouts are effective and quick. Spend 30 minutes working at a high intensity and you’ll reap the benefits without sacrificing your time. And remember, when you’re busy and stressed, exercise is one of the best stress-busters available! Just put exercise on the calendar before everything else and make it happen.

Belly Up to the Barre

If you want long, lean muscles, then belly up to the barre—not the one that serves cocktails, but the one along the wall in the fitness studio.

In case you haven’t heard, barre classes are the latest rage in the fitness world—and for good reason. These ballet-inspired classes incorporate a series of moves designed to target certain muscle groups with laser-like precision. The workouts have a large focus on the arms, the core and the lower body, especially the hips and butt. While just about any fitness class can target these muscle groups, what makes barre class unique is the tiny, repetitive movements that produce big results.

What to Expect

Barre classes are sort of like a fusion between Pilates, ballet, calisthenics, and yoga. You don’t need any dance background—or grace—to step up to the barre. If you think barre class is going to be a walk in the park, think again. Stand outside the door and observe a class and you might think it looks easy—until you try it.

Barre class emphasizes form and alignment and low-weight, high-rep exercises designed to sculpt long, ballerina-type muscles. The cornerstone of barre class is small, isometric movements. Think tiny movements and repetition—lots and lots of repetition. In fact, you’ll repeat tiny movements so many times that your leg will start shaking and you’ll wish it would just fall off. Imagine lifting and lowering your leg behind you a mere inch or two—over and over and over. No matter how fit you are, you can expect shaking and trembling in barre class—because you’ll work the muscle all the way to fatigue.

Of course, Barre class isn’t just limited to the barre. Expect to spend some time on the floor and to use props like squishy balls and light hand weights. Plan on going barefoot or wearing special “grippy” socks.

Benefits of Barre

One reason barre classes have become so popular is that they produce results. Barre classe probably won't give you the body of a professional ballerina (remember, they’ve been dancing eight hours a day for a lifetime), but if you consistently attend class several times a week, you can expect a toned, slimmer body and improved posture.

The tiny, repetitive movements are designed to streamline, firm, tighten, and tone muscles and realign the body without adding bulk. The total body workout will lift your seat, tone your thighs, and produce chiseled muscles. What’s more—because the class doesn’t involve any bouncing or jumping, it protects the joints.

Ready to belly up to the barre? We offer Ballet Barre Works three times a week:

Wednesdays at 8 a.m.

Fridays at 3 p.m.

Sundays at 10 a.m.

Give this challenging workout a try if you want to develop strength, balance, body awareness, flexibility, and improved posture!

Up Close and Personal

Are you stuck in an exercise rut with no way out? Or are you ready to take your fitness to the next level? A personal trainer can be one of the best investments you ever make for your health. Whether you need motivation, support, instruction, or accountability, a personal trainer can provide a boost to your fitness regimen and set you on the right track.

Benefits of Hiring a Personal Trainer

All personal trainers have the same goal—to help you achieve your fitness goals.

Hiring a personal trainer is not just a luxury reserved for celebrities; anyone can benefit from working with a trainer. Working with a personal trainer means making a commitment to your health—with time and money. Personal trainers typically educate their clients and provide individualized fitness plans.

A personal trainer can help you:

• Start a new fitness regimen. If you’re just getting started, a personal trainer can help you devise a realistic and safe plan for building fitness. A personal trainer will assess where you are now and how you can improve and then work with you to implement a fitness program that works for you.
• Learn proper technique and form. Most of us don’t learn how to exercise—we just walk into the weight room, pick up weights, and do what we see other people doing. A personal trainer will educate you about proper form and technique to ensure that you don’t injure yourself and that you receive the maximum benefits of the exercise.
• Achieve your goals. Most personal trainers are adept with goal setting. A personal trainer will help you to identify your fitness goals and then develop a plan to get you there. You may have a goal to lose five pounds, tone your abdominals, or complete a challenging race or event. A personal trainer can help.

Working with a Personal Trainer

There are many different ways to work with a personal trainer. It depends what your needs are. Even just a few sessions with a personal trainer can be beneficial and set your fitness plan on track, though some people choose to work with trainers indefinitely.

Some people need personal trainers for motivation and accountability and therefore opt for a long-term weekly or twice-weekly commitment with a personal trainer. Others need a “tune-up” or fitness boost and hire a personal trainer for a few sessions. If you’re self-motivated, but just want some professional expertise, you can even hire a personal trainer who will meet with you once or twice and then devise a fitness plan for you to follow on your own.

Choosing the Right Personal Trainer for You

When choosing a personal trainer, there are a few things to consider:

• Professional qualifications: Look for a trainer who is educated, experienced, and committed to ongoing education. At Zenergy, all of our personal trainers have top-notch credentials and continue to engage in ongoing professional development.
• Specialty or style: Some personal trainers choose to specialize in different areas, such as weight loss, race training, or working with the older adult population. Others have a unique training style, such as functional fitness. You may wish to choose a trainer dedicated to your area of interest.
• Chemistry: It’s important to find a personal trainer who feels like a “match” for you. You’ll want a trainer whose personality and style suits you so that you can get the most out of the relationship.

Ready to boost your fitness with personal training? Tim Hanna, our Health and Wellness Concierge, can help you identify the trainer who best fits your needs.

Why You Should Pull Up

Pull-ups—most of us view them with a mixture of dread and awe. There’s no doubt, pull-ups are hard—very hard—but they also offer the most reward for your effort. In fact, they are one of the most effective strength training moves you can do. So, why aren’t more of us doing them? Oh yeah—because they’re hard.

What Exactly is a Pull-Up?

A pull-up is a bodyweight exercise that is performed by hanging from a bar and lifting your chin up to the bar and then lowering yourself back down. Some of us confuse pull-ups and chin-ups. Pull-ups are performed with your palms facing away from you, whereas chin-ups are performed with your palms facing toward you. Chin-ups are easier because they rely more on the biceps and therefore, offer more arm leverage. But, we’re not going for easier.

Anatomy of a Pull-Up

Pull-ups are a type of exercise known as a compound, or multi-joint, exercise—meaning that it requires you to use more than one muscle group and more than one joint to perform the movement. Pull-ups require you to use your back, shoulders, chest, and arms to get your chin over the bar. In fact, when you do a pull-up, you’re actually recruiting 13 different muscles:

Primary Muscle:

Latissimus Dorsi (Lats)

Secondary Muscles:

Brachialis (Lower Biceps)

Brachioradialis (Forearm)

Biceps Brachii (Biceps)

Teres Major (Outer Back)

Deltoid, Posterior (Rear Delts)

Infraspinatus (Rotary Cuff)

Teres Minor (Rotary Cuff)

Rhomboids (Middle Back)

Levator Scapulae (Rear Neck)

Trapezius, Middle (Upper Traps)

Trapezius, Lower (Lower Traps)

Pectoralis Minor (Chest)

Stabilizer Muscles:

Triceps

Thirteen muscles? No wonder pull-ups are so hard!

Benefits of Pull-Ups

Pull-ups offer the most reward for any single movement. Being able to perform multiple pull-ups is a true gauge of strength. It’s very important to be able to lift your own body with your arms. In fact, a pull-up is considered a functional movement—a type of real-world movement that involves multi-planar and multi-joint movement. In nature, this type of movement is often a matter of survival. While we no longer live in survival mode like our ancestors, we want our bodies to move with ease. If you think pull-ups have no place in the modern world, talk to a mom who picks up her toddler 20 times a day. If she wants to do this without injury, she needs strong upper body muscles.

Ready to Pull Up?

Skipping pull-ups because they’re hard is sort of like skipping yoga because you’re not flexible. The cure for lack of strength is to practice pull-ups—and practice, and practice, and practice some more.

There is no excuse when it comes to pull-ups—this equal-opportunity exercise is for everyone and that includes women. Yes, pull-ups are harder for women and women will likely be able to do fewer pull-ups than men—but fewer does not mean zero. 

•  Women , if you want a strong upper body—do pull-ups.
• Men, if you want a strong back, a chiseled v-shaped body, and enviable arms—do pull-ups.

Want to get started? Here’s how:

•  Static holds: Static holds are a safe, entry-level way to build up to pull-ups. Hang from the bar with your arms extended or with your arms flexed and your chin at the bar.
• Negative pull-ups: Use a stool to start in the upper position of a pull-up and then slowly lower yourself down, working against gravity.
• Assisted pull-ups: Use a rubber band around your feet or knees to give you an assist or use a machine that has a moving platform. 

 Ready to go? Check out the Hoist Multi-Jungle Machine, the latest and greatest addition to the gym. It goes along with our pledge to maintain functional, high quality equipment to improve your fitness experience. 

• For pull-ups: The Hoist machine has a long pull-up bar across the center and includes multi-directional handles and rock climbing holds to vary your grip.
• Rowing: The Hoist has two row machines with a more ergonomic footprint that allows for more comfort and adjustability.
• Triceps: The Hoist has twice as many triceps extension options for your full triceps satisfaction.

Practicing pull-ups in the gym makes this scenario much easier!

The Cure for Tight Hips

Tight hips? Join the crowd. In our busy, active town, tight hips is one of the most common complaints. If you’re outside, charging hard, you’re likely to develop some tightness in the hips. But have no fear—yoga instructor Ryan Redman has just the remedy:

Eye of the Needle pose: 

• Lie down on your back with knees bent and feet placed just behind your hips.
• Place your left lower shin on top of your lower right thigh.
• Draw your right knee up into your chest by reaching your left hand between your legs and to the front of your right shin.
• Reach your right hand around the front of your right shin.
• Stay relaxed around the head and heck.
• You may try supporting your head with a folded blanket if your chin lifts higher than your chest. 
• Breathe and enjoy.

Static Versus Dynamic Stretching

Which one should you use—and when?

Stretching is critical to athletic performance and overall health—but there are a variety of ways to stretch and it turns out, the type and timing of a stretch can mean the difference between improving or impeding performance. If you want the most bang for your stretching buck, then it’s important to learn when to use which stretches.

There are two types of stretches—static and dynamic—and they both have value, if used properly.

Static Stretching

When most people think of stretching, they think of static stretching—which refers to the typical reach-and-hold type of stretch, where you move into a stretching position and hold it for several seconds. Static stretching is effective for increasing range of motion and improving flexibility—which can ultimately improve athletic performance.

But there’s a catch: static stretching slows muscle activation for about an hour—meaning muscles react more slowly. That’s why it’s important not to perform any static stretches prior to a big workout or competition.

The bottom line: static stretching has immense value for building flexibility—but if you need to be on your A-game, save the static stretches for later. Once you’ve crushed the competition, you can take some time to recover and perform some static stretches.

Dynamic Stretching

Dynamic stretching involves active movement—specifically, moving your body through the motions that it will be experiencing during a workout or competition. If you watch runners on the track before the start of a race, you’ll see them bouncing through running drills. These are dynamic stretches.

Unlike static stretching, dynamic stretching is appropriate before a workout or competition—and can actually improve performance. But of course, there’s a catch: the timing has to be just right. It’s important that no more than 10 minutes pass between the dynamic stretches and the event, otherwise muscles can cool down and become sluggish and athletic performance can be impaired.

The purpose of dynamic stretching is to warm up the muscles, elevate the body temperature and be ready to go. So, use dynamic stretches right before a workout or competition for the best results.

Stretch Yourself

When most people think of fitness they think of cardiovascular and strength exercise—but if you want to get and stay fit, don’t forget to stretch. Stretching and flexibility exercises are an important component of any fitness regimen. In fact, flexibility is critical not just to athletic performance, but to overall health.

Stretching

Stretching refers to a practice of elongating a muscle or muscle group to its fullest length. Though we may not realize it, stretching is actually a natural, instinctive behavior. Upon waking, most of us will instinctively reach our arms overhead and stretch from fingers to toes. Our body naturally craves a “stretch” after long periods of sitting or inactivity. This natural instinct is your body’s way of telling you that stretching is good.

Benefits of Stretching

Stretching offers numerous health and fitness benefits:

• Relaxation: Put simply, stretching feels good. It’s an excellent way to cool down and relax after an invigorating workout. Furthermore, research has shown that stretching can lower blood pressure and improve artery function. It’s a natural stress reliever.
• Increase flexibility: Flexibility refers to the degree to which an individual muscle will lengthen. As we age, our muscles grow shorter and tighter and we become less flexible. As a result, we become more susceptible to injuries. Stretching is an effective way to maintain and increase flexibility. A regular stretching routine will keep you flexible—and hopefully, injury-free.
• Improve circulation: Stretching increases the blood flow to the muscles, which not only helps to nourish the muscles but also helps to eliminate waste byproducts from muscle tissue.
• Eliminate pain: Many of us experience muscle tightness in our quadriceps, hamstrings, and hip flexors. What we may not realize is that this muscle tightness is a common cause of low back pain. Short, tight muscles result in impaired movement patterns and compensation, which leads to low back pain. A regular stretching routine can help solve this common problem.

Stretching Tips

In order to gain the benefits of stretching, it’s important to stretch properly:

• Warm up. Never stretch a cold muscle; it can result in injury. Instead, warm up with some cardiovascular activity prior to stretching. This will help make your muscles more pliable and conducive to stretching.
• Breathe. Sometimes we’re inclined to hold our breath when stretching, but this is counterproductive because it results in tightness and resistance. Instead, breathe into a stretch. Breathe slowly and deeply. As you exhale, you may feel yourself naturally sink a little deeper into the stretch.
• Be gentle. Never force a stretch. Instead, gently ease your way into a stretch and let your body dictate how far you can go. Flexibility will naturally increase over time—forcing a stretch will only result in injury, not increased flexibility.
• Be consistent. The best way to build flexibility is with a consistent stretching routine. Aim for 3 to 5 days per week. If you commit to a stretching program, you will see results.

Ready to stretch? Learn about the value of static stretchingand dynamic stretching—and when to use both.