Richard SImmons 'Party Off The Pounds!'

Some of you may be wondering why I posted this and I have an answer. Richard Simons may have been an interesting man to say the least, but he helped so many people. Not only were his workouts gender friendly but he incorporated aerobic fitness which helped pump the heart and added fun upbeat music. His workouts were fairly easy but were great for those who had no motivation to workout or needed a little push.

Richard Simons transformed the bodies of millions of middle aged women and men in the 1980's. His upbeat music and fun routines made people want to get active and his cheery personality made him one of the most popular faces in the fitness industry. He may be a bit of a character, but he was a fitness God. Hope you enjoy!

Remixing Knowledge

In the spirit of doing this blog, I decided that I would check out some other blogs about fitness. I came across one professional fitness trainer who wrote an entire blog about "The Impossible" which was not only the brand of his gear and training but it was created primarily to show the world of bloggers that nothing is impossible. Joel Runyon, the create of this blog and "The Impossible" workout writes about all the things someone who was interested in fitness or becoming healthy would want to know. He begins his blog with reminding readers that being physically fit is a choice in life and once your committed it becomes a lifestyle. His writing was very easy to relate to. He listed many of the reasons we as people make excuses to not work out and then in return lists all the benefits of why you SHOULD work out. It was interesting to learn that it takes eight weeks to get in shape and only two weeks to lose it. I thought his writing was done very well because he kept me engaged and left me wanting to know more about the field. He was professional by telling us about his line of clothing and work out regimen and he even left a page on his blog for his followers to post their own success stories about their fitness miracles or difficulties. He delivered his writing just as if he was talking face to face with me but with more professional language. If I were standing infront of him I would have been very persuaded into whatever he was trying to sell or make me believe. His audience was clearly anyone trying to live a healthy lifestyle and I would say that his purpose was to show others the real importance of what fitness can do to your life style. Overall his blog was well written and well delivered.

Runyon, Joel. Why Physical Fitness is the Ultimate Discipline. "Blog of Impossible Things." 18 July 2012. Web. 6 Oct. 2012.
 http://joelrunyon.com/two3/physical-fitness-ultimate-discipline

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

I love to workout. OBVIOUSLY. Other wise I probably would not be writing this entire blog doing research on becoming a personal trainer. However, during the winter I know the stress of "thanksgiving five" or the "Christmas coma." It happens to the best of us. The holiday's creep up and all we want to do is be with our families and eat good food and do it all over again. As great as that is, some of us let the cold weather get to us, and our motivation to workout and eat healthy quickly lessens. I know this from first hand because the colder it gets outside, the more I want to stay indoors and watch movies and cuddle. But in reality, all the Christmas cookies, and apple pies, and turkey begins to add up and before I know it, I am sitting in my room wondering why I feel so tired. So, I looked up some new tactics that may help from letting that holiday feast get you behind in your workout regimen. 

1. Eat smaller meals throughout the day to help keep yourself full so you don't binge eat during your holiday feats. Eating small meals throughout the day is known to increase your metabolism. Also, drink lots of water throughout the day to help keep your body fuller.

2. Plan a workout before your big holiday meals. Doing a hard cardiac or muscle training workout before a feast is actually smart considering your body needs to replenish the carbs after a workout and foods like mash potatoes and ham have the protein and starch your body needs to rebuild.

3. Eat slow. Most people are overwhelmed by the amount of food served at holiday parties and not to mention most people don't eat all day to be able to save room for their feast's. But research has found that those who eat slower way less because they give their body time to digest the food which can help you feel fuller faster. Plus, this way you can enjoy your food longer!

I would go on with more ways to help but then this blog post would be going on for PAGES. So I will leave the link and your are interested you can go and check out the rest. Over all this article had good points and helpful ways to help keep your body healthy this holiday season. 
 
http://www.active.com/nutrition/Articles/10_Strategies_to_Prevent_the_Holiday_Bulge.htm?page=2

Recognizing Significance

It is common sense on why physical fitness is essential to our everyday lives. Not only does physical fitness help keep our bodies healthy and fit, but physical fitness also has a lot of other benefits. . With me becoming a personal trainer, it is so important to know all the good effects fitness has on yourself and your clients. I found an article online that shows the importance in different aspects of your life and body. Here are a few:
 

Cardiovascular Endurance: Cardiovascular endurance is nothing but the measurement of your heart's strength. It also implies the ability of the body to deliver oxygen and nutrients to tissues and to remove wastes. Physical fitness helps you achieve cardiovascular endurance and helps to increase the oxygen flow to all the body muscles.

Muscular Strength: A balanced and regular fitness regimen helps to increase the ability of muscles to exert force and sustain contraction. In short, to put it simply - a regular workout will make your muscles stronger and thus, increase your overall strength.

Flexibility: A regular workout session will ensure that you move your joints and muscles to their fullest extent and hence, it will increase the flexibility of these joints and your overall body. Flexibility in body movements is achieved only through physical fitness.

Body Composition: One of the indicators of physical fitness is a balanced and healthy body composition. Minimum of fat and maximum of lean mass is a sign of a healthy and fit body. The lean mass includes muscles, bones, vital tissues and organs.

Healthy Mind: A healthy mind dwells in a healthy body. Any exercise included in your fitness regimen, will lead to the production of endorphins in the body. Endorphins are chemicals that make you feel happy and hence a healthy, physically fit body is always accompanied by a healthy mind.

Drive-away Illness: Yes, it is true. Moderated and balanced workout in a fitness regimen helps to boost the immune system of the body. Fully functional and strong body immunity means that your body develops the strength to ward off diseases and infections

 

Overall, becoming a personal trainer would not only help people feel better about their bodies and physical apperance, but I would be helping them in so many more ways then I ever thought. Eating healthy, exercising, and having a good attitude is the simple way to living a long, great life.

Manohar, Uttara. Importance of physical fitness. "Buzzle."2011. Web. 31 Oct. 2012.

Getting Hands On

Considering my goal is to be a personal trainer, I felt the need to actually try and be physically active. LOL But in all seriousness, I have done workouts before, but I wanted a workout that was really going to test my physical ability. So, I found this hot yoga class offered at the dance studio that I teach at; Spartan Dance Center. Hot yoga consists of strength training, flexibility and core control. However, you are performing all of these moves in a room about 90 degrees or warmer. This helps to release the muscles and allow toxins to escape from the body. While taking this class, not only was my flexibility and strength tested, but it actually taught me to breath and focus on my body. I felt like this was a huge success because not only did this help and push my body to limits I didn't know I could do, but it helped me to relax and clear my head. I would recommend anyone to take this class. It helps relieve stress, tighten your core, improve flexibility and not to mention you will sweat like crazy. These are all very important concepts to grasp while actually preparing yourself to do a scheduled workout. Having focus, strength and flexibility can give you endless workout possibilities. So try and drop in a hot yoga class near you, you would be surprised what it will do for you.

Funny but True

I cannot stress the importance of finding a gym that is right for you. Some people would like to argue and say that there is no need for a gym when you can workout at home or outside but in reality, having a community of people that are accomplishing the same thing as you are is more than just motivational. Belonging to a gym can help not only push you towards your goal, but make your over all workout experience more enjoyable. I just thought this commercial was the PERFECT blend of humor and straight facts.

Contemplating Controversy

It was difficult to find a controversy against fitness, because in reality, being fit is crucial for a healthy lifestyle. However, I did find an article on the controversy of people who think that it is impossible to gain a ton of weight and loose it all right away. Sort of like being fit and then loosing yourself a bit and gaining it all back. Most people think that once you re-put the weight on, there is no healthy way of getting back to your normal body. However, I found an article that showed a man who was a personal trainer and he wanted to prove to his clients how easy it would be to get your body back to health. So, he gained 75 pounds in 6 months and began to blog and write a book about the struggles of being fat, and how to re-gain the fit body everyone dreams of. During this process he realized that as he gained more weight, he became more tired, and lazy and even his wife complained that he wasn't helping out as much through the relationship. He even mentioned that his relationship was taking a great tole while he gained this weight. Over all, he explained how although people think it is near impossible to ever get that "perfect" body back, with hard work and dedication it was possible. He proved that whether you just had a baby, went through a tough time, or just put on some weight, it is never impossible to get fit once again. 


Check out more on the article @
Jio, Sarah. Healthy Controversy:This Fitness Trainer Gained 75 Pounds to Show the World How to Lose It. Glamour Health and Diet, 2012. Web. 21 Oct. 2012.