Take Back Control of Your Exercise Routine this Fall (Word Count: 564)

With kids going back to school and summer vacations coming to an end, it is the perfect time for you to take back control of your life by getting back into a regular exercise routine and getting back on track to living a healthy and fit lifestyle. To help you get back into the fitness groove this fall, we offer the following three tips for re-activating and enhancing your exercise routine.

Go Back to Basics

If you’ve taken a break from your regular exercise routine during the summer months, you may be eager to jump back into where you left off before your exercise hiatus. When getting back into your exercise routine, though, it is important to start with the basics to get your mind and body acclimated to a regular, consistent exercise regimen. If you jump back in too fast and take on more than your body can handle too soon, you run the risk of sidelining injuries, early burnout and fatigue – all conditions that can keep you out of the fitness studio well past the summer months.

Get Moving

According to the World Health Organization, physical inactivity is the fourth leading risk factor for all global deaths, with 31 percent of the world’s population not physically fit.¹ As a society, we need to make a concentrated effort to get our bodies moving to not only increase our mortality rates, but to put ourselves in a more positive position to live a physically fit and healthy lifestyle. To get started on increasing your body’s movement, you can make some simple changes every day that can make a big difference to your life. For instance, take a 30-minute walk each evening with your family, ride your bike to run errands instead of driving, replace workplace breaks in the kitchen with walking breaks around the block, turn off the television and play an active game with your family instead of laying on the couch, or sign up for a recreational sports league for increased weekly movement and friendly competition.

Make It a Habit

When exercise becomes a part of your daily schedule, it quickly becomes less of a chore and more of a habit. You can make exercise a habit by doing your workouts at the same time each day, creating a routine you can follow and adapt on a daily/weekly/monthly basis, and including a support group environment (trainer, friends, family) that provides accountability and encouragement. When exercise becomes a habit, you help to eliminate the mental tendency to skip a workout and create a more positive mind set that is focused and dedicated to exercising regularly.

Changing your current lifestyle – even when it’s for the good – can sometimes feel overwhelming and intimidating. By breaking up your overall objectives into more manageable smaller changes like the ones listed above, you can create a foundation that will lead you to successfully meeting your lifestyle goals. The expert trainers at Fitness Together can help guide you through your journey of re-activating and enhancing your fitness routine this fall by creating a personalized health and fitness plan that addresses your specific goals and needs. Give our studio a call today to jump start your exercise routine and begin feeling better, looking better and performing better than you ever thought possible.

provided by:

Kelly Huggins

¹World Health Organization (WHO)

Fitness Transcends into your Work life!

Fitness Transcends into your Work Life

Studies show that businesspeople who exercise usually out compete their counterparts! A few years ago I got an interesting phone call from the employer (let's say his name is Ed) of a client (let's say his name is Mike).  He started the conversation with the question, "What the heck are you doing to Mike?  He's not the same guy!" Though Mike had a physical transformation and lost a lot of weight, this was not what Ed was referring to.  He was talking about the change of attitude that Mike had.  He mentioned that Mike seemed more confident, less stressed (i.e. less mean as they got in frequent arguments), he was becoming a better leader, was doing a better job, called in sick less, et cetera.  He just went on and on.  Of course, we continued to discuss the benefits of a well-rounded fitness program that extends beyond physical changes.  By the end of the conversation, I was lined up to do a speaking engagement at his office of about 35 employees and he scheduled to start training with me. Through the years, I have had the pleasure of training and advising clients with a diversity of professional careers.  Regardless of the type of profession one belongs, they all share similar benefits as it relates to eating right and exercising.  Knowing that Labor Day is right around the corner, I cannot think of a better time to talk to you about just a few of those benefits as it relates to you and the workplace. #1 Improve Self-Esteem-  If you look in the mirror and you're not too happy with the way you look, you express that "self-image" to everyone else at work.  Studies show that if you are overweight, you tend to be more depressed and less self-confident.  Whereas, those who exercise regularly and reach an optimal, realistic weight are much more confident and happy. #2 Improved Mental Capacity- With as much information and workload you have to deal with today, it is important to keep your mind clear and sharp.  If you want to exercise your mind better, you must exercise the body.  This will lead to greater productivity. #3 Less Stress-  The pressures of work can take its toll on the mind and body.  In their article "The Making of a Corporate Athlete" (Harvard Business Review), Jim Loehr and Tony Swartz state, "emotional and mental recovery can only be achieved by incorporating the elements of weight lifting, cardiovascular exercise, eating right, and getting plenty of rest."  As experts in worker productivity, they have found that those engaged in exercise programs work fewer hours, yet get more done. There is no question that a proper diet and exercise program makes you more productive, less sick (decreased absenteeism), and more confident.  Sadly, many people use the excuse that they have "no time for exercise," because of their work schedule.  However, by simply doing the opposite, you can actually get more done. provided by: Kelly Huggins, A-CPT Exercise Science, B.S. Fitness Together - Fitness/Nutrition Coach

Fitness Transcends into your Work life!

The Working Athlete

A few years ago I got an interesting phone call from the employer (let's say his name is Ed) of a client (let's say his name is Mike).  He started the conversation with the question, "What the heck are you doing to Mike?  He's not the same guy!"

Though Mike had a physical transformation and lost a lot of weight, this was not what Ed was referring to.  He was talking about the change of attitude that Mike had.  He mentioned that Mike seemed more confident, less stressed (i.e. less mean as they got in frequent arguments), he was becoming a better leader, was doing a better job, called in sick less, et cetera.  He just went on and on.  Of course, we continued to discuss the benefits of a well-rounded fitness program that extends beyond physical changes.  By the end of the conversation, I was lined up to do a speaking engagement at his office of about 35 employees and he scheduled to start training with me.

Through the years, I have had the pleasure of training and advising clients with a diversity of professional careers.  Regardless of the type of profession one belongs, they all share similar benefits as it relates to eating right and exercising.  Knowing that Labor Day is right around the corner, I cannot think of a better time to talk to you about just a few of those benefits as it relates to you and the workplace.

#1 Improve Self-Esteem-  If you look in the mirror and you're not too happy with the way you look, you express that "self-image" to everyone else at work.  Studies show that if you are overweight, you tend to be more depressed and less self-confident.  Whereas, those who exercise regularly and reach an optimal, realistic weight are much more confident and happy.

#2 Improved Mental Capacity- With as much information and workload you have to deal with today, it is important to keep your mind clear and sharp.  If you want to exercise your mind better, you must exercise the body.  This will lead to greater productivity.

#3 Less Stress-  The pressures of work can take its toll on the mind and body.  In their article "The Making of a Corporate Athlete" (Harvard Business Review), Jim Loehr and Tony Swartz state, "emotional and mental recovery can only be achieved by incorporating the elements of weight lifting, cardiovascular exercise, eating right, and getting plenty of rest."  As experts in worker productivity, they have found that those engaged in exercise programs work fewer hours, yet get more done.

There is no question that a proper diet and exercise program makes you more productive, less sick (decreased absenteeism), and more confident.  Sadly, many people use the excuse that they have "no time for exercise," because of their work schedule.  However, by simply doing the opposite, you can actually get more done.

written by
Kelly Huggins, A-CPT
Exercise Science, B.S.

Would you like Kelly to come speak at your office about how Fitness Perfects Success and/or Common Weight Loss and Fitness Myths?  


E-mail him at kellyhuggins@fitnesstogether.com.  (Kelly's recent CNN video) 


Read testimonial below:

"Thank you so much for taking your time to come to ING and speak to our employees about weight loss and fitness myths.  The interest and turnout for this session was much higher than other wellness and health management topics we have hosted.  Our employees said they really enjoyed it and they told us they learned new concepts about fitness and weight management that were very impactful.  Your presentation and team were very engaging and we look forward to having you back to share other topics of interest."

Kim Shattuck 
Head of Benefits 
ING Americas 

Four Tips to Improve Your Healthy Lifestyle

Living a fit and healthy lifestyle doesn’t happen overnight. It takes a consistent and dedicated effort to not only become physically fit, but to maintain a healthy lifestyle in the long-term. Although exercising consistently and eating a nutritious diet are the cornerstones to achieving a healthy lifestyle, the following four quick tips can help improve your efforts, as well as provide some fun and memorable experiences along the way.

Lifestyle Improvement Tip #1: Turn Up the Tunes

The popularity of MP3 players on the workout scene has brought about various research findings that support the benefits of exercising to your favorite playlists. Motivation, increased workout tempos and positive mental influences may all be associated with turning up the tunes during an exercise session. New research published earlier this year, though, has found that music may also be beneficial after a hard workout to enhance your body’s recovery. The study published earlier this year in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning suggests that listening to motivational music during workout recovery times following intense exercise can lead to increased activity, faster lactate clearance and enhanced body recovery.¹

Lifestyle Improvement Tip #2: Race to the Finish

As the weather gets cooler and everyone settles in for winter preparation, the fall season is one of the most popular times of the year for running races, triathlons and fitness competitions. A fall family 5K or fitness event can be a fun and memorable experience to enhance and energize your workout routine. By following a training plan for your fall event and completing the activity either on your own or as part of a family/group of friends, you can gain a sense of accomplishment and pride that will drive you to continue improving you and your family’s healthy lifestyles.

Furthermore, writing down specific health and fitness goals associated with a race or fitness event can help keep you focused and on track to realizing monumental accomplishments. Clear and concise goals help eliminate the clutter that can build up in your busy life and mind, while giving you a concrete reason (finish a race, beat a personal best time/record, etc.) to stay motivated, eat well and work out on a consistent basis.

Lifestyle Improvement Tip #3: Get Some More Z’s

With work deadlines, family commitments and busy back-to-school schedules, sleep can easily become overlooked. Getting an adequate amount of sleep per night, though, does more than just rest your body and mind – at least eight hours of sleep per night helps to prevent weight gain, diabetes and heart disease. While everyone may wish they could sleep in more often, realistically, that may not be an option. If you struggle to get enough sleep each night, you can start setting up more healthy sleep habits by going to bed 15 minutes earlier for a week, followed by 15 minutes earlier the next week and so on, until you reach your desired bedtime that will leave you with eight hours of valuable sleep.

In addition to getting enough sleep each night, it also is important to get quality sleep. Recent research has shown that individuals who exercised regularly (logged at least 150 minutes of physical activity each week) reported 65 percent better sleep quality. The individuals in the study who exercised regularly fell asleep faster, reported less daytime sleepiness and more daily productivity than those who weren’t as active.² By focusing this fall on getting enough quality sleep each night, you can take steps toward positively improving your overall lifestyle.

Lifestyle Improvement Tip #4: Replace Multi-Tasking with Single-Tasking

Digital distractions are everywhere with smart phones, laptops, tablets and televisions filling up our days. While these tools can help you juggle the many hats you wear on a daily basis (parent, co-worker, friend, volunteer), it is important to unplug from these digital drainers on a regular basis and force yourself to focus on one thing at a time. For instance, leave your digital gadgets in your car or at home when you go into the studio for your daily workout so you can focus all of your mental and physical efforts on improving your healthy and fit lifestyle. This may help keep you from getting distracted during your workout so you won’t be tempted to peek at your work e-mails or social media status updates in-between squat sets. 

Healthy lifestyles take consistent, dedicated time and energy to establish and maintain. Using the four tips above is a good place to start implementing small changes in your life each day that can lead to huge improvements to your overall lifestyle. The experts at Fitness Together can further help you improve your lifestyle by taking your workout to a new level in a fun and energetic setting. Give our studio a call today to learn how our exceptional trainers will push you, motivate you and support you to elevate your fitness routine and exceed your personal expectations.

¹Journal of Strength & Conditioning, 2012

²Mental Health and Physical Activity, 2011