Get T.O.N.E.D at Longwood Fitcorp

Class: Toned
Date & Time: Thursday 12:05-12:55pm
Instructor: Rachel Coleman


T.O.N.E.D is a class that will benefit anyone from fitness enthusiasts, novice exercisers, to former and current athletes. While this class may seem intimidating. everyone who frequents T.O.N.E.D. leaves completely satisfied.

Warning:

Regularly participating in T.O.N.E.D may result in cardiovascular health, strength, and a new found passion for exercise. Here is what one particular patron of T.O.N.E.D had to say about the class”

"Classes like T.O.N.E.D are few and far between. I look forward to it every week. Rachel sure knows how to push me to my limits. I love how she keeps it fresh every week. Just when I think I’m getting in good shape, she challenges me a little more. I‘ve been an athlete all my life, and been going to the gym regularly for 15 years; I’ve tried my fair share of Group Fitness classes. All I can say is that T.O.N.E.D is the best of the best. It’s also FREE for members! My only complaint is that T.O.N.E.D isn’t held more than once a week!”

Best and Worst Cookout Foods

Did Your Favorites Make the Cut?
Summer is almost here, and that means outdoor parties and cookouts with friends and family. If you’re trying to eat healthier, it can seem hard to find good choices at the picnic table. But you don’t have to hide out until September just to resist temptation. Whether you're a host or a guest, you can enjoy the best of barbecue season without padding your waistline. Use this guide to choose food that's light, healthy and refreshing at any backyard blowout.

Burgers 'n Dogs
Hamburgers and hot dogs are a big part of summer eating but they don’t have to be a diet disaster. Start with a 100% whole wheat bun instead of white for a healthy dose of fiber and watch the fat content of the meat. The average beef and pork hot dog contains about 180 calories and 17 grams of fat before you add a bun and toppings. Turkey dogs are tasty and won’t sabotage your diet—you can have two of them for less than100 calories. If you’re going for a burger, stay away from the high-fat toppings like cheese, mayo and bacon. Choose cheese slices made with skim milk to reduce the fat content and load your burger with mustard and fresh veggies instead.
To read more.

Diet:
Problem: Eating three big meals a day.
Solution: More meals (5-6 per day), less food per meal. Most people still stick to the outdated advice of 3 big meals per day. The problem with that advice is most people stagger their meals too far apart often resulting in overeating at each meal. Whatever your body isn’t using for energy gets stored as fat. Eating this way is also metabolically inefficient for calorie burning. By eating before you’re starving at regular 2-3 hour intervals you keep your metabolism working throughout the day often resulting in more energy and more calories burned per day and less food stored as fat.

Problem: Eating processed foods and simple sugars
Solution: Don’t eat anything that comes in a box and avoid simple sugars/carbohydrates. Complex carbs such as those found in brown rice, whole wheat bread etc help regulate glycogen and insulin levels in the body leaving us with more energy for longer periods of time, and tricking the body into feeling fuller longer. Simple carbs such as those found in white bread, white rice, soda etc are processed quickly resulting in quick bursts of increased energy and the subsequent crash. Furthermore if those simple carbs are not being used for energy as you eat them your body will store it as fat! Processed foods have so many negative effects and short comings compared to their non processed counterparts it would take pages to explain. For brevity’s sake, try to only eat foods that ran on land, swam in water, or grew from the earth, minus the human additives. Organic is good.

To learn more about what to eat to fuel your workouts, please contact one of our registered dietitians.

Men Keep Bone Benefits From Early Exercise

by Joy Keller
Men who participate in sports activities in their late teens enjoy bone-building benefits that stick around for years. This is the case even if they stop training, according to a study published in the August issue of The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (2006; 91 [7], 2600–2604).
Physical activity is known to increase bone mineral density (BMD), which reduces the likelihood of fractures in later life. While people achieve peak BMD after reaching puberty, there is evidence that exercise has the greatest bone-building effect during childhood and early puberty. These researchers wanted to examine the effect of physical activity on BMD “after puberty in men” (something that has not been well investigated) and to explore whether the benefits of early-life exercise for bone strength persist if a person stops training.
To investigate, the scientists followed 63 athletes and 27 nonathlete control subjects for 8 years. The average age was 17 when the study began. At the outset, all the athletes, who were either ice hockey or badminton players, had been training for an average of 10 years and were actively training about 9 hours a week. Their workouts included soccer, long-distance running and strength training. This group had a higher average BMD than the control group.
More than 2 years into the study, the athletes showed increases in BMD compared with the control group. At the second follow-up, about 51/2 years into the study, 27 athletes had ceased training and showed BMD losses compared with their active counterparts. By the third follow-up, almost 8 years after the start, an additional 13 athletes had stopped training. This group showed greater BMD losses than either the controls or the athletes who were still active. However, at this last follow-up, even the athletes who had stopped training had higher BMD measurements than the control group—with gains sufficient to cut their future fracture risk by 50%. Of particular interest to the study authors: the men retained their training benefits in the hip area, where fractures in later life can be particularly crippling.

To maximize your fat loss, try these workouts. For assistance in designing effective, safe workouts, consult with a certified personal trainer.
Go Hard
A great way to perform high-intensity exercise and decrease your body fat percentage is through interval training, which breaks up the work with periods of rest. Not only does interval training allow you to improve your fitness quickly; it is also more effective than continuous exercise for burning lots of calories during exercise and increasing your postworkout metabolic rate. Try one or two of these workouts each week:
•5–6 x 3 minutes at 95%–100% maximum (max) heart rate (HR) with 2-minute active recovery periods
•4 x 4 minutes at 95%–100% max HR with 3-minute active recovery periods
•8–12 x 30 seconds fast with 1-minute active recovery periods
Each of these interval workouts should include a warm-up and a cool-down.
Go Very Long Long runs or bike rides (≥ 1.5–2 hours at 65%–70% max HR) that stimulate mitochondrial synthesis and promote the depletion of glycogen threaten the muscles’ survival, since carbohydrates are muscles’ preferred fuel. In response to this threat, muscles “learn” how to use fat more effectively and over time become better fat-burning machines.

Challenge Question Answer

True or False: Do you really need to drink sports drinks when you workout?

No, not really. Most people who drink them haven’t worked hard enough to need them. Plain water is great, but I know not as tasty as the variety of sports drinks and flavored waters available on the market. When considering these drinks, be careful. You want to ensure that you are not taking in too many calories, sugars and or carbohydrates. To learn more, read this article.


ANSWER: False

Challenge Question Answer

Static stretching is often not effective for knots in your muscles. Knots in your muscles don’t stretch because they are stuck. But when you foam roll, WOW, I know it’s painful, but it hits the knot and helps to release it. To learn more about foam rolling or for a list of specific foam roll exercises and to learn proper use and technique contact: sberry@fitcorp.com
To learn more about the benefits of foam rolling, visit http://ow.ly/1IcA5

ANSWER: TRUE

Fattest Cities in America

You can rest easy. Boston Massachusetts is not the fattest city in America. That accolade belongs to Corpus Christi, Texas. Boston is the 52nd fattest city in America according to Men's Health Magazine.

To arrive at their rankings, they calculated the percentage of people who are overweight, the percentage with type 2 diabetes, the percentage who haven't left the couch in a month (CDC Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System); the money spent on junk food (Bureau of Labor Statistics); and finally, the number of people who ate fast food nine or more times in a month (Mediamark Research). What are the top ten "fat cities" behind Corpus Christi Texas? Charleston, W. VA, El Paso, TX, Dallas, TX, Memphis TN, Kansas City, MO, San Antonio, TX, Baltimore, MD, Houston TX and Birmingham, AL.

Next time you are contemplating your ninth meal of the month at McDonalds, think again. You don't want to be responsible for MA rising in the "Fat City" rankings. If you haven't lifted your bottom of the sofa lately or started working out, make today the day you are going to commit to being a better you... healthier, stronger and thinner. Fitcorp is here to help.

More sobering statistics about smoking, drinking and lack of exercise

It’s not shocking to learn that smoking, drinking heavily, poor diet and lack of exercise is devastating to your health, but the level of devastation might be. A recent study that tracked 5,000 British adults for 20 years found that these four common bad health habits, combined, can age a person by up to 12 years! The study was reported in a recent Boston Globe article.

A person is considered to be practicing these bad habits if they smoke cigarettes, drink more than three alcoholic beverages a day for men (two for women), exercise less than two hours per week, and eat fruits and vegetables less than three times a day, the study said.

Another sobering statistic from the study showed that, of the 314 people who had all four unhealthy behaviors, 91 died (29 percent), compared to only 8 percent of those who didn’t practice any of the bad habits.

To learn more about the study, read the article, and let us know what you think: http://ow.ly/1Fg4N

Challenge Question Answer

Interval training alternates fast and slow speeds and can be performed on a variety of cardiovascular equipment, including: stairmaster, elliptical, rowing machine or treadmill. A 2005 study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology showed 6 of 8 individuals doubled their endurance with just 2 weeks of interval training. Give it a try! To discuss an interval training program with a Fitcorp Trainer, contact: Sam Berry (sberry@fitcorp.com).

ANSWER: TRUE

Challenge Question Answer

The American Council on Exercise recently published a study, which showed that a specific kettlebell workout burned as many calories as running at a 6-minute mile pace. You can get your strength and aerobic workouts in simultaneously. Now that’s efficient! Yes, of course the kettlebell workout was a challenging one and something to work up to, but you can start with learning the basics, and before you know it, you’ll feel like you just ran your fastest mile since college. Many Fitcorp locations have group kettlebell training sessions available as well as one-on-one instruction.

ANSWER: TRUE

Click the link to learn more about the study http://ow.ly/1CbKM

Challenge Question Answer

According to a recent study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania, people who exercised with partners lost at least 5 percent of their body weight while those who exercised alone lost less than 5 percent. Not only can working out with a friend be fun, help keep you consistent and motivated, it also develops healthy competition, which can help you reach your fitness goals. So grab a gym buddy you already know at Fitcorp, or bring a new workout buddy to Fitcorp so you can reach your goals together!

ANSWER: TRUE

Read more about the study and let us know what you think http://ow.ly/1zkQh

Challenge Question Answer

For years, we’ve been hearing our members say they don’t want to challenge their muscles by lifting heavier weights because they want to achieve a lean, toned look. So instead, they choose to lift lighter weights and do extra repetitions, thinking it is the best way to get the physique they have been longing for. The fact is, lifting heavier weights only makes you big and bulky if you combine it with a heavy daily calorie consumption.

Multiple studies in the past decade have concluded that challenging your muscles and doing fewer repetitions is the best way to get the lean muscle tone that so many people are looking for (combined with a well-balanced healthy diet, of course).

The New York Times set the record straight last week on this old exercise myth. Read the article and let us know what you think. http://ow.ly/1wDrv

ANSWER: False

Challenge Question #1 Answer

Although cardiovascular exercise can be a good warm up for strength training, you may consider reversing the order if you are doing a particularly challenging cardio session that day so you don’t deplete all of your energy stores. It takes some experimenting to determine what works best for you based on the intensity and style of the cardio and strength workouts you plan to do. A Fitcorp Trainer can help you determine the best order based on your work-out program, contact: Sam Berry (sberry@fitcorp.com), he can set you up with a trainer that will help you meet your workout goals.

Answer: It’s up to you.

For more information visit: http://ow.ly/1uFbr

Study: Women Need an Hour of Daily Exercise to Stay Fit

A new study from The Journal of the American Medical Association came out last week saying that women need to exercise one hour a day to keep their weight stable as they get older. But we want to know how many hours per day men have to work out as they get older to remain fit? The Boston Globe wrote a story about this last week, but we want to hear from you. Read the article and let us know what you think. http://ow.ly/1sMFu

3rd Annual Fitcorp Company Challenge

The 3rd Annual Fitcorp Company Challenge was held at the Boston Racquet Club on Saturday, March 20th. With the defending champions, One Beacon St., walking in with the trophy in-hand, teams were geared up and ready to bring the trophy home to their club!

The Company Challenge was born to bring the entire company of Fitcorp together for an evening of food, games and fun. With busy schedules and other center happenings going on all the time, it is difficult to get together and interact with other Fitcorp peers. The Company Challenge boast games such as sumo wrestling, jousting, ping pong, four square, and an obstacle course, among many others.

The competitive side of everyone always shines through at this event to see which team will prevail in the end. The last event of the night is always a “Spirit Competition” where each club performs a skit in front of the owners to be judged. With tight competition throughout the night, the BRC went into the Spirit Competition in first place. After some great laughs and hysterical mannerisms, Longwood came from behind to pull out the overall victory and walk away with the trophy!

In the end, it was a successful night, with great friends and coworkers. It’s days like these that make a person glad he/she works for Fitcorp.

The Workout Distractions Debate

Have we gone too far with our iPods, Kindles and portable DVD players while we exercise?

Don’t get us wrong, any workout is better than not working out at all, but if your fitness goal is to have six-pack abs or cross the finish line on Marathon Monday, these distractions could be slowing your pace, taking the focus off your form, and limiting your true potential.

But for many people around the world, it is these electronic distractions that single-handedly give them the motivation to go to the gym on a regular basis. So, are they good or bad? Wow. … This is a tough one.

The New York Times touched on this interesting debate in an article last week. So, where do you weigh-in? Read the article and let the arguments begin.

Guest Fitblog: Val

Hey fitness lovers! My name is Val and I’m a 22-year-old student at Northeastern University who leads a busy life both in and outside of Boston. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been overweight. But unlike most overweight people, I have never lost my confidence. While I am ashamed of how unhealthy I became, I am proud that I have embraced the opportunity to fix it. In the past, I have tried going to the gym but just couldn’t stick with it. After reevaluating my life towards the end of last year, I decided that when I started this final co-op cycle, I was going to start something else too: my new life.

After leaving my job interview last fall at Reservoir Place in Waltham, I noticed that there was a FitCorp right in the building, which sparked my interest. And after starting my job in January, one of the first emails I received was to sign up for FitCorp’s “Ultimate Loser Challenge.” Instantly, I was intrigued. I knew that having a fire lit under me and having teammates depending on my weight loss would motivate me. I started this challenge at the heaviest weight I’ve ever been and have lost 20 lbs in two months, which has already brought my BMI down nearly 3 percent. My goal for this six-month co-op cycle is to lose at least 40 lbs (hopefully more!) and my long-term goal is to lose 70 lbs by the end of the year (of course toning myself along the way).

Since the challenge started, I have been attending two training classes a week along side other Ultimate Loser competitors, but have also been meeting with the trainer on my own once a week. The trainers/staff at FitCorp in Waltham are great and always willing to help! I’m at the gym Monday through Friday every week. On days when I’m not in a fitness class (and even some days when I am) I try to do at least 45 minutes to an hour on an elliptical and then various weight training on machines.

Throughout the weeks of the Ultimate Loser Challenge, I have attended these classes: Power of Speed (spinning and weights), Circuit City (circuit weight training), Highway to Bell (kettlebell training), Do you think you can ply? (plyometrics), and Core til you Crawl (core training). I love it! Having different classes every week that focus on different aspects of fitness has been really informative for me. I now know that when these classes are through, I’d love to take a spinning class and that if I want to burn a quick 600-800 calories, I can swing around a kettle bell for 30 minutes.

I’ve also started the “Couch to 5K” running training program. Running is something that I’ve never been good at due to a knee problem. This program starts you off slow and gradually introduces running for long periods of time, something that seemed realistically achievable to me. Eventually, once I start to become a better runner, I would love to set my sights on completing a half marathon.

Being a part of this challenge has changed my life. I decided early on that exercising was not enough and that I needed to count calories and eat healthier too. I found some online tools and started a new life of eating right and exercising. Every week I shop for fresh foods and cook healthy meals that I weigh out and portion correctly. I have learned about how to get out of plateaus and zig-zagging calories. And the most informative thing of all was the knowledge that eating too little can stunt your weight loss and ultimately slow down your metabolism. I’m finally losing weight the healthy way and I feel good about myself and have a lot more energy!

Fitcorp Members of the Month: March

We are proud to announce the March 2010 “Fitcorp Members of the Month.” This honor is just a small tribute to these members’ dedication to fitness, positive attitudes, and embodiment of what it means to be a Fitcorp member.


Cindy Jones (Prudential):

Cindy has been a dedicated member of Fitcorp for 19 years. She has participated in Fitcorp’s Book Club and also recently took part in our Ultimate Loser competition. Within the last few months, Cindy has lost over 20 pounds and has an amazing new attitude towards life and fitness. Fitcorp would like to congratulate Cindy on all of her accomplishments, as well as her determination to achieve her fitness goals.

Thank you Cindy for your continued involvement and for all of your hard work!


Sulpicio Soriano (Longwood):

Sulpicio has been a member at Fitcorp since 1989! He regularly participates in many of our group fitness classes as well as a strength training every morning before work! He is a prime example of how exercising on a regular basis can keep you healthy and allow you to live a longer and fuller life! He is a great representative of what every member of Fitcorp is trying to achieve.

Interval Training Can Cut Exercise Hours Sharply

By MARIA CHENG
The Associated Press
Thursday, February 25, 2010; 12:28 AM

LONDON - People who complain they have no time to exercise may soon need another excuse.

Some experts say intense exercise sessions could help people squeeze an entire week's workout into less than an hour. Intense exercise regimens, or interval training, was originally developed for Olympic athletes and thought to be too strenuous for normal people.

But in recent years, studies in older people and those with health problems suggest many more people might be able to handle it. If true, that could revolutionize how officials advise people to exercise - and save millions of people hours in the gym every week. It is also a smarter way to exercise, experts say.

"High-intensity interval training is twice as effective as normal exercise," said Jan Helgerud, an exercise expert at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. "This is like finding a new pill that works twice as well ... we should immediately throw out the old way of exercising."

Intense interval training means working very hard for a few minutes, with rest periods in between sets. Experts have mostly tested people running or biking, but other sports like rowing or swimming should also work.

Helgerud recommends people try four sessions lasting four minutes each, with three minutes of recovery time in between. Unless you're an elite athlete, it shouldn't be an all-out effort.

"You should be a little out of breath, but you shouldn't have the obvious feeling of exhaustion," Helgerud said.

In Britain and the U.S., officials recommend that people get about two and a half hours each week of moderate exercise.

Helgerud says that time could be slashed dramatically if people did interval training instead. He said officials have been too afraid of recommending intense training, fearing it might be too much for some people.

"I'm much more afraid of people not exercising at all," he said. "Inactivity is what's killing us."

When compared to people on a normal exercise routine, like jogging, research has shown those doing interval training can double their endurance, improve their oxygen use and strength by more than 10 percent, and their speed by at least 5 percent. Even studies in the elderly and in heart patients found they had better oxygen use and fitness after doing interval training.

Still, most studies have been done in young, healthy adults, and experts advise people to consult a doctor before starting any fitness program.

For Adamson Nicholls, a 36-year-old Londoner and martial arts enthusiast, interval training is a way to boost his endurance so he can outlast sparring opponents. "It's a shortcut to explosive fitness," he said, adding the training results in snappier and heavier punches.

Using interval training, Nicholls got into top shape last year in about six weeks, using weekly 45-minute sessions. He estimates the same level would have taken about three months via regular training.

Experts say that's because intense bursts of activity are precisely what the body needs to build stronger muscles. Traditional workouts lasting an hour or more simply don't push the body enough.

"A lot of the (benefits) from exercise are due to a stress response," said Stephen Bailey, a sports sciences expert at the University of Exeter. "If you disturb your muscles, there's an imbalance created and your body will start signaling pathways that result in adjustments."

Bailey said intense bursts of exercise help the body to convert one type of muscle fiber into another type that uses oxygen more efficiently and is capable of exercising a lot longer. Even though interval training only takes a few minutes, its effects last for hours.

"You've exercised at such a high intensity that you're going to create a massive disturbance in your muscles," Bailey said. That creates a higher metabolism for several hours afterward, which the body will bring down by burning fat and carbohydrates.

Helgerud and others predicted that as further studies confirm interval training is safe for wider populations, authorities will include it in their exercise guidelines.

"This is definitely the way forward to save time on your exercise," Nicholls said. "The results are worth it."

Forever Young - You Can Be Fit at Any Age

“Determination is why mentally I feel like I am 25, physically I am 35 and, I bet, no one in here could guess my real age. Shhhh, my 80th birthday was Thursday, (January 28th. 2010)”

Tony Costa is a life long Boston resident and a recent member here at Fitcorp. At nearly 80 years old, we had to know where he finds his strength and motivation to spend up to three hours a day here, 5 – 6 days a week, doing everything from spinning to free weights. Recently, we got a chance to sit down with Tony to ask him how he does it.

Tony’s fitness path started out when he was just 12 years old. In the years that followed, his active lifestyle grew quickly and soon Tony was an avid boxer. As his fitness level developed, so did Tony’s interest in other activities. After spending over 20 years cycling and walking 10 miles a day, Tony’s dedication level grew when he purchased a spin bike so he could continue to spin and walk 10 miles while being a companion to his wife, Helen.

Tony’s dedication to fitness is an example for everyone to follow. “When I walk in here I am half asleep but I do it to stay active. Fitness is all about determination and drive. Love yourself and do something to keep your heart alive. I appreciate Fitcorp for its energetic staff, which makes sure to wake me up most days. Most importantly I value its positive attitudes. Without a positive attitude I would have never made it to 80, never mind 25 or 35.”

Tony continues to be a positive influence on all of us here at Fitcorp and acts as an inspiration to other members by reminding everyone to “keep it up”. His fitness plan is something that should not only be admired, but also practiced. Tony’s commitment to staying fit reminds everyone, “If I can do it at 80, you have no excuses.”