You have finally decided you are ready to start building muscle mass but you want to make sure that the time you invest will be worth it. It can be hard to know which exercises will give you the most bang for your buck (this is where hiring someone from my team can come in handy). There are a variety of exercises that are considered to be the best for building muscle, but some stand out as particularly effective. One of the most popular exercises is the squat, which targets the lower body, including the quads, hamstrings, and glutes. Squats are a compound exercise that engages multiple muscle groups at once, making them highly effective for building overall muscle mass. Additionally, squats can be performed with a barbell, dumbbells, or bodyweight, making them a versatile exercise for individuals of all fitness levels. Another highly effective exercise for building muscle is the deadlift. Similar to squats, deadlifts are a compound exercise that target multiple muscle groups, including the back, glutes, hamstrings, and calves. Deadlifts can also be performed with various equipment, including barbells, dumbbells, or kettlebells, making them a flexible exercise for those who want to build muscle at home or in the gym. Bench presses are another popular exercise that can help build muscle in the upper body, particularly the chest, triceps, and shoulders. Whether performed with a barbell or dumbbells, bench presses can be modified to target different areas of the chest and arms, making them a versatile exercise for building muscle mass in the upper body. It's important to note, however, that proper form is crucial when performing bench presses to avoid injury. If you are unsure of proper form a session or two with a personal trainer near you can be incredibly helpful. Finally, pull-ups and chin-ups are highly effective exercises for building muscle in the upper back, biceps, and forearms. These exercises can be performed with a pull-up bar or assisted machine, and they can be modified to increase or decrease the difficulty level based on an individual's fitness level. Pull-ups and chin-ups can be challenging at first, but with consistent practice, they can be an excellent exercise for building overall upper-body strength and muscle mass. While there are countless other exercises you can incorporate into your muscle building routine, getting proficient at these exercises will help you see some dramatic gains in muscle mass. If you are ready to commit to a new program, my team at Alison Roessler Fitness is ready to help you level up your health and fitness. Our team of personal trainers will help you smash all your goals.
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The pandemic has had a significant impact on the fitness industry. Gyms and fitness studios like Truve were forced to close during lockdowns and social distancing measures were put in place causing many fitness businesses to struggle to survive. One of the most significant impacts was that these closures caused people to shift towards online fitness. With people unable to go to the gym, many turned to online workouts and virtual training sessions as a way to stay active. This led to a surge in demand for at-home fitness equipment and online fitness subscriptions. The pandemic has also forced many fitness businesses to adapt their operations to meet new health and safety requirements. Gyms and fitness studios have had to implement strict cleaning protocols, limit class sizes, and enforce social distancing measures. At Truve we require everyone to be vaccinated to make sure we are keeping our clients as safe as possible. Now that the strictest of times is behind us, are you curious which is better for you, in person personal training sessions or classes or to continue with virtual personal training sessions over zoom or another platform? There are definite pros and cons to both. In person training sessions allow you to have personal connection, access to a larger variety of equipment, and improved form evaluation. Virtual sessions allow for more convenience if you have a busy schedule and can be great for those who travel often or are introverts. Virtual sessions are particularly great for those who do have a compromised immune system or live with someone who does. Personally, I recommend both. You have to figure out what works best for you at each stage of your life and make it work for you. All of our trainers at Alison Roessler Fitness and Truve can accommodate both in person and virtual personal training sessions. If the pandemic helped with one thing, it helped changed many people's attitudes towards health and fitness. The importance of staying healthy and fit to fight off illnesses was thrust into the spotlight. Many people have made a renewed commitment to their health and fitness. Are you one of those people? If you are looking for an amazing personal trainer to help you smash all your health and fitness goals, look no further. We are here to help! Let's get #hellafit When was the last time you were staying at a resort that offered aqua fitness classes? Usually it is some sort of aqua aerobics or Zumba class. You watch with amusement and embarrassment for the participants as they awkwardly move through the water doing what looks likes very little real exercise. Before you write all water exercise off as pointless, consider the benefits of the following new water fitness trends. AQUA YOGA This variation of yoga often makes the practice more available to beginners, those with limitations, and injuries. The gentle support of the water allows many people the opportunity to discover ranges of motion that they might find inaccessible on land. Many people also find that there is a mind/body connection that they are able to identify as they work from pose to pose. Pilates In The Pool Pilates is making a name for itself with younger fitness enthusiasts, professional athletes, and seniors alike. Pilates in the pool seems to be drawing attention from those very same groups who are looking for muscle conditioning exercises. Many Pilates classes in the pool use floating dumbbells or noodles to allow students to do many traditional Pilates moves such as plank. The instability of the water makes may exercises more challenging forcing students to pay extra attention to their breathing and posture. If you feel like you have a strong sense of core control and balance, give this class a try. Standup Paddleboarding Those fitness enthusiasts looking for a total body workout with a mindfulness component might enjoy standup paddleboarding. SUP is a great low impact form of exercise that uses all major muscle groups at one point or another. One added bonus of over all improved strength from SUP is increased balance. While on the board small stabilizing muscles must constantly be contracting in order to keep you on your board. Becoming more balanced in the unstable water will make maintaining balance on land much easier. Next time you get the opportunity to try one of these low impact workouts, give it a try. You might be surprised that they are more challenging than you think.
If you are ready to start a training program but are not sure where to start, visit us at Truve where we can set you up with an in person or virtual training program today. Halloween marks the beginning of holiday eating. We don't realize it until January or even February rolls around and our muffin tops are covered by comfy sweaters but the majority of Americans eat on average 1,200 extra calories per week during the holiday period of Halloween to New Years. How is it that we can eat so many more calories without even realizing it? Blame it on the homemade cookies in the break room or left over Halloween candy circulating the office. Most people believe that just one cookie or just one piece of candy won't impact their waistline. The truth is, one cookie won't impact your waistline, but a study done by the CDC of 5,222 employees across the US found that employees were eating 70% more than usual compared to other periods during the year from free foods found at work. People spend about 50% of their time at work and the empty calories add up! For the average person that would equate to .5-1 lbs of weight gain per week over the holidays. What can you do as an employee to help yourself and co-workers maintain dietary health through the festive holiday season? 1. Encourage your employer to offer wellness programs that promote healthier eating habits. 2. Encourage your employer to provide fruits, veggies, and other healthy options for snacks. 3. Organize a sexy salad lunch party in the office where each person brings a healthy salad ingredient to share and people build their own salads. 4. Bring in a nutrition counselor to help people better understand how what they are eating impacts them. 5. Organize a walking group that meets before work, at lunch, or after work. You do not have to be another holiday weight statistic. If you live or work in Oakland, Ca contact us at Truve to help you get a nutrition or fitness program started today! Did you know that about 20 million Americans suffer from depression? This doesn't take into account all of the people who suffer from another anxiety disorder. It is believed that about 40% of the population of the United States suffers from depression, an anxiety disorder, or a combination of the both. This means that you very likely know someone who's life is impacted by these conditions. What if you could help them reduce their symptoms of depression just by getting #hellafit with them? What if there was research that demonstrated a link between strength training and the reduction of depressive symptoms? Would you drag them with you to the gym? Dr. Brett Gordon, MS, from the University of Limerick, Ireland recently published data from a study that included 1,877 participants from 33 clinical trials that points to just that. While the studies did not determine precisely how the strength training might affect depression, Dr. Gordon offered a couple suggestions: "Cognitive and psychological mechanisms [could] include the expectancy is improved mental health following exercise, social interaction and social support, and improved cognitive control." In short, invite your friend who has been in a funk lately to get their pump on with you. The benefits could be limitless for both of you. Not sure where to start? Check out Yelp for reviews of local gyms in your area or Meetup for free fitness gatherings.
Ready to start a new training program or join in some awesome group fitness classes and live in Oakand or the East Bay? Check us out at Truve! We all know that it takes two healthy individuals to make a healthy baby. However sometimes, no matter how healthy we are, it can still be difficult to get pregnant. Recent studies show fertility can be affected by other common factors that might not have thought about. If you are planning to get pregnant or already trying, try making these 5 easy changes to help increase your body's fertility.
1. Reduce Stress If you are experiencing difficulties conceiving, a trip to the acupuncturist, massage therapist, or a yoga class could be beneficial; a recent study published in the journal Human Reproduction found that high stress levels have been linked with an increased risk of infertility. Researchers found that women with high levels of alpha-amylase (a hormone associated with your sympathetic nervous system) had a 29% lower chance of pregnancy and were 2x more at risk for infertility than women with low alpha-amylase levels. While we can't usually take off from work, forget the other kids, or our partners to slow down and relax a little, we can spend a few minutes to meditate, stretch, go for a walk in nature, or give ourselves a mini massage regardless of where we are. All of these things can help reduce stress levels and improve fertility. 2. Cut out Junk Food When you are not eating the right combinations of nutrients (Folate, monounsaturated fats, zinc, vitamin D, and B6), you could be paralyzing your body’s ability to regulate your reproductive hormones like progesterone, insulin, and testosterone. A nutrition plan high in leafy greens, lean proteins, and healthy fats is very important to help boost your fertility potential. In addition to a healthy diet being important, the time of day you eat is also very important. Clinical Science recently published that eating a nutritious breakfast daily, that is calorically dense helps improve fertility. 3.Eliminate Artificial Light at Night When is the last time you went to sleep without checking your phone, reading on your Kindle, or sending that last email only minutes before hitting the pillow? Most people are aware that the light emitted from our electronics can mess up our sleep cycles, throwing our Circadian rhythm off. According to research published in the journal Fertility and Sterility, artificial nighttime light exposure can harm both your ability to conceive and fetal development if you’re already pregnant. Exposure after dark to light exposure can limit melatonin production, a hormone that aids sleep, that’s also produced in the reproductive tract and helps block eggs from damaging free radicals, particularly during ovulation. When not enough melatonin is produced, a disruption may occur in a developing fetus’ internal clock, resulting in long-term problems, researchers suggest. Make sure face alarm clocks away from your face or cover them with a pillow, and power down electronics at least an hour before bed. Despite significant advances in the treatment of cardiovascular
(heart) disease, it is still the leading cause of death in the United States. Did you know that Diabetes, especially Type 2 Diabetes is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease? Death from heart disease is 2-4 times more likely in adults with diabetes than their counterparts without diabetes. There are several known factors that can increase your risk of developing and potentially dying from heart disease. Some of those include being male, obesity(especially weight in the abdomen), using any form of tobacco, and having higher total and bad LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels, and high blood pressure. These are all considered “classic” risk factors and are commonly monitored by healthcare professionals. There are other biological markers that can be watched to get a larger picture of what is really going on in your body with your heart and blood vessels. One must remember that these additional markers and tests are not as thoroughly researched as the above mentioned markers, but they may provide additional information that may prove useful in certain situations. This is particularly true when “classic” markers give mixed signals. What exactly is a biological marker? Biomarkers are considered an “indicator of normal body processes, disease-related processes, or response to a therapeutic intervention.” Diabetes Self-management May/June 2013. The relationship of any such measurement to health or disease is established through scientific studies involving both healthy and sick individuals. This implies that as we continue to do research any one of the following biomarkers may gain or wane in its importance. Experts are still trying to determine if early detection and treatment of cardiovascular disease based on cardiovascular biomarkers is useful in delaying or preventing the onset of cardiovascular disease. One of the most commonly used cardiovascular biomarkers is High Sensitivity C-reactive protein. This marker is an indicator of inflammation and may indicate the presence of atherosclerosis, a fatty buildup of the arteries. Out of all of the currently used biomarkers, High Sensitivity C-reactive protein has the greatest connection between elevated levels of the protein and heart disease and future cardiac events (Heart attacks and strokes). It is commonly found that people with diabetes have elevated levels of this protein. B-type Natriuretic Peptide. This biomarker is most frequently used to help detect and determine the severity of congestive heart failure. B-type natriuretic peptides are released into the blood in order to help the heart which enlarges as a response to not being able to adequately pump blood through the body. Enlargement of the heart is common with heart failure. A tendency towards elevated levels of this peptide would correspond with the risk of heart failure. Some studies have suggested that decreases in this biomarker can be beneficial. Adiponectin is hormone that aids in controlling blood glucose levels and the breakdown of fats in the body. Though various studies have been done scientists are still not exactly sure why reduced levels of Adiponectin are associated with various “classic” risk factors for cardiovascular disease such as obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and atherosclerosis. It is good to remember that there are very few cardiovascular biomarkers that are being used at the present time and not all of these will be used by every healthcare professional. However, since these tests may yield greater information as to your cardiovascular risk before other “classic” risk factors are present, especially if you have diabetes, it doesn’t hurt to ask your health care provider to do some or all of these tests. If you fall into a high risk group for cardiovascular disease, try some of the following tips to help prevent cardiovascular disease. 1. Ask questions. Education is a very powerful tool to have on your side. Especially if you have a family history of cardiovascular disease or you have diabetes. 2. Understand Biomarkers. By understanding which biomarker tests may be most beneficial to your particular situation, you will know exactly what to ask your doctor for. 3. Gather Information. Check out www.labtestsonline.org 4. Know the “classic” risk factors and how they affect you. 5. Develop habits for heart healthy eating, including portion control for weight and blood glucose control. 6. Participate in regular physical activity. Please contact your health care provider before beginning an exercise program. 7. Minimize risky behaviors. Quit smoking, chewing, or any other form of tobacco use. Did you know that stress combined with a sedentary jobs increases your risk of cardiovascular and metabolic disorders? Would you believe that brief moments of guided meditation and yoga at your desk can help reduce your stress?? As little as 15 minutes to be exact. A recent small study including just 20 people who were taken through each of the following; a guided meditation, yoga, and allowed to continue working without interruption. Each intervention lasted 15 minutes and there was a day between each of the interventions. Different stress markers were tested at the baseline, during the 15 minute interventions, and 15 minutes after. Different measures were recorded such as perceived stress, blood pressure, respiration rate, heart rate, and heart rate variability. Analysis of the data showed both yoga and meditation reduced perceived stress (the mental aspect) plus the effect continued after the post-intervention period. The markers for physical stress tended to return to the baseline levels with the exception of respiratory rates following chair yoga. While the study was relatively small, its results conclude that there is no harm in implementing a basic 15 minute chair routine at least once a day, especially if you are in a sedentary career. More studies need to be conducted but one can assume the data suggests that the level of productivity, improved employee health, job performance, job satisfaction, and absenteeism could be positively affected by the implementation of workplace yoga and meditaiton. The following link will provide you with a variety of chair yoga poses you can try. http://yoga.about.com/od/yogasequences/tp/Chair-Yoga-Poses.htm Did you buy into the notion that doing Wii fit programs or other active video games would help you or your family members get in shape? Millions of people out there believed the very same thing, but a recent study suggests different. In March, 2012 the medical journal Pediatrics release the results of a study that suggests the increased movement associated with active games like the Wii fit and other games bears no significant difference in overall activity levels of users. The 13 week study included 78 kids, 51% of them were boy from varying ethinic backgrounds. The kids were divided into two groups, one that played active games and other played normal sedentary games that didn't require mvement of participants. After reviewing the play logs of the children and the collected data from their accelerometers which measured their exertion, scientists and doctors were able to conclude that there was no significant difference between the two groups of children. The major difference noticed was, children who were in the active group and under observation played more vigorously than those who were not under observation. It was believed that once the children were no longer under observation, their activity levels fell below those of the children in the sedentary video games group. In conclusion it is safe to say that active video games do not provide a public health benefit to you or your children. However, if you are going to play games, or let your children play, why not make it a game that forces them to get up and move around a little. When in doubt, the best option is and always will be, use of the imagination, running around, in the natural light and fresh air of the outdoors. Pack up the controllers, pick up a ball, or bike and enjoy! Is training on a stability ball beneficial to your workout routine? No evidence to date proves for or against that but recent studies show that sedentary adults may benefit from using a stability ball at work and to do basic exercises. Read the following study for more information. http://www.ideafit.com/fitness-library/stability-ball-training-sedentary-men-and-women-0 |
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