Posts

kate ostryhon-lumsden

/in /by

Kate has been self employed for 32 years and has always had a hectic schedule with a busy real estate business going from appointment to appointment. This caused her to put what she knew was important, her own health, on the back burner and feeling increasingly less fit.

Although Kate has a busy work life she has always been concerned about her health staying active walking, doing yoga, golfing and curling. She has also joined G&M twice in the past, once participating in step aerobic classes and the other time attending with a friend, but when her friend moved out of the area she stopped going. Again, work took priority and her health and fitness fell behind.

More recently, Kate’s daughter who works with her and Kate’s niece started with personal training at G&M Fitness.

“I finally realized that if they could work going to the gym into their life, so could and so should I!”

“My goal was to lose weight but also increase my strength.”

Kate says it was time to stop talking and thinking about getting to her ideal weight and start doing something consistently to get there. Kate has had this goal for probably 20 years she says but always felt like she was too busy to fit regular workouts into her schedule. She also felt like she didn’t really know what to do at the gym, how to use the equipment properly or what kind of routine to follow.

“Turning 60 gave me the wisdom to finally put my health and fitness as my #1 priority!”

Kate was getting frustrated with nuisance injuries and tired of being overweight. It was time for a change.

Since beginning the personal training program Kate now knows she can fit workouts into her schedule and treats it with the same importance as any other appointment.

“I love the feeling of accomplishment and time out from a hectic schedule. Many times I am rushing in for my training session but then know the next hour is just focused on one thing. I always leave feeling more calm and ready to continue my day. I now feel comfortable in the gym and know what to do.”

Kate has had great success. Over the last 4 weeks she is down another 4.5lbs and overall has dropped over 9% body fat since beginning!

“I do have a lot of people noticing that I have toned and lost weight. That is encouraging to me to stay the course!”

Kate is most proud of being able to stay the course and being consistent.
She also shot her best round of golf ever recently, a 94, and attributes that to her training program as well.

“I truly enjoy working out and have committed to continue with the 1 on 1 training program.”

Going forward Kate plans to add a third workout on her own each week outside of her 2 weekly personal training sessions and knows that it will help accelerate her goal.

“I have found a slow but steady weight loss so I know that I need to stay focused.”

Kate believes that had she not started her personal training program she would still be at the same point she was for the last 20 years… clothes not fitting well, feeling frustrated with her weight and having more nuisance injuries.

“Just get started. You are not too busy, you are not too old, just make the commitment to yourself and do it… not for weeks but as part of your life routine!”

Congratulations Kate on all of your success so far and creating time for yourself in your busy schedule! Your story is a huge inspiration. Keep up the great work!

STRENGTH TRAINING AND WEIGHT LOSS

/in /by

Do you want to dramatically increase your chances of weight loss success? Of course you do! Who wouldn’t? And while you are at it become stronger to do activities of daily living with more ease then ever? Yep! The answer to this is strength training.

We talk to a lot of people who are either struggling to lose weight or have hit a plateau in their weight loss but are afraid to incorporate strength training into their routine out of fear that it will make them gain weight. This is especially true with women.

Let me give you the run down on why we believe strength training is a MUST if weight loss is your goal. (We actually believe that strength training is a must no matter what your goal is but let’s focus on the goal of weight loss.)

Strength Training Increases Your Metabolism

Your metabolism is the amount of energy you burn throughout the day doing every day things. Getting ready for work, walking up and down stairs, getting up from the couch etc. Basically, it’s the amount of energy you use up outside of planned exercise. Muscle is metabolic tissue, meaning that it requires energy to work. When your muscle contracts, energy is spent. The more muscle you have and the more efficiently it works, the more energy you use up throughout the day. This in turn allows for better weight loss results. And the best way that I am aware of to increase muscle and its efficiency is through regular strength training.

Without Strength Training You May Actually Be Losing Muscle and Decreasing Your Metabolism

This is a big point. If you take the route of just dieting or dieting and doing cardio to get to your weight loss goals you could actually end up in a scenario where you could be doing more harm then good for your body long term. For every pound of weight loss, up to 25% of that could come from muscle loss. If you kept this up it would have the opposite effect on your metabolism then we want. Decreasing your muscle mass would also end up decreasing your metabolism, which then slows down your weight loss results. And what is the best way to combat this 25% muscle loss? Regular strength training of course! Strength training keeps the muscle stimulated and significantly decreases the chances of it getting broken down in the weight loss process. We want our weight loss from fat loss not muscle tissue!

Use Compound Exercises

Strength training itself burns quite a bit of energy, especially when you do it right and focus on using compound movements in your workouts. Compound exercises involve multiple joints. Think squats or push-ups versus a bicep curl or calf raise. These types of exercise recruit several different muscles which in turn burns more energy compared to any single joint exercise. Again, over time, this increase in energy expenditure adds up to better weight loss results.

How Often Should I Strength Train?

The minimum would be two times per week, ideally 3 times per week would be most beneficial. There are many different ways to structure your strength training program but however you do it just make sure that you are setting yourself up for success. If you only realistically have time for 2 sessions a week then plan for that. Don’t use a program that is set up for 5 days a week and then get frustrated with yourself because you were not able to complete all of the workouts. Consistency is the key and you want to set yourself up to stay consistent for the long haul.

Final Thoughts

One last big point is that for strength training to be effective, regardless of your end goal, it must be done with effort. You want to use enough resistance to cause what is called temporary muscle failure, meaning you couldn’t do another repetition while keeping proper form. And please make sure that you are performing the exercises correctly. Proper form is crucial to getting the most out of the exercise and to ensure that you do not get hurt.

If you have read this and you get it, great, now go out and get busy. If you are confused or still unsure of how to incorporate strength training into your routine or how to perform exercises properly, don’t hesitate to ask for help. That’s what we are here for! Schedule a free consultation with us to see how we can help you reach your health and fitness goals!

The Power of Regular Activity

/in /by

What if we told you that you have the power to add years to your life span, perform daily activities easier or prevent disease and sickness?

The truth is we all have this power and it can all be accomplished through consistent, regular physical activity!

This can be planned exercise or any activity really that requires you to expend energy.

The power of regular movement, be it planned exercise or not, has many proven positive benefits. The more consistent the physical activity is, the greater the potential benefits.

Here is a brief list of what you can expect to achieve by introducing regular physical activity and movement into your lifestyle:

  • Lower blood pressure
  • Lower blood sugar
  • Improve cholesterol
  • Reduce your risk of heart disease
  • Reduce your risk of diabetes
  • Lose weight
  • Gain strength
  • Improve bone density
  • Improve range of motion
  • Stronger joints
  • Improve joint conditions (eg. arthritis)
  • Help with depression
  • Improve sleep
  • Increase longevity
  • Perform daily activities better/easier
  • Maintain independence
  • Reduce risk of some types of cancer
  • Improve cognitive abilities

This list could go on and on.

The human body was meant to work. Today we sit more then ever in the history of our existence so building regular physical activity and exercise into your life has become a necessity. The more we move and challenge our bodies, the more fit we become, the more efficient and effective we are and of course the healthier we are. So, get moving!

A Sneaky Reason We Gain Weight Over Time

/in /by

Whether you realize it or not, there are things that happen in our bodies without us knowing about it constantly. Some of it is good, some of it not so good. Today I wanted to touch on one of those things that is not so good, BUT we do have a certain amount of control over. That would be natural age-related muscle loss.

Up until we are somewhere in our 30’s, our bodies are growing muscle and getting stronger. After we get past this point it reverses and muscle begins to deteriorate and quickens as you get into your 60’s, 70’s and 80’s.

This not only poses a problem because of the loss of strength and therefore your abilities to perform tasks as well as you used to, but also is a sneaky reason of why we tend to gain more weight as we age.

Muscle is metabolic tissue that requires energy to work. The more muscle you have the more energy you use up in a day. This is your metabolism at work.

As we age and we start to lose muscle, that also slows our metabolism, which means your not using as much energy as you used to going through the same daily routines. If you keep eating the same as usual, you start to gain weight. That is why it can seem like you haven’t changed anything but then all of a sudden over time you notice you are slowly gaining weight.

There is some good news though! There is a way to prevent and or slow this process down. Regular exercise, specifically strength training!

Strength training causes your body to adapt to the stress and make your muscles grow and become stronger keeping your metabolism higher. Instead of getting weaker, less independent and a slower metabolism as you age, you can get stronger, gain more independence, increase your metabolism and get or stay leaner! And you can begin at any age and still receive these benefits.

The current recommendations for strength training are only a minimum of 2 times per week so it’s a pretty low time investment for a very big return on your quality of life!

Strength training is our specialty here at G&M. If you have any questions at all about how to incorporate it into your routines, let us know, we are here to help!

How Long Does It Take to See Results from Exercise?

/in /by

Everybody wants to know; how long do I need to exercise before I see results? Depending on what results you are after the period of time it takes will vary. We will look at a few of the more common benefits and when you can expect to start to see some results. There is a catch though! We will address that at the end, so read on.

Resting Heart Rate
Within just a couple weeks with regular aerobic training you can see improvements in your resting heart rate. The heart is a muscle and improves and gets stronger with exercise. As you get fitter, not only will your resting heart rate decrease but your heart rate will recovery quicker after an exercise bout as well.

Blood Pressure
Again, within just a few weeks you can start to see improvements in blood pressure if you have high or borderline high blood pressure.

Endurance
Expect it to take 4-6 weeks of regular aerobic exercise before you see noticeable improvements in your endurance although the changes begin within the first couple weeks, it just takes a bit before they translate into noticeable improvements.

Strength
You will begin to notice strength gains within the first 2 to 3 weeks. These gains are mostly from neuromuscular adaptations where your muscle learns to move more efficiently. In a 3 to 6 month period you can see anywhere form a 25-100% gain in strength.

Muscle Size
This one takes a lot of work and needs a long-term perspective and the amount varies from very little change to up to about a 60% increase. There are a lot of variables that come in to play for this one such as age, gender, genetics, type of resistance training program and nutrition.

Weight Loss
With no change in diet, depending on how much energy you are expending throughout the week you could see results within a week or never see any weight loss results. Remember, you can’t out work a bad diet. The best weight loss results come from combining diet and exercise. If you do that the results are immediate.

Mental Health
Results in your first workout! Every workout will produce positive mental health benefits.

Now here is the catch.

Most of these results begin within the first few weeks of beginning an exercise routine BUT they only matter if you maintain the consistency with your exercise program. You have to keep it up to keep the results up.

Find a way to make exercise a regular part of your weekly routine and you will reap all of the benefits listed above for the rest of your life!