Archive: March 2012

Want to make sure you are getting the most out of your Pilates classes? Pilates Director Teri Lewis takes over our blog to talk about how to maximize your workout to achieve the best results.

Pilates exercises strengthen your abdominals, lower back, hips, and thighs, which will make your regular daily activities easier.

Here are the top three ways you can maximize your results while practicing the Pilates discipline:

1. Be Efficient

At times, you may find the need to make exercise harder, other times, easier. There may be times you find it necessary to take the pressure off your neck or back while keeping the challenge in your abdominals. Learning how to modify each exercise will insure your success as you work towards any fitness goal.

2. Be Focused

It is more effective to focus on a few precise and perfect movements as opposed to many incomplete ones. You will gain more strength from a few energetic, concentrated efforts than from several repetitions of listless movements. When you continually practice precision, it will soon become second nature, and carry over into everyday life as grace and economy of movement.

3. Be Consistent

Make time in your schedule to be consistent, especially in the beginning. Participating in Pilates once a month will give you a great workout, but if you consistently participate in Pilates once or twice a week, you will build steady progress. Steady progress transitions into faster and more complete results.

Consider your Pilates session as your reward, your break from a hectic day, a gift you give to yourself so that you can be your best for your family and the important people in your life.

Pilates is more than a workout; it’s an exercise discipline and it’s a process. Whether your goal is increased flexibility, better posture or a flatter tummy, being efficient, focused, and consistent will catapult you into success.

Thanks, Teri!

To find out more about Pilates programming at the club, contact Pilates Director, Teri Lewis at 954.635.4373.

Courtesy of eatright.org.

March is National Nutrition Month, and this year, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics is urging Americans to “Get Your Plate In Shape.” With the help of the “My Plate” model, which replaced the Food Pyramid in June 2011, the experts are giving us a reminder of the healthy nutrition goals we have heard before:

• Make half your plate fruits and vegetables
• Make at least half of your grains whole grains
• Switch to fat-free or low-fat dairy
• Vary your protein choices
• Cut back on sodium and empty calories from solid fats and added sugars
• Eat less
• Exercise more