Every January 1st brings a new set of responsibilities, a new set of goals, and a new beginning. We spend most of the 30th and 31st figuring out our New Year’s Resolution and how to reach it.
Rather than talking about goals that we have set in the past, inches we want to shed, or pounds we want to lose, let’s talk about the Top Three Hot Trends that are going to turn your 2012 workouts into a blast!
1. Small Group Workouts
Many people need the guidance of a personal trainer, but also want the motivation of a group atmosphere. Working out in small groups of 3 to 5 people not only creates a team feeling, but is also an economical solution for a lot of people. With group Personal Training and group Pilates classes, Midtown can get you plugged into a group right away!
2. Zumba
Even though Zumba’s been around since 2001, it’s currently sweeping the nation and becoming a fitness craze! More than 12 million people of all shapes, sizes, and ages are taking weekly Zumba classes in over 110,000 locations across more than 125 countries.
People want to have fun and enjoy their workouts and have the freedom to move. It is an effective, easy-to-learn, calorie-burning dance fitness-party that’s helping millions get in shape. Midtown has a number of Zumba classes throughout the week! Check our Group Ex Schedule for times.
3. Express Workouts
Life is busy. Carpool, conference calls, soccer practice, doctors appointments, and a million other things get in the way of many
people’s workouts every day. Most want their workouts to be quick, effective, and fit into their busy schedules. Many of our personal training, pilates, and tennis sessions can provide 30-minute, express-style options that not only help you achieve your health and wellness goals, but are also great for the beginner exerciser.
Why not kick off the New Year with some fun, exciting, and motivating fitness?
Get a group together, dance your socks off, or even head to the club when you only have 30 minutes to spare.
You will have the New Year’s New You before you know it!
How are you changing up your routine in 2012?
ViPR stands for Vitality, Performance, and Reconditioning.
It’s an exercise craze that’s sweeping the nation, and the #1 question people are asking:
“Why am I working out with a pipe?”
ViPR was created to encourage purposeful motion. It blends strength training with functional training and movement. This new and improved training tool is actually made of rubber and comes in 7 different weights.
It is meant to be carried, tilted, dragged, thrown, flipped, stepped on, rolled and more. You can do just about anything with this tool! Every ViPR exercise uses “whole body integration,” which basically means that the muscular system is interdependent and works best when trained together.
All ViPR exercises use rhythmical strength-to-shorten movements that work your muscles effectively. Gravity provides resistance, and helps to ensure proper motion. ViPR bridges the gap between movement and strength training, and because it’s so unique, it’s also inspiring people to work out!
Catherine Luciano, Midtown’s Fitness Director, is a ViPR enthusiast and uses the innovative training when working with her clients. We sat down with Cat and asked her about the benefits of ViPR:
Who benefits from ViPR Training?
- Absolutely EVERYONE can benefit from ViPR training, from a post-rehab client to an athlete of any age. Benefits include increased flexibility, strength, muscle size (depending on weight of the ViPR), as well as fat loss. Add those together and the overall benefit is to perform better, whether it be in a sport or just daily activities.
Is ViPR Training helpful in injury rehabilitation? How so?
I am a Medical Exercise Specialist and use this functional tool to teach the body how it is supposed to work. ViPR helps encourage all muscles to work together and fire in the proper sequence, which is exactly what’s needed in the case of an injury. By teaching the body these movement patterns, you thereby reduce the chance of further injury.
Why use ViPR Training instead of free weights?
Strictly for its versatility. The ViPR is another resistance tool of a different design allowing movement patterns that cannot always be done with free weights. And, it’s just plain FUN!
How is ViPR Training helpful in sports training?
I am also a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. The movements I teach with the ViPR have direct correlation to all sports. Most movements are done from a standing, athletic base where we teach the body to maximize a muscle’s range (i.e. flexibility), and to work in all planes of motion (i.e. all angles and directions). But we also want to build strength throughout those ranges thereby reducing chance of injury and maximizing performance potential.
Have you tried a ViPR workout yet? What did you think?
If a personal trainer said the following to you, “After 10 Pilates sessions, you will feel the difference. In 20 sessions, you will see the difference. And in 30 sessions, you’ll be on your way to having a whole new body,” what would you say?
Now, as a trainer and Pilates instructor, I’m a little biased. That said, Pilates is awesome and life-changing. It might be relatively unknown in some parts of the country, but we are trying to change that.
Want to know more about Pilates and its creator, Joseph Pilates? Read on!
Joseph Pilates was a gymnast, diver, and bodybuilder. When he moved to England in 1912, he earned a living as a professional boxer, circus-performer, and self-defense trainer at police schools and Scotland Yard. It was in England that he developed an integrated, comprehensive system of exercise where the mind controlled the muscles. He called it “Contrology.”
When he moved to NYC, he trained clients on his system of exercise, with a focus on core postural muscles that help keep the human body balanced and provide support for the spine, throughout the 1960s.
Joseph Pilates developed a series of exercises on a variety of equipment to work towards a more pain-free and balanced body. In particular, Pilates exercises teach awareness of breath and of alignment of the spine, and strengthen the deep torso and abdominal muscles.
The most common pieces of Pilates equipment used today are the Reformer, the Wunda Chair and the Pilates Cadillac.
The Reformer is the most well known of the Pilates machines. It has a sliding carriage and uses spring tension and straps for your hands and feet. This is my favorite Pilates exercise machine to work on! It is also what Joseph Pilates hoped that every home in America would have in their living room (would you have this in your living room?).
The Wunda Chair also utilizes spring tension and the exercises can be challenging: lying on your back and stomach, seated, standing, and kneeling positions that are both demanding and energetic movements.
The Cadillac was named by Joseph Pilates at the time when its namesake automobile was the most prestigious car in the U.S. The Cadillac was used for individually selected rehabilitation exercises. It is still used that way today, as well as for facilitating more movement and flow into the exercises.
There are four major purposes of Pilates:
1. Strength (We all need that!)
2. Stretch (Most of us need this too!)
3. Stability (Balance is important)
4. Stamina (It’s a cardio workout too)
On top of all of that, it exercises your body and your mind, which is a really good thing.
Why do you love Pilates?
The popular saying, “Good things come in small packages,” describes Midtown Personal Trainer Megan Meurer perfectly.
She recently took some time out of her busy personal training, thesis-writing, and puppy-training schedule to answer some member questions.
What made you want to get into fitness?
Megan: I’ve always been in it. I grew up exercising outdoors with my parents, sisters, and friends. I didn’t actually work out in a gym until high school and even then I preferred being outside. It’s a passion for me and I love it!
Do diets such as South Beach, No Carb, Raw, and others really work?
Megan: The key to a great diet is everything in moderation, except fruits and veggies (eat lots of those). I find the better I eat, the better I feel and the more I want to work out, and also the less I want to eat unhealthy things. Life is too short to deprive yourself, but having enough self control to not let the sweets/salts/or whatever your weakness is, get out of hand, is hugely important.
As far as the whole No Carbs diet – which is the most popular-well, there are carbs in everything so not eating them would mean not eating. Its the type of carb that’s important.
You want to eat the carbs that will make you feel fuller longer; for example, whole grains, pasta, granola, and brown rice will satisfy you longer than white bread, candy, and chips. Without going into the science of it, the more unprocessed the food the better it is for you. Also, your brain is fueled by carbs, severely restricting them can can cause headaches and irritability.
Whats the best cardio workout and how long is good enough?
Megan: This totally depends on the person. Keep in mind that what’s appropriate for a college-aged athlete is not going to work for an elderly person with a hip replacement. You have to be honest with yourself and listen to your body.
People generally know when they aren’t doing something correctly, whether it be diet or an exercise program, but some are in denial. The best cardio is something you enjoy doing. It’s much easier getting motivated to do and to continue doing it when you actually like it.
How long also depends, but listen to your body; you want to feel good when you’re done. To burn maximum calories, get on machines that are more vertical; so at the club: the stair climber, the rock wall, and the treadmill on an incline.
For more on the best cardio workouts, check out this post.
Why are my clothes fitting better, but I’m not losing weight?
Megan: You are undergoing a body composition transformation. As you begin to exercise, you tend to build muscle in addition to losing fat. Because muscle is more dense than fat it takes up less space in the body. Therefore, you can weigh the same but be taking up less space.
What are the best ab exercises?
Megan: Pilates!
Tell me your dream workout.
Megan: Take some of the World’s Strongest Man Competition trials and downsize them significantly. Flipping tires, wading through water, carrying a large weight while walking, throwing things, etc. These are obviously exercises and equipment not found in a traditional gym.
Do you have a question for Megan or one of our other trainers? Post your question as a comment to this post, or email it to me at allison.ford@midtown.com. If you email the question, I will ask it anonymously on your behalf, and post the question and answer (but not your name) on the next “Ask the Trainer” post. You do not need to be a member to ask a question.
