Empower Personal Training
Posts Tagged ‘Empower Personal Training’
Trainer Development
Friday, June 17, 2011At Empower, we have all kinds of “fun” equipment that we use to train our wonderful clients. At any given time, you may come in and see someone using Dynamax balls, sand bags, ropes, sleds, TRX straps, free weights, medicine balls, etc… The list really goes on and on. Now that its nice and warm outside, you may even see us taking people outside to have a go at the agility ladder.
Each month, usually on the third Thursday, all of the trainers will get together for a Team meeting. This, of course, consists of some housekeeping items, some discussion about upcoming events and programs, and some talk about what we can do to keep Empower the best place to train in the triangle. At the end of each meeting, we always have a trainer development session, where a trainer will either demo some pretty cool exercises or lead a discussion in an important health and wellness topic. This past Thursday, we all practiced some new exercises on the aforementioned agility ladder. Trainer Aaron Hornstra led the group through some of his favorite drills. Check out the video below to see some of your trainers in action.
Who said we couldn’t have a little fun?
Jamie Ives
http://www.youtube.com/user/becomepowerful#p/a/u/0/Fkm8ytNC9N8
Now on to the 21 Day Detox
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Congratulations to this determined group for completing the Vegan Challenge Week! I’m hoping that you all learned a little something about alternative diets and your ability to function well on such diets. Since you made it a full seven days without animal products you can probably tell if you would ever be able to or even want to take on such a challenge again.
If you are up for it, you might consider taking on the 21 Day Cleanse offered at Empower. The first ten days of the cleanse consist of a vegan diet so you already know what to expect. This cleanse is all about blasting the body with nutrients in order to correct any biochemical misfirings which often lead to pesky symptoms such as less than optimal sleep, aches and pains and digestive discomfort, to name a few. This is not a deprivation regimen or anything that encourages extreme dietary behaviors. Here you follow a simple diet of vegetables, fruits, whole grains and lean sources of protein and further support the body with a nutritional shake and two supplements which help the liver ìresetî your body’s chemistry.
We introduced the cleanse last fall and participants have had great success. Weight loss is what most folks are looking for and I must admit that this happens rather incidentally. Although everyone does lose weight, the more exciting cleanse results are the increases in stamina, better blood sugar control, better quality of sleep, less cravings and the absence of aches and pains. So take the challenge to the next level and really feel your body awaken to the effects of optimal nutrition. All it takes is 21 days!
Find out more HERE
A Motherís Day Thought from John
Thursday, May 12, 2011This post is written by John about his life partner Kerri . . . very sweet~
Motherhood implies togetherness. The first dinner Kerri and I sat down to have with Kaleb in our new home began with several small laughing fits, followed by a round of drumming and nonsense chatter. Kaleb declared we were probably the weirdest family ever, and all of us were okay with that. It was our first movements and dialogue as a new family and I lost all pretenses about being an adult. The togetherness we share has Kerri, my very-soon-to-be-wife, at its core.
Kerriís strength as a mom is her ability to practice peace, empathy, and patience with everyone she meets. She instills in her son the confidence to grow into himself without being ashamed or self-conscious, to be himself unapologetically. She treats Kaleb as an equal, capable person and, therefore, allows him engage in our new familyís processes. Her love is relentless as it is curious and her willingness to be part of the world is inspiring. And she just goes with it if Kaleb and I starting doing break-beats and chooses to be a part of us every moment of the way.
Both John and Kerri offer massage services at Empower. To schedule a massage today click HERE
Empower is Celebrating Moms the whole month of May. Call to find out about our Mother’s Day Specials!
919 . 401 . 8024
Getting Fit for Golf
Friday, April 1, 2011
The seasons are shifting and warmer weather is fast approaching so it is time to dust off your clubs and prepare yourself to ìget fit for golfî. Golf specific fitness is comprised of six main components: balance, flexibility, core strength, muscular endurance, power, and cardiovascular endurance. Development in each of these areas will help improve your golf game and decrease the likelihood of a golf-related injury.
Balance is the first key component of a golf specific fitness program. Throughout our daily activities we become right or left side dominant where one side of the body becomes stronger than the other unless specific exercises that require equal strength and coordination are practiced on a regular basis. This side-dominance can lead to anatomical changes over time where certain structures shorten and others lengthen. A body that is unbalanced will typically exhibit faulty movement patterns therefore increasing the susceptibility to injury.
Flexibility is another crucial component of golf specific fitness as tremendous forces are placed on the shoulders, spine, and hips during the golf swing. Adequate flexibility allows those forces to travel through the body into the club head and finally through the ball. A lack of flexibility causes the force of the swing to remain trapped in the body altering the swing and potentially causing injury. Stretches that address all major muscle groups (neck, shoulders, chest, back, hip flexors, hip extensors, and calves) should be performed on a daily basis.
Golf is a sport that requires a great amount of core strength in order to play competitively and safely. The core musculature (abdominals, gluteals, hip flexors, and spinal extensors) must all share the load of stabilizing the body during the golf swing. These muscles must also be able to contract in the correct sequence to maximize power and control during all components of the swing. A strong core acts as an anchor from which the extremities can move more efficiently. Some basic core exercises include pushups, pull-ups, body weight squats, lunges, rotational exercises and hip bridges.
Every golfer needs to have sufficient muscular endurance in order to resist fatigue and continue to exhibit good technique from the first tee to the 18th green. Poor swing mechanics as a result of muscular fatigue can cause technique to degrade, increasing the likelihood of injury and affecting your performance. Your fitness program should include exercises that focus on muscular endurance (low weight, high repetitions) for all major muscle groups.
Another component of golf specific fitness is power. Power is defined as force multiplied by velocity. Strength will help you drive the ball, but power will help you drive the ball farther. Once you have developed an adequate amount of muscular strength and endurance the addition of speed work to some of your exercise program will help you put more power behind your swing.
Cardiovascular endurance is also important as the body must be efficient at delivering oxygen and nutrients to working muscles throughout the entire game or it will be forced to slow down. Just as muscular fatigue can be detrimental, cardiovascular fatigue can also lead to poor performance on the course.
A golf specific fitness program will allow you to play golf better and longer, reduce the risk of injury and ultimately improve your game and your life.
Empower’s Get Fit for Golf Clinic starts next Tuesday!
Durham Ranks 11th in Fattest Cities!
Monday, March 7, 2011
The article titled ìWeíre not fat, weíre Rubenesqueî in this weekís Triangulator was a bit disturbing to me, a registered dietitian with a degree in public health working in Durham. It stated that Durham ranks number 11 in Menís Healthís 100 Fattest Cities in America list. Raleigh ranked 47, Greensboro, 70 and Charlotte 74 while San Francisco came in dead-last.
San Francisco came in last. I used to live in San Francisco. I was thin when I lived in San Francisco. I am not thin now and am sitting in Durham. Iíd like to explore why that is. For starters San Francisco is a walking town ñ a very manageable 7 mile by 7 mile chunk of land bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the west, a hilly Marin County to the north, the San Francisco Bay to the east and more hills to the south. San Francisco is famous for its hills making driving a pain and walking a pleasure. Eventhough I had a car, I rarely drove it. You had to have magical ìparking karmaî if you drove anywhere without an attached garage and fines were always stiff if you decided/were forced to be non-compliant. Plus the public transportation system is excellent. So walking was always the best option.
Let me note as well that San Francisco ranks last on this infamous list yet it is an eating town. Food is a major driving force in that city, from the farmerís markets to the high end, celebrity chef restaurants. There is not a bad meal in this town. Whether you pay $5 (like for Taqueria Cancunís vegetarian burrito with huge chunks of fresh avocado) or $200 (dinner at Jardiniere, for example) you will be equally satisfied. I didnít cook much when I lived in there, it just wasnít worth it. I could get good, fresh food at a reasonable price in any ethnic version at a momentís notice. One would think that this is a recipe for obesity, evidently not.
In the fifteen years since I left the City by the Bay I have gained 40lbs. How did that happen? I certainly donít blame Durham, but leaving a walking town to live in a driving one certainly has had its impact. I went from walking to and from work, a vigorous 45 minute walk each way (burning up about 600 calories total) to driving to and from work (calories burned = ZERO!). So now Iím absorbing those 600 calories into my system every day. That alone turned into 15lbs almost immediately. Then I got married, which apparently makes you fat without eating, another 10lbs, thanks to newlywed bliss. Eventually I started working out so my weight stabilized but then I went to grad school and that just put me over the edge. It was a stressful time and the remaining weight packed on to comfort me through exams and presentations. Somehow being a dietitian and helping others meet their weight loss goals does not translate into weight loss for me, so here I am fat in the 11th fattest city in America.
So what can we do to make Durham a more healthful city? Aside from the numerous socio-economic issues at hand that warrant their own serious commentary, I think awareness is one important key. Many of us are not aware of what or how much we eat nor of how little we move our bodies. In todayís society being healthy is a conscious decision, it is not an automatic state of being like it might have been 100 years ago. We are bombarded with countless messages everyday encouraging us to make unhealthful choices and although we all know what the healthful choices are, we do not make them often enough to derive consistent benefit. This contradiction between what we know and what we do exists because many of us have never experienced health in a conscious way. It is so difficult to imagine what life would be like as a normal-weight, fit person that it requires a leap of faith in oneself to actually go for health (or a move to San Francisco!). This is why places like Empower exist, to help guide us through the leap. We need the help of trainers, nutritionists and other wellness professionals in order to create new habits consciously so that we may stand healthfully on our own. With proper guidance and motivation we can achieve our health goals and in the end contribute to a svelte silhouette for our chubby little town.
