Get Fit For Golf!

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The weather is changing and the clubs are now ready to come out of hibernation. The only question is whether or not your swing is ready? Empower is here to help, even if you are already taking golf lessons. Empowerís Get Fit for Golf Clinic can help you improve your body specifically for the game. This will not be the culmination of general golf exercises you could get anywhere but instead a 4 part clinic that will help you better understand the swing and target your individual needs. Specifically, we will focus on all things relating to improving your golf performance.

Often overlooked by many golfers is the importance of stability throughout the entire body for generating consistent power and accuracy. In the first session, we will begin addressing these issues through postural analysis and preparatory exercises that will help you before every round you play. Session two will expand on these concepts by integrating mobility and strength training in order to improve energy transfer to the ball. The importance of coordinating movement for efficient power utilization is addressed in session three. Conditioning drills will also be incorporated to help you resist fatigue and stay consistent on the back nine. Finally, the fourth session will focus on how you can specifically continue to progress your game while reaffirming your understanding of exercises taught in previous sessions.

The clinic starts 6:30pm, April 5^th at the studio.

Chris Lathrop

BS, ACE-CPT, Personal Trainer

Chris is a Certified Personal Trainer through (ACE) the American Council on Exercise. In 2010 he received a Bachelorís degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, majoring in Kinesiology with a concentration in Fitness Leadership. He spent his senior year working with individuals suffering from chronic back pain and studied the effects of strength training on Parkinsonís disease for his capstone project.Before joining the Empower team, Chris gained extensive practical knowledge prescribing exercise to adults over 50 in the UNCG HOPE (Helping Older Participants Exercise) Program as well as training a variety of individuals at DownTown Fitness in Greensboro. His diverse experiences have given him a greater understanding of the ever evolving dynamic between our physical and psychological selves. These experiences have led Chris to use a variety of different approaches to help clients stay active and reach their goals.

Why High Intensity?

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1. High intensity exercise burns a lot of calories in a short period of time
2. Running in a 10k this year? Incorporating intervals will increase your speed. Instead of doing your usual route run as fast as possible for two minutes and then walk two minutes. Repeat 8 times.
3. Looking for some fat loss? Sled pushes, kettlebell swings, stairs, sprints, and other conditioning exercises are a great change of pace from traditional cardio.
4. Looking to gain some muscle? Those same conditioning exercises will increase your strength and explosiveness.
5. Mixing it up with high intensity exercise takes you out of your routine. I know some people who have been running the same 20 minute route for years. This can develop imbalances and your body will eventually plateau

Here’s Tom teaching a small group with a great high intensity circuit:

Meet Chris Hooke

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Chris is a terrific eleven year old man with a great sense of humor. He’s been training at Empower Personal Training since March of 2010 when he came in with the goals of building up his strength and endurance.

We see Chris here once a week for a half an hour where we focus primarily on building up his strength with body weight exercises like squats, push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups. He always works hard and I make a point to reward this by ending with a game or two.

Recently Chris did a triathlon and took 80th place out of 600 boys between the ages of 9 and 11 years old. We helped him plan out a schedule for training a few months in advance and he worked hard outside of the gym to build up his endurance. It has been a privilege to work with such a motivated young man and he has a bright future ahead of him.

Check out our facebook page (link) to watch a video of some footage from our training session (you’ll have to scroll down a bit). The last minute or so is an interview. While you’re there click the “like” button!

Paul brings a background of athletics and education to the Empower team. He believes that wellness should be viewed as a blended lifestyle that balances nutrition, a healthy mind, and fitness which incorporates fun recreational activities. For more information about Empower Personal Training please call (919) 401-8024.

Meet Mary Sampson

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Folks, all I can say is that she does it all. On any given day you may see Mary pushing around 300 pounds on the sled, pulling in 75 kilos of sandbags, or setting a new record in the Dynamax Ball Slam relay. All in a days work right? I’d say so! In fact, Mary’s hard work and will to succeed has made her our defending Decathlon Challenge Champion (back to back titles by the way). Look for her to start that title defense this October.

Mary Sampson has been training here at Empower for several years along with her husband John and their two children Ben and John Jr. She exercises for 1 hour, 3 times per week with her personal trainer (Michael on Mondays and Wednesdays and Aaron on Fridays). In addition to her resistance training routine, Mary enjoys playing tennis, and running the Duke trail. Just ask her to tell you about a round of “cardio tennis.” It’s pretty intense.

I would tell you more about Mary’s results over the years and her training goals, but I’ll let her do it for you. Check out this link of an interview with Mary with her trainer Aaron, along with a clip of her workout today.

Be forewarned, do not try this at home…

Mary\’s Killer Workout

Jamie Ives MA, CSCS, Master Trainer

Jamie has several years of experience in the fitness industry, working with clients of various ages, ability levels, and health conditions. He enjoys using his knowledge as well as his experience in exercise prescription and program design to help each of his clients reach their individual wellness goals and improve their quality of life. For more information about Empower Personal Training, please call (919) 401-8024.

Want to lose weight?

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Are you someone who needs to lose weight? Have you tried everything under the sun but find yourself chalking it up to a slow metabolism? Here are some tips that will help you:

Exercise hard at least 30 minutes, three times per week. This can be anything that gets you out of breath, sweating, uncomfortable, and just plain working hard.

Do something to elevate your heart rate five times a week for an hour. Walking, cleaning the house, washing your car, playing with the kids, sports, or basically anything that doesn’t involve sitting and watching TV. And no, lifting the remote does not count as bicep curls.

Cut out the following foods from your diet: sugar, alcohol, refined starches, and anything that comes from a container with more than three ingredients.

Consume 75% less dairy and the bread, cereal, pasta, and rice section of the food pyramid.

Eat two or three servings of fruit everyday, no more and no less.

Eat lots of vegetables (don’t do bicep curls with the ranch dressing bottle either!).

Follow these rules and I’m certain you will lose fat.

Paul Piracci, CSCS Professional Trainer

Paul brings a background of athletics and education to the Empower team. He believes that wellness should be viewed as a blended lifestyle that balances nutrition, a healthy mind, and fitness which incorporates fun recreational activities. For more information about Empower Personal Training please call (919) 401-8024.