Empower Personal Training
Posts Tagged ‘wellness’
Meet Mary Sampson
Friday, September 10, 2010Folks, 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…
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.
Empower Celebrates 5 Years in Business
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Co - Owners of Empower Personal Training
Before we look forward to the future of Empower, I wanted to take just a few minutes to look back at the last 5 years. For those of you who were around in 2005 you may remember how it all started, but for those of you that have joined the Empower team in the last few years you may not know much about our history. So here it goes…
The concept of Empower Personal Training is the long time vision of Jessica Bottesch and Ronda (Michaels) Williams. We started way back in 1993 as freshmen year suitemates at UNC (Go Heels) and we became fast friends and study partners. We used to spend late nights studying together and our study sessions would often drift to conversations about opening a sports medicine facility once we were out of school. Fast forward a few years – Jessica received her Master’s degree in Sports Medicine, and I went on to get my Master’s degree in Sports Management. In 2003 our vision really started to come together and we started to brainstorm having our own facility. By this time our experiences had taken us both in the direction of personal training and overall wellness so our concept shifted a little from an outpatient rehab facility to a studio environment that focuses on total health and wellness.
The next year or so we brainstormed names for our company and worked with a close friend to design our logo. Finally in early 2005 we got really serious about realizing our dream. We cranked out a business plan and began searching for an ideal location. We found our current location, and it immediately felt like the right fit for our business. We went through the process of lease negotiations and studio up fit and by Sept. 2005 we opened our 3000 sq. ft. studio with two employees – Jessica and me.
If you were around in 2005, you’ll remember that Jessica and I did everything ourselves – we trained, we marketed, we answered phones and we even served as the cleaning crew (albeit for only one week). You might remember that we used to schedule appointments the old fashioned way – with good ole paper and pencil and date book at the front desk. My how things have changed and we are now able to leverage technology and provide online scheduling and billing services through our state of the art, industry leading software MindBody.
Slowly things started to pick up and we were in need of additional staff to handle the increased business. Let me just throw in a side note here, but Jessica and I personally think we have the best staff in the area. If it were not for our dedicated team of professionals we would have never made it this far, and we are eternally grateful for the loyal staff members we’ve had over the years. At this point we have 12 personal trainers, 2 registered dietitians, 1 massage therapist and 2 group fitness instructors on our staff for a total of 17 employees.
At our two year mark in 2007 it started to become apparent that we were running out of space in our current digs so we expanded into the contiguous 1000 square feet. We added a few more pieces of equipment, but mostly what we needed was more space for our expanding client base. If you currently train at Empower you know that the long runway in front of the cardio equipment can seem endless if you are pushing the sled or doing inchworms or walking lunges the entire way. Again we owe it all to our wonderful clients for making the first expansion a reality.
Jessica and I are excited as we pause and reflect on Empower’s growth and success over the past 5 years. We thank you – clients, staff, family and friends for supporting us as we realize our vision to “Empower people and communities to lead stronger, healthier, happier lives.”
Stay tuned for more details about the 5 year Red Carpet Celebration and for more information about Empower’s plans for growth as we pass this milestone anniversary.
Back to School
Friday, August 20, 2010WOOHOOOOOO!!!! That’s what I said the day I got my first automobile – a mustard yellow 1992 Ford F-150…what a classic. It’s what my wife screamed as she held her hands up towards the sky going down Splash Mountain at Disney World this summer. And kids, that’s also what your parents say when its time for you to go back to school. Just kidding! but not really
Yes, it is that time of the year again. Time to put away the boogie boards, board shorts, and suntan lotion, and dust off the trusty backpack and trapper keeper…do people still use those? Got all of your school supplies and new school gear? Pens, pencils, and the biggest pack of Crayola crayons you can find? I remember back when I was the first kid in school to get the 128 pack. I thought I was so cool with my robin’s egg blue and burnt sienna. Good times. But I digress.
Anyway, the point is that the beginning of the school year usually brings about a great deal of change, and change, while often good, can be quite stressful. The stress and anticipation about the upcoming school year, if not managed properly, can pose quite the challenge to one’s health and wellness. This is true whether you preparing for your first day of kindergarten, middle school, or even your senior year. And parents, I probably don’t have to go out on a limb to tell you that you’ll probably be feeling some of the anxiety too.
Therefore, it’s important that we do our best to manage back to school stress by focusing on things that we can do to improve our well being. But that’s easier said than done, right? If you are looking for a few cool tips though, then check out this article. (link) It discusses back to school health and how parents can take steps to ensure their children are well rested, energized, and fully prepared for the rigors of the school year – just like our friend Billy Madison.
"Back to school. Back to school, to prove to Dad that I'm not a fool. I got my lunch packed up, my boots tied tight, I hope I don't get in a fight. Oh! Back to school... back to school... back to school."
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.
Jump Start Your Metabolism
Friday, November 13, 2009Metabolism is a word that is often kicked around in day-to-day conversation as it relates to one’s fitness. How many times have you said or heard, “I’m not what I used to be, my metabolism must have slowed down?” The true definition of the word is the sum of the physical and chemical processes in an organism by which its substance is produced, maintained and destroyed and by which energy is made available. In short, your body takes the food you eat and converts it to energy you can use through a process called metabolism. Each person’s metabolic rate is different and can be influenced by how much food you consume, your age, your fitness level, your stress level and hereditary factors. Although it is true that your metabolism slows with age you can take measures to combat your body’s physiological changes. Try the two-step approach discussed below to jumpstart your metabolism and start receiving the many benefits of a healthy, strong body at any age.
Step One:
The first step you should take to immediately improve your metabolism is to eat light and often – starting with breakfast. Breakfast is just what it says – it is meant to break the fast from the night before and give you the energy your brain and muscles need to sustain all your daily activities. Your body is programmed to convert the foods you eat and drink into glucose to provide energy to every cell in your body. Your cells require energy 24 hours a day regardless of how often you eat to provide this fuel. When you skip breakfast or other meals, your body does not have glucose readily available so it starts to look toward your stored energy (glycogen) for fuel. Essentially your body goes into “starvation mode” where your glycogen stores become depleted and the body starts to look for its energy from other sources– first protein (lean muscle tissue) and secondly your fat stores. Once this process starts you begin to experience the immediate tell tale signs of a slowed metabolism: fatigue, decreased performance, mood swings, and a drop in strength. In order to combat this drop in energy you start to binge on the high fat, high calorie foods you crave in order to break this “starvation” – sound familiar? Unfortunately this cycle plays out many times throughout our fast paced lifestyle leaving us tired, uptight, miserable and out of shape. Over time a slowed metabolism can lead to weight gain and predispose you to other health risk factors.
Beginning with breakfast and ending with dinner you should make time to have small meals and snacks spaced every three to four hours throughout the day. A steady influx of nutrients will ensure that you “stoke” the fire of your metabolic rate. Good old fashioned slow burning carbohydrates consisting of whole grains, oats, fruits and vegetables, along with lean protein sources such as chicken, fish, egg whites and tofu are always the best food choices for energy throughout the day.
Step Two:
The second step to jump staring your metabolism involves incorporating exercise into your daily life. A full-body strength training regimen is a sure fire way to improve your metabolic rate by increasing your lean muscle tissue. Lean muscle is more metabolically active and therefore burns more calories throughout the day – even at rest. By adding just one pound of muscle to your frame you will be burning 30 – 50 more calories per day.
It is also helpful to ramp up your cardiovascular training and that might not be as hard as you think. Recent studies suggest you can receive many of the same benefits of cardiovascular conditioning with an interval training session. A sample treadmill interval workout starts with a few minutes of warm-up. Once your muscle tissue is warm and you start to break a light sweat, complete a 15-second sprint followed by a 45-second rest period. Repeat this cycle for a total of 15 minutes.
Other studies suggest that the shorter duration, higher intensity cardio sessions have a similar if not greater effect on cardiovascular improvements. This is good news for all of you with busy schedules. Now you can get the benefits of the traditional long, slow steady state cardio session completed in half the time! If time is of the essence you may even break-up what might be an hour-long workout into two half hour workouts throughout the day. Plan to incorporate cardio or interval training as well as strength training and be sure to allow at least a few hours in between workouts to recover properly. After settling into an exercise regimen, strive to keep the intensity level high and the exercises varied. If you continue to stress your body beyond your comfort level you will become stronger, feel more “toned” and ultimately increase your metabolism.
By making smart incremental choices throughout your day you can reap the rewards of a noticeable change in your metabolism. Eat breakfast and continue to eat light, frequent meals throughout the day, and add 30-60 minutes of exercise on most days of the week. You will soon be on your way to a faster metabolism and the positive results that come along with it: more energy, improved strength and a better-looking physique.
Matthew Alegre, CSCS Master Trainer
With over 10 years of experience in the health and fitness industry, Matthew has trained clients from a variety of fitness backgrounds. His expertise extends from those with special needs and disabilities to Olympic level athletes. For more information about Empower Personal Training please call (919) 401-8024.
VitaBot….How to Enroll
Monday, November 2, 2009VitaBot offers a tool to plan meals and give complete balanced nutrition information. In an industry focused primarily on counting calories, VitaBot was designed to shift the focus toward balanced nutrition. VitaBot uses advanced mathematics to “think” for the user, and helps them to easily put foods together, not just balance calories, but to balance micronutrients as well. VitaBot performs hundreds of thousands of calculations for every set of nutritional suggestions. The equations and the resulting suggestions are designed to allow the nutritional data to speak directly to the user, without personal interpretation.
The VitaBot program requires a one-time activation fee of $40 or a one-time Set-Up Consultation with our Registered Dietician and activation fee for $89. After activation, a re-occurring monthly fee of $20 for clients / $30 for non-clients is required to keep the account active. Please see your trainer or call the studio @ (919) 401-8024 to set up your VitaBot account.
I encourage everyone check out http://becomepowerful.vitabot.com and click on “Watch the Demo.” I truly believe that this system can make or break your progress and hard work at the Empower studio. Enjoy!
Matthew Alegre, CSCS Master Trainer
With over 10 years of experience in the health and fitness industry, Matthew has trained clients from a variety of fitness backgrounds. His expertise extends from those with special needs and disabilities to Olympic level athletes. For more information about Empower Personal Training please call (919) 401-8024.
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