Merritt Clubs Blog

Last month was stressful… Who am I kidding, every day is stressful. So I spent a week trying to relax.

You have just enough time in your busy schedule for a quick workout, and you manage to get to the gym in time for your favorite group fitness class. Class is just about to end and out the door you go. But hold on a minute. Did you leave just after that last set of burpees? Were you putting your equipment away during the core track and gone before the cool down? Were you busy wiping down your bike? What happened to stretching those joints and muscles you just worked out?

Boxing is often times associated with violence, but when I was introduced to the sport it brought me more peace than anything ever had before. I had to stop and ask myself, why? Why is a violent sport so meditative?

Time to put a little balance back in your life. April is Stress Awareness Month and we are focusing on helping you relieve some stress through yoga, meditation, acupuncture and massage. Stress is based in your mind but can affect your body greatly. Through exercise, you can help release some of that stress by creating a physical outlet for it, which will benefit both your mind and body.

I really went for it this month and did the Whole30 diet. Yes, this diet is very expensive. I spent about 3 times more on food this month than normal, and I usually eat fairly healthy. On the plus side though, I didn’t really eat out either.

There are a lot of fitness trends out there. Have you tried the Star Wars workout, Karaoke Spin or Hula Hooping? What about circus workouts, wearing a high-altitude elevation training mask or crunning (running combined with crawling)? We are encouraged to stand every hour, close our rings, count our steps, count our reps, jump high, squat low, and dance our hearts out. What we really need to do, is…just….breathe.

You enter the gym, choose a machine, set the weight, and do your thing. Lather, rinse, repeat. 

And then you stop and wonder, "Have I been working out properly? Am I moving my body the right way? Am I optimizing it to its full potential?" 

Fitness experts and Merritt Clubs Fort Avenue trainers Tony Strittmatter and James Rehak sat down with us to talk about the importance of knowing the intricacies of your body, of moving correctly, and fixing bad patterns.

N-U-T-R-I-T-I-O-N time! Time to focus on what you put in your body. March is National Nutrition Month and we are here to help you build a better game plan for your kitchen. Learn about the benefits of making your own food instead of eating pre-packaged food, how meal prepping can help you stay healthy and how to grocery shop for your meal prepping!

Did you enjoy American Heart Month? I didn’t really. But it’s mostly because of the embarrassment of being caught on tape doing weird workouts at the office.

When was the last time you were able to go for any length of time without looking at your smartphone? An hour? Two hours? Ten minutes? Our electronic devices are an essential part of our lives. We use them to connect with friends and family, check the weather, manage data, stalk a potential mate, view cat videos, and navigate all aspects of our daily lives. While mobile technology has unprecedented advantages, excessive electronic stimulation may produce negative consequences as well. So, are you using your phone, or is it using you?