Merritt Clubs Blog

Even if you know that cutting down on salt and sugar would be good for your healthy lifestyle, you may not get around to doing anything about it. When you're feeling swamped with responsibilities at home and at work, it's hard to take on another major project. It's just easier to operate on autopilot doing what you usually do.

Are you sitting down? Are you comfortable? That’s too bad, because it’s probably killing you.

You just had a killer workout, pushing yourself to the absolute limit. As you head home from the gym, dripping with self-satisfaction, it's easy to want to reward yourself with junk food. But you worked hard, and you deserve to give your body what it needs to recover from exercise and maximize your results. The good news is that you don't have to sacrifice that urge to splurge. Here are some nutritious and delicious options for your post-workout meal.

When in doubt, pink it out!

It will soon be Breast Cancer Awareness month, and we’re all in this together. Friends don’t let friends work out alone. Call everyone you know to get together for some quality time and kick cancer's butt at our pink events!

Did you guys enjoy apple month?! I sure learned a lot about added sugar and junk food. Like for one, it’s delicious terrible for you. And it has a huge impact on your diet.

This summer I became obsessed with American Ninja Warrior. OK, maybe “obsessed” is a little strong, but face it, the show is entertaining. I like how all the athletes have different nicknames that represent exactly who they are. I like the backstories about the competitors. I like how friends and family come out to support their athletes and cheer every little victory. I like how the announcers get more excited than anyone else. And, I like that the entire family can watch it together.

When you ask a mother what the most important moments of her life are, for sure one of her answers will be giving birth to her child(ren). 

Carrying a growing, human life inside of her for several months and then bringing that precious baby out into the world is one journey that is both memorable and life-changing. And while a woman's body is designed for pregnancy and giving birth, it is still key to prepare it for these important events.

For this month's Q&A, we talked to Merritt Clubs Towson's Heather Jordan about the importance of exercise for helping to alleviate pregnancy pains, for labor preparation, and for postpartum recovery. Heather is an NSPA certified Postnatal Fitness Specialist and is a mother of two.

We do believe the old saying, “an apple a day keeps the doctor away,” and September is apple month! We are going all apple and teaching the benefits of this fabulous fruit. Let’s learn about our metabolism, cutting out added sugar and junk food, and good food substitutions for your cravings. High-processed foods can be loaded with sugar, salt, chemicals and trans fats, which can lead to health issues. Cutting junk food is an easy way to eliminate empty calories that don’t contain any nutrients.

August was De-Clutter Your Mind month. Man did I need it. My mind has been a jumbled mess of incoherent ramblings lately since my mental health was pretty low on my list of priorities. Taking the time to re-evaluate myself has been a game-changer!

No pain no gain, right???