Merritt Clubs Blog

When you're at home, it might be easy to focus on preparing healthy meals, heading to the gym for a workout and otherwise working toward your health and weight loss goals. However, chances are good that you spend a good part of your week in the office, which can make it tough for you to really stay serious about losing weight. To stay on the right track, remember these three important weight loss tips, even when you're at the office. Doing so can make a big difference in how quickly you achieve your goals and can have an impact on your overall health.

There are a variety of avenues a man can take to lead a healthier way of life, but there are three primary components that men need to live a healthy lifestyle. 

Looking at these pictures, I am reminded of why I love CrossFit. I can see the agony and determination on our faces. What’s more difficult to see is the the elation. This was one of the most fun and challenging competitions I’ve ever experienced. The pictures are from the Mid-Atlantic Affiliate Challenge, a team competition for CrossFitters from the entire Mid-Atlantic region. This weekend I’ll be competing for a second time. A lot has happened in the last year, including a shoulder injury, a lot of time off and rehab. Leading up to this point every time I think about it I fight back the urge to toss my cookies. All the old self-doubts surface. Am I ready to compete again? Will I hurt my shoulder? What if I let my teammates down? And so, on. What's worse is after last year I know just how bad it hurts physically. Why on Earth then, would I voluntarily put myself through the agony once again?

Fitness is more than looking good naked. Granted, looking good naked is a welcomed side effect of being fit, but it shouldn’t be your only motivation to put down that cookie and lace up your sneakers. Weight, or more appropriately body fat, is only one measure of your health. It’s the one everyone obsesses about. However, there is so much more to it. Blood pressure, body fat, bone density, triglycerides, posture, flexibility, muscle mass, good and bad cholesterol, even your mental health are things we can observe to determine your overall health.

You have to think of your health as a continuum. Every night you don’t get enough sleep, every day you don’t drink enough water, every hangover, every skipped workout and extra slice of pizza; they may not look like they are affecting you now, but rest assured they are. Everything we do, or don’t do, gradually pushes us toward greater fitness or toward morbidity. Being fit is the best way to protect yourself against disease. It's not just something you do to look good for bikini season.

Fitness is a way of life. It has to be a habit. Otherwise, you’ll never gain any traction.

The next time you feel intimidated by some hoss deadlifting 500 pounds, or that gazelle of a woman effortlessly bounding along on her treadmill, remember that we are not all starting from the same point on the continuum. Fitness is a journey. Everyone’s is different. Regardless of where you are on your journey, don’t judge a book by it’s cover. Don’t despair that you’ll never look as good as that hoss or gazelle across the gym. Your workout is moving you a step in the right direction on the health continuum. And the next time you tell yourself you’ll make up for that overindulgence at the gym tomorrow, remember that it all adds up. You can't out exercise a bad diet. All your actions outside of the gym need to support your efforts inside the gym to make any progress on the continuum. Keep moving toward fitness and you'll have much more than a beach body. You'll safeguard your life.

There are a host of resources at Merritt Athletic Clubs that can help you continually progress your fitness. We have excellent personal trainers, group fitness instructors, massage therapists, dietitians, a meal service and even physical therapists, all on site. Improve your overall health by taking advantage of these available resources.

Joanna Meade (view bio) is a NSCA Certified Personal Trainer at the Downtown Athletic Club. She is a Level OneCrossFit instructor and competitor. She can be reached at Merritt Athletic Clubs Downtown Club at 410-332-0906 or click here for a Free CrossFit Session.

Exercise and rest are both vital to your wellbeing, and 24 hour gyms may help you sleep better. If you’re tossing and turning because your schedule doesn’t match the nine to five world, maybe you need a new fitness club.

You’ve probably heard advice about not exercising vigorously right before bed, but you may not have known why. It’s based on the theory that intense aerobic exercise increases stimulating hormones like adrenalin in your blood and raises your body’s core temperature slightly. Once elevated, your body temperature stays higher for a while and then falls to a temperature a bit lower than normal about six hours later. That cooling off makes it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep.

This is all great if you get off work at 5, squeeze in a kickboxing class and loll around for several hours before bed. If you travel extensively or have a schedule that varies due to shift work or different classes each semester, it gets a lot more difficult.

A 24 hour gym will let you work out whenever is ideal for you. In addition to avoiding intense activity before bed, you may also want to work out as soon as you wake up no matter what time that happens to be. Some studies show that people burn more fat during workouts before breakfast or anytime their stomachs are empty.

We should mention that some experts think that working out regularly is the important thing and don’t attach much importance to the time of day so experiment to find what works for you. Almost everyone does agree that reducing your exposure to light for a couple of hours before you retire promotes better rest. That’s because TVs, computer screens and other sources of light trigger your brain to stay alert making this another good reason to visit a fitness club earlier in your day or evening.

Merritt Athletic Clubs is the largest fitness center operation in the Baltimore area with several 24 hour gyms to fit your lifestyle. These include the 24 HR Downtown Athletic Club, Buckingham, Canton, and Cranbrook facilities. Contact us to learn more.

Start Eating Smarter

Eating the right foods can help lower your cholesterol, ward off disease and protect your heart. Go ahead power up your diet, your body with these Super Foods.

There is an obsession with the number on the scale and people weigh in a lot in one day; when they wake up, before working out, after running, after a fitness class, after weight training, before they eat, after they eat, before going to bed. The most common one I see is people weigh in before and after working out and having a disappointed look. Are they expecting a big number after one workout that was probably an hour or less?

In the world of “Eat This Not That” you may wonder why certain foods are less than healthy and can derail your efforts towards fat loss and better health. Often it’s not the food itself but rather the chemicals that are added to preserve the food or to make it taste better. One such ingredient is hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated fat. Some common foods that often contain these types of fats include: margarine, most spreads, many cookies, crackers, ice cream, convenience foods, snack foods, and some breads, etc. Increased consumption of hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated fats can lead to the following health issues:

*Hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated fats are difficult to digest and stay in the body for a long time

*Excess weight gain independent of excess calorie consumption

*Chronic inflammatory diseases and pain

*Increased LDL (bad cholesterol), decreased HDL (good cholesterol)

*Increased blood clotting and increased risk of coronary artery disease

*Increased development of autoimmune disease

*Increased risk of cancer

*Accelerated aging (increased skin wrinkling)

*Depressed milk fat production in nursing mothers

As much as possible eat organic, natural whole foods that are not processed. READ THE LABEL! Avoid breaded or deep-fried foods at restaurants and stay away from anything that contains hydrogenated fat, partially hydrogenated fat, or shortening. Arm yourself with knowledge about the foods that you eat and you will be one step closer to success at achieving your goals.

By Karen O'Donnell, Personal Trainer at Towson

If you are like me, salad gets a little boring. Plain old lettuce can only take you so far. This salad by Giada De Laurentiis is a fun departure from a traditional salad and provide lots of beneficial nutrients like selenium, potassium, riboflavin, niacin, and vitamin D from all of those mushrooms.