Merritt Clubs Blog

If your new habit is to start waking up early so you can get your workout in, but you’re not a morning person, load up the coffeemaker the night before and set out your work clothes in advance. This makes actually getting up a little less upsetting because half of the morning routine is already completed. Removing some of the pain and obstacles makes it easier to stick to your plan.

Getting started on an exercise program isn't easy for anyone, especially if you're committed to joining a new health club. Regardless of whether or not you have experience in a gym setting, every club is different so it's natural that you'll feel a little out of place the first time you go there. Here are some tips to get you ready so you can start focusing on getting healthy instead of wondering what the heck to do now that you've arrived.

People that get into exercise often neglect to pay attention to the health of their joints. As a result, they often do serious damage to these vital parts of the body. Learn how to exercise your options by keeping your joints as healthy and as stable as possible.

Keep Your Joints Steady When Exercising

Most severe joint damage (especially in your elbows) occurs when you aren't keeping them as tight and as close to your body as possible when exercising. Letting them wander during exercise will put undue strain on them that can lead to serious injury.

Take a Break from Repetitive Exercise

Repetitive exercises, such as jogging, playing tennis, or kayaking can often put difficult strain on your joints, especially if you're relatively new to the activity. Limit yourself to 15-30 minutes of this type of exercise before taking a break. If necessary, ice and warm the joint to alleviate pain.

Build Your Strength

Exercises that build strength, especially those with resistance, build the strength of the muscles and ligaments around your joints. This helps to take away some of the strain and pressure that they feel and keep them as pain-free as possible. This is especially true if you focus on exercises for the muscles surrounding each joint.

Quit Smoking

As if you needed any more reason to quit, it turns out that smoking actually steals nutrients from your bones and joints and considerably weakens them. If you're struggling to quit, try a smoking cessation aide and do your joints a favor.

If you liked these tips or are want to know more information about joint health, please don't hesitate to contact us to learn more.

Getting into shape is a choice that many make once they feel like they have let other things get in the way of their personal health. Going to the gym can be the first step in a healthier lifestyle, but how can you maximize your time to meet your goals? An easy way to set up a great workout routine is to utilize personal training services. Here are just some of the benefits you can get with a personal trainer.

As a mom, you might feel like the last thing that you can afford or fit into your schedule is a membership to a local fitness club. However, you probably deserve one of these memberships more than anyone. These are a few reasons to sign up for at least one month at a nearby fitness club -- like Merritt Clubs -- to give it a chance. Once you do, you're sure to wonder why you waited so long to get a membership.

Dear High school student;

When approaching a workout , one thing that is overlooked is warming up the muscles. When the muscles/body/circulatory system is warmed up, the workout becomes more effective. Making a workout more effective translates into results, which is the goal attempting to be achieved when exercising. In order to successfully warm up the body, dynamic stretching is vital prior to a workout routine.

The idea of warming up is to literally warm up the muscles. In other words, when one warms up the muscles what he/she is doing is increasing the temperature in the body, preparing the muscles to perform at a high level. Warming up, or activating muscle groups, is essential to overall performance and productivity during a workout.

Examples of dynamic stretching can be basic movements such as jumping jacks or even squats. There are also dynamic stretches that target specific muscles that one may be using during the proceeding workout routine. Dynamic stretching is prefered by fitness professionals prior to a workout rather than static stretching (holding a stretch for a prolonged period of time). While static stretching is the more popular and practical form of stretching, it actually drops the body temperature causing the body to be less elastic which can result in a lack of power and explosion.

The biggest difference between dynamic stretching and static stretching is movement. Dynamic stretches force the body to move while static stretches are performed when the body is completely still. Movement is necessary prior to a workout in order to activate the muscles, so make sure to set aside 10 minutes before your next workout for dynamic stretching.

A well- packed  gym bag  is an effective way to maximize your time in any fitness center and minimize  the aggravation the comes from having to just make do. Before you  head  to the gym, make sure your bag contains the following tools to help you with your fitness goals.

Dear Marcia,