Merritt Clubs Blog

Diet is one of the most perplexing and frustrating things to balance in our lives. Losing weight is a challenge for most because along with exerting oneself physically, understanding and applying healthy eating habits are crucial for effective results.  An important part of a healthy diet is eating carbohydrates that help sustain energy for longer periods of time so that the body is able to use the food as fuel when working out. These are called complex carbohydrates.

• In January, you're faced with a new year - a fresh, clean calendar, endless opportunity in front of you, and that annual promise to exercise more. But as we're now trudging through fall, and the newness has long since worn off, where can you pull that motivation to visit the health club from?

  Here are our best five tips:

  1. Create your own "newness." Spice things up with some new digs, kicks, tunes - whatever it takes. Shiny new workout clothes and shoes make it easier to get up and out the door, and a fresh playlist will keep you moving even longer on our the treadmills or in class.

  2. Schedule it. Write it in red in your planner. Highlight your exercise slots in Outlook. Set reminders and alarms, and treat your workout time with as much importance as a meeting with your most important client. 

  3. Blog it out. Start a blog and round up a few followers. Commit to blog about your workout times for the rest of 2015. Give yourself a push through the holidays. With friends, family members and cyberspace followers hanging on your every word, you'll be less likely to skip a day....and definitely not an entire week. 

  4. Bribe yourself. Write down your goals and your rewards. Is a 14-day streak worth a splurge at your favorite store? Maybe you'll meet your month's goal and invest in new earbuds. Think of what motivates you most and don't allow yourself to have it until you meet that fitness goal.

  5. Buddy up and challenge each other. Just like in school, the buddy system is a great safety net. Commit to each other and share your personal goals. Having someone to keep you accountable works wonders. You can even create a contest between you. Skip a workout? Pay the cheat jar $5. At the end of the month, the victor with the most workouts keeps the cash. 

  And if you need even more ideas and motivation to exercise, contact us! We're here to help you make the most of each workout and achieve your fittest, healthiest you all year long.

   

Beat Holiday Stress With These Easy Steps

So, this is CJ Cummings. He is 15 years old and he is currently the youngest competitor at the IWF Wold Championships being held in Houston this week.

Tis the season for in-laws, sugar infused children, butter and skipping workouts. Most of us have a hard time deciding whether to postpone our fitness goals until after the holidays or to stick it out and hold steady. To me, there is an obvious choice. Honestly, you owe it to yourself and everyone around you to stay focused on your health this holiday season.

A 20 something couple, a grandma, a 40 year old active duty soldier and a 17 year old walk into Fit Camp…….
 
No, this is not the beginning of the best fitness joke ever. This is Fit Camp. A boot camp style program designed by the Merritt Personal Training department to help kick start your personal fitness journey. The great thing about Fit Camp is that the main objective is to meet people. People just like you, people nothing like you. Old, young, experienced, new, brave and scared out of their mind.  
You, yes you, have a place in Fit Camp.

Just as important as who you will meet in Fit Camp is what you will learn in Fit Camp. You will learn basic components of interval training. You will be introduced to new and exciting types of equipment. You will feel confident in your functional movement. More than anything, you will learn that your place in the gym… is everywhere in the gym.

“These are the things I learned (in Fit Camp):


1. Share everything.

2. Play fair.

3. Don't hit people, unless they are wearing protective gear and you are wearing punching gloves.

4. Put things back where you found them.

5. Put your stuff in your cubby (and lock your locker... just in case).

6. Don't take things that aren't yours, unless you ask to “work in”.

7. Listen to your body and appreciate snack time. 

8. Wash your hands after you lift.

9. Wipe down equipment.

10. Complex Carbs and Protein Powder are good for you.

11. Live a balanced life - don't just lift and don't just elliptical. 

12. Go to sleep at an appropriate time every night.

13. When you go out into the weight room for the first time, watch out for traffic and stick together.

14. Try something new every four weeks.
15. Drink Water!
16. Give as many high fives a day that you can. (Bonus points for high fiving strangers.)

For those of you who express their fitness competitively in other ways such as triathlons, a 5k race or even a marathon, there are a few things you should do to have yourself in top shape come game day.


1. Rest
All of the training and hard work you have done over the past  few months has prepared you for this day. Make sure you don’t waste it by having your body banged up from another week of hard training. The work is already done. Who you are the week leading up to your event, is the same person you will be the day of the event. Taper down your training and allow yourself a few days to rest or do some active recovery to ensure you are at your best.

2. Set a low goal, and a high goal.
You should go into an event with a set of goals in mind. First, set a low goal. Depending on your level of experience this goal can be something as simple as not finishing in last, or matching your previous personal best in that event. Then, set a high goal. This should be a goal that if you were to show up and perform at your peak performance, you would be able hit. Again, depending on your level of experience this could vary to a certain time you want to achieve, or a certain place you want to finish.

3. Fuel Up
What you put in your body is the fuel you will have to burn when you need it most. The day prior to your event should have a nice full breakfast and lunch. Your dinner should consist of easy to digest carbohydrates, some protein and try to avoid foods that are high in fat. Also, don’t forget to hydrate. Try to have two glasses of water the night before so you don’t go to bed dehydrated. On game day, don’t forget to eat again. If you are doing a distance race, top off the gas tank with some additional carbs a few hours before start time to ensure you have fuel throughout the race. If you have a day of shorter bursts of high intensity like you see at fitness competitions, make sure you eat throughout the day. I’ve found sweet potatoes, greens, eggs and protein shakes to be useful.

4. Have Fun
Don’t forget to have fun. We take on these challenges for a number of reasons. Whatever your reason is, don’t forget why you started in the first place. There are a lot of important problems in the world, so try to keep everything in perspective. Then when you’re ready, make adjustments to your training and get back at it!

Last time, we profiled two great sports that will help you lose weight and promote a healthy lifestyle. Here is part two of that post, which contains two more sports that anyone can do. Both of which boost metabolism, while exercising your body and your heart.

In January, you're faced with a new year - a fresh, clean calendar, endless opportunity in front of you, and that annual promise to exercise more. But as we're now trudging through fall, and the newness has long since worn off, where can you pull that motivation to visit the health club from?

So you're already thinking ahead to the New Year, and for many people that means making some changes to achieve a healthy lifestyle.  For most people, the resolution is an individual one, but why not make it a family decision?  Not only is there more success with a built-in support system, but it can be more fun too.