Merritt Clubs Blog

The holiday season is officially upon us. As many people will do, you could pig out at every opportunity – and there will be a lot of opportunities between work, friends and family gatherings – and wait until New Year’s to get back on the bandwagon in terms of fitness. You could do that, or you could maintain a healthy base fitness level that will help you to feel better about those holiday indulgences and make it easier to get back in shape for swimsuit season.

It’s important to continue working out regularly if you don’t want the holiday food fest to take its toll and leave you in the post-holiday doldrums, where sometimes it’s all you can do to put on your workout clothes, drive to the gym and look at the machines. Even if you find that the holiday treats are too tempting to pass up every time, you can control the damage by keeping your regular appointments with the treadmill, elliptical machine, barbells or whatever you enjoy doing most at the gym.

Base training during the holidays is a good way to prepare for spring events. When you’re ready, the experienced staff at Merritt Athletic Clubs, the premier fitness health club in the Baltimore area, will be happy to help you renew your commitment to fitness and health. In addition to the top-quality fitness equipment and variety of fitness classes that set us apart from the competition, we offer running and triathlon clubs at each of our locations that will help you get in shape and work toward being able to complete an athletic event at the same time. Did you run competitively in school and think you might like to get back into it? If so, then consider working out within your comfort zone through the holidays and then joining our Biggest Loser or 5 Weeks to 5K Success program to see what it can do for you. In this program, you will have a one-on-one session for a run assessment with one of our trainers, a 5-week training plan for your upcoming 5K race, a nutrition plan to fuel your workouts and weekly group runs where you can meet and mingle with others who are working toward a similar goal. If a triathlon is more your speed, we also offer triathlon training programs for every ability level – from newbies to veteran Ironman competitors – for all sprint triathlons, Ironman competitions and everything in between.

If you don’t already belong to a health club, now is the time to form a new, good-for-you habit and make a commitment to improved health and fitness that will carry over into the new year and the rest of your life. Our experienced staff of fitness professionals is ready and eager to help you meet your goals! Contact us today to learn more.

Taste The Six Pack

“Do you have abs”? This is a question that a friend of mine who is also trainer was asked by one of his clients. The quick answer, for anyone who is asked this is, YES! We all have “abs” which is the short name for the rectus abdominis, a large muscle in front of the abdomen that if weren’t there we couldn’t walk, lift things, stand upright, and our intestines and other organs would be falling out! So, yes, we all have abs. The specific question this client meant to ask is, “do you have visible abs, or the ever sought after six pack?” That is a very different story. So if we all have abs but most of us can’t see them the question is how do we get a six pack? Well the easy answer is exercise and a proper diet with a strong emphasis on proper diet. We all can’t see our abs but we can all taste them. Taste abs? What the heck do I mean right?! Well as you are reading this right now (as long as you aren’t eating anything) you are tasting what a six pack taste like. Six pack abs taste like seeing that bag of peanut M&Ms and walking past them. Six pack abs taste like not eating a piece of cake, not eating that bag of chips, not overeating, not overloading on carbs. This is a little trick that I taught myself to keep myself from eating junk food. I see something that would be delicious and I am tempted until I remember that NOT eating it is the way to the six pack.

Skeptical, anxious, excited, nervous, curious, hopeful. These were just some of the feelings I experienced while going through 12 weeks of training to become one of the few A.L.I.V.E. trainers at Merritt Athletic Clubs. Is there really a protocol that can reduce body fat, increase energy, cure dis-ease, reverse the physical signs of aging, and get people off of medications? How is this possible when this protocol is challenging some of the fundamental elements of health and fitness programs? How is this possible in just 8 weeks, starting out with only 6 minutes of cardio per day?? Phil Kaplan was making some bold statements about this program, and I was willing to keep an open mind and an open heart and jump in with both feet. If this program was even half as successful as Phil claimed, I could be saving lives!

As our pilot group of A.L.I.V.E. participants completes week 8 of the program I couldn't be more excited and proud! Here are just SOME of the results achieved from our group: dramatic weight loss WITHOUT restricting calories or cutting carbohydrates, increased strength and endurance, decreased blood pressure, relief from migraines, decreased blood sugar levels, increased energy, sleep better, cured of intestinal issues. Do you or anyone you know take medications daily? Have you been on every fad diet and extreme exercise program only to have all of the weight come back? What are you waiting for? Please don’t use time as an excuse… if you don’t make time for yourself, you won’t be around to enjoy the fruits of your labor!

A.L.I.V.E. is an 8 week program designed to coach you through a lifestyle change… this is only the beginning!

To learn more about A.L.I.V.E. visit: http://merrittclubs.com/alive