Merritt Clubs Blog

Chances are by now you’ve heard about the “surprising” appearance and percentage of body weight lost by the most recent winner of The Biggest Loser. Rachel Frederickson, lost almost 60% of her body weight in only five months. The trainers and other contestants could hardly contain their surprise and seeming concern at her reveal and final weigh-in. This would be more shocking if it weren’t the logical outcome of a contest conducted in the manner of The Biggest Loser. The contest is judged on total weight loss and pays no attention to body composition; the percentages of fat mass versus lean body mass. There are some wonderful aspects of the show, but this aspect is very misleading. Don’t be fooled.

In this post I mention that weight is only one aspect of a person’s overall health...the one everyone obsesses over. Unfortunately, our attention to the number on the scale is misguided. What most of us are really concerned about is our body fat - a percentage of our overall weight. When most people say they want to lose weight, they really mean that they want to lose fat. The two are not synonymous. However, some people are still under the illusion that gaining muscle is bad, because it contributes to the total number on the scale or for fear of becoming bulky.

Gaining muscle is NOT bad. It’s one of the best things you can do for yourself, especially if you are trying to lose fat. Muscle is expensive, calorically speaking. It takes a lot of calories to maintain and build muscle. The more muscle you have the more energy (calories/food) your body needs to maintain it. Gaining muscle helps you burn fat for energy even at rest, helping you reach your weight loss goals (or fat loss goals) even quicker. Gaining muscle will also make your stronger, not bulkier. Cinnamon buns make you bulky, not dumbbells.

Additionally, when you are too preoccupied with the number on the scale it is way more tempting to crash diet. When people crash diet (ever heard of the master cleanse?) they lose weight for sure - both fat and muscle weight. However, at some point after a crash diet you have to start eating food again. When the inevitable occurs your metabolism is now slower because you’ve lost calorie burning muscle. Meaning, you’ll gain more fat eating the same amount of food that you were eating before. And the cycle begins. You starve yourself to lose weight, you lose fat and muscle, eventually you have to start eating again, but now you get even fatter than you were before, so you starve yourself again to lose some weight…

Stop telling yourself that the number on the scale is the enemy!

Television shows like The Biggest Loser are for entertainment first and foremost. Unfortunately, they perpetuate idea that the scale is the enemy. Contestants are rewarded for losing the most weight, not the most body fat. The insane amount of weight the contestants lose each week is not realistic. It makes a more realistic and sustainable rate of weight loss seem disappointing. If you are trying to lose weight (and keep it off), you want to maintain your muscle mass, if not build upon it. Therefore, ideally most people will be losing some fat, and gaining some muscle each week. That’s why we say it is safe and most effective to lose 1-2 pounds each week...not 25. You have to take a gradual approach to weight loss if you want the results to be long lasting. Remember it’s a journey.

It’s time to end that unhealthy relationship with the scale. To get a more accurate picture of your overall health and weight loss progress find out your body composition. Ask a personal trainer to help you find your body fat percentage, or check out the Bod Pod that comes to Merritt several times each year. It is a quick and highly accurate way to test your body composition and get your estimated daily energy expenditure (the number of calories you burn daily ). The scale is not the be all and end all measurement of your health and fitness. Don’t give it more importance than it deserves.

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.

Recently I asked a friend what they thought I should blog about. “Sex” was the answer. I laughed. All I could think was fitness is more than looking good naked. If that is your only motivation to get fit, you will most likely never get there. You have to find something that challenges you, inspires you and motivates you to get your lazy behind off the couch every day. Trust me. Looking good naked, isn’t enough.

On second thought, however I remembered that Valentine's Day is coming up and realized that sex is actually a perfect topic.

For a lot of people going to the gym is like unsuccessful online dating. You are trying so hard to get in shape, or find the right mate, but nothing is working. You can’t seem to get what you want no matter how hard you try...and it seems like you’ve tried EVERYTHING. Strangely, we often find someone worth dating in the weirdest places when we aren’t looking for them at all. What gives?

The truth is if you are looking for someone else to fulfill you, then you are doomed to be unhappy. It starts with you. You have to love yourself before you can love anyone else. A welcomed side effect of self-improvement, of loving yourself first, is that others find you more desirable. Fitness is no different; the side effect of being fit, is a rocking body that you worked hard to earn. If you are trying to get the rocking body without being fit - without earning it - you may be that desperate online single looking for love in all the wrong places.

And, to satisfy my friend, the fitter you are, the better your sex life will be. Research shows sexual dysfunction is more likely among women and men with poor physical and emotional health. Moreover, sexual dysfunction is highly associated with overall well-being. In the United States there is a surprisingly high prevalence of sexual dysfunction in both sexes. It is estimated that 31% of men and 43% of women experience some form of sexual dysfunction. That’s right - more women than men experience sexual dysfunction. Your physical and emotional health are the key.

Want to get a date, look better naked, have better sex, and generally improve all aspects of life? Focus on taking care of yourself first; loving yourself and prioritizing your fitness will take care of most of your problems. It’s that simple, and yet so difficult.

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.

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Family time and kids fitness are two major concerns for modern parents. A new study confirms that Americans are spending barely eight hours a week with their children. A health club membership may be just what you need to reverse the trend and get everyone in shape.

If you feel like you barely see your kids during the week, you’re not alone. The study conducted by Virgin Holidays and Universal Orlando Resort discovered that the daily average is just 36 minutes for the time families spend together. Weekends are a little better with over 2 hours of family time each day, but many people say they mostly count on holidays to reconnect.

Going to the gym as a family is a great way to meet up more often and boost your fitness. There are several ways to get around the most common obstacles:

Meals: Eating quickly doesn’t have to mean fast food. Prepare dishes you can cook ahead of time on weekends and freeze the leftovers. Chili and lasagna are two old favorites. Pack a cooler full of cut vegetables, pita bread and hummus, and stick it in your car for healthy dining on the go. Turn a salad into a balanced meal with leftover fish or chicken.

Homework: Kids usually need a break between school and homework. Hit the gym on the way home from work and school. If you need to schedule visits for later in the evening, present your health club visits as a reward for completing their studies.

Bed Times: Of course, rest is essential too. After your workout, arrange quiet time before retiring. Read books or take a warm bath. Shut off TVs, phones and other devices.

Merritt Athletic Club is committed to keeping Baltimore families healthy. Check out our pool, gymnastics, dance and other programs for kids. Contact us to learn more.

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.

How many times have you uttered the words, “I’ll start Monday”?

Chances are we've all said or thought this at least once in our lives. I’m willing to bet there are more than a few people out there that have used some event - a wedding, reunion, significant birthday, 5k race - as motivation to “get in shape,” only to find themselves back at square one shortly after the event has passed. If you can relate, I’ve got news for you: just like life, fitness doesn’t start on Monday and it doesn’t end after the wedding cake has been cut. It started the moment we were born, and it won’t end until the day we die. Every choice has a consequence.

The choices we make every day make us healthier or sicker. Our fitness (or lack there of) is the accumulation of every single one of the seemingly insignificant choices we make every day: hit the snooze button, or hit the pavement at 6AM; eat the side salad or the french fries; pull an all nighter or ask for an extension on your deadline; take the dog for a walk or let him out the back door. It all adds up.

Furthermore, we usually make decisions based on past decisions. That means bad decisions can easily become habitual. Going home to rest after work instead of going directly to the gym suddenly becomes the norm instead of the exception. Having that beer and pizza during the game last week makes it easier to do again this week.

People often seek out a personal trainer with a specific goal or event in mind thinking that six weeks will get them there and that once they achieve their goal the work is done. Unfortunately, it took a lot of poor choices to get out of shape and it takes a lot of smart choices to get in shape, perhaps even more eye opening is the fact that getting in shape never ends.

Personal trainers are a resource. Not only can we help get you to your goal, we can also give you knowledge so you can continue to make smart choices long after we’ve parted ways. However, we can’t do the work for you. You make millions of decisions every day that affect your overall health. We can’t be there all the time to make the right choices for you. And a few hours a week with us won’t undo the other hours of less than optimal conditions of life.

So, don’t fool yourself into thinking your fitness goals are a destination. They aren’t. They are just another step along the journey of your life. And the journey doesn’t start Monday either. It’s going on right now. Right now is your opportunity to make a better decision.

Need help learning how to make a better decision? Seek out a personal trainer and get the advice, motivation and support you need to make the most of your journey.

Joanna Meade (view bio) is a NSCA Certified Personal Trainer at the Downtown Athletic Club. She is a Level One CrossFit 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.

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.

The holidays are coming up and you're probably looking over your list, trying to figure out a gift for each person that will be appreciated and unique. While many adults enjoy going to the gym, a gift certificate to one is a touchy subject. Some might appreciate it, while others will take offense. Kids however, are another story. A gift certificate to a fitness club that has classes and activities just for them would not only be better than a toy that loses appeal, it would provide fun and promote a healthy lifestyle for a child in your life.

Kids Classes at Merritt Athletic Clubs

If you're in the Maryland area, Merritt Athletic Clubs caters to families. They provide special classes for children year-round, and even have camps and activities when children are on vacation from school. Some of the classes children can choose from include:

• Michael Phelp's swim school
• Karate
• Gymnastics
• Dance
• Zumba Kids
• Kid Fit, an exercise class for 7-12 year-olds
• Wee Sports, for 3-5 year-olds
• Fit Club for 11-15 year-olds
• Wiggle, Giggle & Shake for 6 - 18 months

If you've got a video game lover on your list, XRKade is a special fitness class that challenges kids using the latest video game technology. Kids get fit using Dance, Dance, Revolution, a virtual cycle, a snowboarding program, and other active video games that motivate children who love to live in an electronic world.

Families who enjoys having fun and getting fit together can do it at Merritt Athletic clubs. Kids love to swim, and when families come to one of our pools, they will have a blast while being active.

If you've got a child on your gift list, consider giving them a gift certificate to Merritt Athletic Clubs. They will, without a doubt, enjoy it more than any toy you could give them.

For more information on locations and programs, contact us.

Just a Hint... Honey Holiday wish list!

A few years ago, I was 255 pounds, drinking a 30 pack of beer, and smoking 2 packs of cigarettes a day. I had the worst diet, eating fast food and sweets exclusively. I was constantly out of breath, dizzy, and thoroughly miserable all the time. I felt like i was walking dead, numb to the world around me and actually welcomed death. If there was ever a poster for bad lifestyle decisions, it would have my picture on it.

Several events lead me to sober up and stop smoking. These changes were tough. My body was telling me I had better change something soon, or else. My physical and mental health were at the breaking point. I felt considerably better after quitting drinking and smoking, but still felt badly and lacked any energy. So I changed my diet and started walking some. Immediately I started feeling somewhat better, and knew I was headed in the right
direction for healthier living. I was still not feeling as good as I thought I should, so a friend of mine recommended I join a gym, and that he was a member of Merritt in Eldersburg. I joined immediately and started going consistently soon after.

I quickly figured out I would need help developing a routine, getting familiar with the equipment, and most importantly avoiding an injury. Steve Ruby was recommended to me by a friend and immediately I felt comfortable working with him, as he had been through his own struggles as well. There's a huge difference in working with a trainer who has been through the struggle themselves, compared to one who just read about it in a book. Steve has proven thoroughly knowledgable with all aspects of fitness. He keeps me guessing as to what the workout will be that day, and the results are dramatic. I love how Steve always finds a new way to challenge me.

As a direct result, I am now in the best shape of my life, and look forward to my time in the gym. The positive benefits of Lifestyle change and exercise I cannot possibly explain or emphasize well enough. For me, working with someone experienced has made all the difference. Start your journey with a trainer who has walked in your shoes. My highest recommendation is Mr. Steve Ruby