Mid-Year Health Assessment

It is hard to believe that 2023 is half over! Now that everybody is settling into a summer routine, it is a great time to look at your health habits and set goals for the remainder of the year. The suggested links may be found at the end of the article. Checklist For Healthy Aging – These 5 Will Keep You Alive! Evaluate Your Current Health Status. Being up to date on screening exams and knowing your screening numbers help you avoid or manage chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, and unhealthy weight gain. Having a primary care doctor you trust to help monitor your overall health, address any concerns, and provide guidance on preventive measures is a key step in the right direction. If you haven’t had a physical exam in 2023, schedule one today. [...]

Mind-Body Fitness

Mind-body fitness incorporates mental engagement with active movement and controlled breathing. This full-body approach to activity focuses on body awareness during exercise and can also include mindful meditation. Let's take a closer look at the benefits of this fitness style and ways you can add it to your current workout routine. Benefits Mind-body fitness is a form of activity that allows the individual to see full-body benefits. When our mind is prepared for and focused on the exercise we're completing, it can help us pay more attention to our movements. We’re more in tune with our intensity, technique, and form. More awareness lowers the risk of injury and increases the ability to experience the benefits of physical activity. Research has shown how this type of fitness can benefit overall health and disease management. Research suggests, “Incorporating approaches such as mind-body [...]

Now Trending: Group Fitness

Feeling bored or stuck with your current exercise routine? Then group fitness might be your answer. This style of exercise is constantly changing and evolving. Due to the wide variety of options, it is easy to find a class of interest. We’ve rounded up and explored some of the newest trends in group fitness. Group Personal Training Group personal training has become a more budget-friendly option for personalized training. The group usually consists of two to five participants, so the cost per person is less than a private session. Since these groups are smaller than a typical group fitness class, you can still have individualized training specific to your goals and needs. Grab a few friends and begin your fitness journey together. Virtual Fitness Classes Exercising with a group can help boost motivation and accountability, but day-to-day challenges can make [...]

Now Trending: Virtual Fitness

  Home workouts have been revitalized and renovated over the last few years. As the pandemic prompted many individuals to find alternate means of exercise, it brought virtual fitness exploding onto the scene. The virtual fitness market is estimated to experience an increase of a 30.01% compound annual growth rate between 2020 and 2026 (Global News Wire). It increases the accessibility of exercise and brings a variety of classes, trainers, and programs directly to your living room. Benefits The accessibility and variety of virtual fitness have helped make it popular. Many people now have exercise classes available with the touch of a button on their phones. You can attend a class or workout of your choice without leaving the comfort of your home. It allows for more flexibility in busy schedules. It accommodates those who are now working remotely from [...]

Build Your Workout Using the FITT Principle

  Putting together a balanced workout plan can feel daunting. Following the FITT principle is an effective way to make that task easier. FITT stands for the Frequency, Intensity, Time, and Type of your workout. It helps you design a routine that incorporates a variety of necessary exercises while tailoring it to your personal needs and goals. Frequency Frequency addresses how often you will plan to exercise. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate-intense aerobic exercise along with at least two days of strength training exercises each week. If you’re beginning an exercise routine or it’s been a while since you’ve exercised consistently, you should gradually build up to this recommended amount. For Aerobic Exercise: Break up your cardio minutes however you wish. On average, you could aim for about thirty minutes of exercise [...]

The Mini Workout

The Answer to “I Don’t Have Time to Exercise” The fact that mini workouts can benefit our health is an obvious advantage. However, there are many other benefits to incorporating these short bursts of exercise into your day. Due to our busy and evolving schedules, it can be hard to commit to long exercise sessions. Mini workouts allow you to incorporate physical activity more easily into your day. While planning for a thirty-minute workout can feel discouraging on an already busy day, it can often be more realistic to wrap our head around 5 to 15 minutes of exercise at a time. A few active moments throughout the day can feel more manageable and less stressful than scheduling a longer workout. This perspective can help our exercise become more consistent over time. Mini workouts help decrease our daily sedentary time [...]

Exercise as Medicine

  We all know that exercise is good for our health, but what exactly does it mean to use exercise as medicine? Research has shown that exercise can help to prevent and manage chronic diseases and conditions. In many cases, with physician supervision, it can be used instead of or in conjunction with medication to maximize health benefits. How Can Exercise be Used as Medicine? The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) launched the Exercise is Medicine (EIM) initiative to emphasize the importance of physical activity on our overall health. While physical fitness is important for improving athletic performance, preventing injury, and building muscle, its benefits go far beyond this. Exercise is key for preventing and managing diseases like cancer, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease. Research shows it can also help manage bone and joint health, mental health, cognitive [...]

Top Fitness Apps for 2023

  Welcome to a new year full of new goals! There’s an ever-increasing number of apps that bring fitness right to your fingertips. If you’re looking to establish or change up your exercise this year, we’ve got a list of the top fitness apps you’ll want to check out. AllTrails Available On: App Store & Google Play Price: Free Version or Pro Version for $35.99/Year AllTrails is an app for outdoor fitness lovers. Search and explore nearby trails for hiking, biking, and running. This app helps you find the perfect one to fit your needs, such as being dog-friendly, wheelchair and stroller accessible, or full of scenic attractions. Each trail has a difficulty rating, description, user reviews, full map, and directions to the trailhead. With over 350,000 trails on the app, you'll likely find just what you’re looking for. The [...]

5 Ways to Keep Your Exercise Consistent All Year

It’s hard enough to begin an exercise routine, let alone be consistent with one long-term. Between the change in seasons, fluctuating daylight hours, and holiday seasons, healthy habits can be hard to maintain. We’ve got five ways to help you stay on track with your exercise year-round. Plan Your Workout We often say things like, “I need to be more active” or “I need to be more consistent with my exercise.” But then, the next week rolls around, and we say the same thing. While these are admirable goals to have, action requires appropriate planning. Think about your week ahead and how you can plan specifically to fit in exercise. Plan the days, times, duration, and type of each workout. This gives you a clear picture of your exercise goals for the week. And you’ve already accounted for other obligations [...]

6 Ways to Exercise Sustainably

Did you know you can lend a hand in taking care of our environment by the way you exercise? Sustainability in our exercise starts with treating our resources responsibly. We’re taking a look at six ways we can exercise more sustainably. Drink from Reusable Water Bottles Proper hydration before, during, and after exercise is a necessity. However, plastic water bottles can pile up as waste in landfills. Less than one-third of plastic bottles actually get recycled (Beyond Plastics). Most reusable water bottles hold almost double the amount of water as a typical plastic bottle. This makes reusable water bottles not only a smart choice for the environment but a smart choice for your wallet too! Exercise Outdoors Use natural resources for your workout! Take a walk at a nearby park. Go hiking with friends or family members. Save money and [...]