Rittenhouse Women’s Wellness Center

Spring Clean Your Fitness Routine

May 01, 2013

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Fitness Blog

By: Kathryn Ponius, Personal Trainer

Spring has sprung! Winter is over, flowers and trees are starting to bloom, it is time to do some spring cleaning, and it’s time to do some spring training!

After hibernating this winter, your body may be in need of a make-over in time to get tight and fit for bathing suit weather.

Dust off those running shoes, pump up your bike tires, and get out that water bottle.

While this time of year is exciting, invigorating, and teeming with new life and energy, it is important to remember some tips for training that you may have packed away with your shorts and tank tops.

First of all, be sure to start slow. If it has been a while since you last took a run outside, take some time to stretch. Also, while running on a treadmill does give you the cardio benefits, running outside on different terrains can work your muscles and joints in different ways. Be sure to start at a slower pace than you are running inside and build as your body readjusts.

Protect your skin. People are so excited to be outside in the beautiful weather that they often forget that it may have been a while since their skin had been exposed to so much sun. Before a jog on the trail or a walk in the park, make sure you apply sunscreen to any exposed skin to prevent sun damage and premature aging.

Prepare for all weather. Spring weather is unpredictable. This means check the forecast and dress in layers! Don’t let changes in weather deter you from your training. Be flexible and willing to improvise to keep on track.

Be aware of spring allergies. Lots of people are affected by the change in allergens between the dead winter months and the blossoming spring months. If you are susceptible to these allergens be sure to check pollen forecasts and talk to your doctor before starting any outside fitness programs.

Most importantly, have fun. Spring is a great time to be physically active and enjoy the outdoors! Plan a hike with your friends, bike ride to a river bank for a picnic, keep moving and enjoy!

If you would like some help creating a personal fitness program, the trainers at Rittenhouse Women’s Wellness Center are a phone call away! Make your appointment today!

Adding Yoga to Your Workout

March 27, 2013

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Fitness Blog

By: Andrea McCloskey, Personal Trainer

In today’s stress filled world, everyone could benefit from mind clearing, muscle stretching and body strengthening Yoga. Research shows Yoga can help to maintain or control many medical anxieties including arthritis, asthma, back pain, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, carpal tunnel syndrome, chronic fatigue, depression & anxiety disorders, epilepsy, chronic headaches, multiple sclerosis, stress, as well as many other conditions and diseases.

Yoga:

*Improves muscle tone, flexibility, strength and stamina

*Reduces stress and tension

*Boosts self esteem

*Improves concentration and creativity

*Lowers body mass index and targets fat

*Improves circulation

*Stimulates the immune system

*Creates a sense of calm and total wellbeing

Yoga helps those practicing get in touch with their ‘true self.’ Between work, home and general life stressers, it is easy to lose track of oneself. We women are not only their jobs, daily demands, the car we drive, the house that we live in, the emotions that we feel, the sole provider paying the bills, or the ‘crazy stressed out lady’. We are so much more than those things. When you feel stress, think of all of the ways it affects your body. Your heart rate increases, your blood pressure goes up, you may start to sweat. You cannot concentrate on anything other than what is stressing you out. You may forget things-- creating more stress, snap at people—making you feel regretful, tired and agitated.

None of this is good for your body. As difficult as it may be in the beginning to clear your, forget your stressors, and just concentrate on your breathing, calming yourself and getting a breath of good, clean oxygen into your body will make you feel like a new Woman! You will find yourself dealing with stress better and it not affecting you the same way. You will realize that it is not you, but the environment putting stress on you, that has become the issue.

So, through a continuous practice, dealing with people and things from a clear perspective, you can transform not only yourself, but those around you. People will notice the change, you will feel better. You may even halt those furrows and frown lines from slowly imprinting on your face.

So, find a good Yoga instructor, put on your comfy, stretchy clothes, and leave your stresses behind.

Namaste

What is Core Strength Training and Why Is It Important?

February 25, 2013

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Fitness Blog

By: Andrea McCloskey, Personal Trainer

For the past few years, everyone has been talking about Core Strength Training. But, what is it and why is it important? You might have logged thousands of crunches in your exercise history, and not gotten the results that you desired. You may have gotten results, but, when you engage the whole core, the results are so much better than a six pack. So, let’s start by understanding the core.

The Core is the center of the body, the area from which power is generated for movement. It includes the abdominal muscles, the obliques (muscle on the side), the muscles of the lower back and the muscles that stabilize the pelvis. Your core muscles are like a girdle wrapped around your body, constantly supporting you and protecting your organs and back. Strengthening the Core will enable you to perform daily tasks more efficiently, improve your balance, make your back stronger, and make you look thinner. If you are an athlete, it will help increase your performance and reduce the risk of injury. Every time you move, you are using your core. The best routine gets more than one muscle working. A Plank is an exercise that engages many muscles working together. Exercises include those that are continuous, or held for a specified time, require balance and stability engage the abdomen and lower back and the muscles of the trunk. When working to specifically strengthen and tighten the muscles of the core, exercises should be performed slowly and with concentrated effort. Pilates and Yoga are excellent ways to strengthen the core because they require concentration, slow focused breathing and the engagement of the core muscles to perform poses. But, whatever you chose, make sure that your exercise program includes core strengthening!

Is Exercise Safe During Pregnancy?

January 29, 2013

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Fitness Blog

By: Andrea McCloskey, Personal Trainer

As long as your Doctor approves exercise, it can be the best thing that you could do for you and your Baby! Exercise could make labor and delivery easier, make you feel better as you adapt to "living" for two.

There are  a few simple rules to keep you and your baby safe:

1. Consult you Doctor or Midwife Always check with your caregiver to be sure that exercise is safe for you and your baby.

2. Eat more. Exercise burns calories, so make sure that you replace them with healthy food to help strengthen your body. Usually 300 more calories a day than before you were pregnant.

3.Wear comfortable clothes. Nothing constricting.

4.No Contact Sports. It seems obvious, but you need to protect your precious cargo!

5.Make sure that you warm up and cool down.

6.Drink plety of water

7. Do not lie flat on your back. After the first trimester, lying flat on your back puts pressure on the vena cava, which restricts bood flow to your heart, and may deminish blood flow to your brain and uterus, making you dizzy, short of breath and nauseated

8.Keep moving and don't overdo it. Blood can pool in your legs and decrease blood flow to your uterus,  when you stand still for prolonged periods of time. And, if you cannot cary on a conversation while you are working out, slow down

9.Don't get overheated. Raising your core temperature over 102 for more than 10 minutes can harm your baby. Do not let your heart rate exeed 140 bpms during exercise

10. Get up from the floor slowly. As your center of gravity changes, you can become dizzy and fall.

Make sure that you make exercise a part of your daily routine, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, you can safely engage in 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise on most, if not all, days of the week, as long as you have your Doctors permission.

Tips for Making Goals & Keeping Resolutions

December 27, 2012

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Fitness Blog

By: Kathryn Pontius, Personal Trainer

It is that time of year again when everyone is setting goals for the New Year. An extremely popular New Year’s resolution is to become healthier, to “eat better” or “work out more often.” While these goals are great, and it’s never a bad time to improve your health, these goals can be hard to measure and keep up with. Here are a few tips to making goals and resolutions that are achievable.

Firstly, make sure the resolutions you make are specific. For example, instead of “eat better” make your goal to include more fruits and vegetables into your diet, or to eat smaller portions at meals. Another way to do this is to eliminate one unhealthy or “junk” food from your diet at a time. As you become comfortable with that adjustment, remove another junk food.

Similarly, make sure to set realistic goals. It will make achieving the desired results easier. For example, making it a resolution to “go to the gym everyday” is unrealistic. You miss one day and you feel like you haven’t met your goal, and once you skip one day, it’s a whole lot easier to skip more. Set a goal to get in 30 minutes of cardio three times a week. That way you can be flexible and not too hard on yourself when something goes wrong. You can always increase the time or frequency as this becomes routine for you!

Finally, set smaller goals to meet your end goals. If you want to lose 15 pounds this year, start your goal that you would like to lose 3 pounds by March 1^st. Achieving these smaller goals will make you feel accomplished and give you more motivation towards your end goal. This resolution is both specific and realistic, and the best part is you get to cross off this goal, reward yourself, and set a new goal in a short period of time!

Rittenhouse Women’s wellness center is here to help you create goals and follow through with them. Make an appointment for the New Year now!

Keep Off Unwanted Weight This Holiday Season

November 27, 2012

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Fitness Blog

By: Kathryn Pontius, Personal Trainer

Holiday season is upon us! It is full of friends and family, but also tends to be a time when we are unable to keep up with our fitness routines. Cold weather, traveling, and a plethora of events can culminate in a few additional pounds. To keep unwanted weight and the lethargy that comes with this season there are a few things to be mindful of. First of all, stay active. This can be difficult, but take a walk with friends, park in the furthest section of the parking lot while holiday shopping, take the stairs instead of elevators, or do some yoga from a video in your hotel room. This will help you feel better about the extra goodies you eat, keep up your energy levels, and help to stave off winter weight.

When attending parties, make sure you do not show up hungry. Eat something healthy before leaving the house. Then nibble or have a slice of pie, but you won’t be as tempted to go overboard. Lastly, enjoy yourself. Don’t let the stress this time of year can bring get you down. Stress is a huge contributor in weight gain and can make you even more tired and run down. Take a deep breath and don’t forget to celebrate those near and dear to you. Have a happy, healthy, and safe holiday season!

Quick and Easy at Home Workout

October 29, 2012

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Fitness Blog

Intro to Plyometrics!

September 24, 2012

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Fitness Blog

What is it?

The National Strength and Conditioning Association defines Plyometric Exercise as a “quick, powerful movement preceded by a pre-stretch, or counter movement, and involving the stretch-shortening cycle."  The stretch-shortening cycle consists of an eccentric muscle contraction (lengthening) immediately followed by a concentric muscle contraction (shortening). Plyometric Exercise tends to involve explosive, powerful movements that mimic actions used in sports such as basketball, skiing, tennis, volleyball, etc. This type of exercise has typically been used by athletes but benefits the everyday person as well.

Benefits?

Plyometrics provide numerous benefits when performed correctly such as improved neuromuscular control by causing your muscles to fire more quickly, improved functional movements such as jumping and landing capabilities, decreased risk of injury, and increased general fitness. Overall, this type of exercise improves speed (how fast you can go in one direction), agility (ability to change direction and/or start/stop quickly), and quickness (reaction time).

Things to Consider

Plyometric training is not for everyone and should be done after consulting with a Personal Trainer or Physical Therapist. When performing Plyometrics, you should focus on landing lightly in a controlled manner. The knees should not buckle inward; instead, they should track straight ahead in line with the hips and feet. If you are unable to perform the movements without your knees buckling, a better baseline of strength is needed before adding Plyometrics to your work-outs. Lastly, due to the high impact nature of this exercise, someone who has joint issues or arthritis should probably not participate unless she has her doctor’s permission.

Exercises

Jumping rope, butt kicks, and high knees are examples of low intensity Plyometrics. Medium intensity includes box jumps, broad jumps, and scissor jumps. High intensity Plyometrics includes depth jumps, bounding, and double scissor jumps.

Progression

The National Strength and Conditioning Association recommends that beginners start with 60 to 80 foot contacts (amount of landings). After about four to six weeks of training progress to 80 to 120 foot contacts. Advanced exercisers and athletes can do upward of 150 foot contacts. You can safely participate in Plyometrics once or twice per week on nonconsecutive days. You should also steer clear of a Plyometric work-out (whether upper body or lower body) if you have strength trained the same body part the day before. Before beginning (as with any exercise regimen), do a 10-minute light cardiovascular warm-up to increase blood flow to your muscles and help prevent injury.

Contact us at the Rittenhouse Women’s Wellness Center if you want to improve general fitness and functional stability by adding Plyometrics to your work-out routine!

Shannon Feck, ACSM

Certified Personal Trainer and Collegiate Women’s Basketball Referee

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Will I Bulk Up If I Add Strength Training To My Exercise Routine?

September 21, 2012

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Fitness Blog

As summertime approaches, you may be thinking of how you’re going to tone up and get in great shape for that beach vacation you have planned. If you haven’t added several strength training routines to your work-outs each week, you should! While a lot of females believe that strength training will cause their bodies to bulk up, the fact is that it’s very difficult for a female to achieve significant gains in muscle mass and size for several reasons. To get that toned look, burning body fat and creating lean muscle mass through proper resistance training is the key!

In order for a female to greatly increase muscle mass from strength training, a few things would have to take place. First, her diet would need to consist of a large number of calories and a high quantity of proteins. She would also need to have a high level of testosterone and most likely be consuming some form of muscle building supplement, such as Creatine. She would also need to perform “high volumes and intensities of strength training over a long period of time” (www.thetitusreport.com). Lastly, a female would need a genetic predisposition for muscle hypertrophy, which is the growth and increase of the size of muscle cells.

Genetically, females have higher levels of estrogen and lower levels of testosterone than men. This results in women having higher amounts of body fat and lower amounts of lean muscle mass.   Because men possess higher levels of testosterone and thus higher amounts of muscle mass, they have a tendency to bulk up during strength training. Female bodies will NOT react the same way to resistance training that male bodies do. Given genetics and the extra supplementation and caloric intake needed to achieve muscle mass gains, it is virtually impossible for a female to bulk up from weight training.

So, in adding resistance training to your work-outs each week, how much weight should you use, how many repetitions, and what types of exercises should you perform to get your best results? Many fitness magazines such as “Self” or “Women’s Health” will tell you to focus on low weights and high repetitions so as not to get bulky, however we’ve just discussed that it is nearly physically impossible for females to bulk up. Instead, pick a weight if you’re using dumbbells (or a color if you’re using resistance bands, etc.) and perform 2 sets of 10-15 repetitions. The last 2-3 repetitions should be difficult to perform (but always with good form) – at this point you’re reaching a point called muscle fatigue, which is where you feel like you cannot perform one more repetition. If the last 2-3 repetitions are easy, it’s time to bump up your resistance load! Lastly, make sure your work-outs have a balanced approach and include exercises that hit all of the major muscle groups.

Remember as you approach bathing suit season, the best way to increase muscle tone is to make strength training a priority and don’t worry about developing big, bulky muscles because it’s physically not in the cards for the majority of women. Even females who have more of a genetic predisposition to muscle hypertrophy have to make sure they’re consuming a large number of calories and taking muscle building supplements to build mass! Contact us at the Rittenhouse Women’s Wellness Center if we can help you introduce strength training to your routine!

Hydration: A Key to Training Success in the Summer Heat

July 30, 2012

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Fitness Blog

By: Kathryn Pontius, Certified Personal Trainer

With temperatures rising well over 90 degrees and humidity approaching 100% in Philadelphia, an important thing to remember while working out is staying hydrated. Dehydration is a common but serious issue this time of year for both the newly active as well as the highly trained. It is important to keep your body well hydrated to stay safe and prevent dehydration.

Symptoms of dehydration include dry mouth, tiredness, headache, and dizziness. It can make your heart rate race and it can cause dangerously lower blood pressure. Our bodies cannot function without proper amounts of water. Each year, highly trained athletes die from dehydration. It is imperative that we take time to listen to our bodies’ response to the heat as well as take all precautionary measures to insure a healthy and hydrated work out.

Between 50% and 60% of the average body weight is made up of water. Our bodies need water to digest food, transport nutrients, and dissipate heat (sweat). A major component of our muscles is water, comprising about 73% of a muscle. To get the maximum benefits from a work out, it is essential that we don’t become dehydrated and allow other body systems to take the water necessary for muscle function to use elsewhere.

Luckily, during exercise our body does produce water as our muscles burn glycogen to help prevent dehydration, but there are many other things we can do to help ensure that our bodies are receiving the water that they need to replace the water lost through exertion and sweat. Sweat is our bodies natural defense to overheating, using its excess water to cool the muscles and organ systems of the body to keep them at healthy functioning temperatures.

Important things to know about remaining hydrated through hot summer work outs include realizing that drinking water is not the only adequate way to get water into your system. Plenty of foods and drinks also contain large percentages of water. Vegetables contain between 85 and 96% water. Yogurt and ice-cream contain a majority of water as well as coffee and low-fat milk. However, this being said, it is still imperative that you drink water pre and post work out along with consuming other favorites. To determine your individual water loss during a workout, weigh yourself before you workout, and then after you finish. The change in body weight you see is reflective of your sweat lost. 16 ounces of sweat lost is about equivalent to 1 pound of weight loss, 32 ounces equaling 2 pounds, etc. Drink accordingly during your exercise regimes to make up for the lost water. During extended periods of exercise it is vital to be aware that water is not the only thing your body is losing. Electrolytes, especially sodium, are lost as well. These can be replaced through meals or fitness drinks such as Gatorade or Powerade. These drinks however, are designed for highly active individuals and are not meant to drink daily without electrolyte loss.

Athletes who lose more than 2% of their body weight during an exercise lose their ability to perform optimally as well as lose their mental edge in a competition. While competing or just being active in hot weather, hydration is a key to successful training as well as safe training.