Yes, working out helps you look good, it helps you feel better, but of course as Balance Gym members you know there’s many other benefits to to staying fit. For example, a recent study may have discovered how exercising also keeps the body young.
Beth Levine of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centre recently published a paper in Nature with a theory that exercising promotes autophagy.
Time Out.
Autophagy, in short, is the body’s way of recycling outdated cells to help create new ones. Other research shows that autophagy helps fight bacterial infections, slows the onset of neurological conditions such as Alzheimer’s and even slows the process of aging.
Time In.
To test their theory, researchers studied how the autophagosomes in a test group of mice reacted while they were running on a treadmill.
Time Out.
Autophagosomes are the membranes that form around a cell to separate the contents of a cell or protein’s components before the good stuff is reallocated and the old or malformed stuff is degraded.
Time In.
Basically, they tracked the presence of these cellular dump trucks to see how much cellular rejuvenation was occurring.
The researchers found that the mice’s autophagosomes continued to increase for up to 80 minutes during their time running on the treadmill. That’s not all, when they studied another group of mice with a mutation that limited their autophagy during exercise, they found that this group couldn’t run as long or metabolize glucose as well as the control mice.
AND the study’s findings didn’t end there. When researchers fed both the control group and the mutated group a high-fat diet, they found that the mice that experienced increased autophagy during exercise were able to improve their sensitivity to insulin (resistance to insulin is a characteristic of type II diabetes,) while the mutated mice had no protection at all.
Training for a marathon, a half-marathon, or your first 5K? Or perhaps your just looking to improve your overall running ability and meet some new friends at the same time, well you’re in luck! Coming soon to Balance Gym – A Run Club!
Mike, along with panel of two other coaches, will offer seasonal programs to Balance members that will include coaching, twice-a-week runs, and more, for only $75 (normally $150, so that’s a 50% discount for members!)
Dates coming soon!
Mike is the founder of DC Running Coach, LLC, a private coaching business in the Washington, DC area. He has guided countless athletes to the finish line at all distances, including many age-group champions, Boston qualifiers and Ironman finishers. He teaches an undergraduate course in sport psychology and holds various coaching certifications, allowing him to make the most of customized training programs or one-on-one instructional sessions.
He was a three-sport collegiate athlete in football, rugby and decathlon and competed as an elite multi-sport athlete in the Mid-Atlantic region for several years. In 2011, Mike also launched the National Road Racing League, a DC-based running league focused on team competition.
Amanda Schmidt moved to Washington, DC to pursue a Master’s in International Affairs and stumbled on a career in fitness. She began her career as a Pole Pressure group fitness instructor at Balance Gym Thomas Circle where she taught classes in pole dance fitness, cardio dance, chair dance, strength and flexibility. It was through this less traditional route that she found her passion for fitness. Helping clients reach their goals and watching them grow in confidence and health gave her the reward she was looking for in a career. Amanda later went on to become a National Academy of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer.
Currently, along with training, Amanda continues to work as a group fitness instructor in everything ranging from pole dance to bootcamp to circuit training and yoga. She believes that clients deserve a workout customized not only to their bodies, but also to their personalities. Influenced by her less conventional take on fitness, Amanda insists that work outs should never be boring, and that fitness programs should be designed with creativity and out of the box thinking.
Outside of the gym, Amanda also practices flying trapeze, acroyoga, aerial silks and aerial hoop. She is a devoted long distance runner and has finished three half marathons. She continues to pursue training in pole dance fitness and has entered several nationwide competitions.
If you’re interested in training with Amanda, please contact Ben Wiedemer, director of personal training: ben@balancegym.com or (202) 216-9000.
Get your dance on at Balance Gym Thomas Circle on Monday, January 23 with a Dhoonya Fit class demonstration! The demonstration will begin at 7PM.
Dhoonya Fit is a fun and exciting workout for any fitness enthusiast looking for something unique! The class will consist of short and simple routines with movements that target the main muscle groups. Consistent attendance of this class will increase toning of the glutes, quadriceps, calves, hamstrings, inner and outer thigh as well as the shoulder, arms, and abs. The fast paced and energetic music lends to high intensity movements that will automatically provide a great cardio workout as well.
Balance Gym members will be interested to learn that researchers recently discovered a hormone produced from exercise that maybe helping your body fight off obesity and diabetes.
Most people know that working out, burns calories, helping you lose weight, with a well-balanced diet of course. However, researchers from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School say exercise may help you increase your metabolism too.
In a new study, these researchers found that during and after workouts, the body produces a hormone in muscles known as PCG1a. PCG1a then produces a protein that breaks apart into pieces, enters the blood stream, and travels to fat cells where it begins to turn white fat into brown fat.
What’s white fat and brown fat you ask? Well, in short, white fat stores calories. Brown fat, on the other hand actually contains iron and even burns calories because it is responsible for maintaining body temperature. Brown fat is generally lost over time as we grow older and no longer need to regulate our temperatures they way we did as infants.
Breaking it down: This study suggest that when you exercise, you release a hormone, which releases a protein, which turns calorie-storing fat to calorie-burning fat, giving you a higher metabolism.
It’s often hard to sit back and reflect on the past and ponder the future at this time of year in our industry —as it’s always so busy. As luck may have it I have been able to take a well-earned rest over the past few weeks in my home country of Australia allowing me to do just that. So, as I look over the ocean pondering and reflecting with a Fosters in one hand and a meat pie in the other, I would like to wish our old and new members a happy and healthy 2012!
The past 12 months has been extremely busy for the team at Balance Gym. Our young local company continues to expand as we strive to bring a unique training experience to the DC area. After being voted “Best Gym” by both the Washington City Paper and the Express Night Out in 2011, I often get asked prospective members, “Why are you the best gym in DC?” This is not an easy question to answer when you consider the diverse fitness programs we offer —from CrossFit to senior fitness. However, I can always safely reply to these people, with 100% conviction, that we make fitness more fun than anyone else in Washington DC!
Let’s be honest, making fitness fun is not always easy! If you thought that 2011 was a big year for Balance Gym with the roof deck opening, the Spin Room renovations at Thomas Circle, the introduction of CrossFit Dupont, and the many events and fundraisers that we were part of, then you better hold on tight for 2012! Without giving too much away there will be more improvement to our facilities, an expanded gym at Glover Park, new unique classes and programs, more events and activities outside the gym, (including a new farm in West Virginia for adventure training) plus more money being raised for both local and international charities.
Once again, I would like to thank you on behalf of all the staff at Balance Gym for your continued support of our local business. We all love what we do at the gym and we hope that we can help make your 2012 the best yet!
When January rolls around, many of us are determined to make the New Year, “the year,” and jump into a new workout program headfirst. Keep in mind though, that hitting the gym with full force at all times can lead to both burnout —and even worse — injury. Today’s post comes from Balance Gym Physical Therapist Lauren Polivka, PT, DPT, CSCS, who explains the importance of recovery.
I never really thought about the topic of “recovery” when I was an athlete in high school and spent college running marathons. I just went and went and went…2 hours of sleep and then running 10 miles just before the next day of lifting weights and hitting the track. I always thought I was doing the right thing because exercising made me focus better on studying, relieved my stress and kept me in shape.
Then one day I was running and a sharp pain made me almost crash to the pavement. Damn it, I thought, I tore something and my marathon was going to be scratched. After seeing the ortho I learned I had a severe case of iliotibial band tendonitis because of over-training and not enough rest and recovery during my programming. I went to physical therapy and after spending days with deep tissue massage that left me bruised from hip to knee and having to run in the water for 2 hours a day, I completed my marathon that year.
In 2004, I was fortunate to meet Mark Verstegen, author of the Core Performance books and President of Athletes’ Performance. I worked at his center in Arizona for a year and became a recovery, and as he calls it “regeneration”, master. I learned to essentials of what recovery was, implemented it into my work-outs and have not had an issue since. I even trained LESS for my next marathon but trained more effectively because my body was always primed and cut 25 minutes off my marathon time.
So what is recovery? There are active ways to recover from challenging work-outs and then there are passive ways too.
Here at Balance Gym, our motto is “When Fitness is Fun, Results Come Easy.” What’s more fun than working out with your friends?
Here’s the deal. If you refer two NEW people to Balance by the end of January 2012, you’ll get three months free!
Breaking it Down — If you’re a Balance Gym member, and you refer two new people to Balance Gym, that’s three months free for you! If you’re a CrossFit Balance or CrossFit Dupont member and you refer two new CrossFit members, that’s three months free for you!
Rules:
New members can not be former/rejoining members.
New members must sign-up before 1/31/2012.
By “new” we mean, they’re new. This isn’t retroactive. You can’t apply this offer if the members joined before 1/3/2012.
New members must mention current member’s name during registration. Make sure they do this to get your 3 months free!
CrossFit members must refer new CrossFit members to be eligible. If a CrossFit member refers a Balance Gym member, it doesn’t count.
If you already know two people that you want to join, e-mail one of our fitness consultants with their name and contact information to help get them signed-up!
Kettlebell 101 Instructor Patrick Harvey. Photo by Patricia Lake.
Kettlebell 101 at Balance Gym Thomas Circle will no longer take place on Fridays from 1-2 PM beginning in January. Don’t worry though, there are still two other classes during the week that will have you using kettlebells like a pro!
Come check out the Kettlebell 101 classes on Tuesday mornings from 7:30-8:30 and Friday evenings from 5:30-6:30 and learn how different kettlebell movements and workouts can dramatically improve your cardiovascular function and increase strength by training body movement patterns. In other words, get in a full-body workout! [Read more →]
January is a busy month at Balance Gym. We love seeing so many new faces with a new (or renewed) enthusiasm for fitness and ready to get a head start on their New Year’s resolutions. However, by February the crowds start to wane and by March only the truly dedicated remain. So to keep you going strong all year long, here’s some tips for sticking to your goals in 2012!
When Deciding on a New Year’s Resolution, Keep It Realistic.
If you haven’t worked out in awhile, that goal of coming into the gym every day, may be a bit of a stretch. Instead, tell yourself you’ll workout at least three to four days a week. This will help you start a routine that doesn’t seem impossible if your schedule gets busier. And of course, if you need help setting up a program or routine, that’s what our Personal Trainers are for! Just e-mail ben@balancegym.com for more information about our personal training packages.
Create Steps and Be Specific.
Perhaps your long-term goal is to run a half- marathon, but the first time you step on the treadmill, even reaching that first mile tires you out. Don’t be defeated! Rome wasn’t built in a day. Instead, plan out a program that will get you to your goal in small steps. For instance, run a 5K in March, then set goals for a 10K, a 10-miler, etc. Also, keep your ears open for the new Balance Gym running club coming soon!
Tell Your Friends!
Talk to your friends and family about your resolutions and let them know why it’s important to you. Hopefully they’ll support you, or perhaps even join you, when it comes to facing some of the tougher challenges. Plus, nothing is more embarrassing than telling a bunch of people your plan for getting healthy and then a few months later having to admit you haven’t stuck to it.
Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff!
Life happens and sometimes your workout routine may get interrupted. Or maybe you don’t reach your 10-pound weight loss by May 1 as you hoped. That doesn’t mean you should give up! There will always be minor setbacks with any major goal, just don’t let them detour you from the path of getting fit and healthy. Just take a few minutes, assess what you’ve been doing and adjust your plan. For instance, maybe you discovered running isn’t your thing, instead of quitting all together, check out our BootCamps or spin classes to shake things up a bit.
After keeping all of these things in mind, tell us, what are your 2012 resolutions? What will you do to stick to them?
Yes, working out helps you look good, it helps you feel better, but of course as Balance Gym members you know there’s many other benefits to to staying fit. For example, a recent study may have discovered how exercising also keeps the body young.
