Anytime Fitness Blog
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11 Small Choices That Will Improve Your Fitness Routine & Results
by: Anytime Fitness Fitness, Weight Loss March 8, 2016
Losing weight, building strength, or working toward another lofty fitness goal takes time. That makes hitting a plateau, where forward progress seems extra hard or even impossible, especially frustrating. But don't give up hope! These Anytime Fitness member stories and tips, told by their trainers, prove small choices and habit adjustments can often make a big difference and help propel you in the right direction.
Make Sure You're Eating
Clara was training hard, diligently following her program, and she lost a lot of weight. Still, we weren't seeing the results to reflect the work that she was putting in. Something wasn't adding up. After I requested she keep a food journal we discovered Clara was restricting her calories too much! It was a simple matter of making sure her calorie deficit wasn't too extreme. Since then she's dropped 4% body fat and 7 more pounds!
—Jessica Greene, Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (Beebe, AR)
Find the Right Shoes
Jamie told me that pain in her feet were preventing her from working out as frequently as she wanted to. I asked her, "What type of shoes do you wear?" She told that they were running shoes. I suggested that she invest in a pair of training shoes by either Reebok or Nike. The switch to training shoes has reduced her pain, which allows her to work out twice as much as she used to!
—Ethan Smoorenburg, Certified Personal Trainer & General Manager/h2i (Lafayette, LA)
Get Active Outside The Gym
Donna was training so hard in her sessions that she couldn't even tell me bye on her way out of the gym, but her weight loss had stalled for quite some time. The weight only started flying off when Donna incorporated daily physical activity in the form of walks with her family. In her own words, "I don't think I'm moving enough outside of our two training sessions to reach my goals."
—Mason Woodruff, Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (Jacksonville, AR)
Focus on Functional Movements
Tyler told me that pain in his back was preventing him from performing in his everyday tasks for his job, which limited his time in the gym. We performed more functional movements in his sessions, such as kettlebell swings and planks to cater to his limitations, while bettering his overall mobility. Tyler is now able to get through his day free of pain, inside and outside of the gym!
Work Harder, Not Longer
Kathryn was frustrated by the size of her thighs despite her one-hour, 3x/week running routine. We traded those three hour-long runs with 30-minute uphill-walking high intensity intervals and added 30 minutes 2-3x/week of total body circuit training. She embraced the challenge and is feeling more toned everywhere!
—Laura Burstein, Certified Personal Trainer & General Manager/h2i (Kensington, MD)
Sydney couldn't seem to keep up with the amount of water her body needed to intake, so she created a gallon jug with a timeline. Now she is able to stay on track by seeing how much water she's had and how close she is to completing her daily intake goal.
—Kendra Scott, Anytime Fitness Member Experience Director (Greenbrier, AR)
Don't Be Afraid of Weights
Monica lost over 50 lbs through diet and cardio work. Then she wanted firmer muscles, but thought big weights would make her "big" again. I convinced her to try lifting heavier dumbbells and barbells and her energy level, confidence, and muscle tone are now much improved!
Robin came to us frustrated about the lack of changes in her shape, despite doing tons of cardio. We incorporated strength training four days a week into her fitness regime to add some metabolically active lean tissue, and the results have been phenomenal. She has busted through plateaus and finally got the results she was after.
Focus on Fuel
Vanessa showed me that she was tracking her nutrition, but was not seeing results. I suggested that she move about half of her carbohydrates to her meals directly before and after her workouts. Vanessa lost five pounds and two inches off her waist in the first month of slightly changing her nutrition!
Laura thought she was as muscular as she could be since she was lifting challenging amounts of weight 5x/week. Her coach added two protein-packed snacks between meals and Laura's lean muscle tissue increased without working harder in the gym!
Prep Healthy Meals
Michael is a truck driver who became overweight from eating convenient foods on the go. I taught him how to cook a week's worth of healthy meals with animal proteins, lots of vegetables, a little healthy fat, and moderate whole-grain carbohydrates. He's losing 2-4 lbs/week and has so much more energy that he can't want to get to the gym each day after work!
Break Bad Habits
Despite Jason's success with adding strength and muscle, the body fat wasn't coming off. Upon further assessment, Jason was eating properly during the week but ordering take-out and pizza on the weekends, especially on Sundays. Jason told me that he wasn't even craving these types of food but had a habit of ordering via iPhone apps. We deleted all the pizza and delivery apps off his phone and voila, he was no longer ruining a week's worth of eating well on Sundays.
—Mason Woodruff, Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (Little Rock, AR)
Make Small Swaps
For Robbie, it was all about eliminating the temptations in her cupboard. She had made the switch from chips to healthier options like pita, almond crisps, or crackers, but even those caused her to snack too much. To cut back on her daily calorie intake, Robbie finally decided to ditch all the crunchy snacks for foods like carrots or other crisp vegetables, and she hasn't looked back.
Ranked #1 on Entrepreneur magazine's prestigious "Top Global Franchise" list and #2 in the "Franchise 500" list, Anytime Fitness is the fastest-growing fitness club franchise in the world, with more than 2.5 million members and 3,000 clubs worldwide. Open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, Anytime Fitness prides itself on providing our members with surprisingly personable service in convenient and well-maintained facilities which feature top-quality exercise equipment. Clubs are now open in all 50 states, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, England, Scotland, Ireland, Spain, Grand Cayman, Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Qatar, Chile, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Hong Kong, Philippines, Taiwan, and China. Join one club and use them all. Franchised clubs are individually owned and operated. Members also enjoy free access to AnytimeHealth.com, the most comprehensive wellness website available.
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