When it comes to the list of health and fitness benefits of Spinning®, the list goes on and on. From the improvements that show up in the mirror, like slimming down your waistline, to the invigorating experience a Spinning® ride offers each time you hop into a saddle, there are few things the Spinning experience fails to provide.

When in need of a challenging workout, innovative equipment, or a flat-out fun experience, look to Spinning and start enjoying these 7 benefits of indoor cycling:

1. Burn Calories

The benefits from Spinning meet a long list of health, fitness and lifestyle needs for a broad range of people. Whether you’re a roadie seeking performance gains or a newbie trying to drop a few pounds, Spinning likely has you covered. You’ll see the needs of many – regardless of age, gender, lifestyle – met by one experience. That’s why, as fitness options go, few are as dynamic and accommodating as Spinning. Consider this: a 45 minute ride at a moderate intensity burns approximately 420 to 622 calories at a moderate pace. When you put it side-by-side with Hatha Yoga’s (240 to 356 calories burned per hour), it puts that number into perspective.

A personal training & exercise studio is a more intimate setting for working out with a personal trainer or small group of individuals in group fitness classes. While everyone knows what a gym is, that doesn't mean that working out at the gym is right for everyone. Many people grow tired of the same gym setting year after year. This is the biggest reason why so many people are turning to personal training and exercise studios to get more personalized fitness training. Plus, it can be hard to have personal training sessions at a typical gym because they have a tendency to be full of noise and various distractions.

Many believe that the only way that a personal trainer and their client can really effectively communicate is in a setting that is quiet enough for them to take advantage of all their time together and work on a level that is best for the trainer and the client. A small, private studio offers that extra level of personalization and considered by many to be the most effective setting for results with a personal trainer.

Here are a few Personal Training Studio attributes that private training clients appreciate:

The transition from a sedentary lifestyle to an active one is a physiological marvel. Whether you are new to exercise or are a longtime athlete, understanding what happens to your body during those first few minutes of exercise will help you stay safe, comfortable and motivated. You'll also be able to get the most out your warm up and entire workout.

Why Do I Feel So Out of Breath?

If the first 5 minutes of your workout are the hardest, you aren't alone. That feeling of early fatigue during exercise is actually quite normal. In fact, it happens to even highly trained athletes. But rather than feeling demoralized and psyched out by your heavy breathing and burning legs, use this knowledge as a reminder of the importance of the warm-up, and remember what's happening in your body in the first few minutes of exercise.

The physiological changes that allow you to maintain steady-state exercise occur during almost any exercise, but that heavy sensation of fatigue and breathlessness is most commonly noticed during running, cycling, stair climbing, swimming, and other high-intensity, full-body endurance exercise. The sensation is caused by the body's lag time in delivering adequate fuel to the working muscles.

We may not always be able to control how our abs look, but we can control how strong they are.

Six-pack abs look good, but strong abs can make you feel good. A supported spine makes daily activities easier and protects you from back pain and injury. Moving beyond crunches, beyond the six-pack, can show you what your abs can really do.

The Truth About Abs

Ab myths have been around for decades, perhaps even centuries, all due to that singular goal for flat, toned abs. If this is one of your goals, one that you've failed to reach no matter how many crunches you do, knowing a few facts can help you get a clear view of what you can and can't do to tone your abs:

• Ab exercises won't give you six-pack abs. In fact, one study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that six weeks of ab exercises (with no other types of training) did not reduce fat around the abs at all.

• Genetics plays a crucial role in the ability to get flat abs, with women having a tougher time than men, simply because they are predisposed to store excess fat and the favorite place for fat to live in women tends to be around the belly, especially after menopause.

As you grow older, an active life is more important than ever. Even as the world tells you it's time to retire, relax, and take it easy, your body is craving for you to keep moving. And though you may be ready to retire from your 9-5, don’t hang up your walking shoes quite yet. The truth is that if you really want to enjoy these golden years and get more quality time from them, your best strategy is to exercise regularly.

The American Council on Exercise reports, “As you grow older…regular exercise can help boost energy, maintain your independence, and manage symptoms of illness or pain. Exercise can even reverse some of the symptoms of aging.” Wow! Are you sold yet? But wait, there’s more. While taking your daily walk remains a crucial piece of this exercise pie, getting in your strength training reps is the part that will truly make the difference in your well-being.

Benefits of Strength Training

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) recommends strength training for most older adults to help lessen the symptoms of the following chronic conditions:

Activity/fitness trackers are ideal for any minor or major fitness goal. This includes training for running events (like3Ks), losing weight and/or just keeping fit in general. These devices acts like a personal trainer that you carry around.

The best way to ensure that your fitness goals are fulfilled is through tracking your daily activities and consistently measuring your performance. It is an especially great device for newbies in the health and fitness sector and people who do not exercise regularly to help them keep track of their progress and help set achievable goals.

These devices track some of your vital signs all day and every day; recording your heart rate, sleep cycles and physical activity levels. Using this data, the watch can be quite useful. For instance, you might judge the effectiveness of your workout or get a better nights' sleep just from the mindfulness of tracking this information.

The watches are most often used to enhance fitness regiments and to achieve certain goals. Many watches, for example, calculate an estimated calorie burn based on the heart rate it records during a workout. The watch keeps tabs on how many steps its wearer walks per day, the person’s resting heart rate, and even their running distances and speeds.

As difficult as it may seem, there are some simple and effective ways to stay fit after age 50, 60, or 70! These five simple tips can help you get (and stay) fit.

Lift Weights

Weight lifting may be the single best way for older women to maintain overall fitness and stop the slow creeping fat gain. Building strength with weight training is possible at any age, and some studies show women in their 70's building significant muscle by lifting weights 2 to 3 times per week.

Walk Regularly

Walking has consistently been shown to improve cardiovascular fitness, help keep weight under control, and improve mood in those who maintain a regular walking routine. Any aerobic exercise (cycling, jogging, swimming) is great for maintaining lower levels of body fat and improving flexibility and overall body tone, but after age 50, walking has some advantages. The risk of injury is extremely low, so almost every woman can get out and start walking right away.

Walking can be done in most weather, there is no special equipment required. Perhaps the biggest benefit to walking is that it's useful. Walking for errands, to give your pet exercise, to socialize, or to get out in the fresh air are all added benefits of using a walking routine to maintain fitness. Combining walking with weight training and you will have a simple and effective way to get and stay, in shape after age 50.

There is an endless array of strength training programs and theories out there, much of it geared toward bodybuilders and advanced exercisers. If you’re just getting started, it’s quite easy to become totally confused by all of the anatomical terms and gym jargon. We’d like to fill in the gap by giving you the foundation of any safe and effective strength training routine. You’ll learn the names of the major muscle groups and the exercises that target them, the difference between sets and reps, the elements of proper form, and the basics of frequency and progression.

The Major Muscle Groups

When selecting exercises for your strength routine, it’s important to choose at least one exercise for each major muscle group. This prevents muscle imbalances that can lead to injury. Let’s take a look at the major muscle groups and a few of the exercises that target them:

• Gluteals – This group of muscles (often referred to as ‘glutes’) includes the gluteus maximus, which is the big muscle covering your butt. Common exercises are the squat and the leg press machine. The glutes also come into play during lunges, tall box step ups, and plyometric jumps.

While exercise injuries are common when first starting out, there are seven simple things you can do to help avoid them:

1. Have a Routine Physical

It is always a good idea to see your doctor for a fitness test before starting an exercise program. Any new activity can place stress on your body, particularly your joints and cardiovascular system.

2. Get a Personal Trainer

If you just don't where to begin, find a personal trainer who can get you started safely and help structure a fitness plan based on a clear set of goals (such as weight loss, muscle building, or aerobic fitness). A qualified trainer can help you avoid many of the bad habits that affect even the best of athletes, allowing you to concentrate on form rather than weight to achieve the best results. A few hour-long sessions may be all that is needed.

3. Start Slowly and Increase Gradually

When first starting out, it is not unusual for people to throw themselves into training with an intensity that is not only unsustainable but harmful. Start with moderate exercise of around 20 minutes thrice weekly and gradually build upon this baseline week on week. You can also determine your baseline intensity level by using a system called the perceived exertion scale which gauges your physiological response to exercise. How do you feel when doing certain exercises.

Have you ever started a fitness program and then quit? If you answered yes, you're not alone. Many people start fitness programs, but they may stop when they get bored, they don't enjoy it or results come too slowly. Here are seven tips to help you stay motivated.

1. Set goals

Start with simple goals and then progress to longer range goals. Remember to make your goals realistic and achievable. It's easy to get frustrated and give up if your goals are too ambitious.

For most healthy adults, the Department of Health and Human Services recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week, or a combination of moderate and vigorous activity. Aim to incorporate strength training exercises of all the major muscle groups into your fitness routine at least twice a week.

2. Make it fun

Find sports or activities that you enjoy, then vary the routine to keep it interesting. If you're not enjoying your workouts, try something different.

Remember, exercise doesn't have to be boring, and you're more likely to stick with a fitness program if you're having fun.

A bowl of oats is a blank canvas, ready to be paired with a truckload of other high-quality, nutritious ingredients.

*If you don't like oatmeal see below for Healthy Alternatives to Oatmeal

In a world of green juice and chia seed pudding, this age-old dish is the original, and perhaps most powerful, superfood!

You’re most likely to see oatmeal served with a ton of fixin’s, but even a bowl of plain oats holds its own as a nutritional panacea. Oatmeal is a whole grain (unless you buy oat bran—just part of the seed—as opposed to rolled oats) filled with key vitamins and minerals, a low-glycemic carb that provides lasting energy for your workout and helps fuel recovery without causing a sugar crash, and high in fiber to aid your digestive and metabolic systems.

A bowl of oats is also a big blank canvas, ready to be combined with a truckload of other high-quality, nutritious ingredients. (see below for toppings)

And, it’s easy to make! All you have to do is boil a ratio of 1/2 cup rolled oats to one cup liquid—either water or a milk of your choice—and top it with whatever you need that day. (For steel-cut oats, change the ratio to 1/4 cup oats to one cup liquid.)

You should if you are trying to lose weight. You can calculate your energy balance and figure out how much to eat each day when you know your number. You need to reach a negative energy balance to lose weight.

To reach a negative energy balance, you need to make sure that you put less energy in your body than your body uses. That means that you need to consume fewer calories than you burn each day. But to do that you need to know how many calories you burn!

Also, you need to combine increased activity and diet changes.

Making small adjustments to both your caloric intake and your physical activity is generally recommended as the most reasonable and sustainable method of weight loss.

Using this method, you can burn a few hundred extra calories with a workout and cut back calories by eliminating dessert or high-calorie snacks to reach your goal. It is also the best way to maintain your weight after you've slimmed down.

Good luck!

A diet can help you lose weight, but you can use body composition exercises* to keep the muscle along the way. It's not as complicated as it sounds. You just have to combine body composition activities and cardio exercise with a diet full of lean protein to encourage weight loss and shape a stronger body.

Smart dieters use lean protein for weight loss. Why? Because lean protein foods help you to feel full longer and help you to feel more satisfied. The result is that many dieters eat less during the day and slim down faster.

Cardio Exercise for Body Composition

All forms of exercise burn calories. But body composition exercises combine activities to burn fat. That way, as you slim down, you replace fat with lean, tight muscles that give your body a stronger appearance.

So what is the best way to burn fat? Aerobic exercise will do the trick. Aerobic activity, sometimes called cardio, is an exercise that gets your heart pumping. During an aerobic workout, you'll breathe heavier and begin to sweat. It is not necessary, however, to exercise to the point of breathlessness every day. In fact, you'll burn the highest percentage of calories from fat at a moderate intensity.

1. Keep Moving to Maintain or Improve Joint Health

Many people with arthritis resist regular physical activity or exercise because they fear it will increase pain or further damage their joints. The body is supposed to move; our joints allow for movement! In fact, movement eases joint stiffness, reduces joint pain, strengthens the muscles which surround the joints, and help us maintain a healthy weight. The benefits are real, so keep moving!

2. Joint Protection Is Important for Optimal Joint Health

It is important for everyone, especially people with arthritis, to protect their joints. The goal of joint-protection principles is to decrease pain and reduce the stress or burden placed on the joints. This can be accomplished in several ways:

· Pay attention to pain signals

· Avoid activities that stress joints or increase pain

· Pay attention to proper body mechanics

· Balance activity and rest; don't overdo activities.

· Check out available assistive devices or mobility aids

· Maintain a healthy weight

3. Maintaining Your Ideal Weight Is Important for Joint Health

Carrying excess body weight adds stress to our joints, especially the weight-bearing joints. Studies have found that weight loss significantly reduces knee pain, function, and stiffness associated with knee osteoarthritis.

Engaging in daily physical activity or mindfulness meditation may be almost as effective as a flu vaccine.

In addition to getting a flu shot, you may want to exercise or meditate consistently to help protect yourself against winter colds and the flu.

New research shows that simple preventive measures like engaging in daily physical activity or mindfulness meditation may be almost as effective as a flu vaccine for lowering the odds of succumbing to an acute respiratory infection.

“The results are remarkable,” said lead study author Bruce Barrett, MD, PhD, an associate professor of family medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “We saw a 40 to 50 percent reduction in respiratory infections. When we give flu vaccines, which is one of the most well-proven and beneficial interventions that we have, it only protects at a level of 50 to 60 percent and only for a few strains of the [flu] virus,” said Barrett. Aside from research on hand washing, this is the first study to prove that a prevention strategy can be successful in reducing acute respiratory infections.

Researchers randomly divided 154 subjects among three groups—exercise, meditation and control—for 8 weeks during the winter cold and flu season; 149 completed the study. The exercise group met once a week for a 2½-hour indoor group session in which they received instruction on being physically active, worked out on equipment and were guided on how to do moderate-intensity exercise such as walking or jogging for 45 minutes a day.

Zumba, a popular dance and aerobic-based exercise fitness program, will help you improve not only your physical health but also your emotional health — especially if you’re a couch potato.

Zumba Fitness was developed during the 1990s as a Latin-inspired cardio-dance workout that uses music and choreographed steps to form a fitness party atmosphere. While many of the types of dance and music featured in the program are Latin American inspired, classes can also contain everything from African beats to country to hip-hop and pop. Around 15 million people from 186 countries reportedly practice Zumba, with many people being drawn by the dancing/feel-good aspect of it.

Scientists from the University of Granada (UGR) wanted to see if the positive emotional effects of Zumba last long term. They had physically inactive university workers enroll in an exercise program carried out three days a week at the end of the workday. The exercise program lasted for one hour.

Participants reported an improvement in their quality of life — a broad concept divided into 8 important dimensions: social, emotional, physical state, physical pain, physical functioning, vitality, mental health and general health.

2020 brings a new year and a new decade of wellness. A lot of fitness trends have come and gone throughout the 2010s. The good news is that a fresh decade is upon us, and it’s already looking like it could be your healthiest and happiest year yet!

There’s also a change in focus happening: Instead of just working out to get a six-pack, the mental benefits of exercise are equally important, if not more so, than the physical. Here are two fitness trends to watch for in 2020 that I have can definitely get behind to get the maximum benefit.

Wish you all a fit 2020. Here you go...

Working out for wellness, not abs

In 2020 people will start working out more for wellness and less so for chiseled abs. Instead of just being seen as a way to lose weight, fitness will become more about what it does for your mind and body.

With more focus on the overall wellness of the individual, a more holistic fitness trend is mindful workouts. With the deepening understanding of mental and spiritual health, working out while giving substantial thought to what we are doing with it, is becoming more mainstream.

Instead of just numbers on a scale, people will start to look to other stats and figures that matter - like fasting blood sugar, blood pressure, tracking fruits and veggies, steps, cholesterol, and sleep - for long-term success instead of a short-term goal.

Throughout evolutionary history, fear has helped humans stay safe and thrive. But in the modern world, many fear responses — such as phobias — are, at best, unhelpful and, at worst, debilitating. Yet, accumulating evidence shows that mindfulness practice could help us unlearn these responses.

The practice of mindfulness — the purpose of which is to help an individual focus on stimuli occurring in the present moment — is gaining momentum across countries and cultures.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that mindfulness can help people feel calmer, more serene, and more motivated in their day-to-day life.

And the findings of an increasing number of studies are now backing up that evidence, indicating that mindfulness practice can bring real benefits for physical and, especially, mental health.

Studies covered by Medical News Today last year linked mindfulness to better blood pressure control and improved effectiveness of opioid use disorder treatments. Previous research has also suggested that mindfulness may help lower symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Now, a study from the University of Southern Denmark in Odense, Uppsala and Lund Universities in Sweden, Peking University in Beijing, China, and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, NY has found evidence that mindfulness could help people unlearn their fear responses.

Yes, citrus fruit, which includes orange, lemon, grapefruit and lime, is known to be a great source of vitamin C, but that’s not all.

Citrus Power

These juicy, colorful fruits are full of good-for-you nutrients and are one of the best ways to boost the flavor and nutrition in your juices.

I’m always talking about how lemons and limes in particular can help elevate the taste of your juices, but oranges, tangerines, mandarins and more can also help make great-tasting juices.

Here are 4 unexpected facts about the benefits of citrus:

1. The Citrus & Iron Combo

Want help absorbing more iron in your diet? Try adding more citrus. When you pair citrus fruit with iron-rich foods like leafy greens, it helps the body maximize on the nutritional benefits.

2. Good For the Heart

Citrus offers plenty of flavonoids, which are plant compounds that can help promote heart health. In fact, scientist found in one study of patients who had undergone bypass surgery that red grapefruit helped lower their “bad” LDL cholesterol as well as triglyceride levels.

As we all ring in the New Year, many of us will be making resolutions for healthier living. Whether it involves losing weight, exercising more or finally getting around to scheduling those doctors' appointments, health and wellness issues will continue to be a priority in 2020. To help you start out the new year right, here are three of the biggest health trends expected in 2020:

SWEET POTATO: THE NEW SUPERFOOD CRAZE

Cauliflower has been getting the star treatment in the world of healthy eating for a while, but 2020 might be the year of the sweet potato, according to experts. Despite most people associating it with holiday meals, it is actually one of the most nutritious vegetables and a good source of vitamins A, B and C.

MORE VEGAN OPTIONS AVAILABLE

While vegan and vegetarian options have come a long way, even more plant-based products are expected to hit the market in 2020, including seafood alternatives such as Tuno made from soy protein and seaweed and oat-based drinks from Chobani.

WPPM 106.5 FM or SoundCloud

Hey Guys and Gals,

SMART Fitness did its first radio interview on Tuesday, January 14, 2020. It was live on WPPM 106.5 FM from 6-7pm. "Community Voice Talk Show."

If you didn't catch it (you probably didn't : - ) you can listen to it on SoundCloud.

SoundCloud Link:

https://soundcloud.com/…/smart-fitness-debra-williams-janua…

Here's how they advertise it.

...listen as expert Debra Williams founder of S.M.A.R.T. Fitness provides fun training tips to get you excited about working out and maintaining a healthy lifestyles.

Listen and get some tips!

Enjoy!

The end of your period is something some women want to celebrate, but the process of that can drag out for 10 years or so (known as perimenopause) before finally reaching menopause, a time many of us associate with weight gain. Even active, healthy women may gain weight in the years leading up to menopause, but it isn't inevitable. Learn what you can do to manage your weight during menopause.

Why We Gain Weight

The reason we gain weight is a matter of calories in vs. calories out⁠—as in, there are more coming in than going out. What prompts this weight gain, however, is where the frustration comes in since, as some of my active clients say, the weight gain seems to come from nowhere. "I'm doing the same workouts and eating the same as always, yet I suddenly have this belly," one client said.

Unfortunately, there’s a Bermuda Triangle effect that happens before and during menopause, three things that, when put together, lead to weight gain:

• Increased calorie intake: Studies show that women eat more calories as estrogen declines and that we crave more fat and sugar and less nutritious, more satisfying foods that have protein and fiber.
• Decreased physical activity: Spontaneous physical activity also decreases, often without us even being aware of it. This may be compounded by some perimenopause and menopause symptoms like fatigue, difficulty sleeping, depression and other mood changes.
• Decreased RMR: Experts suspect that declining estrogen can decrease your resting metabolic rate (RMR) by 40-70 calories a day, calories that add up if you don’t compensate for them with diet and exercise.

Tips for making major progress through small shifts

Over 75 percent of adults 55 and older are either overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But losing weight at this age, after decades of engraved habits, can be daunting.

Thankfully, studies suggest that making small, simple changes — rather than overhauling your entire eating and exercise patterns — can reap big payoffs.

When researchers at the University of Colorado Denver instructed people to shave 100 calories a day from their diets, for example, most ended up getting rid of 300. “Losing weight and keeping it off takes some pretty big changes, but small steps are the way to get going,” says study coauthor James Hill, the chair of the Department of Nutrition Sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Oftentimes, he explains, “people do something dramatic that cannot be maintained. But small steps get you going in the right direction.” Even better, losing just 5 percent of your body weight — 10 pounds for a 200-pound person — significantly lowers the risk of health conditions such as type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease, according to a study published in Cell Metabolism.

Sensitive knees can be a challenge for walking, but it is a recommended way to maintain your function and reduce your symptoms. If you have knee pain due to osteoarthritis or other causes, you don't have to let that keep you from starting a walking program.

A regular program of walking can reduce stiffness and inflammation and it won't make most chronic knee conditions worse. Walking is the preferred exercise by people with arthritis, and can help you improve your arthritis symptoms, walking speed, and quality of life, according to the CDC.1

Walking is part of a healthy lifestyle to keep your heart and bones strong and your joints functioning. Here are tips for walking when you have sensitive knees.

Why Walking Is Good for Your Knees

Your knee joint is composed of bone and cartilage. Cartilage doesn't have a blood supply that is always nourishing it by the pumping action of the heart and so it relies on joint fluid for nutrition. Moving your joints is the way that you ensure the cartilage receives the nourishment it needs to stay healthy.

Following a plant-based diet is becoming increasingly popular. While this is widely regarded as a healthful choice, many myths abound.

Until fairly recently, vegetarianism was generally considered a fringe lifestyle choice in the United States, and veganism even more so. Anything on the fringes of society tends to inadvertently encourage myths and misconceptions.

Also, deciding to avoid animal products sparks rage in some people. This anger manifests for a range of reasons, which are beyond the scope of this article. Suffice it to say that if a sizable group of the population is against something, conditions are ripe for myths and half-truths.

1. Plant-based diets are always healthful

In recent decades, an increasing number of studies have demonstrated links between red meat consumption and poorer health outcomes. For instance, processed and red meat intake is associated with colon cancer, obesity. heart disease, and diabetes.

This might suggest that a diet without meat is better for the body. But, just as not all meat is red, not all vegetarian or vegan diets are healthful.

To use an extreme example, if an individual only ate potato chips, they would be vegan, but certainly not brimming with vitality, energy, and health.