The Fitness Motivation Monitor

Volume 4, Issue 4: April 2003

In this Issue:
1. Functional and Core Training
2. Message from the President
3. Children are the Future
4. Client Testimonial
5. Need Motivation to Exercise?

Women's Retreat at Fair Hills Resort
May 2 - 3, 2003

It's Here!
Aim For It Fitness Coaching Website
www.aimforfitness.com

“Your subconscious mind never wanders; it always pays attention. It is always ready to make happen in your life those things – positive and negative – that you are imagining." – Leland Cooley

Have you heard the buzzwords “functional training” and “core training” mentioned in the latest fitness magazines? While these terms sound complicated, they are really terms for the most effective and exciting system of strength training being used today.

Functional training strengthens your body for the everyday movements it has to perform. This could be any type of movement, whether for a sport, your job, or just picking up your kids. Most injuries occur in the course of our everyday lives. Strengthen your body for these activities and you will sustain less injury. Core training starts with strengthening your “core”, your abdominal and low back muscles. Just as a house needs a foundation to build upon, so does your body. Work on the core first and every other exercise you add will be more effective and make you stronger. Core training is the idea behind Pilates and is also used in yoga.

You can incorporate both types of training into your regular workout with equipment such as stability balls, medicine balls, elastic tubing, slides, and dumbbells. Some exercises require no equipment at all! Several videos and guides on the market can teach you many of these exercises. These methods are more effective than traditional “gym” strength training machines because more muscles are used and the body becomes more coordinated and strong as a result. For beginners I recommend using machines to develop basic strength before starting the more complex functional and core movements.

After all, we don’t spend our everyday life performing leg extensions and abdominal crunches on the floor, do we? While these exercises work targeted muscles, functional exercises create a stronger, healthier body.

Message from the President:

In the spring I find myself clearing out the old and trying new things whether it be clothes, home décor or even sprucing up my car. And I know I’m not alone. Why not approach our fitness program in the same manner?

When you do the same exercises over and over not only does your body stop responding with improved results, but it can lead to burn out and get downright boring. Add in functional or core training – at home or at the gym – to work muscles you never knew you had. Try it for the next couple of months and notice the changes in your strength and physique. With the days getting longer there’s more sunshine to work with. Get outdoors and enjoy the season with kayaking, biking or roller blading – these activities provide excellent cross-training from a fitness point of view and they certainly keep things interesting.

To your health,
Amy Lundberg
Aim For It, President

The Children are the Future

Adolescents and young adults in this country are reaching epidemic levels of obesity, largely due to low levels of activity. Did you know…

· Nearly half of American youths aged 12 to 21 years are not vigorously active on a regular basis.
· About 14 percent of young people report no recent physical activity.
· Participation in all types of physical activity declines strikingly as age or grade in school increases.
· Only 19 percent of all high school students are physically active for 20 minutes or more, five days a week, in physical education classes.
· Daily enrollment in physical education classes dropped from 42 percent to 25 percent among high school students between 1991 and 1995.

I’m sure this isn’t news to you that our youth need to get moving. Due to the decline of physical education in the school systems, families need to take charge of keeping their children active.
The Surgeon General reports that social support from family and friends has been consistently and positively related to regular physical activity.
Create opportunities for physical activities that are enjoyable, that promote adolescents and young adults confidence in their ability to be physically active, and that involve friends, peers, and parents. Keep it fun. If it looks like work to them, it’s less likely they will stay physically active for the long term (isn’t it the same for you?).
One of the best things is to provide appropriate physically active role models for our youth. The old saying of “do as I say not as I do” doesn’t work (did it ever work on you?). Take care of your own health and be physically active on a daily basis. Invite your kids to join you. Be active as a family. This is how they learn and develop the habit of lifelong health and fitness.

If working out is not working out for you,
call our office at
800-388-8137 for support.

If you know someone who would benefit from a complimentary subscription to The Fitness Motivation Monitor, please contact our office at
800-388-8137.

Rediscover the Fabulous You!
Women's Retreat

It's Spring! Open your windows, breathe in the sounds and scents of the new season and open your heart to the joy of life. Join us on May 2nd and 3rd at Fair Hills Resort, on beautiful Pelican Lake, as we welcome the rejuvenating power of Spring into our lives. You'll return home refreshed and full of energy. Join us for Flamenco Dancing, Yoga, Pilates, Tai Chi, and wonderful speakers throughout the retreat.
It's about time. Time for you. Time to renew and relax. Call us today and make a date for yourself. Don't hesitate to come by yourself- or with a friend! Go to aimforfitness.com and click on upcoming events to register or call 218-846-1525.

Fitness by Phone® Works!

Client Testimonial:

Client: Marsha Hamacher – Half Moon Bay, CA
Biggest Challenge: What to do and how to be more active daily
Goals: Remaining active and healthy

Her Story: “Before beginning the Fitness by Phone® Coaching program, I would read the latest information in some magazine (Fitness, Health, etc.) on THE exercises that were touted to be the best for keeping all over health and decide that this was it - I'd start a new program. Then, other magazines or reports would come out stating that THEIR programs had been proven to be the best and I would wonder what REALLY was the best for me. I wasn't sure what I should do, so I ended up doing nothing.

My boss was a Fitness by Phone® client and from what she and my nutritionist were telling me, this program sounded great! Here was a personal trainer who came with recommendations from two people I trusted – plus I didn't have to go somewhere to attend a class at a given time each week. I could tailor my exercise to my schedule, which is crazy at best. What I like about my exercise program is that it's made just for me - specifically what I need to stay healthy - and not just the latest craze made up generically for the entire population.

I don't care what those magazines say now - I know I'm targeting what keeps ME fit! My Fitness by Phone® Coach takes into consideration my whole life, not just the exercise program. What the generic exercise programs do not consider is what else in my life that affects my exercise. The "just do it" mentality doesn't make it. Life is not that simplistic; it's interwoven. My Coach is also flexible and keeps me that way. The exercise can change as needed to match what is happening with me. An example is the long holiday trip I just took, where I had a pre-planned exercise regimen that was "do-able" to take with me. Fitness by Phone® has been different than other programs because it fits in exercise as part of my whole life, and is actually enjoyable!! I am making progress and keeping myself healthy.

I absolutely recommend Fitness by Phone® to other people – it is tailored to me and my Coach has helped me to integrate exercise into my life by assisting me with a variety of issues that affect how I view and deal with exercise.”

Marsha Hamacher – schimother@hotmail.com

Need Motivation to Exercise?
45-minutes FREE Fitness by Phone® Coaching

Do you struggle with trying to lose weight? Do you fall in and out of exercise because you’re not seeing visible results? Do you wish you had more motivation to stay on track? Well, I have a Spring Special that may be just what you need to finally see results with your fitness program. If you are not an existing client of mine and are one of the first five people to call my office after reading this newsletter, you will receive 45-minutes FREE Fitness by Phone® Coaching to get you started on the road to your best “bathing suit” body. There is no obligation and the gift is FREE, so call now: 800-388-8137.