NIFS Healthy Living Blog

In my experience over the years working with folks from all walks of life to help improve their strength, mobility, performance, and overall fitness I have found that so many suffer from immobility in two major joints: the ankle and the shoulder, which is the focus of this piece. Lifestyle, occupation, inactivity, and overtraining are all culprits robbing so many of healthy range of motion in the shoulder and shoulder girdle.

Throughout the history of fitness and muscle, one of the sexiest exercises is the overhead press (OHP). The overhead press is used as an assessment of one’s strength, it’s involved in the popular Olympic lifts and many activities of daily living, and it feels pretty darn good to lift something heavy up over your head. With so many variations that can develop strength and stability in the upper body, the overhead press can be a phenomenal tool in a training toolbox.

Questions to Ask Yourself

There are many benefits to the overhead press exercise, but what if you suffer from immobility in the shoulder or have suffered an injury that has made the vertical press pattern difficult or painful? There are some options for you that can keep you safe while reaping the many benefits of the vertical press movement pattern. Before we get to those, however, I’ll ask a couple of questions.

What are your desired fitness outcomes and goals?

“If you think it, INK IT!” is a practice I learned long ago from a great coach, and for years I have been insisting clients write down what they hope to accomplish along their fitness journey. If you don’t know where you want to go, it will be difficult to formulate the map to get you there. Take the time to reflect, develop, and write your fitness goals before starting any fitness program.

How will the overhead press exercise help you get there?

Pretty straightforward question: how will the overhead press exercise help get you to where you want to go? Depending on your goals, the OHP may play a major role, or it might play a minor role in your success.

How do you know whether you should be including the overhead press in your training?

Once you have established your fitness outcomes and how the overhead press can assist in obtaining those outcomes, it is important to determine whether the overhead press is a safe exercise to include in your training. Your best first step is to complete a Functional Movement Screen (FMS) that will provide some crucial information to your fitness programming. First and foremost, the FMS, specifically the Shoulder Mobility Screen, will determine whether there is pain involved with the overhead position. If there is pain, you will need to see a medical professional to tackle that before anything else should happen.

A score of 1 on the Shoulder Mobility Screen signifies that, among other things, you should exclude overhead pressing from your training until the pattern is cleaned up and you are no longer scoring a 1 on the screen. A score of 2 or 3 means the vertical pressing motion can be included in your training safely. Schedule your FMS with one of NIFS instructors today to ensure you are able and safe to include the overhead press exercise in your programming.

Overhead/Vertical Press Options

Once you have your screen from your NIFS certified pro, you now know where you stand to shoulder the load. If you are cleared to press overhead, I say have at it and press on! But if you are directed to stay away from strict overhead pressing, here are a few options that can provide many of the same benefits from the overhead press while working in a safer shoulder space.

• Landmine Press: 1/2K and Standing
• Landmine Arc press: 1/2K and standing
• Incline DB press: SA and double arm
• Jammer Press

Shoulder health, strength, and stability are so important in training and, more importantly, everyday living. The vertical press options here are great ways to continue to bulletproof your shoulders, and the best first step is to get screened and take care of your shoulders prior to heavy loading. One simple and highly effective way to tackle shoulder health is to add the “dead hang” into your training program. Learn more in Lauren’s recent post covering this effective drill. Stay shoulder safe!

This blog was written by Tony Maloney, ACSM Certified Exercise Physiologist and Health/Fitness Instructor. To find out more about the NIFS bloggers, click here. 

Looking back on the history of my work in the blog world, I have found that every year around this time I tend to write about a sport I sometimes love to hate: golf. So, without further ado, it is time for my yearly “golf blog,” where I share a few insights from a hack’s viewpoint that will hopefully lead to some success in your game. If you play this frustrating yet beautiful game, you know that every round can either be 4 hours of bliss, or contemplating why you spent so much money on those clubs. And maybe that’s what makes the game so special for so many, the never-ending battle between good and evil (thoughts, that is).

Whatever it is that keeps you coming back to the links, obviously you want to play the best you can and as long as you can. The proper warm-up for any type of fitness or performance activity has been spoken and written about by countless fitness pros, yours truly included, but I would argue it’s super important to your game and your health to talk about warming up before you tee it up.

Before the Course

If you are like me, sometimes you get to the course with only a few minutes to spare before your tee time. Here are a few strategies you can implement that don’t take a lot of time and will benefit both your game and your body.

• Be fit: Okay, I lied, this one does take some time, but being fit and healthy before taking on any activity is imperative to maintaining your health. I think we would all agree it might be foolish to hop into a 5 v 5 pickup game on the basketball court if you have been on the couch for the last three months. You would want to work on your cardio, power, and endurance so that you can compete and enjoy the activity. Same goes for golf. Don’t let the cart fool you: it is a physically demanding game—if you wish to compete with your pals, that is. So, take care of yourself and make sure you are getting that minimum 150 minutes per week of moderate to vigorous exercise recommended by the ACSM.
• Soft-tissue work at home: If you have time before hitting the course to hit the foam roller, I highly recommend it. Spend some time on the glutes, lats, adductors, T-spine, and hamstrings. (link)

On the Course and in a Hurry

Here are some videos that demonstrate some important warm-ups and drills.

• Increase Tissue Temp: Walk, small plyometrics (jumping jacks), light jog

Drills:

• Chest Stretch
• SA OH Reach
• Club windmills
• Reverse Lunge with Lateral Reach
• Lateral Leg Swings
• Trunk Rotations (iso)
• Back and Down Swings

Now, there may be a few things holding you back from completing a proper warm-up before enjoying a great day of the oldest game. You may not show up to the course in time. I make time to get there early to get outside and really begin the round before the first tee. You might feel a little “goofy” going through a proper warm-up in front of your friends. To that I say, “success favors the prepared,” and you can show them drills after you beat them on the course, or are able to play again immediately without soreness, or carry the bag for 18 holes and remain upright. A proper warm-up may not get you on tour, but it may save you a few strokes aside and keep you playing longer.

This blog was written by Tony Maloney, ACSM Certified Exercise Physiologist and Health Fitness Instructor. To find out more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.

Do you remember the last time you went on an extended vacation, came back home, jumped into the gym and your favorite class and thought you could pick right back up where you left off? You might remember feeling like you were not going to make it through the class and were so sore for days on end. And that was just after a vacation consisting of a long rest, relaxation, and food freedom. Just think what you may encounter once you return to your favorite class or training group after two to three months of quarantine.

Now if you have been able to keep up your training intensity during this time, that’s awesome, and what I’m talking about might not apply to you. But I would argue that most of us, even with the best intentions, might not have been exercising at the same intensity in which we left our favorite facility. And if you jump back in too fast, at too furious of an intensity, you could find yourself with far worse than a case of sore muscles—and maybe even losing your lunch during class.

As you make your way back into your gym and classes, here are five helpful tips that will aid in keeping you safe and free from injury so you don’t get knocked out for another couple of months.

Reset Your Mindset

I think the most important step in getting back to your previous fitness level is being okay with not being at your previous fitness level. There is no room for negative self-talk because your deadlift isn’t Instagram-worthy right now, or running a mile is now incredibly challenging when it was once a warm-up. Think short-term adjustment at the beginning as you get your legs back underneath you. Find the little victories and be proud of them as you continue to ramp back up to previous intensities.

Start Slow and Add Gradually

Stave off injuries or worse by starting slow and adding intensity progressively throughout the first 8–10 sessions back. Starting off too heavy or too fast can lead to physical injuries as well as emotional setbacks. Build some confidence every session, and you will be back to your prime self in no time, safely! 

Do an RPE System Check

Do a frequent body system check using Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) scale. The Borg Scale is a rating chart from 6–20 of how hard you feel yourself working at any one given task. There is a modified version that is a simple 0–10 rating system. Either one correlates well with your heart rate and can provide a quick and reliable audit of how your body is reacting to exercise. If you feel like you are barely moving, you may be at a 6 or 7 (1,2); or if you feel like if you keep up the current intensity you may lose that lunch I mentioned earlier, you may be at an 18–20 (8–10). It’s quick and easy, does not require equipment, and can provide an accurate intensity level check. Do frequent system checks throughout your workout, and if you feel you are pushing to the higher numbers of that scale, you may want to back it down and gradually work up to that intensity level.

Warm Up/Prep for Movement

Take the time to properly warm up and prepare yourself for the work at hand. This message is not new, and should always be practiced, but even more so now that you may have had a lengthy layoff. Consider this as part of your workout and you are more likely to complete it every time; don’t treat it as an option that is nice to do if you have the time. Make time! Foam rolling and soft tissue techniques, dynamic warm-up drills, and stability work should all be completed before jumping into a training session or your favorite class. Five to seven minutes can save you months in rehabbing an injury that could have been avoided.

Hydrate and Recover

Same as above, not a new message but a super-important one these days! Start hydrating now if you have been lacking in that area. Don’t wait until midway through a training session to start fluid intake. If you are following the rule of thumb and ingesting half your body weight in ounces of water daily, you are in a great position. Just like your warm-up, take the time to cool down and perform recovery drills post workout. These will help with soreness and increase mobility while slowing down your mind to focus on the victories you just grabbed in the workout. Slow down the systems and reward yourself for a job well done!

***

We were confident that this day would come when we could get back to our gyms, groups, and classes and get moving like we did before everything changed. Now that it is here, please take the proper steps in protecting yourself against injury or even worse. It may take some time to get back to where you once were, but it will be well worth it!

This blog was written by Tony Maloney, ACSM Certified Exercise Physiologist and Fitness Center Manager. To find out more about the NIFS bloggers, click here. 

Daily, life provides countless learning opportunities that, if processed properly, can make us strong individuals capable of accomplishing extraordinary things. Some lessons stem from positive experiences in our lives, but I think the strongest lessons are derived from strife, hardship, and even failure. These lessons can hurt, and you can either live in the pain or learn from it. We are currently living a life full of learning opportunities that have and will continue to test our ability to grow.

I have learned so much during this time of crisis—about facets of daily life and of my profession, about myself and about people. In one of my recent posts outlining ways to “pivot” during stressful times, I encouraged you to write down and define a list of things you are grateful for. That same activity can be applied to lessons you learn each day. Take a moment daily, or weekly, to write down a few lessons that challenged you and how you learned from them. If you think about it, you should ink it for self-processing and to refer to later.

Here is a brief list of some of the greater lockdown lessons I have learned and have grown from.

I Don’t Hate Working from Home

In the past, I have always thought I would hate having a home office and not going to a physical place of work. Being in the people business and with the multitude of distractions that home life can add to your workday, I didn’t think I could be as productive, or that I would enjoy it. Now don’t get me wrong, I am counting the minutes until I can be back with people; that’s who I am. But I really don’t hate working from home right now. There is freedom in it, and it has provided ample time to really focus and get things done. It has helped harness my self-discipline, creativity, and a balance of work and life duties. I found some key behaviors to get the most out of your day working from home:

• Keep a schedule: The early bird gets the worm. This goes for eating, too.
• Dress up to show up: Get cleaned up and put on some proper attire.
• Designate a work area: That is where you put in work.
• Get up and move around often: I rotate work and chores to stay fresh.
• Work out: Duh, exercise is crucial no matter where you are working from.
• Don’t eat and work: Enjoy the quick break.
• Log what you do: Some people are required to do this, but I think it’s a great reflection tool as well.
• Shut it down: When your day is over, shut it down.

A New Appreciation for the Breadth of Social Media and Technology as an Educational and Behavioral Tool

I still consider myself quite the caveman when it comes to social media and all the technology that connects us as a community. But I have learned so much in a short time about so many ways I can affect others’ lives using many technological and media applications. From Zoom workout sessions to the many ways to post on all social media channels, there are countless ways to funnel information and great content to the masses. And although nothing can replace the feeling of connecting with someone in person, these tools provide a close second to reaching people. The strategies I have learned during this time using technology and social media will be used far after the lockdown is over and have made me a better fitness professional to serve people.

Great People Show Up in a Crisis

A crisis can bring out the best or the worst in people, but great people show up no matter the situation. Health care workers, first responders, and officials on the front line of the pandemic are owed our deepest gratitude for the work that they do. But I am also referring to coworkers, family members, and friends. Great people relish challenges and step up to provide solutions and take action to complete tasks and help others. I’ve learned a lot about many folks during this time, and that most people want to help as much as they can and find ways to do so. Your instructors and professionals at NIFS have answered the call and are proof that great people show up.

Fitness Matters

Once the stay-at-home order was set, it was amazing to see how many people were clamoring for ways to get their fitness fix. Fitness continues to be a huge part of so many lives, and as a fitness professional it was awesome to witness how important fitness and our industry are to people. Physical activity and exercise are still, and will always be, the best medicines to prevent and treat serious illnesses. I have seen so many stories of people who are healthy because of regular physical activity beat COVID-19 into submission.

Not only that, the response of so many people who wanted—nay, needed—to work out either virtually with others or family time fitness had been huge. Countless posts of people being active flooded social media, and folks flocked to virtual training sessions. It is not a new lesson to me that physical activity is the answer for so many things in our lives. It was great to learn that so many have heard the message and will do anything to get and remain active.

Adapt and Adjust

Don’t be that person who is the first to complain about a situation and the last to do something about it. We are going to encounter so many more challenges in our lives, both big and small, and the ability to adapt and adjust will be a lesson we use forever. Having the strength and grit to pivot and find ways to thrive during adversity are attributes that I believe are fortified during a crisis or negative situation.

The strategies and positive approaches you learn to implement during strife will pay huge dividends further down the road, whereas allowing the situation to consume you coupled with a negative mindset will lead to greater hardships even from smaller issues. Staying positive and taking time to think about how to adapt is how you learn to take on anything that may stand in your way. Taking action right away and not sitting on your hands waiting for something or someone to bail you out can be hard at times, but will be the only sure way to make it through and be a better version of yourself.    

School Is Always in Session

Last lesson: school is always in session, kids. Lessons can be found in any situation, and it will be those lessons that will serve you the rest of your life in great times and crisis. We will get through this; but “will you be new and improved because of it?” is the question. We will all need to learn a new way of living, at least for a little while. Find those lessons that are waiting for you and be a lifelong learner.

This blog was written by Tony Maloney, ACSM Certified Exercise Physiologist and Fitness Center Manager. To find out more about the NIFS bloggers, click here. 

The saying often goes, “success breeds success,” but I’m a big believer that failure leads to just as much and even more success. Being reactive in nature to a situation (as most of our population is) can delay a successful outcome, but often does lead to one. Obviously being proactive, anticipating and avoiding rather than catching and correcting, is a more successful model of living; but we find ourselves in situation we really couldn’t anticipate. There are some lessons to be learned and success that can come from this desperate situation we are all in.

How Can You Exercise When You Can’t Leave Home?

When the lockdown was put in place, many diehard exercisers and movers of all kinds were left clambering for ways to stay fit and active while under quarantine. Then came the barrage of social media posts from people like me offering up super-helpful fitness solutions to not having your favorite gym to go to and the ample equipment to use. The information and help that fitness pros around the world have offered has been inspiring, and I encourage you to continue to implement the strategies and techniques you are learning from real fitness pros (but be a smart consumer of content).

But a great lesson we can learn from this situation is that it is a good thing to have some fitness gear available to you in your home. After the pandemic, there will be many more reasons you might not be able make it to your gym or studio. Just life may alter your ability to get to where all your favorite equipment lies. What is your plan then?

Equipment for Exercising at Home

There are many cost- and space-efficient pieces of fitness survival gear you can have in your home that can keep the momentum going if you are unable to meet with your favorite people at your favorite gym. I’ve created a fitness survival list that you can use immediately or accumulate over time so that you will always have strategies in place to keep moving in a small space.

Cheap and Effective

Here’s some equipment that you can get now.

• Foam rollers: You can do recovery and mobility work anywhere, and you can do it well with the proper tools. But did you know that you can use the foam roller for more than myofascial release? See this video!
• Mini-bands: These are 2 to 3 bucks a pop—easy to use and very effective. And here’s a NIFS video showing you how to use them for a big sweat.
• Super bands: There is so much you can do with these bigger bands, and they are still very inexpensive. Here’s a NIFS video using super bands for resistance.
• Sliders: There are many things you can use for sliders, such as furniture movers, towels, and paper plates. Sliders can used for lunges, hinging, and core work. Here’s a NIFS video of slider exercises.
• Tubing: Continuing with the band resistance, tubing with handles is a great tool to perform countless exercises.
• Stability ball: This ball can be used for core work, and upper and lower body strength work, and you can sit on it while you work from home! Here’s a video using the stability ball.

Equipment for Leveling Up

The following equipment items cost a little more, but they have a lot more capabilities.

• TRX Suspension Trainer: Fitness anywhere is their name for a reason. You can use the TRX anywhere and can perform thousands of movements in a small space. Enhance strength, stability, cardio, core strength—TRX can do it all. Here’s our video using the TRX outside.
• Sandbag: Providing a dynamic load in a multitude of movements makes the sandbag a nice addition to your fitness survival gear. Here’s a video using the sandbag in a squat and press.
• Kettlebell: Add some load to your movements. You can perform so many movements with just one kettlebell. Here’s a video of the kettlebell triplet.
• Weighted vest: Add load to bodyweight movements and go for a nice long walk, or Ruck!

As another saying goes, success favors the prepared. There are some quick, easy, and relatively inexpensive means to keep moving at home—right now and in the future, no matter the reason you are not able to get out of the house.

We will be getting back to the gym really soon, and I can’t wait for that day to come to see you all getting after it in the place you call your fitness home. Until then, make your home a place for fitness!

This blog was written by Tony Maloney, ACSM Certified Exercise Physiologist and Fitness Center Manager. To find out more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.

During these unprecedented times of self- and mandated quarantines and stay-at-home orders, it can be easy to slip into a negative mindset accompanied by fear of the unknown and worry about how you are going to get through this. Self-quarantine does not have to be void of self-improvement. Social media is drenched with ideas and strategies to keep up your physical fitness at home with a million bodyweight workouts and DIY fitness equipment ideas. I’m partial to the elite content that the NIFS pros are providing daily, obviously, but there is no shortage of methods out there to keep moving at home. But what about emotional and mental fitness, and how to continue the work on YOU that makes us strong individuals inside and out?

A motto that I live by daily is to focus on how you choose to react to an unavoidable situation and not let the situation itself dictate your response. Many things are out of our control, but we can control the way we react. I’m sure you’ve seen that poster sometime in your life, and I think it is the only way you can actually control a situation you find yourself in. This fight against COVID-19 is no different; the situation itself is out of our control, but the way we choose to react and manage the situation is.

Strategies for Mindset Pivot

So how can we PIVOT our mindset and continue our self-growth through this crazy situation? I have a few strategies that you can put in place right away, starting with the mindset PIVOT.

Be Grateful

List and define the things that you are grateful for right now. Obviously, this is not an ideal situation we are all going through, but what are the things that you have or that are going on in your life that you are so thankful for? Here are a few of mine:

• I’m healthy.
• My loved ones are healthy.
• I’m still able to remain employed and help others.
• I have a safe and comfortable home.
• I have ample food.

I’ll bet as soon as you put pen to paper and write out those things you are grateful for, you will begin to pivot to a more positive mindset.

Laugh

Find ways to laugh daily. Maybe it’s listening to your favorite comedian or catching a comedy on Netflix. Laughter can change a mindset pretty quickly and will focus attention away from the troubling news we face these days.

Connect

Spend time with your family that is with you and reach out to those who are not. You have some time now to really connect with the people you care about the most. Play a game with the kids, call someone you haven’t talked to in a while, send an email, or Skype. There are so many ways you can connect with others. Stay connected; you have the time now.

Move

There are a number of ways you can remain active at home. As I stated before, there is no shortage of drills and workouts you can do with little and no equipment online and on social media. Follow your NIFS Pros on IG and Facebook and be sure to check out our blogs for a ton of fitness strategies you can do at home:

• Quick Workouts
• Mini-Band Exercises
• Slider Exercises (use paper plates on carpet or a towel on wooden surfaces)
• Super Band Exercises

Be sure to PLAY as well, an aspect of fitness that often gets overlooked. Play and smile!

Strategies for Self-Growth

Even though you may be a homebody these days, it doesn’t mean you have to stop the growth of who you are as an individual, professional, parent, sibling, and other identities that you carry with you. The list of things you can do to grow and not slow down during this time is long. Here are just a few to wet your whistle:

• Read a book(or books) covering a topic you want to learn more about.
• Listen to a podcast.
• Watch a documentary, take a break from the world of fiction to gain knowledge of an interesting topic.
• Help the kids with their e-learning.
• Evaluate and adjust those New Year’s goals you wrote down a few months ago.
• Plan a future vacation and determine the steps needed to get you there.
• Journal daily thoughts, kind of like a “captain’s log” type of thing.
• Take a nap.
• Keep moving (see above).
• Hop on a webinar.
• Declutter the house and give it a deep clean.

We are going to get through this and return to our lives outside of the house. A challenge to you is to be a better YOU than you were at the beginning of this pandemic. Taking action during this time to maintain a positive mindset and to continue to grow mentally and emotionally will set you up for success when you reenter the world. Control your reaction, take action, and we will come out of this situation better than ever!

This blog was written by Tony Maloney, ACSM Certified Exercise Physiologist and Fitness Center Manager. To find out more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.

March is typically a make-or-break month for many folks as it relates to reaching their health and wellness goals for the new year. The resolutions are losing steam, weather tends to sway fitness decision-making, and focus begins to shift a bit away from what brought them to the gym in the first place. My message to many at this time of year is to continue to WIN EACH DAY! By that I mean have more checks in the win column than in the loss column. It’s natural to slump a little—we haven’t seen the sun in a month, for crying out loud. But continue to focus on doing those things that constitute WINS and limit those things that would be considered a LOSS.

NIFS Instructors Share Their Observations in the Gym

This is also a great time of year to hit a few reminders of what you should and should not do in the gym I asked the experts (the highly trained NIFS instructors): What are some things you see gym-goers do that needs immediate attention and correction? Along with a few of my own, here is what the team had to report on the common things we see in the gym that you should and should not do.

Tony: Control the Weights

• Not controlling the weight of an exercise throughout the entire ROM.
• Dropping the weight unsafely.
• Holding on and hunching over a climb mill.
• Standing the wrong direction in a squat rack.

Lauren: Deadlift

• Tuck the chin in neutral spine
• Use clips for safety

Thomas: Bicep Curl

• The emphasis on bicep curl contraction is more pronounced when we isolate the muscle.  this can be done by avoiding movement and momentum from arm swinging by pressing the elbows toward your sides
• Sometimes, more weight does not make the exercise better, but better movement patterns can make the exercise more effective and safer
• An easy way to also accomplish this would be to press your back against the wall and perform the exercise

Ashley: Proper Plank

• Hips in the air/not a flat back
• Proper way is flat back, hips level, core tight

Tinisi: Proper Lunge

• Keep your upper body straight, with your shoulders back and relaxed and look straight ahead
• lower your hips until both knees are bent at about a 90-degree angle
• Core tight

Keep Striving for Wins and Contributing to Your Fitness Community

We covered a great deal of information here—pretty important stuff for both proper technique and fitness community etiquette. As I covered in my post Culture Club: How to Be a Strong Member of a Fitness Community, we are all in this together! And a community of support and positive energy is a place we can all thrive in, and must all contribute to. I know that some of the new year perspective may have lost a little sparkle, but you are still on the right track. Just remember, have more WINS than LOSSES and you will continue to improve!

This blog was written by Tony Maloney, ACSM Certified Exercise Physiologist and Fitness Center Manager. To find out more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.

It’s 2020, a new year filled with new ambitions for health, wellness, and performance. This is the time of year when we make deals with ourselves to try something new, get back to something we’ve stopped, and declare that this year is the year!

If you have followed my posts from the beginning, I feel a certain way about resolutions and waiting for a new year to make positive changes. For a review on my feelings toward a practice that typically results in failure, read Resolutions Redefined, one of my first pieces on the topic. But I want to help you try something new in the new year to help further your fitness quest. Let’s take a look at a tool that you might not have used or even seen before.

Vitality Performance Reconditioning (ViPR)

First on the list is the ViPR. Besides having a pretty cool name, the ViPR is a do-it-all piece of equipment that will make you what folks over at ViPR refer to as “farm boy” strong. Inspired by those farm kids who move with loads in their daily life, the ViPR combines task-specific movements and resistance training to add a multitude of dimensions to a fitness program. Living with energy and vigor (Vitality) to help build Performance and regain function for life, sport, and recreation is what the name ViPR stands for and pushes to achieve. Life is an athletic event, so it only makes sense that one should train for the event, train like an athlete, or in the case of the ViPR, like a farm boy.

Movements with the ViPR Fitness Equipment

Ready to add the ViPR to your toolbox of fitness awesomeness? Here are a few of my favorite movements to help get you started:

• Rocket Squats
• Single Hinge with reach
• Lunge to uppercut
• Shovel
• Rot. Fwd./Rev Lunge Combo
• Lat Lunge to C&P w. Lat Step
• Ice Skater with push
• Lateral Shuffle Flip
• Flip Squat

These movements barely scratch the surface of all the dimensions and patterns that can be challenged using the ViPR. You now know enough to give the ViPR a try, but for more information on how to add it to your program, schedule a session with one of our talented and highly trained NIFS instructors and take those first crucial steps in trying something new the right way!

This blog was written by Tony Maloney, ACSM Certified Exercise Physiologist and Fitness Center Manager. To find out more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.

In a world where in many cases bigger is better, just because something is small doesn’t mean it’s less important or can’t have big impact. Being short in stature my entire life, it has always been my motto that “dynamite comes in small packages,” and I have strived to create as much BANG as I can in all facets of life. Small in stature can provide big results when you light the proper fuse and utilize its power maximally.

The Little Resistance Band with a Big Impact

In health and fitness, using the proper tools to yield the outcomes you are working toward is a staple goal, no matter the size of that tool. The mini-band could be the best example of creating big effect from a rather tiny tool. This popular, small resistance band has been used for many years in fitness and even sports performance. The mini-band is versatile and can be used for strength and stability over the entire body.

One of the biggest advantages of this ready-to-use, do-it-all tool is that it can go anywhere and be used in any environment. From the basics to the advanced, the mini-band is built to challenge all fitness levels and body types. It truly is a small package that packs a dynamite punch!

My Favorite Mini-Band Exercises

Here are some of my favorite exercises that you may not be currently doing but should:

• Single-Leg Squats
• Goblet Carry
• Single-Leg, Straight-Leg Dead Lift
• Shoulder Drivers
• Wall Sprinters
• Renegade Rows

• BONUS: Friday Finisher Featuring the Mini-band

Schedule a Session with a NIFS Trainer

These are just a few of the many exercises that can be done using the mini-band. There are so many great ways to utilize this mighty-mouse of a fitness tool. Want more exercises and direction? Schedule a workout program with one of our highly trained Health Fitness Instructors and get on a path to reaching your health and fitness goals and have fun doing it!

This blog was written by Tony Maloney, ACSM Certified Exercise Physiologist. To find out more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.

Getting old sucks. That’s right, I said it: getting old sucks. I might be the only one in the fitness world to say it, but it does. I know I’m supposed to be positive about the inevitable passing of time and what each of us face in our journeys—and I’m positive it is not fun at all. No matter whether you are turning 20 or 70, we are all getting older and it is getting old! If you can’t tell by now, I am a bit grumpy about some of the aspects that each passing birthday has in store; and much like Ebenezer Scrooge, I say, “Bah humbug” to it all!

In a previous post, “This is 40,” I mentioned how quickly some physical attributes can change, and not in a good way. I recently purchased some readers (which are currently aiding me to write this blog) because my eyesight is beginning slip, I guess. I sometimes make a bunch of noises when I get-up, and it takes a few steps to get upright. The other day I went for what I used to consider a short run, and had to stop three times to stretch out. When goofing around with my nephews, I have to first ask myself, “Will this activity result in me hurting myself?” before I participate. Bah humbug, right? And yep, I’m still pretty grumpy about the whole thing!

You Will Be Visited by Three Goals

Okay, now that I’m done complaining about it, what can you do to help growing older go more smoothly? In the coming weeks, you will be visited by three goals that can change your life. These three different goals cover the concepts and strategies that can help minimize some of the effects of getting older. What are these goals, you ask?

• Eat well.
• Move more.
• Recover better.

Wait, you’re telling me you’ve heard of these goals before? (Hopefully you’re picking up on my sarcasm!) That’s right, there’s no crazy new idea here. But no matter how we in the health and fitness world try to gift-wrap the keys to living long and living well, you all still don’t do it. Crazy, right? Who knew shutting your pie hole, getting off your butt, and resting properly could have positive effects on your health and longevity? So why aren’t more of us doing these simple things that can change the game forever?

Gear Up for a Better Christmas Future!

During the visits from these goals, they will walk you through the how and why of each goal and the steps to take to be better as you age and not the other way around. Recipes, videos, and workouts will all be part of these visits, covering an array of strategies that can help.

It’s not too late! You can change; we can change! Listen to the messages these goals have for you during each visit, implement them, and say “bah humbug” to getting old and say “Whoopee!” to being awesome for life!

This blog was written by Tony Maloney, ACSM Certified Exercise Physiologist and Fitness Center Manager. To find out more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.