NIFS Healthy Living Blog

NIFS 2nd Annual Powerlifting Competition happened November 14 in front of a packed house filled with excited onlookers, friends and family of the athletes, and “heavy metal” enthusiasts. The event doubled in size in one year’s time, with competitors from all over the state as well as some of our strongest NIFS members!

The fitness center floor was transformed into a makeshift coliseum so all could witness the battles that took place on those power racks and platforms. One could easily learn a great deal about the art of powerlifting, but I witnessed some rather big life lessons on display that were just as powerful as our two champions!

1. Success Favors the Prepared

From the athletes to the support team, success in this event was determined by the level of preparedness and not leaving anything to chance. Preparing for that day resulted in personal records and championships for the athletes and a smooth order of events for the support team. And although the training was difficult and time consuming, putting everything you have into the preparation for anything that you want to achieve is a surefire way to accomplish what you seek.

2. Dynamite Comes in Small Packages

The 2015 Female overall champion weighed in at 124 pounds and pulled 300 pounds off the floor! Now that’s a small package with a HUGE detonation! Although many challenges in your life will be bigger than you, it is possible to overcome them no matter the size of your resources; just keep pulling.

3. Sportsmanship Is ALIVE

Unfortunately, hardly a week goes by that we do not witness an act of disrespect and lack of sportsmanship in some arena of sport in the media. Some are worse than others, of course, but it sometimes can be hard to believe that athletes are competing solely for the thrill and reward of the competition itself. I was reminded at this event that sportsmanship does live on, and it was so inspiring to see athletes support and motivate their fellow competitors. Being more excited about someone’s accomplishments than your own is contagious, and it’s an overall victory for those involved.

4. Failure Breeds Success

I have always been a strong believer that failure does breed success, and that sometimes you win and other times you learn. Seeing an athlete fail to complete a lift, almost immediately learn from any mistake that occurred in the preceding lift, and step up and knock out the next one is the truest example of this philosophy. Learning from a mistake, correcting what needs to be corrected, and having the heart to try again is true success.

5. The Bigger the Dream, the Better the Team

NIFS’s first attempt at hosting a powerlifting event was a modest, yet very successful venture that set the tone for future competitions. Due to its success, the event doubled in size and challenges in providing a quality event. Having likeminded and supportive people involved in planning, staging, and putting on an event like this makes those challenges shrink. The staff and volunteers who showed up that Saturday and worked tirelessly is what has allowed the success of this event. And I can’t help but realize that everyday, our lives, is an event; and it takes a strong support team to be successful. We can’t do it on our own! Be sure to thank those that make your everyday events a success!

I know I speak for the rest of the team, NIFS, and the community when I say we are already counting down the days to next year’s big event! Keep your eyes and ears open for the details!

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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 that time again, everyone. Fall is upon us and the holidays are approaching… and what better way to start them all off than with NIFS’ 8th Annual Online Auction? The Online Auction was created to help sustain scholarship opportunities for some of the members of the NIFS Lifestyle Rx Program.

The Lifestyle Rx Program provides extra guidance and observation to individuals with chronic medical concerns. A NIFS’s Lifestyle Coordinator communicates with the participant’s physician and helps plan workouts geared to his or her specific medical needs. The scholarship component of the program is determined on a needs basis and allows for some participants who are unable to work, due to their physical limitations, to come in and get the help and guidance they need at NIFS.

I would like to highlight a current member of the Lifestyle Rx Program. Please take a few moments to read about Burt Halstead and how this program has helped him stay motivated.

CAN YOU SHARE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELF AND WHY YOU JOINED NIFS?

I joined NIFS because I had just been released by my neurologist to get back into exercising/working out after a brain surgery as well as a neck surgery in the last couple of years. It is the easiest gym for me to get to because it is so close to where I live.

WHAT ARE A FEW THINGS YOU HAVE ENJOYED ABOUT BEING IN THE LIFESTYLE PROGRAM?

I have really enjoyed getting in a good exercise and workouts on a daily basis again. NIFS really worked out great for me because I wasn’t exactly sure of all the exercises I would be able to do as I eased back into exercising again. There was always someone there to make sure I could do all of the programs they had set up for me before releasing me to do it on my own.

SOMETHING YOU HAVE LEARNED OR THAT SURPRISED YOU?

Something that really surprised me was how much better I feel about myself just by getting back into the gym on a daily basis and doing the programs that my trainers have set up for me. For a long period of time I was spending most of my time in bed due to medical reasons. When I was able to get out and do things again, I had a hard time finding things to do daily, as I am still waiting for the “okay” to get back into school and work.

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE EXERCISES CURRENTLY?

My favorite exercises are the rope pull, rope pull upwards, and the cable cross wood chop. I am always a little exhausted after I do these exercises.

YOUR BIGGEST ACCOMPLISHMENT SO FAR?

I would say my biggest accomplishment has been maintaining my workouts nearly every day. When I first got involved in this program, I wasn’t sure how well it would work out for me, if at all. I was probably only going two or three days a week at first, as I was still a little uncertain if it would work out.

THINGS YOU HAVE LEARNED FROM YOUR TRAINER(S) ALONG THE WAY?

My trainers have helped me set up programs using machines and made sure I was using all of the machines or super-band exercises correctly, as I had never really used them before. I had always used free weights, and now free weights are less of an option. It was nice to have someone to make sure I was doing everything correctly as I went through them for my first time.

WHAT KEEPS YOU MOTIVATED?

I would say the thing that keeps me motivated is the ambition exercising at NIFS has given me again. Before all of my medical issues I always worked hard to be the best I could be at whatever I was doing (sports, academics, exercising, etc.). Thanks to my trainers at NIFS, I have found that motivation again. It has helped boost me physically, socially, and emotionally*. I’m not sure the trainers that I’ve been working with really understand how much I appreciate all of their hard work.

*Weight loss claims and/or individual results vary and are not guaranteed.

Auction Information

Our Online Auction begins Monday November 23 and runs through Monday December 14 at 8:00pm. There are a lot of great items to bid on that everyone can enjoy so get your bid on today!

For questions about the Lifestyle Rx Program please contact Rebecca Newbrough at 317-274-3432 ext. 263  rnewbrough@nifs.org.

This blog was written by Rebecca Newbrough, Lifestyle Program Coordinator and Health Fitness Instructor. To find out more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.

This is the final installment in my series on training for people 40 and over. Previously I’ve discussed training needs and health concerns for older adults, the importance of strength training, and the role of the glutes. Now let’s talk about the old-school way to reach your fitness goals while aging gracefully.

Someone on Facebook said she wanted to train her back harder than her grip would allow and asked which would be better, lifting straps or Versa Gripps. The answers bounced back and forth between the two options (usually bodybuilders doing the commenting), but I just had to offer a third option: neither.

“Old school–develop your grip strength so it’s not the weak link.”

Some of the clueless responses from a few bodybuilders about grip work interfering with arm and back day and how you couldn’t develop your back if you had to wait for your grip were sadly amusing.

Shortcuts Don’t Pay

If she did use the straps or Versa Gripps to allow for heavier loading of the back for the sake of back development (aesthetics), the grip would continue to be weaker than the muscles up the movement chain and would therefore be a rate limiter in the upper body’s functional strength. This imbalance could be a source of future injuries as well. And of course, this begs the question: why is there an imbalance in the first place?

When the focus of fitness is to look better in front of a mirror, concepts like correcting movement deficiencies, addressing strength weaknesses, and the effects of rate limiters on functional strength have as much interest as broccoli does to a 3-year-old.

It’s easy to pick on bodybuilding because to those on the outside, bodybuilding seems to be the extreme example of narcissistic frivolousness. But alas, all exercise and fitness pursuits have a huge egocentric component, whether it’s picking up more weight, running faster/further, or killing Fran or Fight Gone Bad.

Sometimes You Just Have to Eat Your Broccoli

The point is that we are all results-driven regardless of whether our fitness interests are functional training or just looking better. We want improvements to arrive quicker and the process to be easier, even if the shortcuts we take for short-term gains have a high price on the back end. Seemingly innocent lifting straps are at one end of the shortcut continuum, and PEDs at the other; but they all are attempts to circumvent the body’s natural processes. All the things you chose to ignore, neglect, and ill-advised shortcuts will eventually show up during your fitness “come to Jesus meeting” sometime in your 40s and 50s. And just know that the accompanying injuries that come during that meeting are served in a broccoli casserole, heavily seasoned with “I Told You So.”

Take shortcuts and ignore weakness at your own peril. There, I just told you so. Go eat your broccoli!

Learn more about your current fitness status with NIFS’s Functional Movement Screening or Personal Fitness Evaluation.

This blog was written by Rick Huse, CSCS, WKC Competition Coach. To find out more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.

In earlier installments, I’ve talked about health concerns for active people over 40, as well as the importance of strength and functional training for people in this age group. As promised, I will now focus in on strength training, and we’ll start with your butt.

The glute complex (your hips) has the greatest potential for strength and power in the human body, and is the foundation for all ground-based movement. If used properly, it lifts things up (like the grandkids) and spares the low back. Let’s call this the “lifting things up” or the dead-lift pattern.

The Lost Glutes

Because of the enormous amount of sitting done in our modern lifestyle, many adults can’t find their glutes (through muscle activation) with a map, hand mirror, and a flashlight. When you place people on their backs on the floor with their knees up and feet planted on the ground, then have them try to raise their hips off the floor by contracting just their glutes, many will fire their hamstrings while their glutes remain totally quiet. This situation has been referred to as glute amnesia; more accurate would be to say it’s a disconnect between brain and muscle. The body will find a way to accomplish the desired task by resorting to Plan B (in this case, the hamstrings) if the primary movers, the glutes, are offline. The hips will move off the ground but at a cost: inefficient movement, lower performance potential, and higher risk of injury to the Plan B muscles—and also to surrounding tissue and joints.

Foundational Movement: The Hip Hinge

Learning to properly hinge the hips and to activate the glutes is critical for skilled and graceful movement and injury prevention as you age. This is life quality for now and into your future. So let’s try the foundational movement, the hip hinge:

1. Stand with your feet about hip width apart and hands resting on the front of your thighs. You can also hold a light barbell or a pair of light dumbbells to provide a little resistance.
2. With your lower legs perpendicular to the ground, push your hips backward while bending forward at the hips. Your upper body will fold over with your back in a straight line from the tailbone to the back of your head.
3. Do not squat and do not bend forward at the waist (lumbar spine).
4. Once your hands reach your knees, pause, focus on your glutes, and tighten them as you try to push the ground away with your feet. Return to standing with a straight line from the heels to the back of your head.
5. Rinse and repeat until the movement feels natural.
6. If in doubt, keep your hips higher while you bend forward and sense your upper body closing the distance with the ground.
7. If you have health issues, balance problems, or serious muscle weakness, seek proper medical assistance. Watch this video as a guide.

Your body is programmed to avoid falling on your face by trying to stay more upright and bending your knees more into a squat pattern if it doesn’t sense proper muscle activation. If you learn to position your skeleton into the correct architecture for the movement you are attempting and recruit the target muscles for that movement (in this case, the glutes and core), you will not face-dive. If you do splat, see #6 above (and please post the video on YouTube).

Every day, at some point, you will need to bend over (hinge) and pick something up. Conventional wisdom dictates that we lift with our legs from a squat position, but our greatest power for this movement comes from the hinge pattern and the glutes. That’s why we call it the Big House. Heed the immortal words from Sir Mix-A-Lot: “You can do side bends or sit-ups, but please don’t lose that butt.”

This blog was written by Rick Huse, CSCS, WKC Competition Coach. To find out more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.

Okay, I know it’s not something we really want to talk, about but let’s face it: the Drumstick Dash and other holiday races are coming up, and I have a feeling it won’t be sunny and 85! I found some good tips on Runner’s World that I wanted to pass along about preparing to run in the cold. Hopefully some of these help as you join the upcoming Thanksgiving and Christmas races!

• Arm your feet. Wear shoes with the least amount of mesh material. If you have GORE-TEX shoes, that should be your first pick. Wool socks are a must, and cover your feet with plastic bags if necessary.
• Dress right. You want to make sure you stay warm, but not so warm that you sweat a lot and get a chill. Layers are important, and gloves and a hat are vital to keep those digits protected from the cold.
• Wear bright-colored clothing. With it being so dark early in the evenings now, or if you run in the morning, wearing bright colors or a vest to stand out is a great idea. Also, if you are running in the dark, you may want to wear a headlamp or take a flashlight with you.
• Warm up. The cold doesn’t feel so cold if you are warm when you go out.
• Run into the wind first. If you have to run into the wind (I know, for some reason it always feels like you’re running into the wind!), get that done first so that when you are sweating, it doesn’t give you a chill.
• Move past the speed. Cold-weather running isn’t usually for speed work; it’s a time for maintenance work.
• Change clothes quickly post-run. Be sure to bring extra clothes and change as soon as you are done. Even if you plan to just jump into the car and go, get changed so you don’t get sick.
• For more tips on dressing for winter running, see this NIFS blog post.

The 500 Festival Mini Marathon and Geist Marathon are just around the corner! Now is the time to plan your training program.

REGISTER NOW and take advantage of our Early bird pricing until 11/30/21 and you could win free training!

This blog was written by Amanda Bireline, Fitness Center Manager. To find out more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.

In the last blog, I discussed that the 40-plus age group had different training needs because of the effects of aging: loss of muscle strength fibers (sarcopenia), weakening of connective tissue with the resulting aches and pains and injuries, joint issues (arthritis and loss of range of motion), hormonal changes, weight gain (especially visceral fat), heart disease, and diabetes.

For many in this age group, other medical conditions seem to appear from out of nowhere. Theories for why range from genetics to reduction of stem cells, but the fact remains: unexpected conditions and diseases show up uninvited and certainly unwanted from about 45 and beyond. If you are in this age group and actively training, you need to know a lot more about your body, especially your age-related limitations.

A reminder for those training themselves: the ego is a great motivator for getting your butt off the couch, but it’s an absolutely terrible coach. The ego will beat the crap out of you to feel good about itself without regard for what the body can recover from, short and long term. It actually believes in such silliness as “no pain, no gain” and other macho slogans, and the ego is the reason for most training injuries and setbacks. Don’t get me wrong, I believe in training hard (which is a relative term), but I just don’t believe in training stupid.

“A true professional knows what to do and when to stop doing it.”

The Need for Strength

With that said, let’s discuss the need for strength. Here’s a story.

One of the leaders of the National Strength and Conditioning Association was recorded lecturing his graduating class in exercise science. He asked whether they would teach a 65-year-old woman, who had never weight trained, to do a barbell squat. The question was loaded: female, advanced age, no experience, and an athletic lift. As their professor, he was asking for a yes or no answer. Because they had been in his class all year, they knew if they answered the question incorrectly, he would nail them. So everyone sat in silence.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he said. “Since you’re not going to answer the question, I will do it for you. She has to stand up from a chair. It’s the same movement pattern. We are going to work with her on a life skill and make her stronger in that pattern at the same time.”

Oh, that’s not what they expected. They were thinking leg press, leg extensions, and leg curls would be safer for a female of that age with no weight training experience than doing the squat. But he played the functional strength card and trumped their unstated answer.

But then he added, “I don’t think you really get it, and I want to make sure you do. Imagine its 15 years later and she is now 80 years old in a nursing home and she can’t get up from the toilet without assistance. She has lost her life independence. Did you do her any favor by not teaching her to do the squat?”

I didn’t believe it possible, but a client of mine beat the professor’s follow-up when she told me that her mother-in-law died in a nursing home six months prior to our conversation. She had gotten up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. She had hit the assist button but no one saw it. The next morning, they found her dead on the bathroom floor. She had fallen off the toilet during the night and had broken her neck.

No one wants to be that 80-year-old woman. No one wants to spend their remaining years on this planet unable to move as a functioning independent adult, but if no effort is made to maintain strength fibers and joint range of motion, we’ll certainly slide down to the lower levels of movement quality until we’re stuck on the toilet for life.

A More Positive Thought

I don’t like motivating through negative imagery, but sometimes you have to hit people over the head with a chair to get their attention. I’d rather discuss the joy of connecting with your body, finding out what an amazing vessel it is to experience and travel through life, and to feel the power that resides beneath the outer shell.

Our bodies were designed to move and to work, actually to work hard and for long periods of time. If not, we would have been eaten by big cats thousands of years ago. It is just within the last 100 years that we have made life so physically easy that we are now dying from lack of movement, especially from a lack of intense movement that tells our cells that we are important to our family, the tribe, and the village—important enough for the cells to make a concerted effort to keep us around.

Think of exercise like a prescription drug. It is a concentrated dose of intense activity used to communicate the message that we are, in fact, really important for something all the way down to the cellular level.

Contrary to the common belief about the role of cardio, strength is the fitness component that sets the foundation for all of the other forms of senior fitness activities. If your muscles are not strong enough to support basic movement patterns, there is no way you can do cardio exercise for very long before something breaks down, and then you have to stop while joints, connective tissue, and/or muscles have time to heal.

In this article, I wanted to make it clear why you need to incorporate some form of strength training into your fitness program design, and why functional training is an important consideration. In future blogs, I’ll discuss actual strength training strategies and the rationale behind them. Don’t be surprised if kettlebells come up frequently, and I promise to continue my relentless attack on training stupidity.

This blog was written by Rick Huse, CSCS, WKC Competition Coach. To find out more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.

At times you may hear somebody at the gym or fitness center saying, “I don’t want to look like a bodybuilder,” or “I don’t want to be a powerlifter.” That’s great! That person knows their goals and also what they want to avoid. However, don’t let your specific goals cause you to have myth-generated fears of certain exercises.

Extreme Lifting Programs

Just take a second to think about what exactly a bodybuilder or a powerlifter has to do in order to earn his or her title. A bodybuilder must train with heavy weights, high intensity, and a whole lot of volume (reps and sets). Not only is the training extremely specific to what they do, but they have to do it for years to even be considered an amateur! I haven’t even mentioned a bodybuilder’s diet. Bodybuilders can consume 8,000 to 9,000 calories per day to gain muscle the way that they do!

A powerlifter’s training is just as specific to their sport. They train with very heavy weights and high intensity, but lower volume. A powerlifter pushes his or her body to an extreme level by slowly loading more and more weight into the program over time. A powerlifter can also consume upwards of 7,000 to 8,000 calories per day in order to fuel his or her body to perform at such a high, strenuous level.

All in all, extreme athletes such as professional bodybuilders and powerlifters follow very intense and specific programs that have gotten them to the level they are at today. What does that mean for the normal gym-goer? It means that there should be no fear of looking like a bodybuilder or a powerlifter unless you are following that specific style of program or eating that amount of food.

The Benefits of Lifting Weights

So far, I have given you reasons why you shouldn’t avoid weightlifting, but now I will give you specific reasons why you should be lifting weights.

• Strengthening bone: Lifting weights can add bone density, which will really pay off in later years, possibly saving you from injuries and expensive surgeries.
• Adding stability: When weight training, you are forced to recruit stabilizing muscles. These will become stronger and allow you to perform physical functions more efficiently.
• Boosting your metabolism: That’s right; lifting weights burns calories! You will be burning calories during a weightlifting session, but also afterwards. Your metabolism can get a positive effect from weight training, causing you to burn more calories throughout your day*.
• Increasing Fat Free Mass (FFM): Weight training will help to build muscle, which is included in FFM. So, if you do it correctly, you can effectively burn fat and gain muscle through weight training*. Sounds like a win-win to me!
• Increasing functionality: So when your friend says “Hey, can you help me move into my new house this weekend?” you don’t have to dread saying yes! If you have grown accustomed to lifting weights, you will be well prepared for events like moving furniture, yard work, and rearranging all your stuff in the attic* (just like you’ve been meaning to do for the past five years).

So, if weightlifting isn’t for you, I want to encourage you to go into the gym and try a session of weight training. If you’re brand new to weightlifting and need some help, a Health Fitness Specialist like me is always waiting here at NIFS to help you get started.

*Individual results vary and are not guaranteed.

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This blog was written by Aaron Combs, NSCA CSCS and Health/Fitness Instructor. To find out more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.

There comes a day when you wake up one morning and realize you’re not 25 any longer. Usually, this happens when you’re 50—or in other words, after 25 years of denial and of being totally oblivious to nature’s less-than-subtle warnings: hair loss and color change, skin texture and wrinkles, where did that body fat come from, when did that thing (?) become so heavy to lift, and those stairs weren’t that high last year. The mind feels young but the body fades in and out of pretend youth. The body is also willing until it gets tired or pain rises above the level of annoyance.

But there is hope: you can be cool without being young, but cool doesn’t make you stronger, quicker, more flexible, thinner, and the owner of painless joints.

What Motivates Senior Fitness?

When you were younger, the goal of exercise was to look better naked. It seems reasonable, because younger people look better naked than old farts. Besides, older people have more pressing issues like serious joint pain, heart disease, diabetes, age-related weight gain, hormonal changes, and perhaps even the chilling shadow of cancer has visited them. No doubt that looking better and feeling better about yourself is really an important motivator to exercise, but they pale in comparison to these life-altering issues. Therefore, the motives for training of an aging active adult are more complex than a 25-year-old and must be recognized and honored when designing training programs.

Specific Health Concerns for Active Seniors

If you happen to be a fitness enthusiast over 50, these are things you need to be aware of.

• Sarcopenia: An interesting word to say, but not so good to have, because it means a loss of muscle mass. Heavy-chain muscle fibers start dying out around age 30. Most professional athletes retire in their 30s because they have lost a step (in power and strength) and can no longer compete with younger athletes. Since most adults do not push their athletic genetic limits, they become aware of this loss of step in their 40s, or certainly by their 50s. This fiber loss is called sarcopenia. Unless there is some attempt to retain strength through formal strength training, this strength loss will continue at a ever-increasing and very noticeable rate. Common movement patterns—sit to stand, picking things up, pushing away and pulling back, pushing up and pulling down—will become increasingly more difficult as life quality decreases. Many people just give in to the process and call it “getting older.” It doesn’t have to be that way. Strength training can certainly slow it down.
• Joint issues: Connective tissue seems to injure more easily and take longer to heal. Tendonitis becomes an all-too-common answer to the question, “How are you feeling?” Dynamic joint mobility training helps regain joint range of motion and lubricate joint surfaces with synovial fluid for cartilage health. Older athletes have to allow time in the program design for something the young take for granted.
• Slow recovery: It takes longer for the body to repair and to make new tissue. This seems to be related to changes at the DNA and RNA levels as we age; and of course, changes in hormonal levels further compound the problem. Knowing this, nutrition and rest are key for proper recovery. The aging active adult has very little margin for error. Without proper nutrition and rest, progress will stall and the likelihood for injury will increase.
• Balanced training: Cardio exercise is still important for overall health, but must be managed in such a way as to not interfere with the recovery for strength training, and not to add to the training volume to the point of over-training and adversely effecting the immune system. The body also does not respond well to being forced to adapt to opposing stimulus (cardio vs. strength). It gets confused as to what exactly it is being asked to do. How much cardio is very individual, but it is easy to err on the side of too much. Interval training may be an answer to those concerns by reducing the training time factor while still challenging the alactate, anaerobic, and aerobic substrates for improved conditioning.
• Shared epiphany: There is a common experience at this age that there is a price to be paid for all of the fitness and health-related issues you chose to ignore when you were younger. Pain, discomfort, illness, and excess body fat are the reasons for your body’s “come to Jesus” meeting. Your body demands corrections, and your currency for payment is time and effort spent bringing the body back into balance. The aging active adult has been humbled enough by aging to be open to addressing these issues if the guidance they receive makes sense.

With the number of active aging adults increasing, both trainers and the older clients should understand the training needs and limitations of this age group in order to develop the best program designs that will effectively produce results and at the same time do no harm. So far, the fitness industry and fitness media have chosen to ignore the 800-pound gorilla by focusing on the 25- to 40-year-olds; but it is the aging active adults who have the greater need. They understand that the youth genie is not going back in the bottle, but that their life quality can be a whole lot better through proper training and nutrition.

In part 2 of this series, I talk more about the need for strength training at this age.

This blog was written by Rick Huse, CSCS, WKC Competition Coach, and originally appeared on his blog. To find out more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.

Group exercise classes can be a good way to get in shape and have fun while at the gym. They are designed to allow participants to attend without prior experience. They offer a full warmup, full workout, and cool-down in a variety of settings and styles. However, sometimes trying a new class can be daunting or scary.

You may feel scared to try a new class because you feel inexperienced. You may believe that you can’t keep up with the “regulars.” In turn, these feelings can lead to you missing out on fun and exciting workouts. But I want you to know this: Any good instructor is prepared to teach all levels of participants. Not everybody in the class is at the same level. Some people may be new like you! So trust me when I say that you can try new classes, and you can get a great workout. You may leave the class feeling more confident. So give new group training classes a try to discover whether you like them, rather than never giving them a chance. Here are three classes that you can try now!

Of course, trying a new class is easier said than done. So here are some tips that you can use when you are trying a new group exercises class.

1. Read the Description

All gyms have descriptions of the group exercise classes. They are short summaries of the focus of the class. The difficulty level should also be noted in each description. However, most classes invite all levels to join. The location of the class, the time it starts, and the name of the instructor should also be stated. You can always ask a gym employee questions if you need more information.

2. Arrive Early

You do not have to arrive very early, but arriving about 5 to 10 minutes early will you give you plenty of time to locate the class. Most instructors arrive early as well, in order to advise participants on equipment needed. So being there before class starts gives you time to set up your equipment.

3. Introduce Yourself

As mentioned above, the name of the instructor should be included in the description of that class. Once you have located the class, find the instructor and introduce yourself. This is the time to inform the instructor that this is your first time participating and ask whether they have any advice or instructions for you. Instructors are always happy to help!

4. Find a Good Spot

Even though it is your first time attending, that doesn’t mean you have to be in the back. You want to find an area where you can see and hear the instructor. Even though the front is the perfect spot for that, the middle area will work just fine. You will be able to see and hear, but you won’t feel like you are on display for the rest of the class.

5. Start Slow

Most group exercise classes will have a warmup. During that time, get a feel for how hard you want to work. Since you are new to the class, start slow. The instructors will demonstrate different levels of work for each exercise. Level 1 may be a good place to start. Once you feel comfortable, you can then try to increase the intensity slowly throughout This will help you last longer as well as keep you safe from injury.

6. Have Fun!

The last thing for you to do to enjoy your workout is to have fun! Don’t worry about what others around you think. You are all there for the same reason, and that is to work out, feel good, and have fun.

If you are looking for more information about the group exercise classes offered here at NIFS, see our group fitness schedule. You can also download our free app, which provides the group exercise schedule as well.

This blog was written by Masie Duncan, Weight Loss Coordinator. To find out more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.

For years people have been running in marathons and half marathons, 10Ks and 5Ks. And most recently the wide world of racing has taken a turn for themed runs, which is quite exciting if you have ever been to one! But no matter how many years go by, two goals continue to come up: running farther, and running faster.

We often hear someone say, “I want to be able to run farther than I did before.” We see it all the time: “I am going from the couch to running a 5K,” or “Last year I completed the 10K, so this year I really want to try the half marathon!” The other thing we hear is, “I like the distance that I am running, but next time I want to cut off 10 minutes.” The goal is to keep going faster and breaking a personal record. But which one is better—which goal should we strive to accomplish?

There are hundreds of programs out there that help you with one of the two goals: programs that are designed to help you increase your distance over time, or programs that are designed to keep your distance but increase your pace. And the good news is that both types work for different people.

Kris Berg, an exercise physiologist and professor at the University of Nebraska Omaha, says that after several decades of studying how an athlete can increase their endurance, he continues to lean on the profound answer of “The person needs to do what feels right for them.” Every person is made up differently genetically, and every method works differently for each person. It’s important to listen to what your body says, and if you can’t go farther, work on going faster, and if you can’t go faster, work on going farther!

Let’s take a look at each of the two common goals more in depth. 

Common goal #1: Being able to build endurance and go farther over time. 

The first and most important thing to keep in mind with any sort of training (and not just endurance running) is that adaptation and change are gradual. You will not be able to run 3 miles today and 16 miles tomorrow. Building gradually is vital to grasp before you set an overall goal, which must be realistic. Gradual adaptation means gradual, patient, and consistent. 

Another trick to being able to run long distances is to not start off too fast. Many people don’t make the distance they want because they are running at a pace that they cannot sustain. Find a pace that works for you! 

One other vital point to make when working on building your endurance: don’t overtrain. In most marathon training programs and endurance building programs out there, you will not see more than three days worth of running per week. You need to allow your body time to rest between runs.

Common goal #2: Working on speed to shave off some time from your last race. 

Disclaimer: working on speed is hard; be prepared to be mentally tough and stick to the workouts. When working on speed you will want to focus on some interval workouts. These are workouts that you are pushing at a fast pace for a certain period of time, then slowing down to recover before the next interval starts. 

And a final tip: If you want to run faster, you need to make your legs stronger. By doing some strength training and building up muscle mass, your speed will increase.

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This blog was written by Amanda Bireline, Fitness Center Manager. To find out more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.