NIFS Healthy Living Blog

Being a triathlete, most of my winters are spent stuck on the bike trainer or swimming countless laps in pools. When the weather finally breaks, I make every attempt to get outside and enjoy the outdoors and here’s why you should give it a try!

The Freedom of the Open Air

Working out under the open sky offers a sense of freedom and space that’s unparalleled. The fresh air, sounds of nature, and ever-changing scenery make every session unique and invigorating. Whether it’s a local park, bike path, or hiking trail, each setting provides a dynamic environment that keeps the workout engaging.

Variety and Community

One of the biggest benefits of outside workouts is the variety. Nature provides a natural playground with endless possibilities:

Trail Running: Great for cardiovascular health, building strength, and everchanging scenery.

Park Circuits: Use exercise stations or open areas for bodyweight circuits.

Outdoor Yoga: Enhance your practice in a serene setting and soak up the sun.

Outside workouts also offer a sense of community. Joining a local running club, fitness club, or participating in outdoor boot camps can lead to new friendships and a supportive network. I recommend our Free Tabata in The Park series at White River State Park. It’s a fantastic way to meet like-minded fitness enthusiasts and enjoy a high-intensity workout in a beautiful setting. We meet Tuesdays and Thursdays at 12pm in White River State Park directly across from the NCAA.

Practical Tips for Starting

Start Slow: Ease into outside workouts with short sessions. Understand that the heat will slow you down.

Dress Appropriately: Wear suitable clothing and footwear for the weather.

Stay Hydrated: Always carry water, especially in warm weather.

Be Mindful of Safety: Choose well-lit and populated areas and carry a phone for emergencies.

Have fun: Remember to smile and thank your body and mind for allowing you to practice fitness outside.

Outside workouts have been a game-changer for me. They remind me of the joy of being active in nature and the benefits it brings, both physically and mentally. If you’ve been feeling stuck in your fitness routine or want to try something new, step outside and give it a go. Your body and mind will thank you.

Stay active, stay healthy, and enjoy the beautiful outdoors!

Our Women's Triathlon Training program kicks off next month. Join us for our 8-week training program with Kris and Tim! Click here for more information or to register!

Knowing the importance of exercise and maintaining a healthy lifestyle is always positive progress to becoming your best self, but getting your family and friends on board with this commitment can be a challenging task. If you want to encourage your loved ones to incorporate exercise into their daily routines, here are some tips and strategies to help you motivate them.

• Lead by example: Setting a positive example is the most powerful way to inspire others. Demonstrate your commitment to a healthy lifestyle by consistently engaging in exercise and making nutritious choices. They may be more inclined to follow suit after seeing your dedication to working on yourself and your lifestyle.
• Make it fun: Other people might see exercise as a chore; however, it can be an enjoyable activity. Encourage your family and friends to participate in activities they genuinely enjoy, whether it's dancing, hiking, playing a sport, or even trying out new fitness classes together. Fun makes fitness sustainable!
• Set realistic goals: Help your loved ones establish achievable fitness goals. Whether it’s running a certain distance, losing a specific amount of weight, or improving overall health, having clear objectives can motivate them to stay on track.
• Create a supportive environment: Foster an environment that encourages exercise. Create a home gym space, stock up on healthy snacks, and incorporate active outings into your social plans. Surrounding your loved ones with opportunities for fitness makes it more likely they'll join in.
• Educate and share information: Share articles, videos, and success stories related to fitness and its benefits. Knowledge can empower your loved ones to make informed decisions about their health. Offer to answer questions and provide guidance when needed.
• Be flexible: Recognize that everyone's fitness journey is unique. Be open to adapting to their preferences and schedules. Encourage them to find a routine that works for them rather than imposing your own.
• Hold each other accountable: Partner up with family and friends for workouts. Exercising together provides motivation because you're less likely to skip a session if someone is counting on you. Consider friendly fitness challenges or competitions to keep things interesting.
• Celebrate achievements and use incentives: Celebrate their milestones, no matter how small. Whether it's completing a week of consistent workouts or reaching a fitness goal, acknowledging their achievements reinforces their commitment. You can use incentives like a post-workout treat, a movie night, or a small reward for reaching specific goals to act as short-term motivators.

It’s important to always remember that the journey toward a healthier lifestyle is personal and unique for everyone. Your role is to provide support, encouragement, and a positive environment. Ultimately, the decision to embrace exercise and a healthier lifestyle lies with your loved ones, but your influence can be a powerful catalyst for positive change. By using these strategies, you can help them take those crucial first steps toward a happier, healthier life.

This blog was written by Deveon Martin, NIFS Health Fitness Specialist. To learn more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.

The current COVID-19 pandemic is unlike anything most have experienced in their lifetimes. The dangers of this virus are still real and need to be taken seriously. Even though it seems monotonous, it is important to recognize the importance of wearing a mask and maintaining physical distancing, because at times it seems the public is becoming numb to these terms.

We know that many people are still working from home as we are at the one-year mark of shutdowns. We all want to reach a sense of normalcy sooner rather than later. But with new stressors of the inability to “unplug” from work, balancing work within family life, and keeping businesses afloat that rely on in-person transactions for revenue, these times are arguably more stressful now than they have ever been.

What Is Wellness and How Can NIFS Help?

Wellness is the act of practicing healthy habits daily to attain better physical and mental health outcomes so that instead of just surviving, you’re thriving.

We want to encourage you to eat, exercise, and sleep like we are not in a pandemic. Plan a routine, eat on a schedule, set aside a time to increase your heart rate, and rest.  

We offer virtual personal and small-group training options as well as nutrition coaching to create your very own personal action plan. Our trainers can work with you at a time that is convenient for you from the comfort of your own home. In addition to tailored workout programming, we also offer a variety of group fitness classes livestreamed on Zoom weekly.

Why Is Prioritizing My Wellness Important?

Numerous areas of your lifestyle tie into your overall wellness. Those areas include social connectedness, exercise, nutrition, sleep, and mindfulness. Every single one of these aspects impacts your physical and mental health. To starts, consciously make one or two simple and healthy choices each day. Go on a walk, try new food, or call a family member or friend. Making small changes daily can lead you to a better-rounded and well-balanced lifestyle during the current pandemic. 

Implementing new habits that you look forward to can make a positive impact on your life. By consciously making the daily choice to be well, your actions will lead you on the path toward reduced stress, positive social interactions, and optimal wellness.

***

NIFS wants to help provide you with the tools you need to be well both physically and mentally. Our facility is open with sufficient distancing, mask-wearing policies, and additional cleaning measures in place. However, we understand that in-person is not the best way we can serve everyone at this time. NIFS is meeting you where you are to support your wellness. If you want more information about online classes or online training please contact us today at 317-274-3432 ext 262 or by email.

Let us help you positively impact your well-being.

This blog was written by Payton Gross, Group Fitness Coordinator and Barre Above Instructor. Learn more about the NIFS bloggers here.

Whether you are 18 or 80, man or woman, looking to lose weight or simply maintain, step class just might be the perfect addition to your fitness program. Have you ever considered taking a step class? Perhaps you have found yourself thinking, "I'm not coordinated enough," or “that's too intense for me (or not intense enough"). Well, give me two minutes to change your mind.

Does It Burn Calories?

The bottom line is, stepping up and down off of a raised platform burns calories. In fact, it burns a lot of calories. According to Self magazine, stepping up and down off of a raised platform burns more calories than doing jumping jacks, split lunges, power squats, or speed skating for the same length of time. A great exercise for weight loss? YES! Great way to maintain weight? YOU BET!

Am I Coordinated Enough?

Maybe you’re thinking that you lack the required coordination. But the reality of it is, if you can march in place, you can do step. The basic step is just that: basic. Up, up, down, down. Of course that move would get boring pretty quickly, so we add music, rhythm, and variations on that basic move. While it helps to have a little rhythm (can you clap your hands to the beat of a song?), anyone can step. It might take a few classes to really get the hang of it, but it is quite doable, and FUN! Don't be intimidated!

There is a first time for everything. At some point, every single person in the class, including the instructor, attended their very first step class. I’m not gonna lie, you probably won't pick up every single thing in the first class you take, but let's face it: what would be the fun of mastering it in the first hour? Half the fun is seeing yourself improve, seeing your cardiovascular fitness level improve, and becoming more efficient overall (more work with less effort). Step will get you there!

Is It Too Intense?

You might be thinking that step would be too hard or too intense for you. While step is designed to be a challenging cardio workout, the intensity level can be adjusted in a number of ways to meet the needs of each participant.

• The height of the platform is not uniform; with use of individual risers at each end, the platform can be set as low as just a few inches off the floor (or as high as 8–12 inches).
• Another easy adjustment, which your instructor will show you, is to limit your range of movement with each step. As you become more comfortable with the format, you will be able to add intensity by increasing range of motion with the steps, and by adding arm movements to further increase your heart rate. Because of this, the challenge never ends. There is no plateau.

Is It Not Intense Enough?

On the flip side, maybe you are thinking step is not intense enough. Perhaps you’re thinking that only girls take step, or that you are too fit to benefit from it. Regardless of your fitness level, step can be a very challenging cardiovascular workout. It is a well-known fact that the US military utilizes step aerobics to improve our troops' agility, coordination, and endurance. If it's tough enough for our soldiers, then it's tough enough for me! In addition to step, I also teach Insanity, total-body conditioning, and kickboxing classes. Step meets or exceeds these other formats in intensity level and calories burned per hour.

Step is the perfect group fitness format because it accommodates all fitness levels. (And if you haven't tried group fitness, well that's a whole other conversation.) But in short, try it! The camaraderie and accountability among the participants, the music, and the FUN factor will have you hooked!

So, are you ready to take your fitness regimen to the next STEP? See you in class soon, soon, soon!

Yours in fitness,
Rachel

This blog was written by Rachel Pfeiffer, ACE and AFAA Certified Group Fitness Instructor, and proud NIFS Step instructor since 1999.

How do you define fitness? Whatever your answer is, it will shape the way you work out, influence the goals you set, and impact your long-term health. Although everyone might have different perceptions of what “fitness” means, the American College of Sports Medicine has defined what Health-Related Physical Fitness is and has broken it down into five measurable components.

Whether you know it or not, you use every single component in everyday life, so incorporating all of these factors is vital to maintaining high quality of life. As people age, their ability to carry out certain tasks may become compromised if they don’t regularly challenge their bodies to perform them. So, one key to aging well is to incorporate all of the components of health-related physical fitness.

The 5 Components of Health-Related Physical Fitness

• Body composition is the comparison between fat mass and fat-free mass, where fat-free mass is everything that isn’t fat, including muscle, organs, bones, and so on. This proportion can be used to assess risk for potential health issues, or used as a baseline measure to be retested after you have started a program to track progress. There are several ways to measure body composition; the most accurate methods are water displacement or the BodPod. (See the complete list of NIFS assessments here.)
• Muscular strength is the amount of force a muscle can produce in a single maximal effort. Muscular strength is relative to a specific muscle group, so a few different tests may need to be conducted to get an overall picture of your strength. A grip strength test is popular and has been utilized frequently in the fitness world. Another is the Repetition Maximum test that can be conducted by the NIFS Health and Fitness Instructors. It is important to gain or maintain muscular strength as you age for many reasons, but we use our strength every day.
• Muscular endurance, by definition, is the ability of a muscle group to execute repeated contractions over a period of time sufficient to cause fatigue. Like muscular strength, it varies depending on the muscle group, so multiple tests are required for a proper assessment. A common muscular endurance test is the pushup test (you’re probably familiar with this test from grade school). Another is the plank test, which is relatively new, and is a way to get a baseline value for core endurance and use it as a reference for retesting to measure improvements.
• Flexibility is having the ability to move a joint through its full range of motion. Having sufficient flexibility can help prevent injuries and ensure that you’re capable of performing movements that you may need in daily life. While having enough flexibility is necessary, too much can be risky.
• Cardiovascular endurance is the ability of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems to deliver oxygen to the rest of the body during continuous exercise. It’s directly correlated to our ability to perform exercise that involves large muscles, dynamic movements, and moderate- to high-intensity workouts over a period of time. Having adequate cardiovascular endurance is vital to keep up with daily activities.

Start with Things You Like to Do and Then Branch Out

If your main goal is to achieve good health, you’ll want to make sure you distribute your training so you can hit all of the categories. Start by doing things you like to do and then branch out by trying new things. It’s common for people to tailor their training to one particular component for whatever goal they are trying to achieve, but to be lacking in most of the other areas. For example, a marathon runner might excel in cardiovascular endurance but be less than average in muscular strength or flexibility.

On the other hand, someone who only lifts heavy weights may lack cardiovascular endurance. However, the runner may start to notice running is easier after incorporating resistance training into their routine, or their muscles might feel great after adding stretching and mobility work. This doesn’t just apply to marathon runners or heavy lifters; almost everyone can benefit from including all 5 components into their routines.

To sum it up, you should practice different forms of exercise to achieve a holistic fitness regimen. It’s perfectly fine to include running, resistance training, or group fitness such as yoga or STEP, and that’s just a few examples. There are so many different activities and classes to try to help get you to your goals. When you blend different types of training, you can discover your talents, weak links, and things you just enjoy doing.

This blog was written by Hannah Peters, BS, CPT, Health Fitness Instructor. To learn more about the NIFS bloggers, click here.