Ways to Stay Active During Winter

When the cold winter season blows in, you can either choose to pull the blankets closer and cover yourself or dress up for an active outdoor adventure! Staying active over the long winter period is good for your health as it boosts overall immunity, keeping your lymphatic system active. For many, without a convenient gym membership, when it comes to staying indoors over winter, they feel lost on how they can stay active.

Of course, you can take to ice hockey and skiing but these generally require lots of training, planning and possibly some traveling. With just a little creativity plus a bit of planning, it’s not really hard, even fun, to stay active all winter long.

Get Walking

If you have never done winter outdoor activities before, walking is an excellent way to start. This cardio workout is very effective and is suitable for a variety of fitness levels. When going out, you can first warm up the body through several simple stretches and by simply taking it at a slower walking pace for the initial 10 minutes. It is also important to dress appropriately.

Try Indoor Sports

Consider joining an individual or team or sports program. Competition levels options are many for you can join at the recreational all the way to expert level. Usually, the most cost-effective indoor sports programs are run by local authorities where some gym space at a community center or local school is secured for that purpose. Here you can drop in for a variety of indoor games such as floor hockey, table tennis, basketball, etc. You may also consider signing up for dance or aerobics classes, or other types of group fitness sessions.

Home Indoor Workouts

Prepare yourself with a suitable indoor workout program in case the weather conditions don’t allow you to venture out. If that is your predicament, why not put on a DVD that’s appropriate to your level of fitness. If you don’t have a ready fitness DVD, check out the several fitness channels available on local, satellite or cable TV. Alternatively, go online where you will get workout programs to meet your needs. If all these don’t suffice, just put on your dancing shoes!

Our personal trainers are affordable to engage, consider investing in one for those short winter months.

Get Out & Play!

If the energy for a full workout is lacking, why not try “playing?’ The best aspect of playing is that it will not feel like you are actually working out although it’s capable of achieving a lot. This winter have a blast outside by having snowball fights, making snow angels, or even building snowmen. Perhaps some ice skating, something suitable for both outdoors and indoors.

As you keep active, remember to stay safe and healthy. For example, a little preparation keeps away the risk of frostbite and hypothermia. When out there in the cold, don’t forget about drinking water because when you are exercising in the cold, thirst may not always be the best pointer that your body needs water.

Stay active but don’t compromise your body’s health by depleting it of vital nutrients.

Call us to make an appointment at 551-208-4775 or Visit us at FourFitnessJC.com

YELP RATED US #1 Since 2015. Come train with trainers who train!

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Different Types of Squats

By Marcisco Morrison 

In the earlier days, we knew of only two types of squats: ‘bad’ and ‘good’, depending on your orientation. Today, as we endeavor to stay fit and healthy, many more kinds of squats are being practiced. In fact, they are now so many that it’s possible to literally do squats daily for a whole month and never have to repeat the same type twice.

Body Weight Squats

This is the basic squat involving no exercise equipment such as barbells, dumbbells, or kettle-bells. Simply get into the classic squat posture with your feet set apart, slightly pointed out and squat down to a position where both your knees attain a 90-degree angle. In that state try to maintain your weight on your heels as you begin to push yourself back upright. During the entire process, try not to lean forward in order to maintain a flat back.

Squat Pulses

Perform a basic squat, dropping your body down with the butt pushed back. The knees should never go over your toes. Pretend you are sitting on a chair. However, instead of straight away coming back to the upright starting position, maintain that squat position when you are down as you pulse a couple of inches down and up. You may try as many pulses as possible, then take a mini-break when up before returning down for additional pulses.

Single Leg Squats

Also known as Pistol squat, it is done on a single leg. Begin this squat by getting yourself into a seated-like position. From there, elevate one leg, setting your footing so that you stand up using a single leg. Then change the legs and follow the same pattern. This exercise offers you training balance between limbs. It calls for both stability and mobility of the knee and ankle.

Chair Squat

Begin by standing with your leg and feet together. Proceed to sit backward, going down and at the same time pushing the hips out to project behind you. Lift the arms as high as possible, ensuring your chest doesn’t drop. Return to the standing position and repeat the procedure and if you want more of a challenge, trying holding the squat position.

Eagle Squat

Begin this challenge standing with the feet knit close together, arms stretched out in a T. Then lift the right leg over the left leg one, wrapping the right foot around your left calf back. From there, bring the right elbow below the left elbow with your right hand wrapped around the left forearm until you have the palms together. When you have found your balance, begin to squat as low as you possibly can. Then return to the upright position.

Front Squat

This squat is gaining great popularity among a broad range of athletes. This is partially due to its status in the CrossFit protocols as well as being a crucial element of the Olympic lifts. Because it locates the barbell across the shoulders in front of your body, this type of squat places more emphasis on the upper back and quadriceps than what the standard back squat does, yet still training your hamstrings and glutes.

Squats are popular exercises for professional bodybuilders and athletes because they not only contribute to building amazingly strong lower bodies but also because they provide several other health benefits like increased hormone release and improved body flexibility.

Call us to make an appointment at 551-208-4775 or visit FourFitnessJC.com

YELP RATED US #1 Since 2015. Come train with trainers who train!

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How to Squat without Knee Pain

By Marcisco Morrison 

The truth is that it’s not squatting that is hurting your knees but what and how you are doing it. There is, therefore, a proper way of squatting that won’t cause you pain—and the opposite is true also. The simple fact is that if squatting is causing you pain in the knees—and you don’t have any previous injuries—it’s simply because you are forcing your knees to work more than your hips.

Learning the proper use of the hips when doing your squats is important if you wish to avoid unnecessary pain in the knees.

Do The Squats Gradually

The first thing to remember is that a well-executed squat has everything to do with balance. Don’t attempt going parallel all the way on the first rep. Rather, take it slowly, only adding a couple of inches with each rep. Remember it takes time for your muscles to master this complicated exercise.

Positioning Your Knees

Much of the pain in the knee happens when your weight is allowed to rest on your toes and then the knees sort of come forward, causing them to come under extra strain. Keeping the toes directly pointing forward exerts an abnormal amount of pressure on the inner side of your knee, eventually leading to injuries. It becomes critical to keep the toes pointing outwards at an angle of 45 degrees. This posture allows joint two of your knees to open in the proper way as you go down on the squat.

Use A Box

Many athletes are quadriceps-dominant with plenty of muscle on the front side of the legs, although relatively deficient in hamstrings and glutes muscle. This kind of imbalance exerts much stress on the knees, effectively leading to squats that are “toe-heavy”. These make your kneecaps feel like they could bust out.

To address this type of imbalance during your squats, use a 12-14 inches high box. Place this behind you on the rack in a way that as you squat, you are capable of reaching for the box, touching it with your butt when at the bottom. Instantly, this makes your squat more hip-dominant, placing more of the stress towards your backside.

Mobilize Your Calves And Quadriceps

During squatting, too much tension in the calves and quads places your knees in a vulnerable position. It’s therefore important that you devote a couple of mobility specific drills to your calves and quads. Consider incorporating these two drills into your warm-up before you start the squats.

• Toes-Up Hip Hinge

• Reverse Lunge (Overhead Reach)

These two drills will not just target the calves and quads but they are also good at strengthening the hamstrings and glutes, effectively reducing potential knee pain.

Conclusion

Balance during squats is not easy and it takes a couple of weeks to master the proper way of squatting. It’s sad, though, that while squats have so much to contribute towards your athletic performance, badly executed they can cause great pain. Truth is that much of that pain can be prevented easily.

Although it’s possible to experience legitimate cases of knee pain that may demand professional medical care, I can assure you that with the strategies described above, you will not experience knee pain when you squat.

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Ten Tips for Successful Meal Planning

By Marcisco Morrison 

Meal planning saves not only money but time. In addition, it will save you from lots of stress. Planning saves your kitchen budget as you can plan ahead how much you want to spend weekly on food without having to go with whatever is available at the closest store or buying food on impulse.

There Is No Perfect Plan

You will never find that perfect meal plan that meets every need. Once you have known what you want or work, you can easily tweak your plan as you go along or as needed.

Write Down Goals

This is a vital aspect of planning as it answers questions like how many meals per day are you planning for, what type of meals, are you planning for low-carbs or low-calorie diet? Are you or members of the family on a special diet? After all, it about meal planning, right?

Make A Budget

Decide at the beginning of your week how much goes to groceries. If that is not planned ahead, you will never know exactly how much is consumed in a week or you could end up spending too much on items that are not necessary. This is particularly important if you are operating on a tight budget. It makes no sense to plan for meals if you are to get broke by doing it.

Start A Calendar

The calendar can be on the lines of a Google Calendar that has accompanying notes for each day’s menu. Alternatively, just jot simple notes on your laptop or sticky notes on your fridge door. The most important thing is to have it written down. Writing helps in sticking with your chart or menu.

 

Plan Meals Based On The Season

You will always get the best fresh produce prices during the harvest season. So plan your weekly menu according to the season and what is available on the market. Another tip, the majority of grocery stores tend to have weekly sales on Sundays.

Involve The Family

Involve every family member by asking them for their favorite meals. You can organize the list by different categories such as chicken, beef, fish, vegetarian, crock-pot dishes, side dishes, salads, and soups.

Always Stock The Staples

Staples to always have in the kitchen may include rice, pasta, tofu, frozen veggies, lentils, frozen garlic, olive oil, grated cheese, eggs, lemons, yogurt, and mixed greens/spinach. Spices are very important and must always be available in your kitchen such as curry, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, pepper, chili powder, and of course, salt.

Plan Each Day’s Meals Tighter

Personally, when I forget or unable to plan for family breakfast, lunch together with dinner, I find one meal getting skipped and more likely taking a visit to the drive-thru for a quick fix.

Avoid Overstuffing The Fridge

When your fridge is overstuffed, it’s very easy to become overwhelmed. Things tend to get hidden at the bottom or in the back, others get lost when you need them for today’s recipe. Keep your fridge light and airy, with food items arranged realistically.

Supplement Your Plan

Occasionally, you may find it hard to keep the entire plan running smoothly all week. Consider supplementing your meal plan with a reputable meal delivery service. Look for one that fits with your broad health requirements, flavor preferences, and budget. Meal planning ensures your family has balanced, healthy meals every day and that everybody is getting all the essential ingredients. Similar to all things, the more you practice meal planning, the better you become.

Call us to make an appointment at 551-208-4775 or Visit us at FourFitnessJC.com

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Three Moves to Increase Muscle Mobility

By Marcisco Morrison

Mobility refers the ability to move easily and freely while stretching forms a key part of achieving this. Muscle mobility and stretching are two of the most skipped elements of fitness, and perhaps also some of the most misunderstood. As the body ages, it’s common to experience general tightness making standing up or walking without assistance a challenge. The good thing is that mobility can not only be reclaimed but sustained to your old age.

The following 3 moves increase your mobility as they focus on dynamic stretches.

1.   Hip Mobility Flexion

The hip joint is important as it supports your body weight in both dynamic and static positions. Your hips are involved in nearly all athletic actions—pushing, jumping, sprinting, and changing directions. The hips are, unfortunately, one of the most under-trained areas in terms of flexibility and mobility. The hip mobility flexion begins with you standing in front of a flat surface, ideally not taller than your knee such as a bed, coffee table, or couch. Place the left foot on the selected prop and externally begin rotating your knee going down in a manner that the outside of your shin and calf is flat against the flat surface. Slowly work the other leg (right) and gently bend forward over your externally rotated leg so that you create space in the hip, loosening the glutes. In that position, hold for about 2 minutes and then switch your legs

2. Thoracic Mobilization

The shoulder is similar to the hip as it also a ball-and-socket mechanism. It also moves in flexion, abduction, adduction, extension, and external & internal rotation. However, different from the hip, your shoulder joint is heavily influenced by the shoulder blade (scapula). It, therefore, becomes essential to have strong scapular stability.

Poor thoracic spine mobility can lead to serious injuries to your lumbar spine or the shoulder blade/scapula/ region. For this exercise, with your feet on the floor, lie down on your back with your knees up, like you were preparing for a sit-up. Place either two lacrosse balls or a small foam roller under your back, at a height equivalent to your pecs. Proceed to gently, smoothly roll up, and then down a couple of times.

3. Wall Extensions

In the long-run, it pays great dividends to spend dedicated time to stretching and mobility exercises. This allows you to train or work out more effectively while at the same time reducing the risk of injury. Wall extensions are an effective yet very simple method of improving the mobility and flexibility of your shoulders. Here is how to do it: • Stand with your heels and back leaning against a wall. • Extend both your arms stretching outwards to your sides, palms facing out. The backs of your hands should lean against the wall. • Bend your arms so that your forearms move into a position that is upright. Then move both your arms to an angle of 90-degrees. • Raise your arms carefully above your head while you keep them flat against your wall. Repeat the procedure several times. The flexibility you get will allow you to extend your arms fully and touch the hands together while at the same keeping arms, wrists, and elbows touching the wall during the entire session.

As you implement your mobility routines, it’s wise to always remember to keep them within your personal threshold so that you don’t overstretch your muscles. You can easily work the majority of these mobility exercises into your existing warm-up routine. The focus ought to be optimal muscle movement patterns.

YELP RATED US #1 SINCE 2015. Jersey City’s fitness accountability partners. Come visit us at 650 Montgomery Street Jersey City, NJ 07305 and Train With Trainers Who Train. Call us at 551-208-4775 to book a session.

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Eight Reasons Why Women Should Strength Train

By Marcisco Morrison 

Strength training that broadly covers body exercises such as deadlifts, squats, rows, and presses- is recommended by Four Fitness Personal Trainers as one of the best activities that a woman can undertake for their body. Strength training is a great tool that allows a woman to become the best possible version of herself in lots of different and amazing ways.

1. Exercise Enables Peak Performance at all Levels. 

Everybody is unique different shapes, heights, an indeed nearly every aspect. This is the main reason why you must never use another woman’s body as your measuring stick to gauge success. Used correctly and consistently, strength training allows you to bring out and highlight your individual unique strengths.

2. Preserves Muscle Mass 

It is a biological fact that with age, muscle mass tends to diminish. You can, however, counteract this natural loss of muscle through strength training. As you get older, the percentage of fat in the body increases if nothing is done to replace the lost lean muscle. Strength training is a proven way of not only preserving but enhancing your muscle mass, no matter your age.

3. Burns More Calories

As your lean muscle increases with strength training, your resting metabolism also increases and you end up burning more calories. Higher metabolism translates to more calories getting burned after your training session. In general, for each pound of muscle gained, you will burn between 35 and 50 more calories daily.

4. It Prevents Diseases

Pumping iron can reduce your risk of heart disease. You are less likely to experience heart disease risk factors like elevated blood pressure, elevated glucose levels, high triglycerides, and a large waist circumference.

Women who are postmenopausal stand at a greater osteoporosis risk as their bodies no longer secrete estrogen. This leads to bone mass loss and resistance training is a good method of combating such loss and decreasing osteoporosis risk.

5. Reduces Injury Risk

Strength training helps in building stronger muscles, stronger connective tissues and boosts your joint stability. This joint reinforcement helps in preventing injury. Additionally, stronger bones and muscles make your body more agile and stable, reducing the risk of injury.

6. Reduces Stress

Strength training is excellent at alleviating stress. Research has consistently shown that people who regularly engage in strength training tend to have better stress management skills and experience fewer negative reactions to stressful circumstances. Because strength training greatly reduces stress, it also improves the quality of sleep and helps you fall asleep faster as the body needs the rest after an intense strength training session.

7. It Improves Your Sex Life

When you have better body image, you are likely to be more confident in the presence of your partner, more open to experimenting with new “things” in the bedroom and perhaps even going really wild. Exercise is proven to boost testosterone levels in women, an important libido lifter! Try strength training and see your sex life take on a whole new dimension.

8. Improves Self-Confidence

Every woman wants to feel strong and confident in everything she does: from playing with the kids, to moving heavy furniture, to fitting into jeans, and to dealing with a stressful and demanding career. Resistance or strength training can greatly benefit all these aspects of life. Once you have made strength training to be part of your routine, you will not only feel stronger and more confident but healthier. It doesn’t matter how we describe it but what the majority of women want is to lose excess fat, look and feel better in their clothes, and build some beautiful curves. Strength training forms the best route towards “sculpting” the body every woman wants.

Come train with trainers who train and at Four Fitness Jersey City. Visit us at 650 Montgomery street, Jersey City, NJ 07306 or call us at (551) 208-4775

YELP RATED US #1 SINCE 2015.

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The Benefits of Drinking Water

By Marcisco Morrison

The amount of water consumed daily plays a vital role in maintaining your health. Experts recommend drinking 8oz times 8 of water daily to maintain excellent health (the 8×8 rule). The main component of your body is water. In fact, depending on your body size, your body is between 55 and 78% water. Our bodies also lose considerable amounts of that water through dehydration and sweating that must be replenished through drinking water.

Regular and adequate consumption of water has many health benefits.

Helps in Digestion and Fighting Constipation 

Water boosts the functioning and health of your gastrointestinal tract. Water not only helps in facilitating better digestion but also prevents constipation. Often, inadequate amounts of water in your body results in episodes of constipation as your colon resorts to pulling water from your stools in order to maintain hydration. This makes the stool harder and passing becomes a problem. Water is good for combating dehydration and decongestion also helping your body bounce back quickly when you are feeling a bit under the weather.

Prevents and Treats Headaches 

Dehydration due to insufficient water in your body can trigger headaches or even migraines in some people. It has been proven that drinking lots of water when dehydrated can relieve headaches. However, this could also depend on what type of headache you are experiencing.

Helps with Weight Loss 

Drinking lots of water can assist with your weight loss program. This is based on the fact that water increases satiety levels and boosts your rate of metabolism. It is important to time your water drinking as it has been shown that it becomes most effective when it’s drank half an hour before the meal.

As it has the effect of making you feel fuller, you are likely to consume fewer calories. It is even better when you think water cold, as your body will then use extra energy (calories) to first warm the water to your body temperature.

Flushing out Toxins

Water is good detoxifier helping in flushing out toxins from the body, getting rid of waste through urine and sweat. Your kidneys process about 200 quarts of blood each day, sitting out the waste stuff and transporting it through urine to your bladder. Your kidneys must have adequate fluids to flush out what the body doesn’t need. Water also boosts the overall functioning of your kidneys.

Certain body toxins can cause skin inflammation leading to acne and clogged pores. Water also helps in getting the most out of any aerobic and anaerobic customized fitness training programs.

Muscle Fuel

When you work at the gym, you tend to sweat a lot leading to your muscles loosing much water. When your muscles lack adequate amounts of water, they get tired easily and fast. Therefore, to give your muscles that extra energy, drink more water that will see you with enough energy for your final workout session.

You may want to think of water more like a vital nutrient needed by your body that is found in plain water, liquids, and foods. These “nutrients” are essential to replace the considerable amounts of water your body loses daily. As an added plus, water contains no fat, sugar, carbohydrates, or calories. When you drink adequate amount of H20, it helps in maintaining your body’s fluid balance, very important in assisting the transportation of nutrients in your body’s fluid balance, very important in assisting the transportation of nutrients in your body. It helps in digesting food, regulating body temperature, and more.

Call FourFitness Studio for a complimentary session at 551-208-4775 

Located at 650 Montgomery street Jersey City, NJ 07306, we believe that training with trainers who train will help you reach your desired fitness goals.

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