Fact: There is no magic pill, special food or fat melting workout when it comes to fat loss and achieving the toned and sculpted body you desire.

There is one way to achieve permanent results; follow a complete and integrated fitness program that focuses on a change in body composition (body fat vs. lean muscle) rather than weight. It is lean muscle that plays the key role in any type of fitness program. Whether you’re interested in fat loss or muscle gain, lean muscle requires certain conditions in order to allow a positive change in body composition.

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As you can imagine, I hear a ton of excuses from people on why they don’t exercise.

Sometimes the reason is self inflicted: I don’t have the time.

Other times the reason is procrastination: I’m going to start as soon as tax season ends.

And occasionally the reason is downright funny: The dog ate my gym shorts.

I usually point out to these well meaning folks that, despite their reason, exercise is a very important activity that will dramatically improve their life. I bring up the health benefits and describe how many of their physical ailments would improve. I talk about how great they will feel dropping excess weight and rediscovering a slender figure.

However, there was always an excuse that would get me.

The devious excuse of ‘being active’: Oh, I don’t need to exercise in a gym - I’m very active. I play tennis and hike in the summer and I ski in the winter.

Well, they have a point, right? Tennis, hiking and skiing are all active sports that burn calories. Maybe they can be fit without doing any other exercise, especially if they are at a reasonable weight.

Then I started to notice a trend.

The ‘active’ people couldn’t touch their toes in a simple flexibility test. The ‘tennis players’ couldn’t jump rope for 60 seconds. The ‘hikers’ needed a week to recover from a one mile jog. The ’skiers’ encountered injury after injury. And then it hit me.

You don’t become fit by simply being active. That’s backward fitness.

Only by being fit can you become more active.

To become and maintain a level of fitness there is no replacement for a consistent exercise program. It’s the only way.

True fitness is when your body can do whatever you ask of it. This means having flexibility, strength and endurance.

Do you exercise? Or are you fooling yourself with the excuse of ‘being active’?

How happy are you with your level of fitness? Are you able to meet all of the functional demands of life? Or do you find yourself opting out of experiences or situations that you know would be too challenging?

If you’ve used the excuse of ‘being active’ in the past, it’s time to reconsider your options. Don’t practice backward fitness with the hope of true results. And if you’re furthest from active and simply want to lose those extra inches and pounds, make the decision to take action today.

After all, there’s no trial run in the game of life.

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The New York Sports Clubs announced a collaboration with the Queens Vet Center, a counseling service that helps veterans of all wars readjust to civilian life. Because of the proven benefits of yoga in helping to reduce stress, the New York Sports Clubs in Glendale at 80-00 Cooper Avenue in Queens will offer free weekly yoga classes for veterans to complement the services provided by the Vet Center.

For the complete article, please…..CLICK HERE

I think this is an excellent idea and needs to be talked about. Spread the word. Tell your friends, family, local gyms and yoga instructors.

Though causes of stress can be plentiful, there are multiple ways to combat stressors and the negative toll they can take on the body, says an expert at the American College of Sports Medicine’s (ACSM) 12th-annual Health & Fitness Summit & Exposition.

Christina Geithner, Ph.D., and an ACSM-certified health/fitness instructor, says people experience stress in different ways, depending on the severity and duration of the stressor. Stress can have a positive impact in that it can motivate as well as help maintain focus and alertness. On the down side, stress may result in feelings of being overwhelmed or out of balance, and can cause anxiety and depression.

For the complete article please…..CLICK HERE 

Fitness Tip: Heart Smart Training - Like the ever-mounting hits on tobacco, on the flip side, its nemesis, exercise, continues to attract a growing crowd. Reports by the American Heart Association and others in Club Business International, suggest that heart attack patients who exercise regularly had a 40 percent lower risk of death as well as a 50 percent reduction in succumbing to cardiovascular disease after five years, compared to those who didn’t.

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Fitness Tip: Into those Golden Years - An Associated Press survey found that more than 60 percent of Americans don’t want to live to 100 for fear of bad health and insufficient finances. Don’t be a fool; you can live to be 103! Studies have shown that regular exercise and eating right improves ones health and can even slow the effects of aging. Start now, age gracefully and feel great!

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Weight gain caused by inconsistent exercise cannot be lost by simply resuming a previous exercise routine, suggests a study published in the February 2008 issue Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise®, the official scientific journal of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).

In an eight-year study of more than 40,000 runners, researcher Paul Williams, Ph.D., found that weight gain among men and women who decreased their running distances per week was significantly more than weight loss among men and women who increased their running distances per week by the same amount.

For the complete article…..CLICK HERE

Fitness Tip: Erase YEARS off your body - Chronologically you may be 40, but with regular, vigorous exercise and healthy nutrition, people are going to do a double-take and think you’re in your mid-30. Imagine how awesome you’ll feel, when you not only feel younger, but to OTHER people you look younger. Act younger, too.

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Fitness Tip: Scare Yourself in Shape - Did you know that NOT exercising AT ALL is equivalent to smoking a pack of cigarettes A DAY? (Fear is a good motivator for some.)

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Stress can be an incredibly powerful drag on your fitness and health and study after study has found that when a person is stressed, the body reacts. Results of stress can lead to high blood pressure, tension headaches, upset stomachs, and many other ailments. Exercise is probably the most effective defense against stress in your life. You are in the middle of a high intensity interval sprint/jog workout….. Are you thinking about being stressed? NO!! You are just trying to survive this training session. So keep your stress in check with good quality well balanced fitness training.

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