Fitness & Wellness

So many people come to Prime Fitness Studio in Totowa, New Jersey, wanting help to flatten their stomach and get great abs. They often want lower ab workouts. There is just one called the Rectus Abdominis muscle. That muscle runs the full length of the abdomen and splits into the left side and right side, but isn’t upper or lower. They’re crossed over by the Linea Alba, those are the muscles that make you look like you have a six-pack. So to get lower abs strong, you have to get the Rectus Abdominis strong. In other words, you have to strengthen your abs.

Get a great ab workout and full body workout with kettlebells.

You’ll work all the muscles in your body, especially your abs, with the right kettlebell exercises. Because of their center of gravity is outside your hand, unlike dumbbells, it changes as you move and forces your core muscles to work to keep you stable. That means almost all kettlebell workouts indirectly work your abs. However, some will directly make them stronger, such as kettlebell windmills, the kettlebell Turkish get up, sit and press, straight arm sit and lateral swings. We provide instruction with kettlebells that will help make your workout safer.

Bodyweight workouts can get you a six-pack.

Whether you’re doing a plank, a bridge or bicycle crunches, they all help you get a flatter stomach. A reverse plank is one exercise that gets you into shape fast. It works the muscles deep inside your stomach. Lay on your back with both arms and legs fully extended. Tighten your abs, then raise your hands and feet off the floor and hold for twenty seconds. Lower both back to the floor.

No matter what exercises you do, if you are overweight, nobody will see those tight muscles.

One of the biggest problems faced by people that want a flat stomach and great abs is that they won’t ever get them unless they lose weight. No matter how long you workout, if you have a layer of fat hiding that muscle, nobody will ever know it and your stomach won’t be flat. It will still be flabby. Eat healthy and lose weight if you’re overweight. It’s the only way to have the great abs you want.

• You can use a regular plank and modify it to work muscles on all planes. Try a side plank, plank with a kick out and plank with a leg raise. If you’re new to working out, a traditional plank on your forearms is the best place to start.
• Just tightening your muscles using isometrics helps. Stand tall, inhale and then pull your stomach in like you want to touch your backbone as you exhale. Hold that position as long as you can. Do it frequently throughout the day.
• Traditional leg lifts and modified ones that include scissoring your legs after you raise them or bicycling your legs work your abs.
• If you’re just starting a workout program, we can help. We’ll create a program designed for you to help you achieve your goals.

For more information, contact us today at Prime Fitness

As everyone knows too well, sometimes, it’s impossible to come to Prime Fitness in Totowa, New Jersey. For those days, finding an easy alternative is important. While working out at home is one option, an easier one could be taking a daily walk. Getting out in the fresh air and enjoying Mother Nature on a walk in a park or wooded area is best. You’ll get the peace and serenity it offers. There are, however, benefits of walking, no matter where you walk, whether it’s in the city or countryside.

Are you out of shape and want a way to ease into fitness?

There’s nothing better than walking to get you out of a sedentary lifestyle and into one of fitness. You may not be able to start off running or feel fit enough to go to the gym, no matter how we scale down your workout to your fitness level. Start a program of walking. Some studies show it’s actually better for you than running. As you get fitter, you need to add other types of workouts to address strength, flexibility and balance or even boost your cardio health.

You might be surprised at all the health benefits walking provides.

Do you want to lower your risk of diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, and hypertension? If you already have one of those conditions, do you want to control it better? Walking can help you do that. You do need to make the pace brisk, but you don’t have to run. In fact, a brisk walk provides more benefits than a run does. Walking is good to help prevent bone density loss and aids in building muscle strength and balance. For weight loss, working out in the gym is still better, but in a pinch, walking is a good alternative if you have no other option.

Walking more every day is important for fitness but doesn’t solve all problems.

Walking won’t make your arms stronger or give you flexibility. It won’t build muscles in all areas of your body or provide all the benefits that a complete fitness program will do, but it’s a great place to begin. It builds your endurance and there’s an easy way to measure intensity, just walk further in the same amount of time. Walking is low impact and won’t hurt the joints. It works the upper and lower legs, and the hip flexors. While it won’t provide a complete workout, it’s an excellent supplement.

• Walking in wooded or natural settings also provides more than just beautiful scenery to see. It brings a feeling of relaxation and makes your experience more than just good exercise.
• Try to find ways to increase the amount you walk every day. Walk to places that are close. If you live near a grocery, get your own personal cart and walk to do your grocery shopping. Park further from the store when you shop.
• If you want to lose weight or get a sculpted look, walking won’t provide those benefits. It will help you lose weight, so when you do build your abs and other muscles, they won’t be hidden by a layer of fat.
• You need a program that offers all types of exercise, total body workouts and toning. We offer that at Prime Fitness with our group and personal training. If you want an effective and quick workout, you’ll love our kettlebell and PRIMEHIT programs.

For more information, contact us today at Prime Fitness

Sugar seems to be added to almost all foods. In fact, if you grab for that low fat yogurt, thinking it’s a healthy option, read the label first. It probably contains sugar to make it more palatable. Barbecue, soft drinks, fruit juice, ketchup and even protein bars and granola all contain hidden sugar. Too much sugar in your diet has a detrimental affect on your health, so to combat those problems and reset your taste buds, a 7-day sugar detox could be right for you.

What are the problems you face with a seven-day sugar detox?

Depending on your normal eating habits, giving up added sugar can be difficult. It seems like sugar is in everything that’s processed, so it requires more cooking from scratch, so you can control the ingredients. Sugar is also addictive and you’ll find you crave sugary treats, especially after a meal of for a snack. Some people experience depression, anxiety, difficulty sleeping and even the inability to focus. Others may experience dizziness, nausea and fatigue. It all depends on how much sugar you normally consume.

While it isn’t a traditional detox with a strict menu, it does require planning your menus.

The only way to ensure the food doesn’t contain added sugar is to read packages and plan meals ahead. There are at least 65 different names for sugar, and even more if you count artificial sweeteners, which also need to be banned, so unless you know them all, stick with homemade and simple ingredients. Avoid tortilla shells and make a lettuce wrap taco instead. Yes, they contain sugar. Make your own salad dressing and avoid bottled dressing, since it has added sugar. Make your own vinaigrette and use fruit in the salad to sweeten it.

Don’t give up fruit, but limit the intake.

Fruit is naturally sweet, but that doesn’t help you kick the sugar habit if you eat too much. Luckily, sugar also contains fiber, so it doesn’t cause a spike in your blood sugar level. You can use fresh fruit as a snack but limit the amount or mix small amounts in a salad for flavor. If you are having severe withdrawal symptoms, an apple or mashed frozen or fresh fruit with nuts in yogurt is a good dessert to help you get past the craving. It becomes easier and easier the longer you cut out sugar. Eat a higher amount of fat and protein. Nuts are the greatest for snacks and contain absolutely no sugar. So are fresh veggies and hummus.

• Fruit juice often has added sugar and those that don’t still have a high amount of natural sugar. You’re better off eating the fruit that has fiber, to slow the absorption of sugar and the sugar high.
• You also have to watch more than just what you eat. What you drink is important, too, which includes soft drinks and performance drinks.
• Focus on simple meals. A salad with homemade dressing, baked fish, Buddha bowls from leftovers and soups are easy dishes. There are so many recipes without added sweetener, your choice is almost unlimited.
• You’ll be amazed at how much your taste seems to change after just a week. Natural fruit tastes sweet and food with added sugar tastes too sweet. After a strict week of no sugar, you may find you like the flavor of natural foods.

For more information, contact us today at Prime Fitness

It may sound hokey saying that exercise puts more years on your life and life to those years, but it’s absolutely true. Not only does exercise help you live longer, it makes those extra years a blessing, allowing you to live on your own and function fully. There are benefits of regular exercise besides longevity. For instance, it can help you deal with giving up bad habits like drinking too much, quitting smoking and even drug addiction. The stress from quitting those things is reduced and you’ll get a high from the workout to replace the stimulation from the addictive substances.

Most people consider exercise as a way to aid weight loss.

That’s very true. It does help you control your weight. Not only does exercise help increase the calories you burn, it also can permanently boost your metabolism. You’ll build muscle tissue when you workout and muscle tissue requires more calories to maintain than fat tissue does. That means it boosts your resting metabolic rate, burning more calories around the clock, even when you don’t exercise.

You’ll increase your heart health and help manage diabetes with regular exercise.

Exercise gets your blood pumping and makes your heart work more. Just like any muscle, it gets stronger. That extra effort improves circulation, which increases the oxygen levels in the body. Exercise lowers the risk of heart disease, lowers blood pressure, regulates cholesterol levels by reducing bad cholesterol and reduces the risk of heart disease, stroke and a heart attack. Exercise also reduces insulin resistance, a precursor of diabetes. In fact, one of the treatments for insulin resistance is to switch to a healthy diet and get regular exercise.

You’ll improve your attitude and reduce stress with exercise.

Stress kills. It causes the brain to send chemical messengers, hormones, to parts of the body to make changes to prepare it for fighting or running. When you don’t, those changes actually affect your health if they’re not burned off with exercise. Studies show that exercise can also be beneficial in reducing anxiety and depression. In fact, mental health specialists often use it as a complementary therapy. It also increases circulation, sending nutrients to the brain and stimulates the body to increase the release the chemicals and proteins that improve brain structure and functioning.

• Osteoporosis causes weaker bones, particularly in seniors. Exercise helps improve muscles that tug on the bone and make the bone uptake calcium to strengthen it, reducing the risk of osteoporosis and even reversing some of the effect.
• You can reduce your risk of some types of cancer when you exercise. These include breast cancer, uterine cancer, lung cancer and colon cancer.
• Sleep is important for heart health and mental health. A program of regular exercise can help you sleep at night and get a higher quality of sleep.
• If you want to be better in the bedroom, consider exercising regularly. It can help reduce the risk of erectile dysfunction in men and improves sexual arousal in women.

For more information, contact us today at Prime Fitness

If you think you need a lot of equipment to create the perfect, healthy body, you’d be wrong. You don’t need any extra equipment, like weights to workout. People have been building fitness and muscle for years without added equipment. Weights, kettlebells and other exercise equipment just add variety to the workout and provide a few other benefits.

Think bodyweight exercises.

You carry weights with you. It’s the weight of your body. Upper body exercises using bodyweight include push-ups, pull-ups, rope climb, dips and muscle-ups, to name a few more popular ones. You do need a bar or rope to do these, but a tree limb or go to the playground and use the monkey bars.

Lower body bodyweight exercises work the glutes, hamstrings, quads and calves. All types of squats, mountain climbers, high knee runs, donkey kicks, bridges and planks are examples that will get you fit and build muscle, too.

If you want to maintain strength without equipment, try isometrics.

You may not build muscles or added strength with isometrics, but you can maintain your strength. While they can build muscle tissue, they aren’t the most effective way to do it. You don’t move during isometrics, so you’ll only build strength when the muscles are in that particular position. The good news is that there are a variety of isometric workouts to do and you can do them almost anywhere. Stomach suction and planks are good examples.

Make your workout a non-workout.

It’s amazing how much exercise you can get when you throw your whole self into something. Consider daily tasks as a workout, but instead of using your same normal slower way, throw your whole self into the job. Scrub the floor with vigor. Wash the windows enthusiastically. Run through each task if you can and if you’re doing something in place, keep your feet moving to music. Tidy the room with music and dance your way through it. Enjoy every movement and marvel at how magnificent the body is.

• Make your own equipment and do your workout. If you don’t have weights, fill milk jugs or laundry liquid bottles with sand until you get weights that challenge you. Use soup cans for dumbbells.
• Swim. It’s harder to move your body against the resistance of the water. That means you’ll build strength and burn calories, while making it easier on joints.
• Try this circuit workout you can do anywhere. Do 10 body-weight squats, 10 supermans, 10 push-ups, and 20 crunches one following the other. Take a short breather and start the circuit again. Do the rounds up to ten times.
• Take the stairs and go as many flights as you can. Just taking the stairs instead of the elevator can help you get fit, without going to the gym. Climbing eight flights of stairs a day lowers mortality by 33%.

For more information, contact us today at Prime Fitness