Something to Think About

When a gym member complains that they have to park "far away" from the gym and then they go on the treadmill for an hour, it has to make you wonder what are they thinking? Think about it the next time you don't get a "good" parking spot at the gym or at the mall. You may want to think about it the next time you have the opportunity to take the stairs instead of using the elevator. Little things go a long way towards burning a few extra calories and just keeping as active as you can.

A Bad Economy Makes it Even More Important to Exercise

There is no doubt that we are at a turning point in our country in so many different ways. Today's economic environment is not only a huge financial strain on everything and everyone, but it is a huge emotional and yes, physical strain as well.

There is no more important time for people to try to take care of themselves and their health than there is now. As those who exercise already know, a regular exercise program can be a great stress reliever. Getting into the gym for an hour let's you "leave your troubles" at the door. Unfortunately, they may still be there when you go back out of the door, but for the hour or so that you are exercising, you can and should leave the world outside....outside.

While the stress relief factor can help with some of the emotional strain that our current economic situation is causing, the physical strain is another story. What I mean by physical strain is that the great people in our country may actually weaken physically by either not exercising regularly or not starting an exercise program due to the emotional and financial strain that they may be under right now. The very thing that may help them the most (next to winning the lottery or a huge market move up) is exercise and that may be the very thing that they choose not to do at this time.

I urge everyone, now more than ever, to continue to exercise and to get up and start exercising during this trying time as it will only help you both mentally and physically to deal with the stress of today's environment. If you are not able to join a gym due to your current finances, the last time I checked walking around the block was still free (let's hope that is always the case!). Whatever you choose to do, please choose something and if you are already "in the game", stick with it. Now more than ever, we all need to take of ourselves.....good times will be here again and we need to be ready!

What can we do?

Really, there is only one thing we can all do. GET MOVING! It really doesn't matter what you do to get moving, but the key is to do something. Almost any activity is better than nothing and of course, the more you can do the better. We have seen the best results at the gym when people are doing at least 30 minutes of cardio actiivity 3-4 times a week.

You can start by just taking a brisk, 30 minute walk around your block or on a track at a local school or park. You can then graduate to a treadmill, bike or elliptical machine. At Gold's Gym in Paramus, we actually built a movie theater in the gym with cardio equipment instead of seats. All of this, just to entertain people and get them to burn more calories than ever before. We have come to the conclusion that whatever we can do to help people burn calories is a good thing.

Always go at a pace that is comfortable, but challenging. Listen to your body and never overdo it as the idea of exercise is not to feel "pain" and knock yourself out to a point that is dangerous.

In addition to cardio exercise machines, taking a group class has gotten many of our members great results as they find it very motivating to be in a room with like minded people who are all trying to burn some calories, get a great workout and have some fun. The other thing I have always liked about taking a class, is that it is supervised and led by an instructor who essentially is a personal trainer for the entire group.

Outdoor activities are great and it seems that there are more people than ever doing bike rides, charity walks, entering biathlons, triathlons and even marathons. This is a wonderful trend and if it's something that interests you, you can train for it and aspire to participate in these kinds of events. You can do it, you just need to commit and then train for it.

Whatever you decide to do, start today, do not procrastinate and GET MOVING!!!

The Truth about Fitness - Why I am Writing This

Quite Simply, I am writing this blog to speak to everyone out there who really wants to know the truth about fitness. Truth is, it seems to me that our country, from our kids to our seniors, seem to be getting more unhealthy, more diabetic, more obese and are dealing with the complications of disease and illness more than ever before. If it seems that way to you, doesn't it seem strange that we have more information than ever about health and yet, we are faced with such serious epidemics that are now affecting our children as well as adults?

Truth is, we need to take action and the only thing we are in control of is our lifestyle and the choices we make each and every day. We are not in control of our genetics, our family histories and in some cases our environmental factors (although we are in control of this more than we used to be). We can certainly influence some things, but at the end of the day, we need to start to really focus on the things that we CAN CONTROL and do the best we can to turn things in our favor to give us the best chance at a longer and healthier life.

In this blog and the various posts to follow, I will try to educate, motivate and share the over 18 years of fitness experience I have as well as my lifetime experience of being an active athlete for as long as I can remember.

I am in the fitness business and truly feel that if we can just get our country moving a little bit more and eating a little bit less (and a little smarter), we can make some incredible changes in our health and in our lives.

I hope that as you read this and the posts to follow that you are able to take something away that will help you in the pursuit of your own health and fitness. I also hope that if you enjoy reading this and do take something away that helps you, that you will share it with your family, friends and loved ones.

While this is very important subject matter, we will be having lots of fun while discussing it!

Yours in Good Health,

Mike Epstein
Co-Owner Gold's Gym Paramus, NJ