Why Flexibility Is Important

Let’s talk about the dos and don’ts of stretching.  Flexibility is one of the key factors of any good fitness routine. Yet a lot of pepole often misunderstand some key aspects related to correct stretching. 

How to stretch, when to stretch and how long to hold stretches are just a few of the questions that people ask on a regular basis. 

Some people are born to be more flexible than others.  The good news is that whatever level of flexibility you’re born with, correct stretching will help you improve. 

Why is stretching important?

1. Stretching helps you maximize your body’s ability to move freely.

In simple terms that means stretching helps you get out of your own way internally so your body can perform at its best. Tight soft tissue can restrict joint movements and hinder important tendons from effectively doing their job.

2. Stretching helps you avoid injury.

Training with tight muscles can lead to serious injury and muscle tears. With these two reasons in mind, you should never skimp on stretching before and after exercise.

3. How much stretching is enough?

“Fitness is not a one size fits all situation and, because flexibility is a factor of fitness, you must determine what is right for your own body” You should navigate your own personal stretching needs and keep these dos and don’ts in mind.

Correct stretching dos and don’ts

 Do:

• Spend time doing dynamic stretches before exercising.
• Dynamic stretching involves gentle movements to increase your range of movement. It improves blood and oxygen flow to soft tissues prior to exertion and also prepares receptors within the muscle to perform.
• Prepare your body with fluid flowing movements such as arm circles, leg swings, squats and lunges.

Don’t:

• Use jerky bouncing or forced movements to increase your range of motion as this can cause injury.
• This ballistic stretching forces your muscles into an extended range of motion before they are “warmed up” and the risks are not worth the rewards.

Do:

• Dedicate at least 10 minutes after a workout to loosen tight muscles with static stretches that you hold for approximately 30 seconds.

• Stretch to the point of slight discomfort then back off a little and hold. This type of stretching can improve your overall flexibility and may decrease the amount of muscle soreness you experience after exercising.

Don’t:

• Stretch to the point of pain or severe discomfort. You shouldn’t ever hurt your body though exercise and too much flexibility is not good for your body.
• Your joints rely on muscle tension to hold them in the correct position so, if you overstretch or push your body past what is comfortable, you can increase the likelihood of joint and tendon problems.

Find your own perfect flexibility balance

There is an art to finding your body’s balance and the only way to do it is to be aware and conscious of your movements. It’s simple advice but make sure you exercise commonsense at all times when working out! If you listen to your body the chances are that you will achieve results faster and you’ll avoid causing yourself injury.  Part of this commonsense approach to exercising is listening to your body: if you feel any pain or discomfort then stop.

If you are rushed for time then don’t rush your stretching: try to make your main workout more effective instead by using combination exercises.

Your body is exactly that it’s ‘your body’.  Take responsibility for caring for it correctly and never just copy someone else’s routine.  Instead educate yourself and find what works for you. Start at the top of your body, gently working your way down and addressing all major muscle groups.  Stretching and movement is natural, so relax and do what feels right.

Creamy Carrot Soup

Most creamy soups are filled with fat – but not this one. Indulge with this healthy carrot soup. Serve with a side of lean chicken breast or grilled fish and a small salad for a balanced meal. Servings: 2 

Here’s what you need:

• 1 teaspoon olive oil 
• 3 garlic cloves, minced 
• 1/2 small onion, diced 
• Dash of sea salt 
• 4 cups carrots, diced 
• 5 cups filtered water 
• 3 Tablespoons White Miso

1. In a soup pot heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and onion with a dash of salt and cook for 4 minutes. Add carrots and stir, cook for another 4 minutes. Add the water and bring to a boil.
2. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until carrots are tender, about 20 minutes. Use a hand blender to process the soup until smooth.
3. Remove 1 cup of the soup and mix the miso into it until dissolved. Add back into the soup and simmer for 5 more minutes.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 187 calories, 4g fat, 27g carbohydrate, 5g fiber, and 5g protein. 

 Call For Your Free Body Transformation Analysis 

(219)-548-3480

Pumpstrainigandpilates@gmail.com

Pumpsfitnessinc.com   

4 Ways to Increase Flexibility

You eat the right foods, drink the right drinks, and exercise regularly. In other words, you’re strong and healthy. There is only one hole in your overall good health. You’re as flexible as a piece of plywood. But there’s good news! You don’t have to stay inflexible your entire life. With the right steps, you can improve your flexibility, which will make life that much better.

Ready to get started building a more flexible you?

Here’s how.

Roll Before

For many years, it was common practice to stretch before working out. In recent years, folks have ditched that advice for something better: lightly performing whatever you plan to do. Going to run? Walk and then jog before getting into a run. For those who want to take their routines to the stretchy limit, it’s time to use a foam roller.

With a foam roller, you work to gently warm up your muscles before working them out, and better yet, you are preparing them for exercise. Essentially a massage for your muscles, foam rolling helps break up bound muscle tissue. This, in turn, allows your entire muscle to be worked out and prevents an already tight muscle from growing tighter through your exercise routine. Once you knock out a little foam rolling, the time is right for a round of body-weight exercises or a dynamic warm up before going full force.

Go All the Way

As you exercise, you can help your flexibility by working throughout your entire range of motion. Initially, you may have a harder time squatting your full range of motion, but sticking with it will allow your muscles to work all the way and will lead to their being more flexible.

To get to where you can squat or perform other exercises as deep as your body allows, you will probably want to reduce the amount of weight you use. As your body grows accustomed to going through a fuller range of motion, you can increase the weight and enjoy improved flexibility.

Stretch Afterwards

Your routine winds down, and your muscles feel tight and want to stay that way. Folks who are new to working out often enjoy the feeling. It lets them know their body has worked hard, and so they allow the tightness to remain as they leave the gym and return to their daily routines.

However, this is when your stretches become most important as you are bringing your body back into the proper muscle-length tension relationship as you cool down By taking 10 minutes to slowly stretch (hold each stretch for at least 30 sec), you can take a huge step toward your overall flexibility. A good post-workout stretch will focus on the areas worked during your routine, but will provide a little stretching for the entire body. You can also finish your stretching with more foam rolling if you have time, as this will help further your flexibility goals.

Take It Slow

When stretching for increased flexibility, you may be tempted to push it as far as you can. But don’t give in. Instead, you should relax and take the slow and easy-going path to flexibility. Going too far too fast will actually have the opposite result that you want, as your body will have to repair itself from small injuries that occur from stretching and won’t want to stretch further in the future. Instead, take your time and allow your body to ease into stretches.

Feel an uncomfortable burning sensation that actually hurts? That is not your body’s way of thanking you. Back off and stretch to the point of slight discomfort. Accept that you can’t increase your flexibility overnight, and you will make better headway than beating your muscles into flexible submission.

Call or email us today to get started on a challenging and consistent exercise plan to increase flexibility as well as reduce your body fat and increase your energy levels. Let’s do this!

The Domino Effect

Regular exercise makes it easier to eat healthy. Just as healthy eating makes you more likely to exercise.

It’s the domino effect. When you begin to make a positive change in one area of your life other areas will soon follow.

Remember, while nutrition is vitally important for weight loss, true results are achieved through a combination of both nutrition and challenging, progressive exercise.

Would you like to get that domino effect started in your life? Call or email today for a fitness program that will quickly transform your body.

From the desk of John Hall

Quinoa Breakfast Bowl

You’ve probably heard of quinoa—it is hailed as a super food. It’s high in protein (12%-18%) and contains a balanced set of essential amino acids — this means it’s a surprisingly complete protein. It’s also high in fiber and iron. Quinoa is quite possibly the perfect thing to have for breakfast to start your day off on the right foot.

Servings: 1

Here’s what you need…

•              ½ cup quinoa, cooked in water according to instructions on package

•              1 Tablespoon blueberries

•              1 Tablespoon date pieces, chopped

•              1 Tablespoon pecan pieces, chopped

•              Dash of cinnamon

•              Dash of nutmeg

•              Drizzle of pure maple syrup

1              Top cooked quinoa with raisins, date pieces, pecan pieces,

cinnamon, nutmeg and a drizzle of maple syrup.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 344 calories, 5g fat, 59g carbohydrate, 6g fiber, and 12g protein.

Call today for a consultation and assessment!

Email: Pumpstrainingandpilates@gmail.com

Phone: 219-548-3480

Web: Pumpsfitnessinc.com

Train Like Cubs Ace Jake Arrieta At Pumps Fitness!

Pumps Fitness is one of the only training studios in Northwest Indiana that offers personal training and group classes in Mat Pilates and also Pilates Reformer. According to Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta, adding the reformer (a versatile piece of pilates equipment) to his training helped him turn in a historic season in 2015.

 

Here is an excerpt from the article "The Revenant: How Jake Arrieta came back from the baseball dead." By SI writer Tom Verducci.

"One day after the 2013 season Brittany and Jake were leaving a French bakery in their hometown of Austin when he noticed a Pilates studio next door. Arrieta has always been a workout omnivore, devouring any discipline that will make him better: yoga, Olympic weight training, visualization, sports psychology.... Pilates? Sounded interesting. Arrieta figured he would take one or two classes a week. He walked into the studio and signed up for a class with an instructor named Liza Edebor. 'I pitch for the Cubs,' he told her.
 'Oh, that’s great,' she said. 'I never heard of you. Let’s see what we can do.'

 In the first half of the 20th century German-born Joseph Pilates developed a series of controlled movements to improve strength and flexibility throughout the body. Many of the movements involve the use of pulley systems on a machine called a reformer. After Arrieta’s first session with Edebor he told her, 'We need to train together. This is life-changing.' He took sessions three times a week. He ordered a custom-built reformer for Wrigley Field and put it in the only space available, a cramped storage room that doubled as manager Joe Maddon’s media interview room. Last season Maddon conducted media briefings while Arrieta ground through his Pilates workout just a few feet away. In the off‑season Arrieta turned his Austin garage into a Pilates studio. Edebor trained Brittany and Jake there for an hour and a half six days a week, starting at 6 or 6:30 a.m. 'Jake went from a regular-sized athletic guy to just ripped,' Edebor says, 'and the only thing we did was Pilates.'

 'It’s an incredible experience,' Arrieta says. 'Pilates has been around a long time but maybe was taboo in this sport. I think it’s only a matter of time before you see a reformer in every big league clubhouse.' The Cubs finished remodeling their clubhouse facilities this off‑season, giving one of the game’s most cramped quarters the second-largest footprint in baseball, behind only the Yankees’ facilities in square footage. The new Wrigley digs include a room devoted to the latest in training devices. It is known as the Arrieta Room. More reformers are on the way.

 'What I noticed from Pilates last year was that I have much better control of my body,' Arrieta says. 'I repeat my delivery consistently. My balance is much improved. And the mental and physical toughness Pilates requires to complete movements the correct way have directly helped me on the mound.' 

About two hours before every start Arrieta climbs on his reformer. He runs through a progression of movements designed to awaken and stress parts of his body for competition: obliques, lats, shoulders...."





Pilates is being used as a crucial adjunct to traditional strength and conditioning training throughout many professional sports. Here are some other professional athletes that use pilates to improve their performance: Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Olympic Volleyball Champs Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh, and Matt Forte to name a few.


Looking to get ready for the upcoming season, or want to improve your current performance? Click here or call now (219- 548-3480) to train like a pro and  set up a session of expert instruction by our Pilates trainers at Pumps Fitness. 

7 Resolutions You Can Keep

Are you feeling reluctant to keep your New Year’s Resolutions? After years of failed resolutions past, I don’t blame you. However, if you pick the right resolutions, you’ll face the New Year head on, ready to make good on your big plans from January 1 all the way to December 31.

What kind of resolutions will you actually keep this year? Good question. Here are seven resolutions that you can keep and that will help you achieve big strides towards your fitness goals in 2016:

Resolution #1: Get Fishy

Giving your health a boost doesn’t have to take an incredible amount of time. With this resolution, it doesn’t even take will power. All it takes is modifying your grocery list by buying fish on occasion. Enjoy fish for dinner once a week, and you’ll protect your heart from disease and increase your chances for a longer life. Go with salmon, trout, flounder, or tuna.

Resolution #2: Lather Up

You want your skin to look young and healthy, so this is the year you do something about it. Keep a bottle of sunscreen on your counter. When getting ready for your day, make it part of your routine to spread some sun-shielding lotion on your face, arms, and neck. It’ll save your skin so it’ll look its best in years to come and prevent skin cancer.

Resolution #3: Sweat in the AM

In today’s world, it can be difficult to find the time to exercise. One way to increase your odds for exercising each day is to knock it out first thing in the morning. This year, resolve to exercise right after waking up. Adjust your wake up time to accommodate your morning sweat session.

Resolution 4: Swap One Meal

By swapping out one of your daily meals for a 1 or 2 scoop protein shake you’ll save yourself a few hundred calories each day while providing your muscles with much needed protein. Most people choose to make this swap for breakfast, since it’s so convenient to shake up some protein powder and water to drink on-the-go as you race out the door to start your day. If you only choose to make one resolution this year make it this one – you’ll be astounded at the quick results this simple daily swap will deliver.

Resolution 5: Push Your Body

Know that half marathon you’ve been considering? Want to stop feeling the need to eat cake at every birthday party you attend—even when the cake is dry? This is the year you train properly for that race, say no to cake on occasion, and take up mountain climbing. Find someone with the same goal, make a plan to reach the goal, and get started. Once you complete your first goal and see that it wasn’t as impossible as you once thought, you may just find yourself setting even bigger goals for next year.

Resolution 6: Down More H2O

Your body is primarily made up of water. Keep it that way by skipping soda and sipping on water all day long. A great way to make strides toward your watery goal is to fill up the biggest water bottle you can find and go at it. Preferably, you can drink from something that holds 2.2 liters (9 cups), as all you’ll need is a single fill up in the morning to stay hydrated all day long.

Resolution 7: Stretch Every Day

One of the best ways to avoid injury, as we age, is to take a few minutes to stretch daily. This is most effectively done by dynamically stretching before you begin the intense portion of your routine. By taking the best care of your muscles, with stretching, you’ll avoid taking time off for injury recovery and will be able to accomplish your goals quicker.

There you have it, 7 realistic New Year’s Resolutions to help make 2016 your best year yet. The most effective way to ensure that you stick with your resolutions is to become one of my our valued clients. We will be by your side every step of the way as we get you from where you are today to the body that you want to live in tomorrow.

Call or email us now to get started!

4 Worst Breakfast Items

Don’t get caught eating one of these 4 things for breakfast:

1. Breakfast pastry: muffins, doughnuts, bear claws and croissants sure taste good with coffee, but all those refined carbs are going to cause unwanted weight gain.

2. Granola Bars: watch out for the breakfast bars that claim to give you fiber, vitamins and minerals. Check the number of carbs and sugars on the back of the label – most contain the same sugar as a pastry.

3. Cereal: here’s another popular breakfast item that has tons of sugar lurking beneath its surface. Only eat cereal that has no added sugar and that contains some protein and healthy fat.

4. Drive Thru Breakfast Sandwich: don’t even think about heading to the drive thru for a quick breakfast sandwich. Instead grab a hard boiled egg from home to enjoy on your commute.

From the desk of John Hall Studios

Breakfast Protein Parfait

Here’s a great recipe to make the night before for an easy grab-n-go breakfast straight out of the fridge. It’s packed with protein, vitamins and minerals for sustained energy all morning long. And it tastes great too.

Servings: 1

Here’s what you need…

•              ¼ cup Greek Yogurt, plain, fat free

•              ¼ cup low fat cottage cheese

•              1 scoop high quality strawberry or vanilla protein powder

•              ¼ cup fresh berries

•              1 Tablespoon pecan pieces, toasted

1              In a small bowl use a whisk to combine the yogurt, cottage cheese and protein powder. Mix until well incorporated.

2              Place half of the yogurt mixture into a clear cup, top with the berries and then the remaining yogurt mixture. Top with pecans.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 260 calories, 6g fat, 307mg sodium, 11g carbohydrate, 4g fiber, and 38g protein.

Call today for a consultation and assessment!

Email: Pumpstrainingandpilates@gmail.com

Phone: 219-548-3480

Web: Pumpsfitnessinc.com

Does that hurt? Exercise injuries...

Can you relate to this scenario? After putting it off for too long, you commit to get fit—only to find yourself injured the minute you start working out.

All of the sudden your fitness goals go back on the shelf and you are left to deal with the pain.

Whether your injury occurs right off the bat or after years of regular workouts the result is always the same. It is discouraging, painful and downright depressing.

And since studies suggest that up to 38% of all exercisers suffer from an injury each year, it is a subject worth exploring.

Top 3 Workout Injuries
The following three ailments occur commonly among active people. Let's explore the cause of each and then detail your very own injury prevention plan—because let's face it, you simply don't have time to spend nursing and injury (and losing all that progress you had made).

1. Strain / Pulled Muscle: occurs when a tendon (connects muscle to bone) or muscle is stretched or torn. If you suffer from a strain you will feel pain and swelling in the muscle belly, or loss of function if the strain occurred in a tendon. Many strains occur as the result of an improper warm-up and insufficient stretching.

2. Sprain: occurs when a ligament (connects bone to bone) is stretched or torn. While this can happen to any ligament in your body, the most common placements of sprains are in the ankle, wrist and knee. Often this injury will happen suddenly as the ligament is stretched beyond its normal limit, usually during a fall or other acute trauma.

3. Low Back Pain: it is said that 80% of the population will experience back pain at some point in their lives—and the list of causes is as diverse as the sufferers themselves. Here are the main reasons for workout related back pain:

• Improper form: Similar to bad posture, using improper form while performing weight bearing exercises will leave your back sore and aching. The good news is that once your form is corrected this pain should subside after a healing period.
• Weak muscles: If you have a desk job then chances are your deep back muscles are inactive and unconditioned. When you start an exercise program, but fail to properly strengthen these muscles, the result is often an aching back.
• Strained muscles: Not to pick on that desk job, but another result of sitting all day is tight back muscles. When these muscles are not properly warmed up and stretched before exercise begins, muscle strains occur.

Your 5-Step Injury Prevention Plan
Injuries don't have to slow you from meeting your fitness goals. The following 5 steps will dramatically reduce your chance of injury and if you do find yourself injured, but have been following these 5 steps, your recovery will be quick and efficient.

Step 1: Stretch
What is more boring than stretching? You want to exercise, not sit around touching your toes—right? Even though it isn't exciting, stretching is the best way to increase muscle elasticity and durability. Tight muscles are big contributors to strains—remember? Take time everyday for dynamic stretching before and static stretching after your workout to stave off injury.

Step 2: Warm Up
Preparing for your workout should not begin and end with putting on your gym clothes. Your muscles need to be coaxed into motion by way of a 10-15 minute warm up in order to prepare them for injury-free use. Cold muscles are less elastic and are therefore more prone to tears.

Step 3: Proper Gear
For most fitness enthusiasts proper gear has everything to do with their shoes. Don't be fooled—not just any shoe will do. Find shoes that offer support and traction for your exercise of choice, and make sure that they aren't too tight or too loose. If you are prone to ankle injuries then try a pair of high-tops for extra support.

Step 4: Lifestyle
Stop for a moment and think about your car—if you don't maintain it with regular tune ups, oil changes and quality fuel then you can't expect it to perform well on the road. The same applies to your body. Getting healthy amounts of sleep, eating well balanced meals and staying hydrated will all contribute to your performance during exercise. The healthier your lifestyle is the less likely you are to suffer an injury.

Step 5: Condition
This may seem like the most obvious step to injury prevention, but unfortunately it is the most overlooked. People who keep their bodies in top condition by exercising regularly and maintaining a healthy lifestyle are the least likely to injure themselves. When exercise programs are started and stopped sporadically your muscles are most likely to become injured.

Of course being conditioned also has another great benefit that everyone enjoys - you get to look and feel great! And who doesn't what that, right? 

Step 6: RESET

RESET is a revolutionary restorative movement system that pinpoints and eliminates the joint dysfunctions that cause us to compensate with our posture and movement. Over the course of our lives, stress causes our bodies to acquire joint dysfunctions which, in turn, causes us to compensate. In order to reap the full benefits of physical activity we need flawless posture and movement. RESET removes the flaws and restores natural posture and movement. Click here for more info.

The ultimate injury prevention plan is to work with us, your qualified fitness experts! Together we will explore proper technique and will craft a plan for your unique fitness goals.

Wouldn't you love to see awesome results before this summer comes to an end? Simply reply by email or call us today to get started. It's time to take action and get the results that you deserve!

Your Ticket to Get Fit!

Come give our fitness programs a try. We have the whole fat loss equation down to a science, and we'd love nothing more than to help you achieve your fitness goal.

Our workouts have been known to burn up to 500 calories at a time, so what are you waiting for?

Let's do this!

Spinach & Egg White Wrap

This wrap is delicious for breakfast, lunch or dinner. It's ready in a flash, tastes amazing, and is filled with lean protein, veggies and whole sprouted grains. Try it today, but don't be surprised if you get hooked! Servings: 2 

Here's what you need:

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 cup tomato, finely chopped
• 2 cups spinach, roughly chopped
• 1 cup egg whites
• dash of salt and pepper
• 2 sprouted grain tortillas
• 2 Tablespoons pesto (purchase it pre-made, or combine 1/2 cup walnuts, 2 cups basil leaves, 2 cloves garlic, 1/4 cup olive oil, and 1 Tablespoon lemon juice in a food processor and blend until it becomes a paste.)

1. Spread a tablespoon of pesto over each tortilla and set aside.
2. In medium sized skillet warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté until golden. Add the tomato and cook for another 3 minutes. Add the spinach and cook until it is soft and wilted. Remove the veggies from skillet, set aside in a bowl.
3. Pour the egg whites into the skillet, season with salt and pepper. Cook until the egg is no longer runny.
4. Arrange half of the egg whites in a line down the center of each tortilla. Top with half of the veggies and then fold the ends up and wrap like a burrito.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 288 calories, 10g fat, 28g carbohydrate, 6g fiber, and 21g protein. 

Call today for a consultation and assessment!

Email: Pumpstrainingandpilates@gmail.com

Phone: 219-548-3480

Web: Pumpsfitnessinc.com