Category Archives: Uncategorized

Holiday Season @ Excel Fitness

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Welcome to Holiday Season 2012! This time of year signifies the point at which we North-easterners collectively shift to cold weather, hibernation-thinking, and are persuaded from all sides to “get in the spirit of giving” by participating in the charity activities that define the season.  Here at Excel Fitness the vibe is no different as we shift gears and welcome in our holiday charity drives!

We are still accepting donations of non-perishable food items to benefit the West Hartford Food Pantry. Now through the end of December, we are hosting a NEW toy drive (app. $10 value or higher) for HYPE’s Tons of Toys event, hosted Wednesday, December 12th at the Bond Ballroom in Hartford. Participants will receive $1 off their next training package for every food item and/or toy they donate between now and the end of the year (food drive donations must be in by Monday, December 3rd to qualify).

Also, don’t forget, we are continuing to collect used shoes (all varieties) to be refurbished and resold in sub-Saharan Africa by our partners at ReRun Shoes.

For more information on any of Excel Fitness’ charity work with local organizations or to suggest an organization that could use our support, please call Ilicia at (860) 523-8167 or stop by the gym today!

Facility Upgrades Happening at Excel Fitness

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The team of trainers at Excel Fitness has always been committed to providing the highest standard of service to all of our clients and members. In the past month, Excel Fitness has undergone some cosmetic changes to match our excellent service with performance equipment and special features!

While Hurricane Sandy dampened our spirits, Excel Fitness owner, Jeff Roux was hard at work brightening the gym with a beautiful new paint job and working with trainer, Chris Caruso to replace a portion of the carpet with brand new rubber gym flooring. New light fixtures have been installed in both the men’s and women’s bathrooms, enhancing our member’s pre and post-workout experience.

Most notably, we have NEW EQUIPMENT! We recently purchased a brand new, state-of-the-art Cross Trainer that utilizes a stride sequence, which engages the gluteus and hamstring muscles without requiring users to change directions. All of our cardio equipment is now outfitted with cardio theater units, enabling users to tune into television programs while working out. Stop by today to check out our new appearance and find out how the team at Excel Fitness will revolutionize your exercise experience!

Stay Motivated!!!!

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Everyone has started out on an exercise program determined to reach a certain goal. In order to stick to an exercise program, and make it work for you, you need to find a way to keep that original motivation. Here are some tips to help stay motivated.

Start with small goals and work your way towards the bigger goals. Start with something simple. Once you have established a routine, start working out harder, and try doing more each session.

Exercise doesn’t have to be boring or repetitive. If you don’t like your exercise routine change it and make it more exciting. Keep trying new exercises until you find something you enjoy doing.

If your exercise routine is fun, you will end up looking forward to exercise instead of dreading it.

If you start treating exercise like hard work, that’s exactly what it will become. Make your exercises light, fun and exciting rather than looking at it as a chore you have to do. Don’t let yourself get a bad attitude towards exercising, or you will be more likely to give up.

Having someone to work out with makes it much more fun, and will keep you more motivated to exercise. You might even find that you’re actually looking forward to it! Having a partner makes it much harder for you to skip your workout.

Staying motivated isn’t hard if you approach your exercise program with an open mind. Be flexible and let yourself have fun. Eventually you will realize that you’ll enjoy working out, and before you know it, you will be looking forward to exercising.

Looking for a way to revive your old routine, add new, dynamic material, and stick with it? Consider personal training or small group classes now being offered at Excel Fitness. Working with a trainer doesn’t have to be intimidating or feel like a lifelong commitment. Call or stop by today to set up a complimentary consultation and find out if training (whether individual or with a group) is right for you!

By Chris Caruso, CPT

The Benefits of Fitness Testing

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The trainers here at Excel Fitness offer various services including exercise instruction, fitness consultation, computerized diet analysis, wellness evaluation, and fitness testing.

Fitness tests may include body composition, cardiovascular, flexibility, strength, and endurance testing. Power, speed and agility evaluations may be provided for certain athletes. Fitness tests are designed to monitor progress and to assist in the development of your fitness program. For example, regular body composition testing will allow you to track changes of fat and lean body weight (e.g. muscle). Body composition testing can discriminate bodily changes much more effectively than weight alone. This may be of particular interest to those who are interested in monitoring fat loss as well as those interested in tracking muscular development.

Regular fitness testing can objectively measure the effectiveness of your program and can possibly save you months or even years of hard work. If progress is not significant, immediate changes can be made to your program. Your fitness coach can help you decide the tests most compatible with your fitness goals and how often you should test.

Your fitness coach may redesign your program or simply make a few suggestions for continued progress.. These services are a great way to enhance your current fitness program or just get you started on a new workout in a safe and effective manner. Your fitness coach may encourage you to get a comprehensive fitness tests performed every 3 to 6 months. Body composition tests may be performed more often; once every month or two; once every two weeks if significant dietary changes are made.

For more information on how fitness testing can improve your results or to set up an appointment, contact the trainers at Excel Fitness in West Hartford, CT (860) 523-8167.

By Heather Claflin-Coy, C.P.T

We Are Rugged Maniacs!

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We Are Rugged Maniacs!!!!

The trainers at Excel Fitness take pride in their knack for creating a fun environment to work and workout. Every month we get together for staff bonding events, usually in the form of bar-b-ques and the like. This month, we tried something a little different…RUGGED MANIAC!!!

Rugged Maniac is a 5k obstacle course, designed by the Navy SEALS, through the mud, over walls, up planks, under barbed wire, over rolling logs and into massive pools of muddy water! It was hard, it was messy, and it was so much fun! Jeff, Ilicia, Chris, Heather, Gary and Andy met at the motocross track in Southwick, MA on Sunday, September 30th pumped and ready to get dirty. We started off the race strong and for the most part were able to stick together as a team and help each other through some of the more challenging obstacles. Gary came out way ahead, finishing the race in about 35 minutes while the rest of your rugged trainers finished in about 45 minutes.

By the end of the event, we were exhausted, filthy, and smiling ear to ear! Asked to describe their experience, the trainers of Excel Fitness had this to say:

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think Rugged Maniac would be so challenging! What a rewarding experience to push myself and bond with my coworkers! We cheered each other on and supported each other when obstacles got overwhelming.” –Ilicia Balaban

“Going into Rugged Maniac I was a little nervous about how I would do, but as I was doing it, I thought to myself, ‘I just want to finish.’ After I was done, I just wanted to do it again.” –Andy Fazzina

“Great time had by all! Team-building and bonding! Added bonus: NO INJURIES.” – Jeff Roux

“I was so nervous going in but I left it all out on the course! Awesome experience.” –Heather Claflin-Coy

“When I finished the race I felt proud and accomplished!” –Chris Caruso

“Training for the Rugged Maniac gave me great motivation to push harder in my workouts, plus it was a good excuse to get real dirty, have a few beers, and a few laughs with some friends!” –Gary Maher

The general consensus:

WE CAN’T WAIT TO DO IT AGAIN AND NEXT YEAR YOU’RE ALL COMING WITH US!!!

The Point of Fitness Part 2: The Workout

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So, Kettlebells…

Now that I am a new Dad and spending more quality time at home, I’ve been shifting a lot of my fitness towards kettlebells, simply because they’re a lot more practical for home, saving both space and time.

The Turkish get up (or “get up”) is arguably one of the most effective functional movements out there you can do, and it’s perfect to do with a kettlebell. It looks deceptively simple, but even if you have a lightweight kettlebell, a dumbell, or even a cloth bucket with sand in it, you can make this work.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNVi6H3OUVs&feature=player_embedded

Remember, there is no “core” muscle. There are muscles throughout your body and people call the ones in the middle your “core”, which to me is strange. “Core strength” is up there with “tone” for nonsense fitness terms used by people who have been reading too many magazines.

Strength training builds muscle, builds bone, and makes you (duh) stronger. I could write paragraphs on why these are so important but I doubt I’ll convince anyone of anything; so instead, here’s my strength training program, every other day:

30 minutes, constantly looping through these will beat the crap out of you, or at least it beats the crap out of me. Start with the lighter bell, move up to heavy for the middle of the workout, then go back to medium as fatigue kicks in:

– 20 pushups or dips.
– 15  clean and jerks, each arm.
– 15  snatches, each arm.
– 15 single arm swings, each arm.
– 5 turkish get ups, each side.
– 5 wind mills, each side.
– 20 double arm swings.
– 10 single arm rows, TRX rows, or pull ups (preferably).

Conditioning is a little different, but fortunately I’ve got something else in my life right now that fits the bill and I enjoy doing. Every other day…

Running

It takes patience and determination to “get your legs”, so to speak. Ask anyone who can run five miles enjoyably and they’ll tell you about how much it hurt in the beginning when they could barely run down the block. Once you get your legs, you don’t want to lose them. Running even once a week (in addition to all the other stuff) helps keep you in the game. There’s something about the beating it puts on your legs where if you don’t do it enough your body stops keeping you in shape to do it again, and there you are not being able to run down the block.

Please feel free to ask me or any one of our trainers any questions on kettlebells or running. We would be happy to spend some time showing you some of these exercises.

To schedule a consultation with Gary Maher or any of the Excel Fitness Personal Trainers please stop by the gym or call (860) 523-8167.

 

 

 

Melissa Cyr Joins Excel as a Certified Personal Trainer!

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Melissa Cyr, C.P.T., NASM

 Melissa is a full-time mom of two with a strong interest in nutrition, fitness, and general health.   Her past experience includes teaching Bootcamp group fitness classes, and prior to becoming a mother she also worked as a Certified Massage Therapist while excelling in her career as an Analyst for CIGNA Healthcare.

Melissa is eager to help all clients reach their goals of living a more healthy life.  She has a particular passion for helping moms get their pre-baby bodies back, believing it is fully achievable to bring a woman’s body to a place of even greater fitness post-pregnancy. Having gained 65 pounds with each of her pregnancies she is sensitive to the ups and downs of achieving and maintaining a healthy weight! Melissa also has an interest in spreading her love of healthful, nutritious eating and food production and recently organized and implemented the building of an organic Edible Schoolyard teaching garden for a local elementary school.

Interests- Reading, cycling, weight lifting, hiking, organic gardening, volunteering and activism, and anything relating to kids!

A Thought for Today

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We push our self everyday for work, but do we ever think about pushing
ourselves to lead a healthier lifestyle every day?

So today would be a
great day to begin our venture of leading a healthier lifestyle not
tomorrow not Monday, but today!
Think of when you were a baby and you started to crawl and then
standing and before you know it walking and than running. Why not go
for a walk and then before you know it you’re jogging than running.
Live for today not tomorrow!

By Andy Fazzina, CPT

The Point of Fitness

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Everyone has their own reason for fitness. Body builders are into border-line body modification, power lifters huff huge weight, and Olympic lifters snap incredible weights with technical moves that must be reviewed in split frame slow motion because of the speed they can muster. Some people are in it for vanity, others for health, and most a blend of several things.

 

For me, fitness is essentially about being able to live the life I want to live. It gives me a body that lets me climb mountains, hop on a paddleboard and zip around the lake, or go running with a friend, and yes, enjoy going to that pool party. Although I won’t be mistaken for a cast member of Jersey Shore, I might get a few smiling glances. Beyond all that, I strength train to build muscles which hopefully fend off injuries. Overall fitness slashes my chances of getting a host of ailments, and lifting weights combined with running and enough calcium mean I am doing as much as I can to keep arthritis at bay.

I want to be able to go running and lift weights with my daughter when she’s in her twenties, and if she can smoke me athletically it’s going to be because she earned it fair and square.

The point of fitness is not to sit around and squat more weight. You need to squat weight in order to be fit, but the real core of it all is to be able to live a long and healthy life, doing everything you want to the fullest. A body that responds as well as it can. You can’t be 25 forever but since you’re going to be 50 one day you have to pick if you want to be a broken down old man or an active grandpa. So, I’m cutting back on my barbells and switching to other activities, but its part of the big goal which is enjoying life to its fullest. If you never leave the gym and stay within range of Nautilus machines and elliptical trainers your whole life, how much of the world can you really see? How much can you really do?

By Gary Maher, M.S.

To schedule a complimentary consultation with Gary or any one of our certified personal trainers please call Excel Fitness at (860) 523-8167.

Inspiration for Today’s Workout

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We push our self everyday for work, but do we ever think about pushing

ourselves to lead a healthier lifestyle every day?

So today would be a
great day to begin our venture of leading a healthier lifestyle not

tomorrow not Monday, but today!
Think of when you were a baby and you started to crawl and then
standing and before you know it walking and than running. Why not go
for a walk and then before you know it you’re jogging than running.
Live for today not tomorrow!

By Andy Fazzina, CPT