Amy's Weekly Blog

HardCORE

balancech5 — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:57:44 +0000

The BEST class ever this week!!! Kathy and I team taught a Cardio Yoga class that ROCKED!!! The class was a combination of yoga, cardio, and strength exercises… everyone was drenched! It was so well received that we are going to repeat it next week for our final free class this month! Please join us!

We will video next week, but in the meantime here is some inspiration…

To the Gym and Beyond…

balancech5 — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 23:14:55 +0000

A new series…. Outfit of the Week!

Each week we will be featuring a Balance client that shows how to convert your workout outfit “from the gym to beyond”!

This week’s client – Kerri Farragut

Activity: Workout with trainer, Amy

Outerwear: Lululemon

Top: Lululemon

Pants: Lululemon

Shoes: Nike

Converting to day attire after workout

Off to lunch at Cake!

Let us know what you think of our new series! To shop our local Lululemon, follow them on Facebook here.

Whats on Your PLATE

balancech5 — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 09:35:22 +0000

What’s on your PLATE?

This week we are using paper plates for our workout! Talk about core….

One of the exercise tools we use at Balance is a gliding disc. If you don’t have a gliding disc, try these 10 great moves with a paper plate. Now that’s an affordable workout!

These exercises work multiple muscles at once, giving you a quick, effective workout in a minimum amount of time, right in your own home.

5 sets. 30 seconds or 15 reps

1. Side Lunge-Start with your weight on your left foot, and the ball of your right foot on a paper plate. Slowly glide your right foot directly to the side, making sure to keep your left knee just above, or slightly behind the left toes. Return to neutral and repeat. After 15 repetitions, switch sides. For variety, slide the plate behind or in front of the standing leg. This will engage the inner thigh muscles.

2. Back Lunge-Stand with feet hip-width apart, left foot resting on a paper plate. Bend the right leg while sliding the left foot back into a lunge position, keeping the right knee behind the toe, torso upright and abs in. Slowly slide left foot back to starting position and repeat. After 15 repetitions, switch sides. For variety, add a lateral raise with light dumbells in the hands.

3. Lunge Twist- Begin with the same movement as the previous exercise. As you reach the lunge position, hold, and rotate your torso toward the outside of the front hip (if your left leg is front, rotate to the left). Then, rotate back to the front and return to the starting position. After 15 repetitions, switch sides.

4. Push Ups- Begin facedown on the floor with hands next to shoulders, elbows bent to 90 degrees, paper plates under each hand. On your knees or toes, straighten elbows and push torso up, abs tight, body in a straight line from crown of head to knees or toes. At the top of the movement, squeeze the chest and slide both hands in (on the paper plates) until they touch directly under your chest. Slide them back out, and lower into pushup (elbows bent at 90 degrees). Do 15 repetitions.

5. Hamstring Curls- From a seated position, place the right heel on a paper plate. Sitting tall with your core engaged, slide that heel out and in, squeezing the hamstring to create maximum resistance. Do 15 repetitions and then switch sides.

6. Seated Side Lat Pull- From a seated position, bring feet to the left side of your legs (like a mermaid). Place the right hand on a plate, and slide the hand out and back in. Try to engage and use the big “lat” muscles in the back. Use your left hand for balance or gentle support if necessary. Do 15 repetitions and switch sides.

7. Lateral Flexion- Sit cross legged and place your right hand on a plate. Extend your left arm up by your left ear. Slowly slide your right hand out to the side, bending at the waist and very slightly curving forward to feel the crunch in your waist and obliques. Reach up and over with the extended arm to create added stretch. After 15 repetitions, switch sides.

8. Abdominal Curls- Lie on your back, with both heels on a paper plate. With your fingertips lightly touching the back of your head, crunch up as you squeeze your heels closer to your butt. Lower back to the starting position. Do 15 repetitions.

9. Leg Cross Through-Now comes the hard work! Begin in a push up position with a paper plate under one foot. Slide that foot in and under the body, letting it come out the other side. Do as many as you can, working up to 15 on each side. This one is tough, so for beginners, just work on holding the push up position for 30 seconds to one minute. When you have mastered that, start to use the paper plate.

10. Pike Tucks for Core- Begin in a push up position, this time with both feet on a plate. Glide your feet toward your hands using the muscles of the core to tuck into a pike position. You can bend your knees or for a more advanced option, pull straight legs in, lifting your hips as you come in. Do as many as you can, working up to 15 repetitions.

Being Active Can Change YOUR Life

balancech5 — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 19:07:31 +0000

What is exercise, sport, and physical activity to you? I’m sure you know exercise is good for you, but why? Most people are burdened by exercise because they feel they have to endure it to lose weight! Being active has amazing benefits that affect all aspects of your life, not just weight loss. Some people choose to use exercise as an “outlet” to reduce stress and others want to keep their heart strong, regardless of what your motives are, one of the greatest by products you receive from exercise is confidence! That confidence carries into ALL ASPECTS of your life- your relationships with your children, family, friends, works, etc… It’s simple when you feel healthy and confident about yourself it translates into everything you do. When there is a goal set for others, such as, to remain healthy for your children and grandchildren, a positive force is added as an incentive to not only remain healthy for yourself but to set a good example for your loved ones. These positive forces should be big enough incentive to fuel the determination needed to make a change in your lifestyle and stick with it!

Week 2 workout is another great “Get Toned at Home” routine. You control your level of intensity! The goal is to tone head to toe anywhere! There is literally NO ROOM FOR EXCUSES!

Here is Workout #2:

10 Exercises

10 Reps 5 -8 sets

Jumping Lunge (modification Stationary Lunge)

Single Leg V Up (modification bent knee)

Side Plank with Rotation (Modification plank)

Lying March – Hamstring/Glute

Burpee with a tuck (Modification – burpee w/o tuck)

Single Leg Reach/Deadlift

Push up with jump

Push Up with toe Reach

Quadruped Flex/ Extension

Also a link to Lululemon’s Vision and Goals Worksheet:

http://www.lululemon.com/files/vision_goals_worksheet.pdf

WORKOUT WITH US

balancech5 — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 23:52:50 +0000

In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure ~ Bill Cosby

What a great turnout for Balance and Burn! The goal of this class is to ring in the New Year with fitness being more affordable, more accessible, and even more fun. If you can’t make it to Balance and Burn on Tuesdays at 9:45am stash these workouts away and do them at home!

Workout 1:

Start off with 10 sets 10 repetitions, repeating 9 reps, 8, etc … until you reach 1 rep of each 10 exercises. In between each set, rest for 30 seconds, except for the last 3 sets of 3-2-1!

The 10 exercises:

1. Seated Twist (Body weight or weighted)

2. V-ups / Crunches

3.Burpees (Bodyweight or weighted)

4. Mountain Climbers

5. Squat Jumps (Body weight)

6. Swimmers

7. Pushups

8. Jump Rope (Modification:Jumping Jacks or High Knees)

9. Jumping Lunge

10. Tricep Dips

Complete each round at your own pace, with the goal of increasing the intensity and gradually adding weight. All of these exercises can be completed by using your own body as resistance!

Join Balance’s Kathy Murphy this Sunday at 10am for a FREE yoga class at the Lululemon store in the King of Prussia Mall. Open to all levels!

160 North Gulph Road Suite 2361/ P 610.337.0780/ kop-store@lululemon.com

Shape Up in 2012

balancech5 — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 14:29:55 +0000

Get moving this month with Balance and Burn!! Every Tuesday for the month of January (9:45-10:30am) a FREE 45 minute class will be held at Balance! Don’t stress if you can’t attend…the workout video will be posted so you can do it at home!! This is your excuse-proof workout….all you need is willpower to stay on track.

Here is a preview:

Reach for your goals this year! What are your fitness goals? Are you going to take on a challenge? Try something new?

If you do one thing today…. Check out this website. My husband introduced me to TED TV and now I am hooked! TED is a non profit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. There are so many inspirational lectures and performances…a great way to start the New Year!! One of my favorites…

Summer Love

balancech5 — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 21:10:03 +0000

My Summer Love

When Giulia turned 6 months she began crawling backwards…now at 7 months she is moving in EVERY direction!!!

The Babe loves the water! The first days of summer have been a blast and we have been trekking from city to shore with the baby in tow!

Local fitness center hosts outdoor ‘impact challenge’

balancech5 — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 20:45:47 +0000

in the news…

Local fitness center hosts outdoor ‘impact challenge’

Posted on 22 June 2011 by admin

Christine Giovinazzo coaches Jennifer Forcey and Chris Telesford through a round of pushups at the Balance Fitness Challenge last Saturday (Photo by Paula M. Riley)

by Paula M. Riley

If you were anywhere near the 100 block of East Highland Avenue last Saturday morning, you may have heard what sounded like an army training session.

Then if you stepped out for a closer look, you would have found 40 men and women of all different ages and abilities flipping over a tractor-trailer tire, doing push-ups, squat thrusts or jumping rope.

Hosted by Balance Chestnut Hill, a fitness center at 5 E. Highland Ave., the Balance Challenge was designed by owners Aaron Sistrunk and Amy Carolla as a friendly competition and community event celebrating fitness. Sistrunk has participated in “impact challenges” at personal trainer conferences and wanted to offer his clients and the community a fun challenge.

Unlike the normal five-station challenges he does at the conferences, the Balance Challenge had eight stations.

“I wanted to step it up a notch,” said Sistrunk, who is well known for his “no excuses” mantra.

Set up on the asphalt of the closed street, these stations included jumping rope with a thick heavy rope, battling ropes, (using the same heavy rope), bosu-release push-ups and kettle ball swings (30 pounds for the women and 50 pounds for the men.)

A tree trunk offered the perfect spot for the TRX suspension station, and a gym mat was added for the ball slam (20 pounds for the women and 30 pounds for the men) and burpees – an advanced squat thrust in which the chest and thighs have to hit the ground.

What caught the most attention was the tire flips. These were not the tires you’d find on your own car but were huge tractor-trailer size tires the contestants had to flip over repeatedly.

East Highland Avenue was closed for the Balance Fitness Challenge. (Photo by Paula M. Riley)

Stations were based on the same concept of “Balance Burn,” the center’s signature class that Sistrunk and Carolla created. It is a combination of strength training. Many of the station exercises were incorporated into balance-training classes and instructional videos once each was available online.

Participants were divided into teams of four by the organizers.

“We tried hard to make them as evenly matched as possible,” Carolla said.

The teams were assigned when the contestants arrived, and most teams were made up of athletes who didn’t know each other.

Dana Zimmer, of Mt. Airy, has been training at Balance for the past few years. She only knew one person on her team but regularly attends the Balance weekend “Boot Camp,” Tuesday/Thursday “Fit Factor” sessions and trains one-on-one with Sistrunk.

“I am having so much fun,” she said between breaths, just after she finished the battling ropes station. “That one was the hardest – the rope is really, really heavy.”

Despite not knowing each other, the teammates cheered each on with the support and enthusiasm of lifelong friends. Each participant was required to spend one minute at each station. Trainers were positioned at the stations for the “counts” – they would count repetitions and encourage participants along the way.

A judge recorded the score and ensured that the exercise was completed correctly. Participants worked through eight stations with a one-minute break in between. A foghorn signaled that the timer had started and the grunting began.

Sistrunk walked through the stations, encouraging participants in his upbeat, positive manner. Most of the participants were between ages 30-50, but some were younger. There were no age groups at the Challenge because Sistrunk believes it is not relevant.

“We train everyone like an athlete,” he said. “This event just shows us that everyone can compete like an athlete and have fun doing it.”

There was no absence of fun on Saturday. Amidst the grunts was upbeat music blaring in the background and many smiles and laughter exchanged among new and old friends.

“Sure, this is hard,” Teresa Rodgers said, “but has been really fun too.”

The first-place female finisher was Nicole Naumoff-Hodgson, and Brian Harrington took home the male first place finish. Both were awarded a heavyweight belt medal.

Balance Chestnut Hill is a personal training studio with group fitness classes and a state of the art indoor cycling facility. Visit www.balancech.com for more information.

loving LULU

balancech5 — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 19:49:28 +0000

Loving my new role as a Lululemon Ambassador! I have been a fan of the company for years, wearing their amazing products! I was so honored when they asked me to represent their company! I love being apart of a team that has a positive influence in the community! Check them out on June 18th at Balance for a trunk show:)

Mommy MOVEment

balancech5 — Fri, 06 May 2011 20:07:56 +0000

This was my last week of Phit 90! I finished the program by repeating the first week’s workout. WOW. The improvements were impressive. My stamina for both strength and cardio increased tremendously. Stay tuned for my next challenges!!

Checkout week 12 and week 1:

WEEK 12:

WEEK 1: