Hello!

I hope the weekend was as good for you as it was for us! A lot of things
happening for Lions Gym. Leah and I are very excited about all that is
going on. We have a calm in the storm - the storm being this crazy economy
and the calm being the grace of God that guides us through the struggles
that come with it. We hope that you can also find your calm in this crazy
storm. The last time I checked, prayer is still free! And yes, exercises
like jogging, dancing, and even sit-ups are not in recession! But please,
DO NOT let it overcome you so much that you neglect to tap into the valor
within you and ride the storm.

The Tip for this week is a very strong reminder. The homework you are
supposed to do when you are not on your strict workout regimen. Your
homework is the extra crunches that carry you over to the next work out.
These I strongly recommend being done at home when you are watching TV or
even just waiting for the laundry to dry up.

Another reminder is to watch what you eat. Cut the big sugar loads- snacks
that conjoin your meals. Get creative and let us indulge in a little bit
more healthier snacks.

And last but not least, get the rest and stretching that you need! Always
stretch when soreness follows the next day. Stretch the part that is sore
to get the accumulated lactic acid that is paralysing you. Get rest means
unless the soreness is too much, give the part that you worked out at
least 48 hours to get some good recovery. That is what muscle needs in
order for good growth.

And now, for a special announcement... Mark Saturday, Feb. 21 on your
calendars!  Lions Gym will be having a GRAND OPENING! Please share this
with your friends and family! We would love for you to join us on this
ground breaking day!

Now that my friends is your Tip Of The Week...

exercise intensity

Hello! Hope you all are having a wonderful week! We are a little late on the Tip of the Week, but better late than never. This Tip is brought to you by Leah Menya… Has someone ever told you, you need to push yourself harder or you are not working out as hard as you really could? Or why don’t you sweat when you work out? Trust me, when you are married to a personal trainer, you have heard these things! HA! All these questions surround the concept of “exercise intensity”. You may have heard people talk about this, but how do you measure it? As a general rule, moderate-intensity exercise is best. If you exercise too lightly, you may not meet your fitness or weight-loss goals. If you push yourself too hard, you may increase your risk of soreness, injury or even burnout. Moderate-intensity exercise is what we should aim for. These are some signs of it: - You're breathing faster. - You're developing a light sweat. - You're feeling some strain in your muscles. You can also use the talk test. This one always cracks me up! If you can carry on a conversation of brief sentences but you can't sing a song, you're probably exercising in the recommended moderate-intensity range. So if you start breaking out and singing your favorite song, tell Stephen just to understand. : ) If you'd rather get more specific, use your heart rate to measure your exercise intensity. Here's how to calculate your target heart rate: - Subtract your age from 220. This is your maximum heart rate - Determine the low end of your target heart rate by multiplying your maximum heart rate by 0.6 - Determine the upper end of your target heart rate by multiplying your maximum heart rate by 0.85 While exercising, check your pulse and use this information! When you feel your pulse, look at your watch and count the number of beats in 15 seconds. Multiply this number by 4 to get your heart rate per minute. If your heart rate is within the range you calculated above, you're exercising at about the right level. If your heart rate is too low, pick up the pace. If your heart rate is too high, back off a bit. So next time you are working out, try these tips. You will find that if you truly KNOW you are working at YOUR moderate intensity, the rewards from your workout will increase. And that my friends is your TIP of the WEEK… P.S. If you have not stopped by Lions Gym lately, please do. We are now painting the walls some fabulous colors! See you at the gym! - - - - - Stephen & Leah Menya www.lionsgym.com 952-474-7000 Download this as a file

Hello! Welcome to 2009! Remember, this is the year to make whatever it is happen. This is the day... Hope you all had a good weekend. Leah and I had a nice, relaxing weekend in Iowa with our family there, finishing up the Christmas celebrations. Below is our first tip of 2009 to you all - - 10 Biggest Workout Mistakes: 1. Not warming up. Start slowly and increase intensity gradually. 2. Exercising too intensely. A longer, moderate workout is more effective than a short, intense one. 3. Not exercising intensely enough. On the other hand, you need to workout hard enough to break a light sweat and get your heart rate into your training zone. 4. Leaning heavily on the stair stepper rails. Supporting a lot of your weight on your arms is hard on your wrists and back. Lower the intensity to the point at which you can maintain good posture while using the rails only for balance. 5. Not cooling down after any type of workout. Taking a few minutes to lower your heart rate reestablishes normal blood flow. 6. Not stretching. You should stretch immediately after an aerobic activity, when your muscles are still warm and flexible. 7. Lifting too much weight. Increasing resistance steadily but gradually is the safest and most effective way to increase muscle strength. 8. Jerking the weights. You're likely jerking your muscles as well and risking injury (your back is particularly vulnerable). Control the weight - don't let it control you. 9. Not drinking enough. Keep a water bottle handy throughout your entire workout. 10. Consuming high-energy bars and sports drinks during moderate workouts. Unless you're working out for longer than two hours a day, you don't need them. (High-energy is often code for high calorie.) Now that my friends is your TIP of the WEEK... Hope to see you all at the gym! _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Stephen & Leah Menya www.lionsgym.com 952-474-7000 Download this as a file

SMART

Hello!

Happy New Year!  May this year be the year that you said one day when this
year comes I will do this and that different. Well it is here!  Are you in
gear?  I certainly hope that you are getting ready to be in gear. Leah and
I have our gears turning already and boy, can I say there are many goals
written down as a sign of good faith.  We believe in the future.

This year we want to do it differently.  Different than ever before.  If
you do not like the results, then you need to change what you do in order
to get different results.  We are going to go about it the "SMART" way...


S: SPECIFIC - My goal will have one focus like there is nothing else that
I am striving towards. Nothing else will distract my march forward. It’s
like that saying - - putting all the eggs in one basket and take really
good care of that basket.  I will concentrate.

M: MEASURABLE - What will I do to measure it to know that I am making
progress?  Will my inches be lower than before? Will my body composition
be in lower percentile?  Is the mile easier to run than before?  Etc...

A: ATTAINABLE - I am not expecting blood out of a rock or getting water
from the moon.  The length of time to reach the goal has to be reasonable;
otherwise we are just shooting ourselves in the foot.

R: REALISTIC - It has to make sense to you and be reasonable.  It cannot
be a goal that is unseeingly impossible.

T: TIME - There has to be an assigned amount of time that will accommodate
from start to finish, which by then the goal will be achieved. There has
to be a date that is written down as a form of deadline, so that the goal
is not pushed back.


Well my friends that is how this time we will get the results that we
want. This is how our year will be different than last year with very
specific differences. By now I know what it is that did not turn out the
way it should have, so we will make the SMART changes for 2009.