The Most Important Muscle in your Body

The most important muscle in our body is the heart. Our heart resembles a gas pump in that if not taken care of it can clog, leak, or breakdown.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Nearly 2000 Americans die each day to heart disease. 1 Death Every 44 Seconds!
Our hearts crave movement and love to be lubed with freshly oxygenated blood. The problem begins when we move to little, eat the wrong foods and smoke. In return we are then labeled with hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, and obesity.
Now your heart is working overtime to get you through even the simplest of tasks. Though a very resilient muscle your heart wears down, arteries can become clogged, and it may even break by attacking back. Now your maintenance plan is going to cost you… Doctors, medicine, possible surgeries, maybe even your life.
Mending a broken heart is easier than one may think. Begin by eliminating bad choices and start giving your heart what it craves.

What exercises?
You may be thinking what type of exercise is best for my heart? First find an activity that you enjoy. This can be any activity that is continuous in nature and uses the largest muscle groups in your body.
Your heart will respond to these changes with gratitude in the form of better blood flow and easier breathing, allowing for greater energy levels. Are you taking care of your Pump?

How often should I exercise for a healthy heart?
In general, to achieve maximum benefits, you should gradually work up to an aerobic session lasting 30 to 60 minutes, at least three to four times a week. Exercising every other day will help you keep a regular aerobic exercise schedule. To begin your healthier heart fitness program please schedule a complimentary personal training appointment with a Results Personal Trainer.

What should my nutrition plan look like?
You should eat lean to have a healthy heart. Foods that are high in saturated fat can lead to high cholesterol. Help keep your cholesterol down by eating foods low in saturated fat; such as lean beef, chicken or turkey, fruits and veggies, low-fat yogurt or pasta. The health of your heart is important to us. Click here to receive a complimentary 7-day Heart Healthy Menu Plan.

For more information on getting started with a personal training program please contact Results Personal Training 509.783.5465 Ext. 127 or http://www.tricitycourtclub.com/

Written By: Ryan Vogt

Ryan Vogt, BS Sports and Fitness Management and NASM certified personal trainer is the fitness director at the Tri-City Court Club and LifeQuest Fitness Center, both private health clubs in Washington. Ryan also is a freelance writer, presenter and fitness consultant. Ryan can be reached at Ryan@tricitycourtclub.com or 509.783.5465 Ext. 127

My Feet Hurt!

You have most likely tried to stick to an exercise program before. Most people have. They try over and over again. It may be a New Year's resolution, summer vacation, a wedding or a reunion that motivates you to try again. Eventually, you fail because you basically mimic exactly what you did last time. You might decide to diet again or maybe exercise for 2 hours every day. This represents the definition for insanity – doing the same thing over and over again but expecting a different result. Whatever forced you off track last time, will more than likely surface again.

At Results Personal Training we often ask our clients to share their obstacles and strategies in regards to reaching their health and fitness goals. In all honesty, most of the time their obstacles list includes a lot of excuses. Please take a moment to watch the following video...

The benefits that you receive from exercise always outweigh the benefits of an excuse.

This time, things are going to be different for you. This time you are going to be prepared. You are going to develop a strategy for overcoming roadblocks posed by work, kids, fatigue or lack of time. You are going to make exercise a priority in your life

Begin by outlining any obstacles or excuses that have surfaced in the past or that you expect will surface in the future. Once you have your outline, then you can determine your strategies for overcoming them. You will be prepared - no surprises, no excuses!

We would love to be the catalyst that helps lead you to a successful outcome. Read below for a few of our success stories!

"Success in anything seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes (not excuses) but don't quit. They hang on after others have let go". ~ Unknown

Transformation Complete: “Big Adie” to “Little Adie”

Have you ever watched a time-lapse video of a flower from the time it was planted until it blossomed into a beautiful flower? If you have you have witnessed a truly beautiful transformation. If you have ever watched the birth of a child, you have witnessed a spectacular transformation where human life takes their first breath. When you witness such transformations, you stand in awe. We are a society that loves to hear about and witness amazing physical transformations. Adie Titus has completed a total body transformation that has left many people saying “WOW”!

What was your heaviest pre-exercise weight?
When “Big Adie” stepped on the scale it read 220 pounds. “I stopped looking at the scale when it read 220. I’m sure I weighed more than that. But that’s the highest number I actually saw myself,” said Adie.

What is your current weight?
I weigh 147 pounds! I have two pounds to go to reach my goal of losing 75 pounds.

How has Results Personal Training helped change your life?
You mean what part of my life hasn’t been changed….Of course I’m still me. I’m still responsible for my kids and my home. I still work full time at our two businesses. I still have all the demands and stresses that I did before choosing to be healthy. The 100% difference is that I’m FULLY functioning now. I don’t hide in my room anymore. I don’t need bags of candy to make it through the day; I don’t feel fatigued at 2 p.m. and need to lie down. I don’t think about going for a walk and not do it because I just don’t “feel up to it”…I don’t EXCUSE my life away anymore. That is probably the number one realization I’ve had. “Big Adie” had a whole bunch of lame excuses for not being able to do things……”Little Adie” just does them.

Have your personal goals changed since you’ve started living a fitness lifestyle and if so how?
Oh my goodness, I have had many goals in my life. Most of those I failed to accomplish. Losing this weight has shown me that goals are achievable…EVEN FOR ME. It didn’t happen overnight. It’s taken me 2 ½ years to take this weight off. I have learned to make smaller goals that lead to the big results I desire. My goal started with “GET OUT OF BED”. And that was not easy, believe me. Then it progressed to “go to the gym”, then “keep going to the gym” then “get yourself a trainer, you need more help”… As one goal got easier I moved on to something more challenging. The SECRET IS TO “KEEP GOING” until your goal is achieved. Every time I fell off the wagon I had to get back on.

How do you view yourself differently now?
Of course I look a lot different on the outside. I feel a lot more comfortable around other people because of my weight loss. On the inside I feel…truly AMAZING. I have so much more energy. I feel capable, confident and really, really happy.

What are the biggest factors that you feel contributed to your success?
I had to start with the desire to change. And I had to be strong enough to fight for myself and what I wanted. So I guess the biggest factor in my success has to be ME and my attitude.

Second has to be MY SUPPORT TEAM: My family has been great; Grant (my trainer) has pushed me past all my excuses, pains and complaints. I’ll never forget the day he made me do a REAL push up. I actually cried and thought “He is mean, doesn’t he know I can’t do those?” Funny thing is I did it and never have done a girl pushup since. “Oh look, you’re doing it” is one phrase he often uses with me. He has always believed in me and pushed me in ways I couldn’t push myself. For that I’m very thankful. Ryan and the Results Training staff have been super supportive and encouraging. Friends like Chrissy Morgan, my boot camp group and other people I’ve met at the Club have been pivotal to my success. Their encouraging words, high fives and shared tips have made a world of difference for me.

Do you have any other thoughts or words of inspiration?
Like yourself enough to take care of yourself and you will find so much more pleasure in being YOU. I know having a trainer can be expensive but how I look at it is….spending the money now is saving me doctor’s bills and other mental anguish in the future. I’m making a financial investment in ME. And I’m getting back dividends I never even imagined.

Congratulations Adie on your success and the changes you have made in your life. Way to go!