Come Be Our Next "Success Story"

At Axio Fitness, we are big fans of cardio! With the weather changing and the ability to get outside and be more active, we hope you are motivated to do more walking or jogging around town, in the parks, or on the trails. You may be motivated to lose weight and you want to spend your time outdoors efficiently, therefore being motivated to run or jog. However, if you haven’t been very active in the last several months, it may not be a good idea to go right into jogging. Most physical therapists suggest being able to walk pain free for at least 45 minutes before attempting to jog. Meaning, if you get knee, ankle, foot, or hip pain after a 30-minute walk, you may not be ready to start running. When you do start jogging, be mindful of your cadence. If you have a smart watch, you can enter your runs in there and it will automatically give you your cadence. Suggested cadence to avoid injury is 160- 180 strides per minute. If you do less than 160, your stride is too long, and it can cause injury or joint pain. If you need help getting on a structured cardio plan, or if you need the accountability to do more walking and jogging this summer, Axio Fitness is here to help! We offer a service called Axio Cardio where we can structure a customized, personalized cardio plan for you based on your ability and your goals.

Most people have health and fitness goals. Even if they do not officially fill out a questionnaire or answer specific questions, everyone has ways they would like to improve their health and change their physique. Whether it is getting off medication, going down a shirt size or feeling toned, many people have something related to their health and fitness on their mind each day. However, in our experience, many clients come to us with specific goals and desires and the wrong understanding of how to get there. For example, someone may tell us they wanted to lose belly fat, so they bought a BowFlex. Others may tell us they want to be stronger with more muscle in their arms and legs, so they bought an exercise bike. We even see people do lots of stomach crunches and sit-ups because they want a flatter stomach, not knowing there are better ways to achieve that. Most commonly, people join a gym and only end up using the treadmill because they are too unfamiliar with what else they should be doing. Although all exercise is good for weight loss, toning, building strength and reshaping your body, many people do not understand the ways they should be exercising based on their body and goals. At Axio Fitness, we do thorough, scientific assessments with all clients. After that, we set 6-week goals, and we train the clients based on those goals. We also give them a cardio prescription and nutrition plan specific to their six-week goals. All exercise is good! But goal specific training will obviously be the quickest and best way to get you where you want to be. If you need personal attention and professional guidance, call Axio Fitness!

A unilateral exercise is resistance training or weight bearing exercise when you only work one limb at a time (one arm or one leg). Examples of unilateral exercises for your lower body include step-ups, split squats, or lunges. Upper-body exercises include 1  arm dumbbell or cable row, and a 1 arm dumbbell or cable press. Unilateral exercises are great to include in your workout routine because they improve stabilization and reduce the risk of injury. When you are only working one side at a time, your body is forced to use the muscles that keep you stable and balanced. This translates into better balance in everyday life. These exercises are also great to improve muscle imbalances. We all have a dominant side or one arm and leg that is stronger than the other. When doing exercises that involve both sides at once, your dominant side can carry more of the workload without you realizing it. If it is a squat or bench press, your stronger side can actually be lifting more than half the weight. Unilateral exercises ensure both your strong and weak side are getting equal work and help to balance out any differences in strength. For more understanding of the proper ways to exercise for your health and your goals, contact Axio Fitness today!

So often I see ads for supplements, home exercise equipment, or medication that boasts, “no more killing yourself at the gym!”. Clearly, tough, sweaty workouts are viewed as a negative that should be avoided if there are alternative options. However, hard workouts do not exist simply to burn calories and lose weight. We should be working out with some intensity to build strength in our muscles and bones, build stamina and endurance, and improve overall health while reducing the risk of injury. If a medication or supplement helped you shed some pounds, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re getting healthier. If you aren’t active, you aren’t improving your health in ways that you should. Of course, no one should work at an intensity that really makes them feel terrible. But as I tell clients, you should be safely pushing yourself to the point of feeling accomplished after a workout. Work up a sweat if you can! Then, you will know you  have made progress in your physical fitness. At Axio Fitness we are firm believers in weight loss through activity and healthy nutrition. Regardless of supplements or medication you may try, you should exercise for the many benefits beyond weight loss.

According to several studies, taking a nap three to four days a week has proven to have several health benefits including improving your mood, reducing fatigue, increasing alertness and improving your mental health. Most health experts recommend a 30-90 minute nap to achieve these benefits. Along with these benefits, there have been several studies around the world researching the benefits of sleep for people who are physically active. Many of these  studies have also concluded that napping for 30 minutes per day or less could be beneficial to helping you progress in your fitness levels. However, there are clearly conflicting studies on napping. Some studies say there are proven health benefits, while other studies say that napping may be doing more harm than good on your physical and emotional health. All of these studies, however, agree on one thing. Sleep deprivation should be avoided. Napping is likely very helpful for those who are sleep deprived. But even better than napping to catch up on sleep is getting enough sleep through the night. There are no conflicting studies on adequate sleep. The mentioned health benefits of napping can also be experienced from adequate sleep. Along with many more benefits not mentioned. Whether your goal is weight loss, mental health, more energy or to be more physically fit, all these things can be achieved through better sleep.