Better Gifts for Better Living – Our 2017 Guide to Health and Fitness Gifts!

By Better Living Staff Writer Dawn Weirauch

Finding the best health and fitness-related holiday gifts can be pretty difficult – after all, there are a lot of fads out there. Remember the Thighmaster? Not to mention the Shakeweight...

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Funny (and ineffective) fitness fads aside, this year our Better Living Fitness staff has come up with a number of great suggestions for the fitness buff (or would-be fitness buff) on your holiday shopping list.

Whether your friend or loved one wants to learn more about healthy nutrition, is interested in building their strength and cardio fitness, or wants to stay on track with their goals while out on the road, we've got the gift for you.

A Better Book for Better Eating: Better Living's Nutrition Counselor, Becca Body Kindness by Rebecca Stritchfield. “Body Kindness is about taking care of your body and treating yourself with compassion,” says Becca. “It discusses healthy eating, but also emphasizes the importance of allowing yourself to enjoy all foods and not go on crazy diets.”
Addison, recommends the book

A Creative, Budget-Friendly Solution for Better Wrist Strength: Wrist and forearm health aren't just essential for strength training but for daily living as well – and Better Living trainer Will Burchfield has the perfect do-it-yourself solution.
“Just pick up a para cord and a dowel from your local hardware store. It'll cost about $3, and them BOOM! You've got forearms for days!”

Here's a quick guide to creating a wrist roller from scratch.

Portable Strength, Cardio, and Better Balance In One: Better Living's Office Manager, Nina Carlson, recommends the TRX Suspension Trainer for anyone on your list who is both health conscious and frequently on the road.

According to Nina, “I love this product because you can do so much with it! Not only can you strengthen your whole body, you can add cardio elements and really work on your balance. The TRX is also small and lightweight. It doesn't take up a lot of suitcase space, and you can easily hook it up to your hotel room door for a great workout on the go. I've had several clients who wouldn't travel without their TRX!

Also, when you purchase the TRX directly from the company's website, you get access to a personalized app to guide you through different exercises and routines.”

More Fitness On the Road – Resistance Bands: For solid resistance training for a much lower price point than the TRX, Better Living trainer Eduard Font recommends this cost-effective four pack of resistance bands, which are just $9.99 from Amazon.
“Resistance bands are easy to use, lightweight, and you can take them anywhere,” Eduard says.

A Perkier Butt and Better Hip and Knee Health – The BootyCo Booty Belt: The Booty Belt may sound like the next Shakeweight, but according to Better Living trainer Mallory Ghrist this inexpensive product is a great gift to help your friends and loved ones build their glute strength – “...and everyone needs stronger glutes to support the health of their hips and knees.”

A Better Gift for Better Posture – Foam Rollers: Our trainer Josh Plonka swears by foam rollers, both to help with posture and to help ease tight muscles after a busy day. According to Josh foam rollers are, “inexpensive, yet versatile piece of equipment that anyone on your Christmas list can make use of. You can get foam rollers just about anywhere that fitness equipment is sold – here's a link to a nice, inexpensive model from Kohl's.

Better Hydration On the Go:  Better Living founder Mark Thiesmeyer recommends the Yeti Rambler because, “...drinking enough water and staying hydrated is so important, and water is a lot more delicious when you can keep it nice and cold all day long!” You can also use the Yeti to keep hot drinks hot, and – bonus – it's dishwasher safe.

Of course, no Christmas gift list would be complete without a gift from the Better Living Fitness Center. This year we've got something extra special: Purchase any membership or small group personal training package and receive a $100 FREE Service Package on us!

Buy the membership or small group training package for yourself and give the Service Package to a friend. Or, better yet, introduce TWO of your friends or family members to the Better Living Fitness by giving the membership to one and the Service Package to the other!

This year's Better Living Bonus is only available until December 23rd, so click here to get yours today!

If you're looking for even more health and fitness Christmas gift ideas, we've got you covered – check out last year's gift guide, which includes a look at wireless headphones and a comparison of the Garmin GPS watch vs. the Fitbit Blaze.

Choosing the Best Tomatoes for Your Summer Table

It's that time of year again – beautiful, juicy tomatoes in shades ranging from orange to purple are appearing on produce tables and in farmer’s markets. But with all the varieties available today the tomato aisle has grown more attractive, but it's also more confusing.

Here are few easy tips to getting the most nutritious, delicious fruits.

Fruits with a legacy: heirloom tomatoes. “Heirloom” tomatoes are tomatoes from lines of seeds that are at least fifty years old. Heirloom plants aren't genetically modified, and they are open-pollinated by nature – in other words, by insects and the wind instead of being hand or machine-pollinated by farmers.

But while tomatoes labeled as “heirloom” are supposed to be grown in this fashion, there aren't any regulations governing what is and is not an heirloom tomato. 

I'm not aware of rampant misuse of the term, but grocers wouldn't even receive a slap on the wrist for mislabeling tomatoes as heirloom. It's also important to note that heirloom tomatoes aren't necessarily organically grown.

Getting the best of two (or more) plants: hybrid tomatoes. Hybridization is the process of cross-pollinating two different varieties of a plant to create something new. Just as you get a “Labradoodle” offspring from poodles and Labrador retrievers, you can also cross plants to get a single tomato that combines the desirable traits of each different variety – for example pest resistance and improved flavor.

Hybridization is the earliest form of genetic modification, and farmers have been doing it for over 100 years.

From the lab to the table: genetically modified tomatoes. Genetic modification uses laboratories to speed up the process of hybridization. But instead of just cross-pollinating plants, scientists have taken things several steps further and now splice genes from different kinds of produce together.

Whether you're in the camp that sees GMO foods as progress or you're someone who thinks of them as “Frankenfoods,” the fact remains that GMO tomatoes can be higher in nutrients and grow more prolifically in your garden than heirloom tomatoes.

Keeping it real: organic tomatoes. Unlike the “heirloom” label, “organically grown” means something very specific. Organically grown tomatoes are NOT genetically modified, (like heirloom varieties), and the plants have been grown without synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.

While I don't think you need to spend the extra money to buy the organic varieties of all of your produce, I do think there are compelling reasons to go organic when it comes to tomatoes. Conventionally-raised tomatoes are 10th on the Environmental Working Group's list of highest pesticide-containing produce – this means that there are actually pesticides underneath the skin of the tomato. No amount of scrubbing that tender skin will get a conventionally-raised tomato clean.

Yes, most synthetic pesticides are approved for use on food. But we also used to think that asbestos was safe. Our knowledge of how to grow the healthiest, safest food is still evolving – so for now, to avoid ingesting synthetic pesticides, choose organic tomatoes whenever you can.

**Image courtesy of Jeremy Keith via Flickr

Better Living's Nutrition Counselor, Becca Addison: 'Food is Not the Enemy'

One of the newest members of our staff, Better Living Fitness' Nutrition Counselor Becca Addison, learned the hard way that being a fanatic about food and weight loss is the wrong way to achieve your health and fitness goals.

Becca has been running competitively since the eighth grade. She's so good at running, in fact, that she was invited to the most recent Olympic trials.

“The problem was, I had a calf injury and got hung up on thinking that, after the injury, I had to eat perfectly so I wouldn't gain weight and mess up my times after my calf healed,” she remembers.

“I became so stressed about food that, even though I wasn't under-eating, I threw my body out of whack and my times fell off too much,” which meant that Becca had to miss trying out for the Olympics.

“That experience is why I find the weight loss thing tricky,” she says, “...and it's the reason I want to help people have a positive relationship with food. Being obsessed with food and eating 'right' really affected my life, and I'd like to help my clients avoid the same kinds of mistakes.”

Becca, who has a Master of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics, joined the staff here at Better Living Fitness after doing an internship at the University of Michigan's School of Public Health. She says that she first became interested in nutrition as an undergraduate.

“I was a super-picky eater when I was younger, then when I was in college I was surrounded by all these new foods,” she says. “At the same time, I was a collegiate runner and realized that I needed to start eating well to improve my performance – learning how different foods affected my running performance is what got me into nutrition science.'

Becca, who joined Better Living Fitness in February, says one of the hardest parts of her job is working with clients who are overly concerned about weight loss.

“Too much focus on weight loss makes people fight food and think of food as the enemy,” she says. “I try to encourage people to focus on motivations like how they feel during and after eating and the energy they can get from different foods. That's a better, healthier approach, because it lets you be more adventurous about food and it's a way to liking and respecting your body more.”

“In my background in sports, I've seen obsessions with weight loss turn into eating disorders, especially in younger people. I don't want anyone to think of food as being 'bad,' but to enjoy all foods – just in moderation,” she says.

These days, Becca is working on becoming a certified personal trainer so she can address both exercise and nutrition. At the same time, she's still running regularly.

“I love the people that I train with!” she says, “and I love pushing myself and being competitive with other people. When I finish a race and know I gave it everything I had, that's a huge boost for my self-esteem!”

Becca is also enjoying providing nutrition counseling to Better Living Fitness clients. “I like how everyone who comes to Better Living has different health and fitness goals,” she says. “I like working with people one on one, and getting to know and talk with them as we figure out together how to improve their health.”

If you'd like to learn more about how you can enjoy food and achieve and maintain a healthy weight as part of your health and fitness goals, click here today to set up your appointment with Becca!

The Business of Helping People Thrive Through Personal Training: Better Living Fitness Founder Mark Thiesmeyer

By Better Living Staff Writer Dawn Wolfe

Not quite twenty years ago, Mark Thiesmeyer had the idea that led him to completely change his life and career. Back then, Mark was a business consultant focused on helping corporations contain health care costs.

Now, of course, he's a personal trainer and the owner and founder of both Ann Arbor's Better Living Fitness and the Better Living Fitness Center.

Why the career change?

“As a consultant, I heard too many stories that came down to one thing: too many people were suffering from preventable health issues. At the same time, it was clear back then that health care costs were about to skyrocket.”

“I had a sense back then that effective exercise and appropriate nutrition would keep people healthy. I remember reading an article that showed protein timing could be key to making Parkinson’s medications work. That seemed so cool and made me want to learn more."

With this realization, Mark decided to do something different. First he went back to school, earning two personal training certifications and two Master's degrees – one in the Science of Exercise Physiology, and one in Public Health Nutrition.

He also got to work as a personal trainer. Mark met his first client, Ann Marie Kotre, in 1999. Ann Marie still trains with Mark today.

Mark may have been immersed in the world of health and fitness, but he didn't forget his business training and experience. Eventually, he became successful enough as a personal trainer that he had to turn down prospective clients.

Being a businessman, Mark rose to the challenge by expanding and hiring additional personal trainers.

“That turned out to be a great decision!,” Mark says. “For one thing, by hiring trainers as my employees, I could insure that any client trained by 'my people' would receive the benefit of all of my education and experience. Each of the trainers we hire generally compete against 20 other applicants to get their position. Then we ask Better Living personal trainers to spend months learning the progressions, exercises and stretches that have been effective in helping keep our clients healthy for the past two decades.

“But that's not the only benefit. Working as a personal trainer can be lonely. Once I hired my first associate trainer, I had someone to share stories with and bounce ideas off of. Even today, we have weekly staff meetings to consult with each other about our clients. If a client is having a problem reaching a goal or has a persistent injury, my team and I brainstorm solutions together.”

“Better Living clients may work with one personal trainer, but they also benefit from this team approach.”

Most people would feel pretty settled after changing careers and getting so successfully established in their new occupation. Mark, on the other hand, decided to take things another step by opening the Better Living Fitness Center in January of 2016.

 “I wanted to make personal training more cost-effective for clients,” he says. “Having a fitness center of my own means that I can give clients more options to help their budget as well as their health.”

Today, Mark still works with clients one-on-one. He also trains new Better Living staff members, plays a major role in running the fitness center, and teaches Full-Body Fit sessions.

But he also makes time for his personal life and for his husband, Matt. Mark and Matt have been together for sixteen years, and were married as soon as federal law changed to recognize their relationship.

In addition to tennis and movies, Mark and Matt love to travel – in fact, they take turns planning a surprise anniversary trip for each other every six months.

“It's a way to keep our relationship fresh, and we also see a lot of value in experiencing other cultures. There's a lot to be gained by going to different places and experiencing how other people live and how they feel about their lives.”

So far, the couple has been all over Europe, Australia and Japan. Most recently, it was Mark's turn to plan their trip and he surprised Matt with something different: a vacation in the United Arab Emirates. 

“Matt didn't see Dubai coming, but it was a great time,” Mark says. “We didn't do a lot of the touristy things – instead we visited a couple of mosques, and made a point of talking to all of our cab drivers to get a sense of what life is like there.”

From Spanish Physical Therapist to Ann Arbor Personal Trainer: Meet Eduard Font

Like another of our personal trainers, Will Burchfield, Eduard Font also moved to Ann Arbor for love.

In Eduard's case, though, he traveled just a little bit longer to get here – specifically, Eduard comes to us from Barcelona, where he is a licensed physical therapist with extensive education, training, and experience in this field.

Eduard moved here to Ann Arbor to support his wife, Maria, as she pursues her Ph.D in Chemistry at the University of Michigan. But he can't work as a physical therapist here because US law requires different training and certification for medical professionals than European law.
Instead, Eduard is using all of the knowledge and skills he developed as a physical therapist in his new profession as a personal trainer with Better Living Fitness.

Eduard says that while the two fields are somewhat different, personal training and physical therapy have a lot in common – both practices are all about helping people get the most from their bodies.

“With both physical therapy and personal training, we offer each individual very personal treatment and work to find solutions for the problems they have,” he explains. “As a physical therapist I helped clients with an injury or physical problem to master normal life.”

“Some of my Better Living clients also come for help with injuries or other physical problems. Others want to lose weight or become better athletes. As a personal trainer, I get to use my skills to help people reach a wide variety of goals.”

Given Better Living's emphasis on functional fitness, Eduard's approach has been an excellent fit for our clients. At the same time, Eduard says he's thrilled to be able to take his knowledge and experience as a physical therapist and use those skills as a personal trainer.

Eduard adds that he's learning a lot because of the ways that personal training and physical therapy are different.

“I never worked in a gym before Better Living Fitness,” he explains. “For me, this is a new field because I know the body and how the body works, and the mechanics of movement, but I never worked with the machines or the tools we use here.”

“At the same time, [Better Living Fitness Founder Mark Thiesmeyer] is very specific about how each exercise should be done, so that's something I'm learning here – how to do the exercises and how to do them well.”

While Eduard says that he misses the mountains and living near the sea, he has discovered the beauty of Michigan's national parks – particularly our forests, which he says are very different than the ones he's used to in Spain. He and Maria enjoyed exploring Michigan's parks last fall, and are looking forward to spending as much time as possible outside this spring and summer.

“I'm also doing a lot of reading to keep up with developments in the science of physical therapy,” he says. “And the things I learn in my reading are also helping me work with my Better Living clients.”

If you'd like to schedule a personal training session with Eduard or any of the other Better Living Fitness trainers, click here for your free initial consultation. We look forward to seeing you!

A Hands-On Approach to Helping People: Introducing Better Living's Newest Personal Trainer, Joshua Plonka

Josh Plonka joined the Better Living team back in November of 2016, working on the front desk to welcome members and schedule personal training sessions.

As of March, though, he's the one being scheduled – and we're thrilled to have him as our newest personal trainer!

Josh (left) with Will Burchfield

Josh has always known that he wanted a career focused on helping people, and first went to school to pursue occupational therapy.

“I've always been physically active, and I wanted to help people live healthier lives,” he said. “But after being in school for awhile, I decided I wanted to practice a more hands-on approach to helping people heal themselves, and decided that earning a B.S. in Exercise Science was the way to go.”
 

Josh in his kitchen

Eventually, Josh plans on earning a doctorate in physical therapy. In the meantime, though, he's enjoying learning even more about the ropes of personal training from Better Living Fitness founder Mark Thiesmeyer.

“Mark teaches Better Living trainers a lot about communication with clients, as well as the proper techniques for all of the exercises,” Josh explained. “I've also learned how to quickly spot when a client's form is 'off,' so we can prevent an injury before it happens, and muscle testing to help target areas where a client needs special attention.”

When he's not working with personal training clients, Josh said that he's still staying active with camping, Frisbee golf, and biking. When it's time to rest, though, Josh makes time for one of his abiding passions – food.

“I'm a foodie – I love cooking, going out to restaurants, and trying new things,” Chef's Table on Netflix, because it's not just a full hour of cooking. The show also looks at food culturally, and why people cook what they do the way they do.”

Back at Better Living, Josh said the biggest surprise he's had so far as a personal trainer is how quickly the time goes by during sessions. “The hour just flies because my client is having fun, I'm having fun – it doesn't feel like work at all. We're just having a grand old time together, while at the same time my clients are working toward their fitness goals.”
he said. “And I also love cooking shows. Right now I'm obsessed with

Josh, and our other Better Living personal trainers, are available to help you achieve your best body ever. Just click here for your free initial consultation, and we'll set you up with personal training that works!

'I'm Confident In My Body for the First Time in My Life' – Dawn Weirauch's Better Living Fitness Story

Note from Mark: Dawn Weirauch has been a Better Living Fitness personal training client for almost three years, and has been coming to Full-Body Fit sessions since we opened the fitness center in 2016. Dawn is also a professional writer who has been helping me with this blog and Better Living's Facebook account, so we were excited when she offered to share her fitness journey in her own words.

By the time I finally met my first Better Living personal trainer I was on the verge of giving up on fitness again; this time, possibly, forever.

Two months before I'd fallen off my bike, hyper-extending my knee in the process. I was barely able to climb a flight of stairs, and was resigned to the idea that a cane, walker, or possibly even a wheelchair would be in my future by the time my sixties rolled around.

I was fifty-one, and I was tired of banging my head against the brick wall of trying to get and stay in shape.

Even growing up, I'd thought that true physical fitness was probably beyond my reach. As a child I was both asthmatic and clumsy to the point that the other kids didn't just pick me last for teams during gym; they fought over who would have to take me! 

As an adult I'd occasionally decide to try to get into shape, but generally with the same results: one or two dozen trips to a gym, an inevitable injury, and back I'd go to my “fat clothes” and totally sedentary lifestyle.

Or, on the occasions when I tried fitness classes, being unable to keep up left me feeling so self-conscious and inadequate that my first class was always my last.

In my forties I discovered martial arts and finally found a physical activity that gave me real joy – but the injuries (inside and outside the school) piled up to the point that my opponents had to help me off the ground after sparring with me.

With all of those disappointments behind me, I honestly didn't expect much from training with Better Living. At most, I thought, I might lose a few pounds and put off the day my knees would need replacing by a year or two.

Was I ever in for a surprise! Today, I can get up off the ground not only without assistance, but without using my hands. I can walk for miles without feeling sore or stiff the next day, picking up thirty-five pound bags of litter for my two cats is easy, and in February I attended a convention where I was on the dance floor for four straight hours.

My legs will press over 200 pounds, I can bench press fifty-five pounds without help, and even the exercise I dread the most – lunges – are well within my reach. I'm over ten pounds lighter, too.

I've stopped worrying about needing a cane or a wheelchair or having knee surgery in my sixties. Instead, I'm planning on doing my own grocery shopping, and cleaning my own home, and hitting the dance floor, well into my nineties and beyond.

Better Living has worked for me because every Better Living personal trainer emphasizes proper form – and proper form while exercising doesn't just prevent injuries, it helps heal them.

Not only that, but Better Living is a friendly community of people who support and encourage each other. I couldn't keep up during my first Full-Body Fit session, but it didn't matter – Mark and the other exercisers helped me without making me feel the least self-conscious, and now I offer that same support to every new person who joins us.

Today, thanks to Better Living Fitness, I have solid and lasting confidence in my body for the first time in my life.

Nutrition Science and the Food Industry: An Unhealthy Combination

Given the huge role that proper nutrition plays in everything from weight loss to achieving optimum health, many Better Living Fitness clients pay close attention to nutrition-related news to find out what the latest science says about what we should (and shouldn't) be eating.

But some, and maybe a lot, of the latest science may not be trustworthy. Why? Because in part as a result of decreasing government funding, the food industry is stepping up to fund “science” in the industry's own interest.

In the 1960's, the sugar industry funded studies downplaying the role of sugar in heart disease. More recently, Coca-Cola funded scientists who claimed that a poor diet didn't really play that much of a role in obesity.

It turns out that there are lots of ways to bias scientific findings to make a food industry player look good. Just check out this recent article in Nutritionfacts.org, which among other things shows how the beef industry fed disguised beef fat to a vegetarian control group to “prove” that a plant-based diet doesn't really effect our cholesterol!

Attempts to bias scientific research aren't limited to the junk food industry. Corporations that produce foods ranging from blueberries to pomegranates, and even nuts, all fund science aimed at discovering every possible health benefit of those particular foods.

Think chocolate is a "superfood"? Think again.

This sounds like a great idea. After all, we all want to know which foods will help us achieve our specific health-related goals. The problem is that these industries fund such studies with only one goal in mind – finding any excuse to call the food they're producing the next “superfood,” so they can sell us more of that food.

Many, and probably even most, of the scientists who take funding from the food industry aren't consciously trying to trick us. But scientists need money to do their work, and no one wants to slap the wrist that writes our paycheck.

One obvious answer to this problem is to put more funds into government-sponsored nutrition research. Sadly, the Trump administration is calling for a twenty percent cut to the National Institutes of Health, which among other things funds scientific research in nutrition.

Another answer is to require all scientists to disclose their funding sources, and still another is to expect the journalists who report nutrition stories to do more digging to make sure they are giving us the facts.

In the meantime, take these steps to protect yourself from nutrition science-related misinformation:

1. Work with a dietitian or your physician. We offer nutrition counseling at the Better Living Fitness Center – just click here to schedule an appointment. Our nutrition counselors are certified dietitians with the education and experience to see through the latest food fad, and we spend time evaluating studies as they come out to learn which seem to offer the best information for our clients.

2. Subscribe to the Nutrition Action Healthletter, a publication by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a food industry watchdog organization that's been doing good work in this area since 1971.

3. Be cautious when you see articles about nutrition research. Check to see who funded the study – and if the news outlet hasn't disclosed that information (and you have the time and interest), write them to ask that they do so.

**Images courtesy r. nial bradshaw and Siona Karen via Flickr

He's Doing it for Love: Introducing Better Living Trainer Will Burchfield

Unlike many of the personal trainers working here at Better Living, fitness wasn't Will Burchfield's first career choice.

First there were a few detours, including a stint with AmeriCorps supporting the agency's work in disaster areas in Colorado and Missouri.

After that, Will worked in LA as a grip electrician on film sets, specializing in small online productions.

So how does someone go from being a disaster agency support person and film crew member to working as a personal trainer? In Will's case, the answer is all about love. First, love for his partner -- and next, a passion for kickboxing.

Over a year ago Will's girlfriend, Alison, was accepted as a law student at UofM and the couple moved here to Ann Arbor. When they first got here, Will says it took him a little while to figure out how to keep the lights on.

“I spent a some time looking for a film job, but the market here is pretty saturated,” he says. When deciding what to do instead, Will focused on personal training because it's a natural outgrowth of one of his favorite hobbies -- kickboxing.

Will joined the Better Living team as a member of our front desk staff about a year ago. He earned his American Council for Exercise (ACE) certification in August of last year, and after completing further training with Better Living founder Mark Thiesmeyer, Will became one of our newest personal trainers.

While personal training may not be as glamorous as working in Hollywood, Will says he loves working with clients.

“I feel like I'm actually helping people as a personal trainer, especially our clients who come to us with joint issues or who are recovering from injuries,” he says. “I've been injured, and I know how frustrating it is not to be able to move your body properly. At the same time, helping people get moving again is really fulfilling.”

According to Will, the additional education he received from Mark has been “vital” to his work with clients.

“My personal training certification is a general one; it got me ready to help people with generic goals like building better shoulders,” he says. “But with Mark, I've learned things like how to help someone with a knee replacement get back in shape to run a 10K.”

In addition to working with personal training clients, Will leads our Tuesday Strength and Tone sessions and also fills in when needed to lead Full-Body Fit and other Better Living Fitness Center classes. In his spare time, Will is keeping up with his kickboxing and hopes to compete in his first match in August.

Interested in working with Will to achieve your health and fitness goals? Sign up here for a free initial personal training consultation. If a group setting is more your style, check out Strength and Tone on Tuesday evenings from 5:45 – 6:30 pm.

Where Science, Art, and Fitness Meet: Help Send Better Living Member Leslie Sobel to the Yukon!

Leslie getting ready for the Yukon

For the past few months, Better Living Fitness Center member and visual artist Leslie Sobel has been here five days a week -- participating in Full-Body Fit three times a week as well as Vinyasa Flow Yoga, and Strength and Tone on Tuesdays.

Her reason for all this effort is both inspiring and surprising. This May, Leslie, who is fifty-five, will be traveling to the Eclipse Ice Field in the Yukon with a team of climate scientists.

Then, when she gets back to her Ann Arbor studio, Leslie will create paintings that will visually document the fragile ecosystem of the Ice Field, which is part of Kluane National Park.

“By collaborating with climate scientists as an artist, I want to make people aware of places that are fragile and disappearing as a result of human-caused climate change,” Leslie says. “I think people are aware that the glaciers in Glacier National Park are disappearing, but I don't think as many people are aware of the threat to this ice field, which is the largest non-polar ice field on the planet.”

“The other thing is, glaciers may be hostile to humans, but they're also incredibly beautiful. I want to share that beauty with as many people as possible before it's gone.”

"Bleeding Fjord," by Leslie Sobel

Creating art to document and celebrate the work of science isn't a new thing for Leslie, who is the only artist in a family of scientists. Leslie's mother was a chemist and middle-school science teacher, her brother is a geologist doing field work in Central Asia, and her father, at eighty-nine years old, is still active in his career as a physicist.

“My whole approach to my art has been linked with my passion for science, ever since I was a kid,” Leslie says.

During her upcoming Yukon trip, Leslie will need to keep up with the climate scientists as they hike and ski the glacier taking core samples. Leslie and the scientists will also be camping on the glacier, in temperatures as low as forty degrees below zero.

In order to get ready for the challenge and to be safe on the trip, Leslie hasn't just been working very hard to get into the best possible shape. She also needs to raise roughly $10,000 to cover everything from very specialized camping equipment and cameras to the cost of her transportation.

"Breakthrough Melt" by Leslie Sobel

We believe in protecting our planet, and we believe in Leslie, so Better Living Fitness Center has made a donation to help Leslie get to the Yukon for this hugely important project. If you'd like to support her as well, just click here to make your donation before April 15. Or, if you like the pictures of her work in this blog post, you can support Leslie and claim one of her paintings for your own collection during her studio sale this Sunday, April 2.

Full-Body Fit Is a Family Thing for Kauser and Mike Shahpurwala

After trying - and leaving - other gyms and fitness centers over the years, Kauser and Mohamedi (Mike) Shahpurwala have been coming to Full-Body Fit since we opened the Better Living Fitness Center in January of 2016.

“I got a post card from Better Living in the mail and realized that this is near my

work, so I decided to check it out,” says Mike, who is the founder and president of Aven Tools in Ann Arbor. “It was fun, so I brought Kauser with me and we decided to do it.”

According to Kauser, she wasn't very enthusiastic about the idea of working out at first – “...but when I started coming I saw the advantages of the Full-Body Fit class, and I was having a good time.”

Both Kauser and Mike say they appreciate the variety of workouts offered during Full-Body Fit, and they enjoy the friendly group atmosphere.

“We've tried other gyms, and I was a member of a country club that has a fitness center, but working out by yourself isn't very fulfilling,” Mike says. “Not only that, but normally with fitness places you get bored after a certain time. That hasn't happened with Better Living and Full-Body Fit, because the sessions are very interactive and because of the group setting.”

“The people in our classes (on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays) are a lot of fun to work out with, and we really support each other” Kauser adds.

They also like working out together.

According to Kauser, “When we started working out together Mike would push me, and now we push and encourage each other.”

The couple also love the fact that, even though Full-Body Fit is a group session, Better Living trainers customize exercises as necessary to fit the needs and limitations of individual participants.

This is particularly important for Mike, who is recovering from a shoulder injury.

“I have to be careful not to move my shoulder beyond what it can tolerate or to use overly heavy weights, but I'm still able to get a good workout during Full-Body Fit,” Mike says.

In addition to helping Mike strengthen his shoulder and enabling him to work out without further injuries, Mike and Kauser say that they're enjoying the results of coming to Full-Body Fit regularly.

Kauser says that she's more energetic, and Mike adds that he's seen a lot of improvement in his weight.

“I'm more toned, and I feel more fit in general,” he says.

Join the fun at Full-Body Fit! Full-Body Fit is a strength and cardio conditioning session that also features exercises that improve balance, posture and flexibility. We offer Full-Body Fit several times a week to fit a variety of schedules – whether you join Kauser and Mike's sessions or come another time, we guarantee you'll get fit and have fun!

Full-Body Fit is included with our Lifestyle, Comprehensive, and Unlimited memberships. Click here for more information about membership, and get ready to start experiencing your best body ever.

How to Design the Best Fitness Plan for You Part 2: Getting Specific

Back in November, we talked about the Eight Basics for Optimum Fitness – in other words, the basics that should be included in any fitness plan in order to get the best results.

Just to review, the Basics are:

Strength training
Cardio training
Nutrition
Flexibility
Balance
Stress management
Posture
Sleep

With eight variables to choose from, though, how can you fit the pieces together to create the best fitness plan for your needs? Whether you're looking to create your own plan or getting ready to your free initial client consultation with a Better Living Fitness personal trainer, here are some quick guidelines to get you started:

1. Identify your weak points. For example, does just the idea of taking the stairs make you feel winded? Are you having trouble getting your groceries into your car? Or are you running into back pain from all the hours you spend in front of a computer?

One great place to start a fitness plan is to look at how your body is performing right now and to start targeting areas that frustrate you.

2. Consider your dreams. Maybe you want to craft a fitness plan that will get you ready to run a marathon – or even a 5K. You may want to join one of our clients, Dawn Weirauch, who at age 54 has decided to find out just how strong she can become. Or maybe you want to be able to dance with your spouse at your 50th anniversary party.

3. Remember the importance of balance. The goal of your fitness plan may well be to make grocery shopping easier. Or to run a marathon, or to lose fifteen pounds … but whatever your goals, the fact remains that all eight basics are essential to avoid injury and achieve and maintain optimum, long-term fitness. So while you may well want to focus entirely on strength training to become as strong as you can possibly be (like Dawn), forgetting flexibility and posture can lead to injuries that will get in the way of your goal.

4. Define your fitness goals, and keep them reasonable. You've identified where you feel weak. You've tallied your dreams, and you're keeping the eight basics of fitness in mind. Now it's time to set yourself up with achievable, step-by-step goals that will take you from where you are now to where you want to be with your fitness.

(By the way, Better Living personal trainers are fantastic at helping clients with goal-setting. We have the education and experience to know what's generally realistic and achievable – and we'll take the time to get to know you and your body well enough to advise you on the best goals for you.)

5. Remember that life happens. Better Living client Joey Mullick travels a lot for work. Another of our clients, Al Pieper, has had a few surgeries. You may have unique health, career, or other challenges as well. And that's ok – just craft your fitness plan with these obstacles in mind! For example, Joey (obviously) can't come to sessions when his trainer when he's out of town. Instead, Joey's trainer gives Joey a set of exercises that Joey can do in any hotel room.

Personal Training for a Lifetime: Al Pieper's Better Living Fitness Journey

I realized [Better Living Fitness Center founder] Mark would be the best choice for me as a trainer because of the breadth of his knowledge. A lot of personal trainers are fine if you have a narrow range of goals – if you just want to drop twenty pounds, for example, or you want to train for a particular event. But Mark is so well-rounded, I knew we'd be able to develop a long-term working relationship.
-- 10-year Better Living Fitness client Al Pieper, who turns 79 years old this week

Al Pieper has been working out with a Better Living Fitness personal trainer since he was sixty-nine years old.

Ten years later, Al is about to enjoy his seventy-ninth birthday – and he says he's looking forward to many more birthdays, too, “...thanks to my Better Living trainer!”

Unlike some of our clients, Al didn't wait until his older years to start exercising. Instead, his fitness journey first started about forty years ago, when he was working in Detroit.

“I was developing 'executive overhang' – my stomach hung over my belt,” he remembered, laughing. So, Al found a fitness center near his office, and for the rest of his career he worked out instead of going out to lunch.

But as he retired and became older, Al's fitness needs changed and he decided he wanted to work with a professional personal trainer. Eventually, Al met Better Living Founder Mark Thiesmeyer.

During their initial consultation, Al says, “I realized Mark would be the best choice for me as a trainer because of the breadth of his knowledge. A lot of personal trainers are fine if you have a narrow range of goals – if you just want to drop twenty pounds, for example, or you want to train for a particular event.

But Mark is so well-rounded, I knew we'd be able to develop a long-term working relationship.”

Al's relationship with Mark – and the entire Better Living training staff – started with sessions geared to help Al improve his running. But when Al broke his hip and running stopped being an option, Mark developed a different fitness routine to speed Al's overall recovery.

“Physical therapy is great, but physical therapists only concentrate on returning functionality to the part of your body that's healing – not on the rest of your body,” Al says. “Mark and the other Better Living personal trainers helped make sure that my whole body recovered from my hip replacement, and also from a surgery I had on my spine.”

Medical issues aside, it's also a fact that our fitness needs change as we age. Al says that, these days, his personal training sessions are focused on a combination of strength training, flexibility, and balance exercises. In addition, Al has changed his weekly routine – instead of three personal training sessions every week, Al does a training session twice a week and comes to Full-Body Fit every weekend.
 
“I like the cardio aspect of Full-Body Fit,” he says. “I walk my dog a few miles a

day, but my dog is getting older, too, so it's not like we get a lot of cardio from our walks. Full-Body Fit gives me the cardio, and I like the group environment.” 

Whether you're training for a particular goal -- like weight loss or athletic performance -- or you want a long-term relationship with a personal trainer to keep you healthy for life, Better Living has a trainer and a program for you. Contact us today to arrange your free initial consultation!

Better Living Fitness Center is proud to participate in Silver Sneakers.

Strong Seniors are Healthier Seniors: The Many Benefits of Strength Training for Older Adults

If you want to enjoy optimum health and independence as a senior citizen, an increasing body of research shows that regular strength training will help get you there.

Not only that, but you can start strength training at any age and still see results – just check out this 2013 video of then 91-year-old Sy Perlis breaking a world record!

But don't worry – you don't have to commit to becoming a world-record holder to benefit from strength training as a senior citizen! Here are a few of the benefits that studies have shown older adults can enjoy from just two, hour-long strength workouts a week:

• Regular strength training prevents, and can even reverse, the loss of muscle mass and strength that otherwise dogs us as we age. If you want to be able to climb stairs, get out of chairs, or lift your grandkids, strength training is the way to go.
• Progressive resistance (a.k.a. weight or strength) training builds stronger bones and helps prevent osteoporosis.
• Consistent, regular strength workouts have also been shown to reduce the signs and symptoms of chronic issues like heart disease, arthritis, and Type 2 diabetes. At the same time, studies seem to indicate that strength training can help older people get better sleep, prevent obesity, and even alleviate depression – while, possibly, even improving memory and cognition.

While there is no cure for getting older, it's increasingly clear that strength training can help prevent many of the issues that make aging difficult.  

One Better Living Fitness client, Sara Constant, loves how working out with Better Living makes her feel:

When I work out every day, I find everything comes into shape: my weight decreases, my aches and pains disappear, and my ability to handle the day's requirements increases. ... I'm 71 years old, and when I look out of my 71 year old eyes, I feel as if I'm 20!

But even though strength workouts are great for us at any age, strength training by itself is only part of the equation for optimum health. We also need to work on our cardio fitness, flexibility, balance, and posture to protect our health and fitness as we get older.

At the Better Living Fitness Center we recognize the importance of strength training for people of all ages,  and we understand that building muscle alone isn't a silver bullet. That's why we created Full Body Fit – our signature fitness session that combines strength and cardio training with exercises to improve flexibility, balance, and posture.

If you're an older adult and you want to see just how fit your senior years can be, check out our Full Body Fit schedule and try a class this week. Don't worry if you have an injury or mobility issue, because your trainer will customize the exercises to fit your needs. Full Body Fit – or an individual or group session with one of Better Living's certified, experienced personal trainers – is a great way to start enjoying the benefits of strength training at any age!

Sources:

“StrongerMuscles May Pump Up Your Memory,” A HealthDay News article published by the National Institutes of Health's MedlinePlus website.

“Strengthhelps older adults live longer,” from Science Daily.

 

Thirty Pounds Gone in Just Six Months – Joey Mullick's Better Living Fitness Journey

Six months ago, Joey Mullick decided it was time to hire a personal trainer to help him lose weight. Today, he's roughly thirty pounds lighter and has lost two pants sizes – and he gives Better Living Fitness a lot of credit for helping him feel better about his body.

Joey Mullick workin' it with trainer Jesse Richards

Joey decided it was time to do something about his weight after moving to Ann Arbor from Chicago with his wife Vasvi.

“I was at a point where I'd kept gaining weight over the years, and I really wanted to focus on losing it,” Joey says. “I thought personal training was the only way for me to go. I didn't know what I was doing in a gym, and didn't feel I'd have the discipline to stick to a program on my own.”

Fortunately, Joey didn't have to spend a lot of time searching for a personal trainer here in Ann Arbor, because his parents have been working with Better Living Fitness trainers Mark Thiesmeyer and Joey Smith for several years now.

After Joey's initial consultation, Mark assigned Jesse Richards to help Joey achieve his weight loss goals.

“I was a little surprised because Jesse is younger than me, and I was a bit concerned that he might not be as knowledgeable as Mark, for example, or Joey Smith,” Joey says. “But it turned out that Jesse's technical background is solid, and he really knows what he's doing.”

Not only is he a fitness expert – but like all Better Living personal trainers, Jesse also supports Joey in achieving his specific goals.

"Strength isn't a big deal to me,” Joey says. “I'm kind of weird in that I don't think about the weights I can lift or how flexible I am – losing those pants sizes and the fact that my clothing fits more loosely are the things that matter to me.”

Joey adds that working out with Better Living Fitness has become a real family affair. In addition to Joey and his parents, Joey's wife Vasvi also works with a Better Living personal trainer – and the entire family has seen solid improvements in their health, fitness, and weight.

“Better Living personal trainers are definitely the right pick for anyone who is looking at getting into exercise for the first time, or if you want to get back into working out,” Joey says. 

Whether you want to lose weight like Joey -- or work on your strength, overall health, or get an early start preparing for the spring and summer sports you love -- we're ready to help! Start your personal training journey today with a free consultation.

Working Out During and After Illness: A Fitness Guide for Ann Arbor's Cold and Flu Season

Now that cold and flu season has Ann Arbor in its slimy grip, it's time to talk about working out during and after an illness. When will working out help you get rid of a bug faster? And what's the best way to recover your fitness after you've been really sick? 

First, it's important to understand that there hasn't been a whole lot of research done on the effects of exercise on illnesses like colds and the flu.

However, we do know a few things, both about when it's okay to exercise while sick and how to best come back to an exercise routine after a more serious illness.

• Use the neck test. If you're just experiencing some mild nasal congestion and/or a sore throat, mild exercise won't hurt you. It may even help, at least in terms of temporarily clearing your sinuses. However, if your symptoms are below the neck – chest congestion, nausea, muscle aches – OR you have a fever, stay home!
• Scale down the intensity of your workout when you're sick. A strenuous workout – the kind that leaves you exhausted – can actually put a temporary dent in your immune system. So if you've got a mild head cold with no fever, take your workout intensity down a notch or three until you've been symptom-free for a few days.

But what if you've been seriously ill -- the kind of sick that had you in bed for a few days, or even a week? In that case, there is one key thing you have to remember when you're ready to work out again:

Take it easy.

• If you had a fever, wait until at least forty-eight hours after the fever has broken before heading back to the gym.
• A week in bed sick means you will lose about thirty percent of the fitness you built up before you were ill – especially your cardio fitness. This means you're going to need to work your way back up, and doing it right is going to take some time. The good news is, if you don't overtax yourself, you can be back to your previous level of fitness in as little as two weeks, depending on how long and how seriously you were ill. But if you were sick longer, it's going to take longer to get back to your previous level of fitness.
• Pitch your first post-illness workouts to an intensity that's only about 50%-70% of what you were doing before you got sick. Remember, exhausting yourself will dent your immune system, which may leave you vulnerable to a relapse. Not only that, but exercising beyond your post-illness ability can lead to injury.
• Work your way back up gradually. Don’t worry - you will get back your strength and stamina back!

Finally, whether you're just dealing with what seems to be a mild cold or you're looking at working out again after a more serious illness, consult with your health care professional about the effects of exercise on your body during and after an illness.



***Photo courtesy Tina Franklin