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Benefits of Orangetheory Seattle area

What are the things that OTF team enjoys?

Fitness. Well fitness is related to food and you’ve got to put some of that on the plate some how! The key is that fitness is something that a lot of people have in common.

Rach Row

Rach Row

Most of us recognize the need for some physical intensity — the key is finding the right intensity. I’ve learned that the majority of people who go to OTF have jobs/careers that have varying levels of sedentary moments. Some people sit more than others. We need to get up and move.

Fitness is about progression

Just like we must strengthen our muscles in exercise, we also must become more seasoned in our line of expertise. We are growing a movement in Seattle with a fitness first mindset and we want as many people as possible to be part of it.

Reaching a plateau

Eventually you may reach a plateau, That is you may reach a point where you will not become any stronger or larger if that is your goal.  In which case you can still find ways for progression on skills and techniques. There is still opportunity for progression by learning and strengthening skills and other areas of fitness.

Benefits of OTF from the inside

Well here is the list.

1. The workouts

We love taking the workouts because the HIIT really seems to eliminate the fat!!!

Noticeably leaner in just a couple workouts if you’re willing to push it hard. High speeds and aggressive intervals is a matter of will and determination. Full body determination and activation of muscles throughout the spectrum, just focus on the technique with breathing an emphasis.

Full body strength and strong legs = good running potential. That’s why when you are able to go heavier in the weight room it has a direct carry over to your treadmill power capabilities.

Being able to take OTF workouts at studios all over is a fantastic benefit.

2. The People

Okay I probably should have listed this first.

Community, community, community. That’s another example of how fitness helps outside the workouts. We need community — well I’m speaking for some — even for those who enjoy occasional solitude. There are some figures and many wonderful people at OTF.

Each moment is an opportunity. To have a really good class you really have to stay in the moment. I dreamed I had the emotional and social abilities to make the thousands of people taking workouts be part of the community. Well many do appreciate and that I do as well.

The brand itself is growing so fast and all around the country, even world. Some people make decisions of where to move based on the location of an Orangetheory Fitness even!! So that connects people all over, which is pure opportunity whether for knowing someone or just having confidence-boosting interactions.

I’ve been a part of this whole Seattle journey for OTF.

3. Making history

I definitely feel that Orangetheory is changing the fitness industry. There is such a powerful combination of instant biofeedback and full body exercise prescription that people tend to get results quickly. It CAN be fun and energizing to the rest of your life.

People are witnessing these trends and the fitness industry will continue to evolve. Fitness is trending towards technology in the workouts along with full-body exercises to achieve certain goals. There’s something powerful about having peers though and I’m talking about people who are having the experience of the workout with you.

We area reaching a new understanding of how to run efficient fat burning programs that benefits people of many different shapes and sizes, strengths and limitations. There are amazingly popular coaches and also good coaches. The workouts are effective as long as you have a motivating factor, which may be intrinsic or extrinsic or even a combination. Either way, this stuff really works.

Hope you enjoyed this perspective from me

Thanks for reading and stay tuned

 

Fitness Orangetheory Fitness Seattle Orangetheory Seattle
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3 Powerful Books about resistance training for strength and fitness

This is a short list of strength training resources to help you earn real, lasting results for your body

(don’t be like this guy)

Drop the magazines

Drop the magazines

Benefits of resources for strength training:

  • More understanding of the human body and especially the muscular system
  • Principles of form and technique to enhance gains and help you prevent injuries
  • An emphasis on gaining real, functional strength as opposed to bulky muscle

Knowledge is power so check out these training resources…

1. Strength Training Anatomy, 3rd Edition, Frederic Delavier

Engage the muscles fully. This information will help you understand how to both target and balance your muscle groups. This is one of the first strength books to read as the illustrations and pictures really help you make sense of the exercises. A very useful resource.

2. Starting Strength, 3rd Edition (Barbell training)

Mark Rippetoe puts a lot of energy into his coaching. He advocates the top 3 movements: Squat, deadlift, and press. The idea is that when you gain strength in squat, deadlift, and presses, then you will have strength that carries over to everything! This book supports the ‘hips go back’ approach for lower body training and emphasizes the importance of hip drive for power.

3. Strong Curves: A Woman’s Guide to Building a Better Butt and Body, Bret Contreras

For strength and conditioning from a hip perspective, Bret Contreras is looked to by many as an expert. As a researcher, he’s plugged electrodes onto all different areas of the body to gain scientific knowledge of which exercises activate certain muscles more than others. Then, as a coach, he’s taken that information and helped many people (especially women) gain strength in the glutes and overall body. A fantastic must-have resource for female lifters (and those who train them).

Stay tuned…

I’ll write more about how to design a workout, the principles of resistance training, and how the benefits of being on a program (in addition to other reader requests).

Read, run. Gain.

Read, run. Gain.

Thanks for reading…

 

 

Fitness Power of the Mind
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Where do the best Glutes come from and how to achieve hip success

Hips are key to a lifetime of movement and mobility

Bottom. Backside. Glutes.

Center of the action

Center of the action

This article is all about the posterior chain. Hips to the ankles. The development of your rear down. 

Glute activation

Lying on your back, hips into the air.

That’s something you could do everyday to enhance the benefits of squatting.

Squats

Getting stronger here will help you become more powerful getting out of the bottom of a heavy squat.

Women should aim for a 40+ lbs db

Women should aim for a 40+ lbs db

The muscle fibers are stimulated and the resulting glute hypertrophy will be noticed by your snapchat followers.

Progression: must become stronger or more efficient in measures of fitness

Here is some situation:

A woman exerciser has been using the same 25 lb dumbbells for  every time she worked out squats. That booty gonna stay that way. If they are okay with it then fine.

It’s important to realize that the best glutes come from being subjected to progressively heavy forces throughout a range of motion.

Here are a few tips for progression:

1. Tempo: If you have no choice but to use the same weight as last time, then you can use tempo for progression. For each rep, lower yourself down slowly for a count of three seconds, then squat up as fast as you can. Do as many reps as you can in a minute.

2. Plyometric: Again, if you have no choice but to use the same weight as last time, now try jumping with it.

Weighted plyometric

Weighted plyometric

3. Different squat variation: no need to always do two legged squats. Variation helps with progression by getting stronger throughout more diverse range of motion.

4. Go heavier. That simple, go heavier than you’ve ever gone before. Aim for personal bests often.

5. Do more. Sometimes you can’t go heavier. Then do more, either do more reps or more sets or some way of increasing volume over last time.

You recover well by eating well and resting. Then You Go Enjoy your GAINS!

How did you find this glutes article?

Well thank you for reading and stay tuned…

 

Fitness
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Have a goal for every workout: Fat Cells respond to progressive resistance by getting smaller!

What is the goal of this workout today?

We all come into the workout room with different needs, strengths, and expectations. To some, not having a specific goal for every workout is actually unfathomable.

My goal for this workout

Keep track of specific exercises that have been done in the past and perform in more progressively challenging ways. These techniques help you to burn more fat:

  • Perform the exercise faster on the concentric, and slower on the eccentric
  • Use more resistance than before
  • Greater amount of reps using the same weight
  • Decrease rest intervals without sacrificing heavy weight
  • Using heavy weights in a larger range of motion
  • Improving your form and technique with weights that you struggled with before
  • Combination of the above
Time constraints can be motivating, as is some healthy Orangetheory Fitness competition

Time constraints can be motivating, as is some healthy Orangetheory Fitness competition

I don’t often speak to these accomplishments even if it is noticeable it helps me stay motivated in fitness.

Examples of a good goal to have

Let’s talk about a treadmill goal to begin with. Of course we’re following a HIIT program and the ideal length for a treadmill workout is between 20-30 minutes.

You can try to improve your times in the following ways:

  1. Your one-mile time
  2. Your half-mile time
  3. Your quarter mile time
  4. Your tenth of a mile time
Kyle Anderson from Seattle on the right running hard

Kyle Anderson from Seattle on the right running hard

You can further improve fat loss by:

  1. Your .25 mile run at 3% incline
  2. Your .25 mile run at 5% incline
  3. Your .25 mile run at 7% incline

Then on a later workout once you have recovered, do your .25 mile run at 1% incline and you will likely be able to run faster than you did before at that particular incline!

Thus progress! Fat cells should get smaller due to this physical and neural progression in muscular contraction.

Once you have accomplished it, nobody can take that away from you!

It’s yours.

Now believe in it and go with it

Orangetheory Fitness Seattle Orangetheory Seattle Physical Fitness by Dre Weightloss Now
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When Women train Heavy, will you Bulk Up or LEAN OUT? Fat Loss Talk

The cultural roles and expectations that we face can make us feel self critical

I have no doubt that people who stay lean and healthy all year round are those who also surround themselves with similar people. So in that sense of culture, I believe that people with healthy mindsets are a benefit of culture for fat loss. At the same time, the images on TV and mass media are certainly causing shifts in the discussion of our bodies.

Seems that fit people share similar activities

Seems that fit people share similar activities

How does this all play into what it is to have a healthy body image?

Well, let’s ask what is it to have healthy body image? 

  • Wake up knowing you will take on the day, it will not take on you
  • Feels or seeks to feel intrinsic reasons to exercise
  • Finds way to challenge what the body is truly capable of physically and consequently mentally, emotionally
  • Places a high value of quality of food for both internal and external human benefit

It’s ultimately not about the body fat %. It’s not about six pack abs or firm buttocks. It’s about the you, the person.

Should Women Lift Heavy?

First, let’s focus on the goal of an individual. Not all women should lift heavy particularly if the exercise is contraindicated from orthopedic needs or for some other factor that precludes strength development.

Using a reasonable program, lifting progressively heavier weights has many benefits:

Progressive resistance on a body weight exercise

Progressive resistance on a body weight exercise

  • Increased calorie burn at rest
  • Develops the Fast Twitch muscle fibers which allow you to burn even more calories while exercising
  • Makes you stronger, more fit person
  • Promotes healthy metabolism, especially in the area of systemic glucose management and insulin resistance
  • Tends to put you in a good mood, feeling of accomplishments, actual achievements
  • Focuses on performance, what the body can do, a healthy perspective

There are many established benefits of lifting heavy weights for women. It’s not my case to argue whether or not you want to use heavier weights, but in the case that you do want to see the benefits, then you are at the right place.

All women have different response to exercise and nutrition

Because of our genes and our environmental conditions (including what your mother ate and how well she slept), everybody has different responses to lifting progressively heavier weights. So I’ll keep it simple here.

Woman who lift heavier weights WILL DEFINITELY BURN MORE FAT…

In terms of bulking, there are two main factors at play:

1. How much food is being eaten; the quality of food consumed is just as important as the overall volume

I'm not sure what she eats, but I'd bet it's pretty balanced nutritionally

I’m not sure what she eats, but I’d bet it’s pretty balanced nutritionally

and..

2. The current hormonal status of the individual.

Let me elaborate on this for a moment. Just like in men, women have a range of testosterone and some women just naturally have more in their bodies. If this is the case, they may build muscle easier than other women. They may also be sexually aggressive but that is WAY beyond the scope of this.

On the other hand, diet can affect our hormones as well. Women who show a preference for frequent consumption of simple sugars, starches, alcohol, trans fats and other low quality foods are more likely to add “bulk” which is more visibly as fat mass.

Lift heavy to tone up and eat lean to stay lean

I'd wager she exercises too

I’d wager she exercises too

So it comes down to a discussion on body image

The worst reason to exercise is to look like somebody else. To have somebody’s butt or their legs or their arms.

You will never.

Best to focus on being you and accepting that exercise is your healing and you need it frequently.

Good luck all, thanks for reading

Nutrition Physical Fitness by Dre Weightloss Now