Fitness

This is why working out together matters: Linda McVey

Published

4 months ago

August 18, 2024

This is why working out together matters: Linda McVey

Guest columnist Linda McVey is executive director of health initiatives for the YMCA of Greater Cleveland.

As someone deeply committed to enhancing the well-being of our community, I’ve come to understand the profound impact of social connections on personal wellness.

In our pursuit of healthier lifestyles, the choice between exercising alone or with others can significantly influence not just our physical fitness, but our overall well-being.

At the YMCA of Greater Cleveland, where we offer a variety of group exercise classes across our 11 branches, we see firsthand how shared fitness activities can transform lives.

These classes are more than just opportunities to break a sweat; they are vibrant communities where individuals of all ages and backgrounds come together with a shared goal of improving their health.

What makes working out in a group setting so powerful? It goes beyond the physical benefits, though those are certainly substantial.

Group exercise classes provide a supportive environment where participants motivate each other to push their limits, celebrate successes and navigate challenges together. Whether it’s the energy of a high-intensity cardio class or the mindfulness of yoga, the camaraderie fosters a sense of belonging that is essential for sustained motivation.

Research underscores the psychological benefits of exercising with others. Studies have shown that group workouts can enhance mood, reduce stress levels and increase overall satisfaction with one’s fitness routine.

The social interaction inherent in group settings not only makes workouts more enjoyable, but also creates accountability, making it less likely for individuals to skip sessions or lose interest over time.

Group exercise also serves as a powerful antidote to social isolation by fostering connections among participants. Engaging in physical activities together creates a sense of belonging, encourages camaraderie and builds supportive relationships.

As individuals share their fitness journeys, they form bonds that extend beyond the gym, reducing feelings of loneliness and enhancing emotional well-being.

The collective experience of working toward common goals reinforces community ties and nurtures a vibrant, supportive environment.

Moreover, group exercise promotes diversity in fitness experiences. In a class setting, participants can explore different workout styles under the guidance of skilled instructors, discovering new activities they may not have considered on their own.

This variety not only keeps workouts interesting, but also ensures a well-rounded approach to fitness that addresses different aspects of physical health.

For many, especially those new to fitness or recovering from health challenges, the supportive atmosphere of group classes can be particularly transformative.

It’s not uncommon to hear stories of individuals who found strength and resilience within these communities, overcoming personal obstacles with the encouragement of their fellow classmates.

Many participants report feeling empowered and inspired by the collective energy of the group, which often drives them to achieve goals they once deemed unattainable.

While solo workouts certainly have their place, particularly for those who cherish moments of introspection or prefer the flexibility of individual routines, the social dimension of group exercise cannot be overstated.

It fosters a sense of community that extends beyond the gym walls, creating lasting friendships and networks of support that enhance overall quality of life.

As we pursue our personal wellness goals, whether at the YMCA or elsewhere, let us remember the profound impact of connection. By choosing to work out together, we not only invest in our physical health, but also nurture the social bonds that enrich our lives.

So, whether it’s joining a group fitness class, forming a workout group with friends or participating in community fitness events, let’s embrace the power of togetherness in our pursuit of a healthy vibrant future.

Readers are invited to submit Opinion page essays on topics of regional or general interest. Send your 500-word essay for consideration to Ann Norman at anorman@cleveland.com. Essays must include a brief bio and headshot of the writer. Essays rebutting today’s topics are also welcome.

Click to comment

Fitness

Gainesville Health and Fitness: Running exercises

Published

2 hours ago

December 23, 2024

Press Room

Gainesville Health and Fitness: Running exercises

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) – Running is the preferred workout for many people.

Trainer Adam from Gainesville Health and Fitness tells us about the perfect form in this week’s Your Fitness.

RELATED: Gainesville Health and Fitness: Core workout with kettlebell

Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.

Fitness

8 health and fitness tips to stave off an indulgent Christmas

Published

10 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

8 health and fitness tips to stave off an indulgent Christmas

Let’s face it, we all know that Christmas and the holidays can be a pretty indulgent time of the year. Even if you’ve promised yourself this is the year where you take it a bit easier, you take your eye off the ball for just a few days and all of a sudden you’re 18 iced mince pies deep and your chiseled physique now resembles that of a melted ice cream.

Just me? Perhaps, but keeping on top of your fitness at this time of year is almost impossible; the gyms are closed, the food is rich and calorific, and the drinks (alcoholic or otherwise) flow non-stop. Cutting loose in December is also doubly impactful because January is often the time of year when people try to make the biggest dent in their fitness. I can’t even count how many times I’ve tried to start a New Year fitness push, lacing up my best gym shoes while in the worst shape of my life.

If you’re serious about your January fitness goals for 2025, or keeping even the slightest handle on your health through an indulgent December, there are a ton of tiny tweaks, changes, and activities you can do to stave off the very worst effects of an indulgent Christmas.

As one of TechRadar’s fitness experts, I’ve rounded up a couple of tips to help you this Christmas. As you might expect, some of them are pretty obvious, but a couple of more obscure ones could make all the difference in 2024.

1. Exercise

(Image credit: Future)

While you probably won’t be slamming your usual gym workout or running routine over Christmas, even doing the smallest amount of exercise can have massive benefits by keeping your body and metabolism ticking over, offsetting those extra calories, and keeping you mobile.

Anything from a quick Pilates session, a short 20-minute kettlebell workout, or just a walk on Christmas morning can help improve your overall mental well-being, burn calories, and keep your body moving. The benefits of exercise are numerous and well-documented, but over Christmas doing something –anything – is better than nothing at all.

2. Hydration

Like exercise, this one should go without saying, but staying hydrated over Christmas is crucial to help overcome the worst effects of an indulgent festive season. Whether you’re planning on drinking alcohol or not, drinking more water will keep digestion flowing, offset salty or sugary food, help you feel more sated to prevent further indulgence, and help those morning headaches after an evening of liquid refreshment.

3. Hold onto some sort of routine

Christmas is often a time when all of the days merge into one. You never quite know what the date is, what time it is, where you’re allowed to park your car, or just how long that turkey has been in the fridge.

If you can hold onto any semblance of routine over Christmas, you’ll find it much easier to do some exercise, keep your nutrition regular, and get back into the swing of things when the New Year comes around.

That could be as simple as trying to stick to the same wake-up time each morning, or the same bedtime. Failing that, try keeping your eating to regular times throughout the day, or do a short workout or walk at the same time each day. Set timers on your fitness tracker to help motivate you to do some exercise at the same time each day.

4. Ditch Doordash

Chicken wings cooked in air fryer

(Image credit: Future)

One of the worst traps to fall into over Christmas and the holidays is losing all will to cook for yourself, turning instead to ready meals and quick party food, or worse for your health, fast food.

There’s no need to deny yourself all trace of a solid microwave meal or a Five Guys this Christmas, but why not do some meal prep ahead of the holiday season, and pack your freezer with a few more well-balanced meals?

5. Work out in short bursts

You might find yourself devoid of time (or motivation) for a proper workout over Christmas. One of the easiest ways to boost the impact of what you can manage is to up the intensity.

Short bursts of activity can sometimes be the perfect alternative to a longer workout if you don’t have the time over the holidays, even a 10-minute workout, or a 20-minute HIIT session pulled from one of our best fitness apps could help you keep things ticking over.

Remember, you’re probably not going to be making massive gains or seismic dents in your fitness, you’re just trying to keep up a bit of a routine to stop the very worst effects of Christmas indulgence.

6. Embrace the indoors

An iPhone and Apple Watch 8 with Fitness Plus on both displays

(Image credit: Lauren Scott)

We get it, Christmas is often a dark, cold, snowy time of year, and often you just want to curl up in front of the fire with some music or a good book. But keeping on top of your fitness this Christmas doesn’t have to mean bracing yourself against the elements, why not hop on an Apple Fitness Plus class, or do a home workout on YouTube instead?

If you try and commit to walking 10,000 steps a day in the bleak midwinter, the chances are you might end up giving yourself a cold, or not making it out the door in the first place.

7. Don’t go it alone

Hopefully, Christmas and the holidays are a time of year you can spend with some friends and family. If that’s the case, try doing some exercise or a workout with a friend, cooking a more nutritious meal together, or even just a walk with someone else. Group exercise can be a fantastic way to stay motivated and increase accountability.

8. Embrace the joy

The most important thing to remember, whatever you choose to do over Christmas and the holidays, is to do something that you enjoy. As with your 2025 fitness goals, building habits and making progress will come a whole lot easier if you’re invested in a process you like.

To that end, think about just a couple of things you can do this year to keep the engine running. Hate running? Hit the gym instead. Prefer something low-intensity? Try a daily walk, perhaps on one of the best under-desk treadmills if you want to keep things indoors.

Fitness

7 Indoor Cycling Workouts You Can Do in the Gym or at Home

Published

18 hours ago

December 22, 2024

Press Room

7 Indoor Cycling Workouts You Can Do in the Gym or at Home

When it comes to cardio equipment, stationary bike workouts are sometimes overlooked. Riding a stationary bike, known as indoor cycling, is a convenient way to meet some or all of your aerobic exercise goals from the comfort of your home or a gym. Stationary bike workouts provide benefits like keeping your blood pressure or cholesterol levels in check.

Before starting any new exercises, always talk with a healthcare provider. They can advise you on appropriate and safe activities for your fitness needs and how long you should do them.

Whether a biking newbie or an avid cyclist, experience the spin benefits first-hand with one of seven expert-designed cycling workouts. Just make sure you grab a timer to clock all the intervals.

All levels welcome
Cardio and strength for higher levels
Intro to hill and speed intervals
Cycle fartlek
25-minute intermediate intervals
Power intervals
Advanced conditioning

This 53-minute, beginner-friendly stationary bike workout is primarily aerobic. It incorporates short, challenging intervals to build fitness and burn calories, Kate Ligler, NASM-CPT, CES, PES, a MINDBODY wellness specialist and designer of the workout, told Health.

How to do the workout:

Start with an easy 10-minute warm-up.
Move into three to five rounds of six-minute work sets that get progressively more intense.
Gauge the intensity of your work and rest periods based on your RPE.
Finish with a three-minute cooldown.

You’ll use a scale of 1 (very easy) to 10 (maximum effort) for RPEs and work at a pace that works for your fitness level. That’s why you won’t see RPMs listed here—listen to your body and get a feel for the bike.

Keep these modifications in mind:

Beginners: Stick with three rounds of the main work block to get a 45-minute workout.
Advanced exercisers: Do all five to bring it up to an hour.

This 34-minute routine builds three key elements all indoor and outdoor cyclists need to perform their best: cardiovascular fitness, leg strength, and an efficient pedal stroke, said Emily Booth, national education manager of indoor cycling for Life Time.

How to do the workout:

Start with a 10-minute warm-up.
Move on to the main event, focusing on nailing each skill during three-minute work sets.
Repeat the main workout for two to four rounds.
Finish with a three- to five-minute cool down.

Thanks to the length of the working sets, this regime is ideal for intermediate and advanced cyclists, said Booth.

This 44-minute workout is perfect for beginner-to-intermediate riders, said Lauren Kanski, NASM-CPT, a New York City-based trainer. You’ll take your heart rate through different zones as you work on three intervals of various work-to-rest ratios.

How to do the workout:

Start with a 5-minute warm-up.
Cycle through a 15-minute interval with a 10-minute, 30-second on-and-off segment and a five-minute recovery period.
On the next 15-minute interval, alternate between three-minute climbs and two-minute recovery periods.
Do a final eight-minute, 30-second on-and-off segment with high resistance and speed.
Finish with a five-minute cooldown.

The result: boosted fitness and tons of torched calories—all while going easy on the joints. Instead of focusing on exact speed or RPM, aim to hit your all-out effort on the work intervals.

Fartlek training is a fun way to mix HIIT with steady-state cardio, said Kristian Flores, CSCS, a strength and conditioning coach in New York City. While many people associate Fartlek training with running, you can apply the “speed play” principle to nearly any activity you choose—including this 30-minute stationary bike workout.

How to do the workout:

Start with a five-minute warm-up.
Cycle for 15 to 20 minutes at your level of effort.
Finish with a five-minute cooldown.

Part of the appeal of Fartlek workouts is that they’re often unstructured—you go as hard as you can for as long as you can and recover until you’re ready to go hard again. How you do the main portion of the workout is up to you.

This also makes Fartlek workouts great for all fitness levels, as your effort and work-rest intervals are based on your current ability. No matter your experience level, Fartlek training can help you build endurance and power, said Flores.

This 25-minute routine is structured according to effort level. While you don’t need to be a cycling pro to do this workout, it’s best to have some experience on a bike—especially doing intervals. That way, you’ll understand what different effort levels feel like for you, according to Jess Cifelli, master instructor at CYCLEBAR.

How to do the workout:

Start with a five-minute warm-up.
Complete the first interval, around 10 minutes, switching from cycling seated to cycling while standing throughout.
Do two 15-second bursts of seated cycling. Repeat this interval for five sets, followed by two minutes each of low-effort and high-effort riding.
Move to the next interval of alternate maximum- and low-effort riding while standing. Repeat for five sets, followed by one minute of medium-effort riding.
Do 30-second alternate maximum- and low-effort riding while seated. Repeat for five three sets.
Finish with a five-minute cooldown.

Here’s how to gauge your effort levels as you take this workout for a spin:

Low: This effort requires light resistance; you should be able to converse with the person next to you.
Medium: Crank up the resistance a bit; you should still be able to carry on a conversation, but it shouldn’t feel effortless.
High: You shouldn’t be able to continue a conversation any longer, but you can handle the work; standing up in the saddle is usually ideal.
Maximum: You can’t speak at this intensity and also can’t imagine working longer than 30 seconds.

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts like this pack a punch in a relatively short time, says Lauren ‘Lolo’ Wilson, senior master instructor at CYCLEBAR, who created the workout. This 48-minute routine can improve aerobic capacity, build muscle tissue, and help you burn fat.

How to do the workout:

Start with a 10-minute warm-up, riding from 80 to 100 RPMs.
Complete four sets of 30-second sessions. For the first 30 seconds, you should ride for 105 to 120 RPMs; the second 30 seconds is recovery time.
Complete 20 sets of 30-second sessions. The first 30-second ride should be 90 to 100 RPMs, while the second 30-second ride is for recovery.
Finish with a 10-minute cool down at an easy pace.

HIIT sessions like this work best for someone who’s been exercising consistently three to five days per week for at least six weeks, said Wilson.

Keep these modifications in mind:

If you’re new to HIIT, or you’re not sure you’re ready for the entire workout, start with 10 power intervals and add two intervals to each workout until you reach 20 total intervals.
Wilson recommended dialing back your intensity during the first few intervals to avoid running out of gas during later rounds.

This 60-minute routine is for experienced cyclists confident in working at near-maximum intensity. After a gentle warm-up with a series of mobility drills designed by Meghan Hayden, NCSF-CPT, a founding trainer at Performix House in New York City, you’ll jump right in with short, intense bursts.

How to do the workout:

Start with a five-minute warm-up.
Dismount the bike and do a circuit training session that includes exercises from downward dog poses to quadruped circles.
Return to the bike and repeat 20-second work periods and 40-second rest intervals for seven sets before you hit your three-minute recovery. Each modest rest period will help you recover between sprints and build your anaerobic fitness.
After you recover, move into a 20-minute moderate-intensity ride to help you work your endurance.
Finish with a five-minute cooldown.

Treat that recovery time as meditation and focus on your breathing—you have a lot to gain with this workout.

Indoor cycling is a great cardio option. Research has shown that it helps individuals improve their aerobic capacity, which refers to how much oxygen intake a person has during high-intensity activity. Indoor cycling has also been shown to:

Many people can benefit from using a stationary bike. For example, a meta-analysis found that stationary cycling can help relieve pain and improve function for people with knee osteoarthritis. Another research study determined that using a stationary bike can decrease fatigue levels among healthy adults.

Consulting a healthcare provider is especially important for individuals with health conditions, pregnant people, and older adults. They may need to limit their time on a stationary bike or use it with modifications.

Who Should Limit or Avoid This Exercise

However, people who should avoid strenuous exercise like indoor cycling include individuals with the following conditions:

Low back pain due to conditions such as cancer, fractures, or infections
Severe arthritis
Severe neurologic or cognitive disorders
Uncontrolled arrhythmias, diabetes, heart failure, or hypertension
Unstable heart disease

Doing a stationary bike workout is a good way to get your heart pumping. The exercise also offers potential health benefits like reducing blood pressure and increasing HDL cholesterol levels, but indoor cycling isn’t for everyone. If you can do this type of workout, there are many different challenging options available for all fitness levels.