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“Emerging Fitness” article is just a few pages from the front.
Emerge’s First Article in St. Louis Sports Magazine
April 9th, 2012When is Adding a Trainer MOST Important to Achieving your Fitness Goals?
April 4th, 2012The answer may surprise you.
In answering this question, the first instinct is to answer “when you first start an exercise routine.” There is a lot of truth to this statement. This is your chance to develop great movement patterns and to create habits that you can build on going forward.
I personally spend A LOT of time un-programming bad movement patterns out of clients that have been lifting with terrible technique since high school. This takes time and will inhibit the progression that a client could make should these patterns not exist.
Even when employing these sub-par techniques, a first time lifter will realize strength gains and will generally progress despite a well thought out program utilizing proper technique. The brand new stimulus will force an adaptation even if the exercise is performed less than perfectly. This is not ideal, of course, and bad habits will develop and possible injury may occur. The fact is, the novice lifter will see results at first even with a shoddy program.
As an athlete or fitness enthusiast progresses from novice, to an intermediate level, and then to advanced, the subtleties of the training program become VERY IMPORTANT to ensure continued results. Once the initial shock and adaptation of the beginning months of training disipates, program design becomes more important. As a matter of fact, a very advanced athlete nearing his or her genetic potential must program there workouts with a precision that allows them the smallest gains. Small gains can make a BIG difference over time. The difference between a 4.4 40 yard dash and a 4.5 (although only 1/10 of one second) can mean the difference in scholarship money and record setting performances. Even with a recreational fitness enthusiast, these small gains are important. Let’s face it, when you work hard it’s important to see the fruits of your labor. Hardly anyone I know works hard just to spin there wheels in place.
In short, having a professional guide you at the beginning of your fitness routine is important. However, as far as results and continued change goes, an exerciser or athlete at an ADVANCED level simply must have a precisely designed program. The smallest fine tuning matters more at this stage of a training career than it did at the beginning when ANY stimulus would force a change.
Matt Pirtle, MA, CSCS
Goodbye 150′s, Hello 140′s…
April 2nd, 2012What is that old rule that a girl should never be asked her age or weight? Hell, I don’t care. They are both just numbers, frankly. I have 8.5 months left before I turn 30, yet I feel better now than I did in most of my 20s. As for my weight, it was near my all time high in the 150s (weight, not body fat… I was once a lot thicker, but that’s another story).
Yesterday I went to get in some cardio at Golds. I hopped on their digital scale and I didn’t see a number with a “5″ in it… I saw one with a “4″ in it… I was officially out of the 150s. I won’t lie, I was pretty thrilled. It definitely put a little more “oomph” into my cardio for the hour. (yes, I did an hour. It was phases of speed and little resistance then elevation with a LOT of resistance.) Anyways, when you see the numbers on the scale go down, it really motivates you to eat even better and to work a little harder. I won’t lie though, I wasn’t fully set on the number on the scale because it wasn’t the “official” scale (aka, the one at Emerge). I just came into work today and it said the same thing… Winner winner, chicken dinner.. Ugh, chicken… I still can’t stand the stuff.
This past week has been pretty easy. I hadn’t had any cravings, at least that I can remember. Papa Johns is ruthless and continues to send me daily emails on their specials. Some days, I get multiple emails. Papa Johns and I used to be pals. They knew my order before I had to say anything. Now, I just find them to be the damn devil.
I only went out to eat twice all week/weekend. I had a steak/veggies/ and a salad one night. The other night I went to Chevys. I hate ordering when I have a “not so good” waiter. He was more worried about looking/acting cool in front us girls than getting our order right. “I want steak fajitas-no rice, no beans, but extra cooked veggies”. SIMPLE… At least I thought it was… I didn’t even get finicky to the point that I could’ve said “no tortillas, no sour cream, no cheese” since they all come to the side anyways. My food comes out just as it is on the menu. The rice and beans were LOADED on the plate.. Really?? There’s a tip deduction right there bucko. I’m glad that the chips and salsa were entirely on the other side of the table. I caught a glimpse at them once… But I stayed away….
As for my “normal” food, I had steak, elk burgers, spaghetti squash with meat and mushrooms, some chicken (ugh) for my meals. I had the breakfast bread every morning (I added raisins.. HEAVENLY). And then I got gutsy. I got a recipe for Pale0 Thin Mint Cookies… Just like the Girl Scout ones. I’m not a HUGE thin mint fan, but I can eat one or two occasionally, so I thought this would be perfect for me. I made a batch, about 14 cookies… I think I have had a secret gift that I’m an amazing baker, that I just didn’t know. Ha, I’m kidding, but they were pretty awesome. I have a request to bring some home for Easter.
EASTER…. Oh yes, it is this Sunday, and before I started this diet, I said that Easter would be my first cheat meal. Yes, I said MEAL.. Not day… There are some things in life that one should not ever turn away, and one of them is my mom’s cooking/baking. There was only one rule… I could eat whatever I wanted to at my parents house for dinner, BUT I COULD NOT bring anything home that wasn’t Paleo. My family was thrilled to hear this because I would have had some pissed off people if they had to eat everything “Paleo”.
My biggest concern is that I hope that I am disciplined enough to go straight back to the diet when I get home. I hope that a bite of cheese or grains won’t set me into some mindset that I want to eat everything. In fact, I kind of hope that it makes my allergies go out of whack so that way it will make me want to go back to eating Paleo. I have never in my life felt so good being able to breath easily and not sneeze every minute of every day.
I’ve had people comment to me that they can tell I’m losing a lot of weight. I don’t “see” a lot of weight gone based on the scale numbers. I can just now start to see it in the mirror… Cheekbones! Where have you been for so many months!
So, it’s 3 weeks down, and about 5 1/2 to go. I pretty much see it as a 1/3 of the way to my goal date. I’m pretty happy with how I look and I’m extremely happy with how I feel. If it’s this good now, I can’t wait to see the difference 3 more weeks from now.
Until next week,
Kimberly Renoud
Emerge Fitness Training
Road To Competition For Client Jessica Kjar by Trainer Matt McCarthy
March 29th, 2012Jessica Kjar
Week 1
Over the past 4-5 months, I have been working with a youg woman named Jessica Kjar who not only put herself to the test, but myself to the test as a new trainer with Emerge Fitness.
I first met Jessica on December 1st when she weighed in at 164 lbs., 29.1% body fat, 48 lbs. of fat mass and 117 lbs of muscle mass. Jessica’s main goal was to develope a workout program that she could use for everyday life in order to make health and fitness a life style. The more we spoke to one another the more I found out she had the drive to compete in her first ever swimsuit figure competition the summer of 2012. The closer we worked together and developed her nutrition and workouts, the more Jessica wanted to compete in this competition. About 2 weeks later, Jessica showed up to train and had made a huge transformation both appearance and attitude making a clear statement that she was serious and was ready for competition.
Week 6
About 6 weeks later on January 18th, Jessica weighed in at 158 lbs., 23.5% body fat, 37 lbs. of fat mass and 121 lbs. of muscle mass. Not only had she shown drastic changes in her fat and muscle, Jessica had lost over 8 inches overall in her body circumference. After about another 6 weeks of training and dieting, Jessica weighed in again showing greater changes in her weight and circumference. At the beginning of March about the 12 week mark, Jessica weighed in at 152 lbs., 21.2% body fat, 32.4 lbs. of fat mass and 119 lbs. of muscle mass. Her circumfrence was now down another 2-3 inches overall with a total of 10 inches lost since the beginning of December.
Week 12
Since I have been at Emerge, I have had great opportunity to work with numerous individuals with several goals, but Jessica is my first official competitor for woman’s swimsuit competition and so far I must say I am extremely proud of the hard work she has put forth to get herself to this point. Competition is in late July early August, and yet we have a lot of work still to do, I know Jessica will continue to work harder than she already has in order to reach her full potential by the time of competition. Please when you see Jessica please feel free to give her the words of encouragement to help her stay focused as she continues her journey. I will continue to update her status within the next few weeks when we weigh her in within the next few weeks.
Matt McCarthy
Emerge Fitness Training
Eating clean is now the new eating “dis-order?”
March 28th, 2012While getting in my cardio, I was reading an article in the latest edition of “Women’s Health” magazine. Normally, I read short blurbs that are studies on nutrition, exercise, supplements, the normal “health” stuff. I was reading a piece titled “The scary rise in Adult Eating Disorders.” This interested me for the fact that I have never come close to having an eating disorder like anorexia or bulimia, yet I have come across clients with such issues.
I was half way into the story when I came to a side note in the article called “The new dis Orders”. It involves a new catagory along side of anorexia and bulimia. According to the magazine it is described as a disorder that “applies to patients who don’t meet the exact criteria for anorexia or bulimia but still have ber trouble relationships with food or distorted body images.” I won’t lie, this intrigued me, just to see what their clarification is of this new “disorder.” That’s when I read about “The New Dis-Order: Orthorexia.” Here’s is description:
“A fixation with healthy or righteous eating. Orthoexics often eat only organic foods, eliminate entire food groups, or refuse to eat anything that isn’t “pure” in quality… Unlike anorexics, they don’t necessarily think they’re fat or strive to be thin; some are motivated by a fear of bad health, a fixation with complete control, or the desire to improve their own self-esteem. Ironicially, severe orthorexia can lead to malnourishment” (clinicial psychologist Sari Shepphird, Ph.D.).
Needless to say, my heart rate was racing on the eliptical.
SO LET ME GET THIS STRAIGHT….
So this doctor is stating that a person who chooses to eat organic or “pure” fruits and vegetables, and grass fed meats, etc. AND they avoid processed foods or maybe a food catagory like dairy, that they now are “clinically” diagnosed with an eating disorder? SERIOUSLY???
I read this article again. And then I had another trainer read it. And then I had a client read it. Both of them agreed with me. In fact, the trainer responded with “Are they trying to make fat people feel better?”
I understand the real “eating disorders”. When people don’t want to eat, or they eat and then throw it all up. But when they classify someone who chooses to EAT and EAT NUTRIOUSLY, with a disorder, I find it offensive. We are in an obese epedemic in the US. Two-thirds of the country is overweight, soon to be obese. However this article made it sound like those who do choose to make healthy food choices and remove processed foods are wrong.
As most of you know, I started a Paleo diet a few weeks ago. It eliminates food catagories, grains and dairy. As I have posted in my blog, I have intolerances to these. Since eliminating them and eating organic/natural foods, I feel so much better. I don’t have the allergy reactions that I did when I consumed these foods. Many people I know who are doing the diet as well, feel just as good. Does that mean we have a disorder? Ridiculous.
My advice to those who are “dis-orderly” with Orthorexia, as long as you are in your proper caloric range, and protein/carb/fat ratio, keep eating the way that makes you feel good.
I would love to hear other thoughts and opinions on this topic. If anyone wants to read the entire article, it’s in the April 2012 edition of Women’s Health Magazine.
Kimberly Renoud,
Emerge Fitness Training
Day 15: The Scale is moving to the left…
March 26th, 2012I waited to blog until I got on the scale this morning. I needed to decided if I wanted to celebrate or vent.
It has been two weeks today since I started Paleo. I really didn’t know what to expect this time around. When I did this diet last year, I had dropped 9lbs in this time. I know a lot of it was water and waste, however when someone sees 9lbs down, who doesn’t get excited.
Today I weighed in at half of that weight. I’m about 4.5lbs down since day one. I’m actually pretty happy with it because my weight IS going down, but the better, more important thing is that I can see a difference. My clothes feel different on me (Thank you lord!!!) and overall, I feel much better! Anyone who is around me a lot knows I have battled with allergies for years. I was always congested and sneezing. I would swell up and be puffy in the face and my eyes would be red and itchy. I have none of it, at all. I’m breathing so much better and sleeping like a rock. I’m waking up on my own around 5:15 every morning. On days I don’t have to get up early, I have no problems going back to sleep for a few more hours. And I never get tired until 9 or 10 at night. It is a pretty good feeling, I won’t lie.
What a difference meal planning does for a diet. I did so much better this week preparing my meals. I was really missing the “bread” element, whether is be bread itself, bagels, or muffins.. I just needed a “texture fix.” I got online and looked around for some Paleo bread and I came across a breakfast bread. It consisted of Almond Butter, honey, eggs, cinnamon, and a few other things. I’m not much of a baker, but I figured that it can’t be THAT hard. And I surprised myself, it was actually THAT good… Really good. And not like “oh this is good for being healthy” crap either. I could actually eat this on a normal lifestyle meal plan. However, I could change it occasionally by adding raisins or maybe bananas, but for now, I will take it. It will definitely be made again this week. As well as I have almond flour coming so I will be experimenting with some other “baked goods.”
I also cooked a little, and I mean a little. I tried cooking a spaghetti squash once before in the oven, and it was awful… Too gritty. But, being on this diet, I figured I’d try it again. I got a small one and this time, instead of the oven, I nuked it in the microwave and it was FABULOUS… YES… FINALLY, Convience pays off! I went to the store to find spaghetti sauce that was “paleo friendly”. ONE… Only ONE sauce at Dierbergs has no added sugar or regular salt to it… And it was $9 bucks a jar… My frugal grandmother would roll over in her grave if she knew I paid that much for sauce… However, being that she’s still alive, I’m just not going to tell her, because I can guarantee I’d hear “You’re an idiot” from her. Yup, that’s Grandma. I will say, that $9 jar of sauce was some of the best I’ve ever eaten. I put that with some farm raised ground beef and mushrooms, and it was pretty dang good. In fact, I made enough for a few more meals out of it. So, if I broke down the price for them meal, it would be about $5 each. Can’t complain about that, and I didn’t have to pay a tip.
Yesterday I grilled out for the first time this year. A Ribeye steak, and elk burgers. I only ate part of the Ribeye (which was sooo hard because I could have easily have taken down the 16oz steak, but I refrained) and the rest is for my meals this week. I’m looking forward to it.
Workouts have been pretty good. I took off a couple more days this week, which I know now, is what my body needed. I hydrated a lot, and I got a massage, and I haven’t stopped peeing since. I’m guessing some water weight shook off of me finally.
This week’s goal is to not eat out til the weekend. I have plenty of food prepared so I have no excuses. I hope to get outside to do cardio this week as long as the weather stays nice. If anyone is wanting any of the recipes that I’ve tried, just message me or email me at kimberly@emergetraining.com .
Until next week,
Kimberly Renoud,
Emerge Fitness Training
Age is just a number: Testimonial from Beth Pirtle’s client, Marcia Tiemeyer
March 19th, 2012
“I started working out at Emerge about 18 months ago with Beth Pirtle. Beth is a neighbor and friend that I have known since we both moved into our homes over 20 years ago. Our children grew up together and we are in the same age bracket.
I was over weight and having various aches, pains, and problems that I was associating with age. I had some concerns about osteoporosis and knew one of the best ways to help eliminate the risk was to do weight bearing exercise. I was also very conscious of my body image as a working professional dealing with clients on a daily basis. I am facing competition daily with women and men half my age. I know I bring more to the table with my years of experience and knowledge, and if given an equal opportunity to present my information, I generally can win the business. But, getting that opportunity, to get my foot in the door, was starting to become a big problem. I realized that part of it was a general image perception. I needed to do something and make some changes. You must understand that “back in the day”, when I was young, women weren’t given the opportunity to compete nor were we encouraged to work out and build muscle and stamina. I didn’t know how to really work out, or build muscle with weights. With what little I knew, I could seriously hurt myself trying to help myself. Beth came to mind as someone who might understand my concerns and situation, especially with her weight loss background and personal training experience.
After working with Beth for 18 months, I’m happy to report that I have lost 30 lbs. I’m stronger and have more balance and stamina. I have incorporated exercise (working out) and healthy eating into my daily life without much difficulty. I have gone down 3 sizes and can buy and wear clothes that I wouldn’t have even thought about 2 years ago. I look good in my clothes, and that gives me added confidence in my personal and professional life. But most of all, I’m stronger and feel better. Loosing the weight and working out on a regular basis has strengthened my back and knees. I don’t have that constant lower back pain and my knees work for me again. I can keep up with my 15 (soon to be 18) Grandchildren, and that is a considerable feat in itself. I work with Beth twice a week for 30 minutes a session. Some sessions are harder than others, but she is very careful to make sure I’m not over extending or hurting myself in any way. I don’t always look forward to our sessions, but I miss them when I’ve been away for a couple of weeks.
My Husband has noticed the difference and he has also started working out with Beth. He only has the stamina for one 30 minute session a week, but he will tell you that it’s his schedule that won’t allow for more. He used to be the family athlete, but now it’s my turn to take on that role.
By the way, I’m 61 years old, with 5 Children and 15 (almost 18) Grandchildren. You’re never too old to be the best you can be!!”
Marcia Tiemeyer
Paleo: One Week down…
March 19th, 2012I’m officially on day 8 of the Paleo diet, and frankly…. It’s not too bad. Of course I miss a few things, but the phrase “food is for fuel, not fun” keeps going thru my head. I had a lot of positive responses to my first blog and a few shoutouts from others who I’ve helped lose weight. It has all been motivating and it definitely pushes me to achieve my 60 day challenge. Here’s a recap of my week:
Tuesday thru Friday: Breakfast and snacks have been wayyyy too easy. Lunch and dinner have been tough. I’m not a cook either, in fact, I hate cooking. I think its because since I make food for one, whatever I eat, I have to generally eat for 3 or 4 more meals. Another reason is because I have crazy hours. 3 days a week I’m up at 5am for work, and M-Thursday, I’m usually at the gym til 8-8:30pm. When I get home at 8:30 and by the time I shower and eat (just eat, not cook), it’s 9. And this girl needs her 8 hours of sleep. The last thing I want to do when I get home from work is cook and clean. So> I have to do a better job at preparing meals.
My workouts have been very consistent, so no problem there. And with the warmer weather, it was very easy to stay hydrated. I was easily taking in over 100 oz of water. Ha, that reminds me. For one of my meals last week, I went to Chipolte for lunch. I got my usual, fajita burrito bowl, with steak, veggies, mild salsa and lettuce only. I’m not sure what they did different, but my mouth was on FIRE! I took down over 80 oz of water trying to eat it! (I’m being serious about the water). I love spicey food, but holy cow… I was red in the face and I was sweating profusely. I felt like my intestines just had a high intensity workout… Talk about curbing the appetite.. I didn’t want to eat for many hours later.
After a late night at work, I used to pick up food from Lions Choice or Olive Garden. Now it is harder. I went to McAlisters one night and I ordered a “Grilled Chicken Salad, No cheese, no croutons, no tomatoes no cucumbers (I hate tomatoes & cucumbers)”. The guy behind the counter said “Seriously?” So this is what my life has come to. The McAlisters guy actually found humor in my order. I hope I made his freaking day.
I have found some relief in baked fish and some roasted chicken from the deli. I picked up a roasted half chicken from Whole Foods and for anyone who doesn’t think there’s a difference between regular chicken and “cage free/grass fed” chicken, is off their rocker. I can tolerate the latter by far. It has such a cleaner taste, and it isn’t as dry. And I feel better knowing I’m not putting chicken in my mouth that has been fed concrete, feces, and hormones (gross, but true).
I haven’t had too many cravings, but I do miss cheese. I could eat nearly anything as long as it had cheese on it… I asked the lady at the Cheese Counter at Whole Foods if they had non dairy, and she pointed it out to me… She told me the brand that “tastes the most like cheese.” In other words, it was all crap, but this was the least of the worst. Ugh it looks like rubber. But I put it on Taco shell-less tacos and I couldn’t even taste it.
Temptations have been pretty minimal. I went to the Movies the other night. I packed some almonds with me in case I was starving. As we were walking into the theater, I got the overwhelming smell of popcorn. After being asked if I wanted anything and I gave a grumbling “No….” We made our way to our seats. He didn’t get popcorn or soda either. I think he was afraid to. After we sat down, the previews were showing and all you could hear was people rustling in their bags of popcorn or the straws in their sodas moving. To me, it sounded like all the snack eating was amplified… Jerks.
I went out to lunch at Ruby Tuesdays with my parents yesterday. They have been eating healthier (not AS healthy as they should, but it’s progress). I did well, I had a (1/2)sirloin, grilled green beans and a salad. Mom had a burger without the bun and vegetables. Pops went all out with a burger and fries… I’m glad my food was good or I probably would have caved and knocked dad over for his fries (my weakness). And now, Ruby Tuesdays is giving out those biscuits, those oh so tasty biscuits. Both of my parents each ate theirs, and then mine just sat there… Staring at me… I didn’t eat it…
The rest of my week was just fine. One of my best friends has to go on a “Raw Food Diet” for 21 days, so, being that misery loves company, I have someone to complain to who will understand (except I get meat… hahaha). She’s going to be blogging to me how she feels. BUT after 3 days, she already cheated. I’m on date 8, and I have not… = Winning
After 8 days, I can already see changes. I’m 3 lbs down, that’s always a good thing. By day 3 of my diet, my allergies were GONE. No sneezing, no sniffling, no congestion. Oh it’s fantastic. I’m sleeping much better, except my body is waking up EVERY morning at 5:15… Not so cool. My energy level is way up. I was on the go all last week and I was all over St. Louis this weekend and it wasn’t until last night around 5, that my body said “slow…down” I am seeing hormonal changes as well (I won’t go into too much detail there). But my skin is clearing up. Not that I had bad skin, but it’s just not dull looking like it was. I can also tell that I’m a lot calmer and I’m not so edgy or cranky, and I can focus better.
It’s only one week down and about 8 weeks to go, however I’m pretty pumped to see what’s to come (or go, in my case). I need to focus this week more on cutting down salt and changing from higher calorie cashews to lower calorie pistachios. And I need to PLAN my meals better. I have a client who has been doing Paleo for over a month and has seen great results. He brought me Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies today and it was the perfect reward for my first week. And they were AWESOME!!!
I will probably blog a little more often than once a week because there’s so much information that I left out.
Until Next time,
Kimberly Renoud,
Emerge Fitness Training
A Message For My Fellow Baby Boomers (Effective Exercise Training)
March 19th, 2012I’m currently working on an additional certification “Physical Activity Instruction of Older Adults” (50 – 100). Yes, I do fall into this category despite the fact that I do not feel the least bit old and am fitter and in better shape today than I was 30 years ago. Every day for the next 17 years, 10,000 Baby Boomers will turn 65 and despite the fact that the level of fitness can vary dramatically from person to person, as a group, we boomers are living longer and making quality of life a priority. This makes us one of the most significant groups in our population/economy and warrants our getting consistent, accurate information on what the most effective exercise training is for us as individuals.
“Effective exercise-training programs may prevent or reverse bone loss at the lumbar spine and femoral neck (hip) of pre- and postmenopausal women by almost 1% per year. For bone modeling to result from exercise, however, the intensity of the stimulus appears to be more important than its frequency. Greater loads and fewer repetitions result in greater gains in bone mass than lower loads repeated more times. Weight-bearing endurance exercise and resistance exercise have both been found to increase bone mass at clinically relevant sites (hip, spine, wrist) in older men and women, but only when the exercise is quite vigorous. Activities of low to moderate intensity have had mixed results in elderly adults; appreciable gains in strength but variable changes in bone density have been documented.
Exercises that introduce skeletal stress through ground-reaction forces (e.g., walking, jogging, and stair climbing) appear to be more effective for building bone in the femoral neck, a common fracture site, than those that introduce skeletal stress through joint-reaction forces (e.g. weightlifting and rowing). Both types of exercises, however, effectively increase bone density of the whole body, lumbar spine, and proximal femur.
Beth Pirtle
Vicki Rodell After 8 Sessions Working With an Emerge Trainer
March 15th, 2012I am very proud of Vicki’s first 4 weeks of training and already reaching goals. She has lost 7lbs, 8 inches and her body fat went from 32% to now 28%. When a client has this big of changes in the first 4 weeks that tells me she has followed her program with out fail. This involves some diet changes, cardio 5x a week and strength/functional training with me 2x a week. One of my goals for Vicki when we first met was to get her running. She has spent a lot of time in the gym doing cross training machines. She has healthy knees and there is no reason for her not to run. Running is one of the best ways to burn calories and even better you don’t need a gym to do it. Anytime you can take exercise outside it makes it so much more enjoyable. We have slowly been adding running into her cardio workouts 5 minutes at a time and doing lots of sprints during her sessions at Emerge. On Vicki’s 45th bday she ran for 45 minutes! Already achieving goals. First four weeks have been a huge success and can’t wait to see the changes in the next four weeks.
Angie Pirtle
Emerge Fitness Training
