Kurt's Fitness Tips

Comsume Fewer Calories with Shelled Nuts

Kurt Mueller — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 18:31:51 +0000

You may consume fewer calories by eating nuts that are still in the shell! By eating nuts in a shell it is more difficult to eat, but psychology also plays a role when you start seeing the number of shells add up after you eat them. Scientists from Eastern Illinois University gave college students pistachios either with or without the shells, and allowed them to eat as much as they wanted during class. Students who ate pistachios WITHOUT shells consumed an average of 211 calories, but those who ate them WITH the shells only consumed 86 calories!

Nuts such as Almonds, Peanuts, Cashews, Walnuts, and Pistachios contain heart health monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats! I suggest a minimum of one serving daily regardless of goals, age, or gender. However, make sure you don’t overindulge as nuts are calorically dense! To help make sure you buy nuts still in the shell.

Stay Active Daily – Here’s Why:

Kurt Mueller — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 18:27:27 +0000

Make sure you do something to stay physically active everyday! Barry Braun from the University of Massachusetts and co-workers have found that just one day of physical activity decreases insulin sensitivity! Insulin sensitivity defines how well your body metabolizes blood sugars. In other words the more sensitive to insulin you are, the less insulin you will produce in order to keep blood sugar stable. The take home message is: One day of physical inactivity has a negative effect on metabolic health!

BODYPUMP – Coming to Blue Springs Fitness!

Kurt Mueller — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 20:38:37 +0000

BODYPUMP™ is the original barbell class that shapes, tones and strengthens your entire body. Often referred to as ‘Pump’ by those who love it, it’s one of the world’s fastest ways to get in shape. This 60-minute addictive workout challenges all of your major muscle groups by using the best weight-room exercises such as squats, presses, lifts and curls. The key to BODYPUMP™ is THE REP EFFECT™, a breakthrough in fitness training focusing on high repetition movements with low weight loads. This will help you achieve strength and introduce lean body muscle conditioning. With the latest chart topping music, highly trained instructors and your choice of weight, get the results you are looking for – and fast!

A Typical Class:

BODYPUMP™ is designed to transform your body by developing strength and endurance in major muscle groups and, in doing so, burn calories and tone your body.

This is where THE REP EFFECT™ comes in – commanding 70-100 repetitions per body part, equaling about 800 movements in an average workout so that you can become lean, strong and unstoppable! We use specific music tracks to motivate you and push through the class with maximum effect. The usual duration of each class is 60 minutes.

Blue Springs Fitness will be launching BODYPUMP in January of 2012, just in time to kick the New Year off with a bang!

Obesity Rates Increase in 16 States

Kurt Mueller — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 18:55:02 +0000

We all know by now that the obesity rate in this country is far higher than it ever should be. However, it seems like this rate is increasing each year with no sign of slowing down unless we take our health into our own hands and begin to care for ourselves! The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation releases a report on the rates of obesity, and Type 2 diabetes in the United States. This summer they released a report from last year that showed obesity rates increased in 16 states, and to make matters even worse, there were no decreases in any state! Not surprisingly they also found that the people who don’t do any exercise also increased in 14 states. Obviously there is a correlation between lack of exercise and increasing obesity.

There have been numerous studies that have proven that obese people can reduce their risk of heart disease and premature death by exercising moderately for 150 minutes per week. The most interesting part about that is they have also found that even if there were no decreases in weight from moderate exercise the health benefits remained the same! So the fact of the matter is that people need to exercise moderately for 150 minutes per week, which is only equivalent to 22 minutes per day for health benefits even if weight loss is not a primary concern.

Obesity rates have been on the rise for a long time now, but I hypothesize that obesity, overweight, Type 2 diabetes, and other health related factors will rise even more due to more stress in people’s lives now. We are all living through a very stressful economic time in this country, and people are letting their health go to the wayside as a result. I felt compelled to write this article to get people to at least invest in themselves and their health even though times are tough for most right now. Not only will exercise increase your quality of life, and your health, but it’s also a great stress reliever as well. We are living in a time where many things are out of our control, such as the economy, but we will always have control of our health and well-being regardless of what is going on in the rest of the world.

Staff at Blue Springs Fitness are always here to help you. It doesn’t matter if your brand-new to working out, or if you have been working out for years.

Blue Springs Fitness Car/Truck/Bike Show – Down Syndrome Fundraiser

Kurt Mueller — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 20:05:52 +0000

On Saturday Oct. 8th from 10:00am – 2:00pm, Blue Springs Fitness will be hosting a car/truck/bike show in the Blue Springs Fitness parking lot. All the proceeds from this event will be donated to Down Syndrome!! So please come by and check out all the cool rides and help raise awareness and money for Down Syndrome.

Zarda’s BBQ will be serving food, and we are also holding a raffle for some cool prizes. We will raffle off a 40″ flat screen HDTV, a Sig Sauer P250c handgun donated by Full Metal Armory, $200 gift certificate for HH Tires and Wheels, $25 gift certificate to Blue Springs Harley-Davidson, and more.

We will have real race cars for the kids to sit in and have their pictures taken as well!

Weight Training Integral for Weight Loss

Kurt Mueller — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 20:08:21 +0000

Several recent studies have found that intense weight training is an integral component of weight loss, and weight control, because it causes a prolonged increase in post-exercise oxygen consumption and metabolic rate. A University of Maine study found that post-exercise metabolic rate was similar in routines with light loads (37-56% max) performed to exhaustion, and heavy loads (70-90% max) to exhaustion.

In other words, regardless of the training load you use, always train to exhaustion, and you will reap the benefits of increased post-exercise metabolic rate. However, if your overall goal is to build and maitain as much muscle mass as possible, it is suggested that you continue using heavy loads to exhaustion.

Inadequate Sleep – Obesity Risk Factor

Kurt Mueller — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 20:16:59 +0000

Inadequate sleep is an important risk factor for obesity. Sleep loss causes an increased release of the hormone ghrelin, which boosts appetite and slows metabolic rate. From personal experience, and working with many clients, most people would agree that they tend to get hungry more are night. This could be one of the reasons for those late night binges that almost felt uncontrolable.

Another major cause of concern when it comes to inadequate sleep is that Growth Hormone is released primarily at night while we are sleeping. Growth Hormone is a potent fat burner in it’s own right, and if we disrupt this process it could lead to fat gain rather than fat loss.

Whey Protein After Exercise

Kurt Mueller — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 17:39:40 +0000

Consuming whey protein and carbohydrates after a workout is no more effective than protein alone. Many recent studies found that post-exercise consumption of 25 grams of whey protein stimulated protein synthesis. Researchers from McMaster University found that stimulating insulin release with carbohydrates after exercise did not augment protein synthesis greater than a protein supplement alone.

For a long time there has been a school of thought that a person with the goal of gaining muscle size and/or strength should ingest a fast-acting carbohydrate as soon as possible after completing their weight training. The theory was that the carbohydrate would spike insulin levels, which would in turn promote protein synthesis, replenish glycogen stores, and shuttle amino acids into the muscle cell if taken along with whey protein.

FREE Tanning or Child Care – Limited Time!

Kurt Mueller — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 20:03:50 +0000

Blue Springs Fitness is offering one of the best deals we have ever ran, but it will only last for a limited time! If you are a new member that joins between 03/15/2011 and 03/31/2011 you can have your choice of either free tanning or child care to go along with your membership! The tanning package alone is worth $396!!! Don’t let this opportunity pass you up. You must mention this ad in order to receive, and it only applies to new members to Blue Springs Fitness.

New Years Specials! Join Today!

Kurt Mueller — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 20:14:27 +0000

Blue Springs Fitness has some really good rates right now to kick off the New Year! The Blue Springs Fitness Staff are here to make sure we help you reach your goals, and we will do that by taking time with you developing a personalized workout and nutrition program. On top of great rates we are currently offering Free Enrollment!!

Starting this year we also have a highly qualified personal training team provided by Total Body Fitness. If you are ready to get into the best shape of your life, take a moment to meet with a Total Body Fitness trainer for a free consultation. You will be glad you did by the time Summer rolls around!