The #1 Reason You Are Stuck In The Diet Cycle

The other day I got a text from a good friend of mine who has struggled with her weight for a while. It was Monday at 7 am. Friend: Do you know anything about the "Latest Diet?” A lady at work is doing it and lost 20 pounds. Me: Nope. Never heard of it. Friend: It...

Lift Weights to Lose Weight?

Facebook is a double-edged sword. Some days it sucks the life out of you and takes every opportunity to waste a LOT of your time — other days it inspires your latest blog post! A few months ago I got an "On This Day" notification -- a look back throughout the years of...

Finding Fitness Motivation in the Cardiac ICU

In my last blog post, "Reframing Your Thoughts on Fitness Goals,” I wrote about changing the way we think about exercise. By shifting our thoughts to think of exercise as a privilege instead of a punishment, we give ourselves a little extra push to get out the door....

Are the bad habits creeping in?

So it’s January 15th and I’m sure most of you have made a New Year’s Resolution that involves weight loss, becoming more healthy or eating cleaner. Am I right? That is awesome…really. I love seeing people take control over their health and well being. But it’s around this time of January that the bad habits start creeping in. One skipped workout leads to two, one bite of ice cream leads to a Ben and Jerry’s induced food coma… ok that’s an exaggeration but really. I’ve seen the pattern of “newbies” who join a gym in January and end up getting discouraged because their “workout” yielded no results. For the life of me I will never understand why a complete beginner would go into a gym and not think they need guidance

It’s OK…

In Glamour Magazine there is a section called “Hey, It’s OK…”. It is basically an article they run every month about feeling ok about things that you don’t usually share with anyone else. Today is my very first “Hey, It’s OK”…so here goes nothing 🙂

It’s OK…

To have an app that counts the days until the next time I can be in Key West.

To want to buy every coffee flavor available for my new Keurig.

To wish my sister lived closer.

To never, ever let ANYONE (read husband and kids) take a bite off my plate before I have.

To hate running even though I’ve run 2 marathons.

To not understand people who make fun of overweight people…I guess they are perfect and struggle with nothing!

To eat only the bits of cookie dough out of the ice cream.

To really dislike certain aspects of Crossfit…I mean REALLY dislike 🙂

To have found a new friend whom I should have befriended a long time ago.
To put my ice cold feet on my husband while in bed…he doesn’t mind 😉

To wish classes didn’t start back up in 2 weeks.

That’s all for now!

New Year’s Resolution Special!

For the month of January I am offering the following discounts to any new clients!

15% off any package of 4 trainings

20% off any package of 8 trainings

25% off any package of 12 trainings

Check out my Packages and Classes page for pricing.

Annoying Gym People

I’ve been in a lot of gyms during my 10 years as a personal trainer.

I’ve seen some pretty amazing transformations of client’s mind and body.

I’ve been asked about many new fads that come out on late night infomercials.

I’ve seen some pretty “interesting” people doing some VERY interesting things and that’s what I’m going to talk about today. The following is a list of most annoying interesting people I’ve seen in my 10 years.

Exercise and Stress Relief

I’m stressed out. I try not to be. In my crazy head I think “You’re not stressed Anne. Balancing all of this stuff isn’t hard. Just relax.” For some reason none of that works 🙂

Between my kids, husband, house and being a Personal Trainer I decided it was a good idea to go to school to become a Massage Therapist. I know… maybe not the best timing but there is never a perfect time. So while I have been running around looking like the crazy lady at the top of this post I decided that something needed to change. I needed to workout. It seems counter intuitive to be adding something to my plate in order to feel less stressed but it works.

Tabata Thursday

I’m just checking in after too long of not blogging 🙁 The summer has been fun but between training, working out and taking care of a family I just haven’t had the time! So I’m back! This is a short post about a workout you can try. To learn more about tabata training check this out http://www.ihavewine.com/keyfitnesstraining.com/tabata-training.

I’m planning on doing this with a group of clients tonight. Let me know if you love it as much as they will. :~)

Using a track or treadmill, set your interval timer for 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest. When the timer “buzzes” you run as fast as you can until the 20 seconds are up and then you can rest for 10 seconds. Continue this for 8 rounds which is 4 minutes.

At the end of this, you should feel dead. During it, you should hate it (and me).

That’s all for now!

Relay for Life

The Relay for Life is a HUGE fundraiser for the American Cancer Society. If you have never heard of it, it’s a 24 hour relay were members of each “team” are to be walking the track at all times. Donations are collected, things sold, baskets of goodies raffled off, luminaria bags lit and memories of those who have lost their lives to cancer shared. In short, it’s a fun event to raise money for a not so fun disease.

 

 

I am participating in this event for a number of reasons:

  1. It’s a great cause
  2. My son, Thomas’ Cub Scout pack has a team and I volunteered to help out
  3. It’s fun
  4. I had cancer

All standard reason’s for helping out…except for #4 maybe!

 

27 years ago I was diagnosed with Wilm’s Tumor, childhood kidney cancer. I had my right kidney removed and 6 months of chemo. So, if you know my age now you would know that all of this happened at the ripe old age of 7. People ask if I remember what happened all those years ago. Of course I do. It’s hard to forget because of the constant reminders like the huge scar that’s on the right side of my body, the paranoia I have every time my kid’s bellys hurt, the time when I hold my breath during their annual physicals and anytime I hear about someone being diagnosed with cancer.

 

So I guess #4 should be #1 on my list. I’m involved with the Relay for Life because I know first hand how much cancer sucks. But really, for me, it doesn’t suck so bad.

 

I’m still here.

I have an awesome healthy family.

I have a healthy body that is not betraying me.

I’m watching my children grow up and develop into amazing people.

I’m growing old with my husband and living a life I could have only dreamed of.

I’m alive.

I Relay to raise money for all of those who weren’t so lucky.

I raise money to find a cure so there will be more stories like mine.

 

I will be raffling off a basket at the Relay of free personal training sessions and fitness related “stuff”. All proceeds of the raffle go to my team, Pack 57 Rocks Against Cancer.

 

Come on down to the Belchertown Track June 22nd 6pm – June 23rd 12pm to support a great cause. Like I said there will be goodies to buy, raffle tickets sold, a rock wall to climb and stories to share. You don’t have to be on a team to check things out!

 

If you want to donate to my team but aren’t in the area, you can go to http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?px=12018638&pg=personal&fr_id=39808 or send donation directly to me.

Tabata Training

I hate cardio.  There I said it.  I really do.  I've tried all the different ways to make it more interesting.  You know the tips listed on the shiny fitness magazines...   "Switch machines for variety!" "Try this bordem buster cardio workout!" "This playlist...

My Enemy

    Enemy   noun \ˈe-nə-mē\ something harmful or deadly one seeking to injure, overthrow, or confound an opponent When we usually think of an enemy we think of a person.  Someone who stole your boyfriend in high school, the mean college professor that handed...

Announcement

I’m excited to announce my partnership with the Belchertown Recreation Department in offering my very own Fit Mommies Bootcamp! Over the last few years of living here I have heard from countless women that they would love to have some sort of fitness class to go during the time their kids are in school. The Rec Department was lacking adult fitness classes and happily accepted my proposal for this new class. Throughout the 4 week session I will be introducing you to how to challenge your body and get the best results possible. Aside from meeting on Tuesday and Thursday for an hour, I will be assigning “homework” to keep you accountable on the days we don’t meet. This class is for ALL activity levels. No one is too out of shape OR in shape to benefit from this class. The first day I will be conducting a fitness assessment on every person. Don’t worry… no yelling out your weight or how many push-ups you did! Your results are a baseline to see where you started. As the weeks progress and you get stronger, you will love to know how much you have improved! I know a lot of people who are asking why should I spend my time and money to do this bootcamp? My answer is why not? If you are going to the gym 3 or 4 times a week but seeing no results you NEED this bootcamp. Let me teach you the exercises and intensity level you need to achieve your goals. You WILL feel stronger and more fit after these 8 weeks. For more info go to http://www.belchertown.org/departments/rec/Fit%20Mommies%20Bootcamp.htm

Reasons to Strength Train

One of my biggest obstacles in helping people achieve their weight loss goals is their reluctance to lift weights. Many people, mostly women, think if they aren’t slaving away on a treadmill or elliptical machine for an hour every day they are not going to lose any weight. This is simply not true. In fact next time you are at the gym look around and observe what people are doing. Some are on the same cardio machine for 45 minutes, others are only lifting weights and yet others are doing a combination of both. Now, tell me which group of people looks the most healthy, toned and in the best overall good shape? Without a doubt it is those doing a combination of cardio and weight training.

The benefits of adding strength training to your gym time is invaluable. Here are my top 9 reasons to start strength training today!

Strength Training

1. increases your energy levels

2. improves your posture

3. increases your energy

4. helps build your bones

5. reduces stress

6. firms your soft spots

7. increases your metabolism

8. improves self confidence

and my favorite

9. you can kick someone’s butt if you have to!!

If you need some help learning proper form and the best exercises for your body, don’t hesitate to shoot me an email at anne@keyfitnesstraining.com or call me at 413-579-1767!

Here we go…

Welcome to my blog about fitness, nutrition and life! I am a personal trainer, group exercise instructor, wife, mother and lover of all things Key West! I currently live in Belchertown with my husband and 2 kids. I have been in the fitness industry for almost 10 (!) years now and I love it more every day. After working in numerous gyms all over the country, I have decided to go out on my own and create Key Fitness. I was tired of someone else telling me what to do with my clients, only helping people who felt comfortable in a gym and not being paid (a long story).
So here I am a business owner and loving every minute of it! I train my clients in their homes, at a few gyms in the local area (Amherst, Belchertown, Ware, Hadley and Ludlow), at The Aerobics and Fitness Studio in Amherst and outside in the warmer weather. I specialize in weight loss, strength training, interval training, bodyweight exercises and functional exercises.
I plan to use this blog as a way of sharing different topics related to fitness and life in general. Stay tuned for my next post!