First of all, I have to let you all know that I joined a gym!  AND I have been hired to teach there as a group fitness instructor and I couldn’t be more excited.  Currently, I am just on the sub list but hopefully I’ll have a class on the schedule in the near future.

There are many reasons why I love this gym, and one of them is the fact that they really focus on overall health and wellness.  Of course, fitness is a component to that but the sole focus isn’t fitness.

Last week, I was able to have my Wellness Assessment done at my new gym.  All new members are able to have one of these assessments.

Wellness Report

The assessment measured the things you would expect such as:

  • Body fat percentage
  • Resting heart rate
  • Cardiovascular fitness
  • Strength
  • Flexibility
  • Body mass index

But I feel that they even took the test a step further by evaluating your mental well being and blood work to really get a FULL picture of how you are doing.  In addition to what I listed above, they evaluated:

  • Blood pressure
  • Cholesterol
  • Stress
  • Sleep
  • Life
  • Diet
  • Blood Sugar
  • Quality of Life

I thought the test was great and very stress-free.  Oddly enough, the girl performing my assessment was from Indianapolis and did some work at NIFS (my old gym) while she was in grad school!  Small world.

Of course no one is perfect, and while I did score very well on the assessment there were a couple of areas that I needed to work on to make my overall health even better.

Areas I need to continue to improve on are:

  • Flexibility
  • HDL (my good cholesterol)
  • Strength

Here is my action plan for how to work on these areas:

Flexibility:

I honestly feel like the least flexible person EVER.  My hamstrings have always been tight, I have never been able to do the splits and touching my toes is out of the question BUT I am still practicing yoga at least once a week to help with my flexibility.  Also, I am going to start foam rolling for about 20 minutes before bed each night.

foam roller treble in the kitchen

I met with Megan, my trainer from my new gym, yesterday for about 30 minutes to go over some foam rolling techniques and man did that feel good! She definitely showed me some new poses that hit my muscles in a way that “hurts so good.”

HDL (good cholesterol):

My total cholesterol was low, and when the HDL was separated from the LDL we found that my HDL was low too.  I can increase this by eating more healthy fats like avocado, coconut oil, salmon, nuts, flax seed.  So, I am going to be more mindful by including at least one healthy fat at each meal.  I will admit, there are times when I cook without oil or eliminate the oil for a couple of reasons 1) because I like the taste without the oil and 2) out of habit…there was a time when I tried to eliminate all added fats and those habits have stuck with me a little bit!

(You guys know I love nut butter!)

macademia nut cashew butter

I have been adding a teaspoon or two of almond butter to my morning smoothies, flax seed to my oats, and coconut oil to my roasted veggies.  Hopefully that helps!

Strength:

Before Brian and I moved to Denver, I was doing a LOT of strength training.  Through CXWORX, Bodypump, kettlebell training, barbell weight lifting, and circuit workouts I definitely got my fix in and I felt STRONG.

olympic lifting barbell club

Now that we have kind of been out of our routine for a month now things have been a little different.  I am still exercising and making sure to move my body, but my strength training has been inconsistent.  Now that I have a new gym, creating a workout schedule will be much easier so I plan on mapping out my week ahead of time and getting in at least two strength training classes/workouts a week.

I know that doesn’t sound like much, but according to the US Department for Health and Human Services it is recommended that healthy adults incorporate strength training exercises at least two times a week.  It’s also different out here than it was in Indiana.  In Indiana, I had no problem spending tons of time in the gym outside of my working hours, but here if it’s a nice day I am going to get my body moving by going on a run, hiking a trail, or going skiing.  I love that kind of mindset 🙂  Fitness doesn’t have to be “in the gym.”

Nike Fuelband

One more goal!

Recently, I started wearing my Nike Fuelband and I love it.

Nike Fuelband

Like many of you, I feel like I sit during the majority of the day.  Having this band has really allowed me to keep track of my steps so that I make sure to hit the recommended 10,000 steps a day.  So, when I take quick breaks from work, I make sure to walk around and get my body moving rather than stalk people on facebook 🙂  Much better use of time if you ask me!

So those are my health and wellness goals!  Wish me luck 🙂

Your Turn:

  • What is one thing you can improve in your own personal health and wellness? 
  • Have you made an action plan to work on it?

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  1. I definitely have been working on my strength lately! It can be so easy to get lazy and just hit the cardio machines or go run outside and throw strength training to the side, but it makes such a difference for me! We’re in this one together! 😉

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