Sarah Kolvas
Article Archive
Starting a fitness program can be daunting, especially when your only exercise is the occasional walk or yoga class. But when Colleen Donofrio, then 57, heard about personal trainer Nicole Simonin’s successful program, Shape It Up, her motivation to improve her health—and her yoga poses—outweighed her fears.
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You may not be familiar with the sartorius muscle, but you’ve no doubt flexed it during countless lower-body exercises, stretches and yoga poses.
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Prebiotics are best known for supporting gut health, but they can also improve sleep and enhance stress resilience, according to a study published in Scientific Reports. Researchers from the University of Colorado Boulder say prebiotics—dietary fibers that nourish the gut’s microbiome—create a symbiotic relationship with the body that affects the brain.
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According to a study in Endocrinology, soybean oil may cause genetic changes that lead to neurological conditions such as autism, Alzheimer’s disease, anxiety and depression. Researchers compared mice that were fed three different diets high in fat: soybean oil, soybean oil modified to be low in linoleic acid, and coconut oil. Results showed that a…
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A new study on insomnia in postmenopausal women suggests the consumption of refined carbohydrates may be the cause. The findings were published online in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
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It’s time to revisit one of the basics of biology: mitochondria. These organelles, which occur in almost all types of human cells, generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the energy that cells use (Newman 2017; Newman 2018). They are critical for powering metabolic processes, making them a building block of physical health and fitness.
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Andrew Sung had tried multiple training programs, but nothing seemed to help him reach his fitness goals. When he found personal trainer and competitive bodybuilder Aaron Seaton, that all changed.
“Andrew came to me with a defeated outlook,” says Seaton, a multicertified NASM trainer. Still, “he was highly motivated; just unsure how to put the pieces together.”
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As the control center for the body’s nervous system, the brain participates in every human function. From sensing to controlling motor skills, its vital role in movement means this cognitive powerhouse is—literally—the brains behind your work as a fitness professional.
There are three main components that make up your mind:
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As a fit pro, you are all too familiar with training muscles to build strength, mass and better movement in your clients—by now, you might consider it muscle memory!
Yet, as a major system present throughout the body, the muscular system is vast and intricate with plenty to explore. After all, muscles produce every movement, from the basic, like digestion and respiration, to the complex, like running, dancing and weightlifting.
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Many of your clients likely work desk jobs and sit most of the day. This is not an ideal situation for many reasons, one being the risk of developing chronic lower-back pain. If you or a client is experiencing aches or sharp pains in the lower back, the issue may stem from problems with the quadratus lumborum.
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Every time you take a step, your piriformis muscles help to keep your stride in good form.
The piriformis is a flat, pyramid-shaped muscle in the gluteal region (you have one on each side of the body). Located behind the gluteus maximus, the piriformis attaches to the base of the spine (the sacrum) on one end and to the top of the femur, the trochanter, on the other end (Kenhub 2019; Chang, Jeno & Varacallo 2019).
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When Colleen Evans wanted to improve her strength while healing from Lyme disease, her doctor knew exactly who could help her: fellow patient and personal trainer Shona Curley.
Like Colleen, Curley had been diagnosed with Lyme disease and was coping with its symptoms.
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How much do you know about your scalene muscles? If you just tilted your head in confusion, you can attribute that simple movement, in part, to your scalenes, three pairs of muscular tissue that flank the sides of the neck.
Anterior scalenes, on the front side of the neck, connect the third through sixth cervical vertebrae to the first rib.
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We do this every moment of the day; it can help us relax, and it speeds up when we exert ourselves—all without so much as a thought. Inhale. Exhale. Breathe! This important gas exchange, which keeps us alive, can only happen thanks to the miraculous work of the lungs.
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The hypothalamus occupies little real estate in the brain, but it houses nuclei critical to many of the body’s regulatory functions. Situated just beneath the thalamus, it keeps the body in homeostasis by controlling the sleep-wake cycle, body temperature, hunger and thirst, sex drive, fluid balance, emotions, blood pressure, and heart rate (Johnson 2018).
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CLIENT: Sam Garman
PERSONAL TRAINER: Kali Stewart, MS
LOCATION: Milagros Fitness/Online Coaching, San Diego
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When you think of the gallbladder, two things likely come to mind: It’s located in the right abdomen, and it’s associated with painful gallstones. But, typically, little attention goes to this small organ working quietly behind the scenes during digestion.
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As a fitness pro, you no doubt value the restorative properties of professional massage. However, finding time for a massage may sometimes be difficult. That’s why it’s helpful to use self-care massage tools for preventing or treating pain or imbalances in the body. While these tools don’t provide “massage” as such (and can’t replace a professional therapist), the best ones offer some of the same benefits.
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In literature, it has been known to curdle, boil and run cold. Yes, we’re talking about blood. A closer look at its function and composition reveals an interesting story about the human body. Blood travels through the circulatory system to deliver vital nutrients, oxygen and hormones to the body’s tissues, and it’s made up of four components: red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets and plasma (MSKCC 2017).
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