Duo #1: Kathy Ahl & Sam Meade (Married) 

Started at LAB5: 

Kathy: I signed up before LAB5 even opened (April 9, 2011)! It is what I had been actively looking to find for some time in my neighborhood. Everything else I tried fell short of my expectations, or just wasn't enjoyable enough to keep doing. LAB5 delivered on all accounts, thank you!

Sam: December 13th, 2011

Favorite workout move: 

Sam & Kathy (Maui 2012)

Kathy: Ab rollers, or sew the needle--but it changes frequently

Sam: STRETCHING after I workout! 

Hobbies:

Kathy: I don't have a lot of time outside work, kids, & exercise. I try to spend most of my free time just hanging out with my family.

Sam: Cooking, skiing, kids.

Pets? 

Ollie, a golden retriever.

What has getting in better shape with your LAB partner done for your relationship? 

Kathy: Since we have young kids, we almost never

actually take a class at the same time. Having tandem memberships has been fun, because we often (somewhat competitively) compare notes, & it has made it very easy to support & celebrate each others fitness. Going to LAB5 makes us both feel great, & it makes us happier all around. Love getting compliments from my spouse!

Sam: We both enjoy getting fit in the LAB, our physiques both changed noticeably within a few weeks of joining. Both of us have been encouraged by these results, & the improvement in our quality of life has clearly enhanced our relationship. As a result, we've both developed...

Click here to read more on Kathy & Sam, our second spotlight on power Duo Julie & Claire, and more!

Staying Motivated

So you caved in, slipped, splurged, or lost motivation--WHO CARES?! Don't sit there in shame and dwell on it or look at these situation as failures. You're so much 

stronger than that. Get up, dust yourself off & move forward. This was only

Rebekah Marion

a little bump in the road, a hurdle, an obstacle. Take it one day at a time, aim for progress, not perfection, & never give up on something you want this badly. It's worth trying again & again!

They say it takes roughly 21 days to make a routine a habit, some argue it takes anywhere from 21 to 90 days to create a habit. It seems that exercise tends to lend itself towa

rd the latter end of the 90 day projection. That means that where we are right now is smack dab in the thick of it.

One of the best ways to stick with a routine on your path towards turning it into a fitness habit is to set achievable goals. It's easy to go all out, gung-ho, determined that hell or high water you will brutalize your body 7 days a week to shed those extra lbs. I one-hundred percent agree with and fully condone being active, moving our bodies and working out daily! Having said that though, if you "kill your body", i.e. crazy-hard muscle-failure inducing workouts ever single day, you are likely to burn out quickly. You may actually get less out of your workouts because your body simply cannot perform. It's not about 

going 0 to 60 in 3.5 seconds, try not to focus on only the end result, but on...

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Clients repeatedly ask about 'cardio', and are concerned that they may not be getting enough of it in their routine.  The perception is that strength training is for muscle building, and that traditional 'cardio' (running, cycling, elliptical) are for fat burning and heart health. However, these distinctions are oversimplified. The fact is, the muscles, cardio, and fat-burning are all happening cooperatively during high-intensity exercise. 

"Skate" on the Reformer

Rather than thinking of exercise as either 'strength' or 'cardio', it is better to understand how the body provides the needed energy for any activity. The body has several energy systems it uses to sustain activity, depending on the duration. Keeping it simple (avoiding a lengthy discussion of ATP, ADP, and the Krebs cycle), the anaerobic systems are collectively those that energize intense movement of short and medium duration, lasting 1 second to several minutes. The aerobic system, or the oxidative (requiring oxygen) provides energy for activities lasting longer than 2-3 minutes. Traditionally, these are low intensity activities such as walking, running, cycling, etc. However, any muscular activity that is sustained for longer than 2-3 minutes must rely on the aerobic pathway and is therefore by definition, "cardio".(Have you ever found yourself short of breath in an intense reformer session, or during a Tabata interval in TRX?) One reason why we often find ourselves stopping during a movement is...

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