Classika Fitness 2306 Bedford Avenue / Lynchburg VA 24503 / 455-4788

A quick way to make pizza healthier

Pizza can be a mixed bag when it comes to nutrition. On the positive side, it can have some healthy toppings and provide a concentrated source of lycopene. On the negative side, it will usually be a dense source of calories and have fairly high levels of saturated fat and sodium. All that said, it isn't the worst thing out there, that's for sure.

University of Maryland researchers have found a way to make pizza a little healthier still: make the dough out of whole wheat flour, let it sit for a day, and then bake the pizza at a fairly high temperature (~500 degrees). This combination tends to bring out more antioxidants than regular dough. Antioxidants help cells recover from damage. (Although, as with many things, virtue is found in moderation. Too many antioxidants can reduce blood flow and inhibit muscular function.)

Wendy

Periodically, we'll feature a client and find out what benefit they've gotten from coming to Classika and any advice they might have for getting in better shape generally. First up: Wendy!

Mark: How long have you been coming to Classika?

Wendy: I've been coming two years this month.

Mark: Two years this month; and what benefits do you get from coming here?

Wendy: There are a lot of them. My overall strength is better. My core strength is stronger, my balance is better. When I first came here I had significant knee and shoulder issues. By working here, I've strengthened the muscles in my legs and shoulders, so those issues are about gone. Another thing for a person my age is bone density -- that's very important, and I feel that the combination of walking and coming here and doing strength training has kept my bone density strong. I've gotten good bone density reports.

Mark: So, better joints, better balance, better bone density?

Wendy: Yes.

Mark: What advice would you give someone thinking about training?

Wendy: I think they'd get a lot of benefit from it. I think it's really great because it's a combination of training -- it's cardio, it's strength training, it's not the same every time so you don't get bored with the workout. It's just an overall good training program here.

Mark: Thanks, Wendy.

Can resistance training help runners?

Looking out our window here at Classika, I see quite a few runners traveling the streets around Rivermont and Bedford Avenues. I'm always happy to see people taking charge of their health. But if running is all they do to improve their health, they might be unwittingly passing up the benefits of resistance training. Resistance training can offer health benefits that aerobic exercise can't (and vice versa) and it can also actually help improve running performance as well as reduce some of the overuse injuries that many runners suffer.

There's an interesting article on it here. Just FYI, we are in the process of setting up a gym-based resistance training class geared toward benefiting runners and endurance athletes. If you would be interested in a class like that, give us a call. Times and prices aren't set yet but it would likely be twice a week in the evenings, with a max size of 4. It would be led by Robyn Burgess, herself an endurance athlete.

Reminder: speaking today to the Young Professionals in downtown

Just a reminder that I (Mark) will be speaking to the Young Professionals of Central Virginia at noon today at Terrace on the James restaurant, in the Bank of the James building. My talk, which will only last about 15 minutes, will be on making those New Year's resolutions last. What does it take to make a healthier lifestyle stick? I'll give some hints about what our successful clients have done to get in better shape.

UPDATE: Here's the text to the flyer I distributed:

How to Make a Lasting Change Toward Good Health

Getting healthier is usually not a matter of knowledge, but of changing bad habits.

USE PAPER POWER

• Realize how you got out of shape: write down why you have gotten out of shape.
• It won’t always be fun! Determine to do what is necessary to get fit; you may have to grind your way through sometimes, although once you see results you usually want to keep it going.
• Write down realistic goals and give them deadlines.
• Continually seek progress (while also accepting setbacks); change what isn’t working.

BE ACCOUNTABLE

• Tell friends, coworkers, and whoever will help you stay accountable to your stated goals; make sure your spouse/significant other is on board with your goal.
• Find someone to be your main support/accountability partner.

WORK OUT

• Our clients do best when they are active 3-5 hours per week. “Active” can include something as simple as walking.
• Workouts should be a “doable challenge.”
• Workouts are generally better when they are shorter and relatively intense.
• Keep a workout log and make your workouts progressively harder.
• Develop a habit of “ambient activity.” Walk a lot. Don’t sit for long periods of time if possible.

EAT HEALTHIER

• Find 8-10 recipes that you know you will eat and stock your pantry; you should make most of your own food.
• Eat breakfast.
• Keep an eating checklist.
• Many clients do well when aiming for about 1400-1600 calories per day.

GET REST

• Lack of sleep is strongly correlated with weight gain.
• Friends are important to your health! Make sure your family and friends are adding to your health, not detracting from it.
• Try to find an hour per day in which you have no responsibilities. Read for pleasure, go for a walk.

Eat a lot, lose weight

OK, that's oversimplifying. But I do want to draw attention to this article explaining that a very low carbohydrate diet often creates major, uncontrollable cravings and weight gain comes back. The study in the article advocates a manner of eating sometimes expressed by the saying: "Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper." The basic idea is:

• Eat a big breakfast. Even on a 1200-calorie per day diet, subjects had a breakfast of about 600 calories. Breakfast was carb-heavy.
• Make lunch and dinner subsequently smaller. Carbs are progressively removed from meals as the day goes on.

Subjects in the study who ate a low-carb diet lost a little more weight over four months than did those who were on the "big breakfast" plan: 28 to 23 pounds. However, over the next four months, the low-carb dieters gained most of the weight back; the big breakfasters lost even more pounds.

The bottom line is, your body needs a certain amount of healthy carbs, and it will get them eventually if you deprive it long enough. The key is to load them toward the beginning of the day.

Tuesday/Thursday class

It looks like we have room for one more person for a new small group that is forming for Tuesday/Thursday nights at 5:30. If you'd like to join, please give us a call at 455-4788 or email at info@classikafitness.com and we'll see if we can get you in!

Lunch talk with the Young Professionals

Young Professionals of Central Virginia has asked me to speak at their YP Voices meeting at noon on Jan. 20. The general topic is getting fitter and healthier in the new year, naturally. I'll give a very short presentation on what has worked with Classika clients and I also plan to talk a bit about what research has found to be effective with regard to changing behaviors. More info can be found on YP's website.

Calorie counts off a bit

Shocker, I know, but have you seen the report recently about how some restaurant foods aren't nearly the same calorie count as advertised? One might understand being a little off, but there are some very large discrepancies. That's why the Classika food diary gives you a point if you prepare all your own food. Not because your food doesn't have calories, but that 1) there won't be any calorie surprises in your meal, and 2) the portion will likely be more fitting.

The effect of supervision on elite VB players

This article illustrates a study on the effect of supervised strength training for elite Swedish volleyball players versus unsupervised training (i.e., the honor system). Players who were supervised in their strength training sessions had a significantly increased performance level.

From my personal experience, athletes perform far better when engaged in an intense strength and conditioning program, especially before the season starts. It always amazes me when athletes pass up this obvious route. However, that just means that athletes who do work out to improve performance have that much more of an advantage than their counterparts.

Just FYI, Classika is hosting volleyball strength and conditioning small groups for eight weeks beginning Jan. 11. Classes would start at 3:30 and 4:30. We're also hosting a softball small group at 5:30 in that same time frame.

The New Year

This is the time of year when everyone looks forward to what might come -- a time to plan and dream. It's no different for Classika as well. Let me explain a bit about how Classika has grown and what we'd like to see in the new year.

Classika started in 2007 in a 1000 square-foot unit on the back side of a building on Timberlake Road. I, Mark Haskew, did almost everything at that time. We began with some clients I had from the Y and we slowly grew there. We added our first trainer at the end of our time there, Tara Birely, who is still going strong with us. In 2008 we had a great opportunity to open in a larger, 1600 square-foot facility in downtown Lynchburg. The building was perfect for us at that time, with a nicely decorated interior at the old Academy Cafe site. It had a beautiful vaulted roof, iron rafters, and a cool feel to it. There we were able to grow further, to the point where we couldn't accept anymore clients, particularly in the evening hours.

So, we sought more space and ended up at 2306 Bedford Avenue, the old Vaughan Chevrolet building next to the new organic meat shop, very close to Randolph College. The new facility gives us at least twice the workout area as the downtown location. This building was pretty run down when we moved in and we are still looking at a lot of ongoing work. However, the essential work is nearly completed and further work is aimed at making your time here even more enjoyable and comfortable.

The extra workout area now allows us to host two small groups at the same time, or one small group and a couple other individuals working out with other trainers. This is important to me since the small training group idea has been a key element of the Classika plan since the very beginning. Small groups reduce the cost per person and provide some fun moments but are still personal enough to have lots of individual attention from your trainer. As the economy shows both positive and negative signs right now, more people are looking for the accountability and encouragement that small groups can provide. Bigger gyms have a hard time doing this. Classika, which is still on the small side, can do it very well.

At this point, we've grown to four trainers other than myself. In 2010, we can host more people seeking to improve their health and look, feel, and move better. One of the most exciting things we can offer this year is more training for high school athletes. Before, we simply couldn't fit many in; now we can host a few classes every day for active high schoolers to reduce the chance of injury and play better. We have oodles of more room here and we might even be able to expand into having a small membership as well. We are right next to the old car dealership's garage, which would make an ideal workout space for a general membership facility.

If you are serious about losing weight and getting fitter and firmer, consider Classika. We have experienced, professional personal trainers, and we have top-notch equipment (I won't bore you with the details but we have put a lot of thought into our equipment, right down to how rough the knurling is on the bars). Whether you are looking for the "me-time" of one-on-one training or the camaraderie of a small group or class, we believe Classika will be one of your top choices in the Lynchburg area. Our contact info is 455-4788 or info@classikafitness.com.