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TruFit Personal Training Studios, LLC
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Articles! Videos! Musings on Fitness!​

Got Desk Bod? We've Got Your Back! (And Hips, and Shoulders...)

1/6/2021

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We've started calling TruFit Evanston trainer Sarah Laspas (of Muscles & Moxie) our "Mobility Queen". While many people became one with their desk chair/desk couch over the last nine months, Sarah was deepening her already-profound knowledge of how help the body gain more mobility to be stronger, more bulletproof, and feel just plain GOOD.

Sarah now has a free program for all of you and has given us some teasers! Enjoy!

So, what is this program anyway?

Love For Your Shoulders

Love For Your Hips

Feeling Good Already?
Ready To Get the WHOLE Program for FREE?


    Did you know that Sarah, along with TruFit and IzzyFit owner Izzy, are co-teaching a pay-what-you-can class on Saturday, January 16th at 10AM Central on Zoom? THEY ARE! Expect a good mix of mobility and strength moves that EVERYONE can do. Seriously! 

    All proceeds benefit TruFit's Scholarship Program so we can reach more people and get them feeling good!

    Hope to see you there! Head here for more info or sign up below!
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    TruFit and the Case of the Tier 3 Resurgence Mitigations

    11/17/2020

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    Dearest TruFit Family,

    I wanted to send you all a quick update about new state-wide restrictions and where this news puts us.

    According to the State of Illinois Covid-19 Response, we are (re)entering Tier 3 starting Friday, November 20. Here is what that means to health and fitness centers:
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    The good news is that:
    • TruFit has been operating at no more than 20% capacity since June 1
    • We do not do group classes
    • We have required masks to be worn in the studio at all times since June 1
    • Trainers must reserve space in the studio at least 12 hours ahead of appointment times to ensure the studio is not over capacity
    • We have no locker rooms :)
    We also:
    • Have our windows open wide in every room to provide fresh air flow (don't worry, it's not cold; the radiators are also on!)
    • Have our air purifiers cranked up to clean the air
    • Disinfect everything like crazy after each use
    • Ask that everyone stay 10 feet apart from each other

    We are SO happy about the progress being made in the vaccine world while we lament at the incredibly high surge in cases in Illinois right now. We are doing everything we can to keep our clients strong and resilient and healthy whether that is in person or through a screen and I want to extend the loudest THANK YOU to each and every one of you who has supported TruFit and every trainer inside of it this year. 

    We have a ways to go before we ever get back to a busy TruFit but I know we'll get there again one day :) Until then, please do not hesitate to reach out if you need anything by emailing izzy@trufitpersonaltraining.com or texting/calling 312-497-8999.

    Yours in health,
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    Mary's At-Home Workout for Seniors to Stay Fit and Reduce Stress: Part 3

    3/31/2020

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    Enjoy part 3 of Mary's at-home program geared toward seniors!
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    Mary's At-Home Workout for Seniors to Stay Fit and Reduce Stress: Part 2

    3/31/2020

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    Enjoy Mary's second installation of her at-home workout routine for seniors (and anyone who wants to try it!).
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    Mary's At-Home Workout for Seniors to Stay Fit and Reduce Stress: Part 1

    3/27/2020

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    If you live in Evanston, chances are you know super trainer Mary Cox of MPower Fitness. If you DON'T know her, here's your chance! Mary works with many senior clients to help them maintain and better their strength and mobility. 

    Considering this current CoronaClimate, Mary has created a series of at-home workouts geared specifically for seniors (though anyone can do them) to help manage stress, to help people continue to move and stay healthy. 

    ​We'll be posting Mary's videos as they come out so for now, enjoy Part 1!
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    Self-Hugging: A How-To

    3/27/2020

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    A friend of mine let me know she hadn't had any human contact with anyone in 5 days. Not a single high five or hug... And this friend loves hugs. Needless to say she's -- WE'VE -- been going through lots of emotions lately and the thought of limiting our human interaction for who knows how long can feel... Well, I don't have to tell you.

    We need a hug. And mental clarity. And, from what I've heard from at least three people today, we need to get the kinks out of our necks that have settled in from less-than-ideal posture.

    Enter the Egg Roll, one of my favorite Original Strength moves!

    I'll tell you why I love it below but if you're in a hurry to feel better, here's how you do it:
    • Find some space on the floor where you can move to the left and right, preferably carpeted or where you have a yoga mat
    • Curl your body into a ball while you place your tongue on the roof of your mouth, breathing in and out through your nose (if you're stuffy, just work on breathing any way you can)
    • STARTING WITH YOUR EYES, look to one side then let your head follow until the rest of your body needs to follow. 
    • If you have the mobility, keep on looking to see what's behind you as I demonstrate in the video
    • When you've gone as far as you can go, LOOK WITH YOUR EYES to the opposite direction, letting your head follow, followed by your body
    • You should look like an egg rolling on a counter! Get it?

    Watch this video below:
    Here are a few reasons I LOVE this movement:
    • If feels good. It just does.
    • You get to light up a lot of nerve endings as your roll your body on the floor, similar to what you get out of a hug!
    • It's fun! Babies roll on the floor because it's their job but adults are expected to just sit in front of a computer all day? No thanks.
    • By practicing leading your movements with your eyes FIRST, you get to give your neck a break. Quality head control (and posture) starts with the eyes! Master this and your neck discomfort will be a thing of the past.
    • Your spine gets super gentle rotation which it needs to stay healthy.

    ​Practice this rad move for a few minutes per day and let me know how you feel in the comments below!

    ​Stay safe, stay healthy and keep moving!
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    What TruFit Is Doing About COVID-19

    3/12/2020

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    Dear TruFit community,

    Like you, we have been preoccupied with the ever-changing and evolving information about COVID-19. I have been monitoring the guidelines outlined from the WHO and CDC as well as our local Evanston government officials. Our priority is providing the TruFit community with a comfortable and safe environment. We want you to get healthy here at the studio and stay healthy outside of it.

    With that in mind, we want you to be aware of how we are working to reduce the risk of communicable disease at TruFit:

    • TruFit already gets a deep clean weekly; trainers are paying close attention to all surfaces (doorknobs, light switches, faucets, etc) and equipment, wiping them down with disinfectant spray and/or wipes after use.
    • Our towels come from a service that also services hospitals (so are super clean).
    • We have stocked the studio with plenty of hand sanitizer, soap, paper towels and spray bottles with Lysol solution.​​

    We would also ask for your help. Please:
    • Wash your hands BEFORE your session with your trainer (and before you leave because why not?).
    • Wipe down all of your equipment after use.
    • If you use a disposable cup, dispose of it when you are done.
    • If you use a towel, please place it in the hamper in the closet when you are done.
    • If you have to cough or sneeze, please do it in the crook of your elbow.
    • If you are sick, do not come to the gym.
    ​
    This situation remains fluid, with constantly changing information. Our promise to you is to be as transparent as possible as we make the best decisions that we can to keep our studio a safe place for all of us.

    With warm regards and clean hands,
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    Staying Limber Among the Timber: 5 Big Body Moves You Can Do In Small Spaces

    9/25/2019

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    The people who walk into TruFit’s doors are an adventurous bunch. Our community has trained here in preparation to hike through England, Switzerland, Alaska, New Zealand. Our clients have also gotten strong enough to hike Yellowstone after a stroke and some have trained to hike up and down their own stairs after double knee replacements.

    So, yeah, we know a thing or two about getting people ready for lots of strenuous activity. 


    The fall weather is starting to settle in which means our outdoorsy friends are getting in all of the camping and hiking they can before winter comes. And while you can do all the work ahead of your trip to make sure you're ready to climb and get your heart rate up, it's still going to be important to let your body prepare for and calm down from the day's activities!

    Here are five seemingly simple movements that have big effects on your body that you can do in a tiny space (like your tent!). Try these in order before you start your day and reverse the order before going to bed!

    1. Turtle Breathing

    Channel your inner turtle: Get onto your hands and knees with hips either on top of knees or sitting back toward feet and shoulders on top of elbows. It’s easy to collapse into your shoulder blades and look down but try not to do that; you want shoulders away from your ears and your eyes on the horizon. Place your tongue on the roof of your mouth as you breathe in and out through your nose. Feel your breath fill up not just the front of your stomach but your sides and back, too. Breathe in for 5 seconds and exhale for 6-7 seconds. Do this for two minutes.

    2. Neck Nods and Look-Arounds

    Set yourself up in a sphinx position with your elbows under or slightly ahead of your shoulders and your shoulders away from your ears. If you feel a lot of back pinchiness, feel free to scoot your arms a little further forward. Place your tongue on the roof of your mouth as you breathe in and out through your nose. Look up at the ceiling with your eyes and let your head follow. Then, look downward to your belly button and let your head follow. Repeat 10 times or so at a nice, slow pace. Then, look over your shoulder to see what’s behind you (a bear?!). A lot of times we want to look downward as we look around but really try to look up and over those shoulders. Your eyes start and then let your head follow and then let your spine follow after that. Repeat this about 10 times or so.

    3. Shinbox-Position Hip Rotations

    Sit tall with one leg bent in front of you and one behind you. I typically teach this with both knees at 90 degrees to help stretch out the glute more but the point of this shinbox exercise is for your long leg bone to rotate internally and externally in your hip socket. Place your hand on your back hip and then, using your eyes, look over your shoulder and behind you as the back hip rotates inward; then look over your other shoulder as that back hip rotates outward. This does not have to be a big movement at all but you want to feel as though that leg bone is gliding and mobilizing. Do this for 30-60s on each side

    4. Lego Rockbacks

    You’ll not only be connecting your hips with your shoulders with Lego Rockbacks but you’ll also  be adding LOTS of movement through your ankles and toes. The foot has 26 bones and 33 joints so you can imagine how thankful your feet (and the rest of your body!) will be to get so much love and attention after being stuck in hiking boots all day. Do 10 or so on each side.

    5. Walking Dead Bugs

    Lay on your back with your arms and legs up, knees bent (as much as you can depending on what your tent allows…) Extend one leg and your opposite arm down in the same direction and then bring them back up. Alternate sides. You want to keep your ribcage pressed against the ground during the whole exercise. Also keep the arm that isn't moving reaching up to the sky; it's common to let that arm move, too. Do this 6-8 times on each side.

    We hope this has been helpful to power your body up, power it down and let you hike to your heart's content. If you have any questions and/or want to meet with a TruFit trainer, please leave us a comment below, email us, call or text us!
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    When Your Feet Scream to Feel Better: 4 Exercises for Plantar Fasciitis

    6/21/2019

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    If you wake up, step out of bed onto the floor and scream from a searing pain that's burning up the bottom of your foot, you may be suffering from one of THE most annoying body buggers of all time: Plantar Fasciitis. If you have NOT been afflicted with PF in your life, consider yourself fortunate and know that this post is still for you!

    Here are some fun Plantar Fasciitis (PF) facts featured in this article  from a large national survey taken in 2013:
    • Approximately 1% of surveyed US adults were diagnosed with PF w/ pain in the last year--if asked who had been diagnosed with PF in their lifetime, I'm guessing stat would be higher considering the number of clients at TruFit alone who have had it (including yours truly)
    • Women are 2.5x more likely to report PF than men
    • PF is most prevalent in individuals aged 45-64
    • They found strong BMI associations; those with a BMI of 30 or more were 5x more likely to have PF than those with a BMI of 25 or less
    • More than two-thirds of those with PF use OTC medications for pain management; one quarter of respondents used opioids and prescription NSAIDs for pain
    • On characteristics of PF pain: 25% reported severe PF pain; 45% reported moderate; 28% had mild pain
    • 61%+ reported having pain every day, and almost 54% reported that PF pain interfered with normal work activities at least moderately. Nearly one-third reported severe pain-related interference.

    Y'all: The weather is finally nice enough to walk/run/bike/play outside in. Do you want PF to stand in your way of living your best life? 

    We didn't think so. 

    First things first: We are not doctors. We are not diagnosing anyone. We are not prescribing anything at all.

    We also know that the resets below from Original Strength are amazing in and of themselves, whether you have PF or are hoping to prevent it. You can do one reset or all four in a row! Do the resets for 30 seconds or two minutes! You can even check out trainer Kathryn's own foot-happy resets that she shared with us here! See what helps YOU feel better because you are an individual who might react really well to one thing and less to another!

    ​Without further ado, here is a short routine to help your body and feet get along with each other again!
    SINGLE LEG ROCKBACKS
    WHY?: Because rockbacks connect the shoulders to the hips and when we're not feeling great, it can feel like our body gets disconnected. An added bonus to this particular rockback variation is that we're adding leg extension with dorsiflextion for an added foot/calf stretch which, whether or not you have PF, can feel super yummy.

    LEGO ROCKBACKS
    WHY?:
    Like every other rockback variation, we're still connecting hips with shoulders but we're also adding LOTS of movement through the ankles and toes. The foot has 26 bones and 33 joints and when our plantar fascia is all gunked up and stuck, our poor foot's actually screaming out for locomotion. So let's give it just that!

    ROCKING CHAIRS
    WHY?:
    If you read our post from "National I Love My Feet Day" (you KNOW we celebrated that day!), then you'll know that the fascia that runs under our feet goes all the way up our calves, hamstrings and keeps traveling until it goes over our head and into our eye sockets. Everything is connected so why not give all the nerve endings in the back of your body some love with this reset? And just remember: The site of pain is often not the cause of pain so don't forget about the rest of your body parts.

    ELEVATED ROCKBACKS
    WHY?:
    We can get really down on ourselves when it hurts to load our bodies vertically (like, when we're walking or running or squatting at the gym). We're throwing this reset into the mix to throw in a little challenge into the mix! We're still extending the undersides of our feet here, which can feel good, and we're also adding load (our body weight)! So we're not just moving to feel better but we're also continuing to get stronger!
    Injuries can hold us back for a variety of reasons. So can the FEAR of injury. Let's agree, though, that if we don't move it, we lose it. We hope these OS resets help you feel good/better/the best! 

    Tried these out? Have other movements that helped you out? Let us know in the comments below!
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    3 Yummy Non-Alcoholic (Low-Cal!) Summertime Drinks

    5/12/2019

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    Warmer temps are upon us and that means picnics, baseball games, neighborhood block parties, street festivals, hanging out at the beach, dining outside…

    For some, this also means it’s the season for rosé and margaritas and ice-cold beer. Yes, summer can be a veritable smorgasbord of sweet and boozy sippers, and we can have them readily available on ice, frozen, even served in "bottomless" quantities (gulp)!

    Enjoying indulgent summer drinks can be a lovely bonus to good weather and good times, but are there non-alcoholic cold beverages that can feel similarly delicious and celebratory? Ones that provide more hydration, less calories and sugar, and even have health benefits?

    This is what we asked the TruFit trainer crew and here were their three favorite go-tos:
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    1) ICED TEA
    ​

    Walking through the tea isle at the grocery store is like walking through a rainbow of flavor options. You've got your Earl Greys and Oolongs AND you've got Sugar Cookie and Black Cherry Berry. The options are endless and creativity with your iced tea flavors can leave you feeling like a little kid! 

    Trainer Megan's favorite: Making her own blend by taking black tea bags and raspberry tea bags and brewing them together! Boil some water and steep 2 bags of each flavor for at least five minutes; the longer the steep, the stronger the taste. It's OK to get a strong, punchy flavor if you plan on serving the tea over ice!

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    2) KOMBUCHA

    ​Kombucha has been around a long time (according to Wikipedia that means anywhere from 200-2,000 years) but has taken over the local market in recent years! The pros:
     
    HEALTH BENEFITS. "It's fermented," explains Evanston's own Chiropractic First owner Dr. Meggie Smith. "So you get all of the microbiome benefits of fermented foods which can be good for GI, skin, digestion, etc."

    FIZZY & COMPLEX. Thanks to its fermentation giving it some fizziness, it can feel like you're enjoying something close to a soda or beer (and, yes, I did say fermentation and, yes, kombucha does have a tiny amount of alcohol content but it's usually closer to 0.5% vs around the 6ish% found in craft beer, which is why anyone can buy it at the store).
    Note: Dr. Meggie says kombucha helped her kick her 20-year soda addiction!

    FUN FLAVORS. Since it IS so popular, many kombucha makers are coming out with lots of different flavors to distinguish themselves. Local Evanston family-owned Kombucha Brava has flavors like Vanilla Pepper and Apple Carrot Ginger! Trainer Kathryn loves Cardamom Mint for its light and refreshing flavor as well as the Lemon Ginger flavor.

    If you live in Evanston, you can check out Kombucha Brava at its own tasting room as well as the Evanston Farmer's Market, to name a couple spots!

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    3) INFUSED WATER

    ​Bottle and canned water companies have tried REALLY hard to make water more exciting, but let's face it: Sometimes we still need to intervene to help us get those 8 glasses every day.

    Just like brewing your own flavor of iced tea, creativity is your only limiting factor when coming up with what to slice up and put into your water!

    So grab a few of the following ingredients and get hydrated!:
    - Cucumber and mint
    - Jalapeno and strawberry
    - Orange and a cinnamon stick
    - Blueberry and basil

    Marketing coordinator Allison's current fav (pictured above): Fruity La Croix Spritz
    • muddle small handful of juicy berries in a tall glass ("I used raspberries here but cherries would be good too--the juicier the better")
    • fill the glass with ice
    • squeeze in a slice of lime
    • add 1/2 can of lime La Croix
    • (optional add-ins): dash of simple/maple syrup for sweetness; make it alcoholic with a shot of gin
    Note: Not a fan of fruit bits in your water? Try using a water bottle with a built-in infuser, or blast the fruit and La Croix with an immersion blender before mixing in the other drink elements.


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    Available at Anthropologie
    The Power of Fun Glassware

    Sometimes the easiest way to dress up a beverage (and any food for that matter) is to put it in a fun, attractive container! Serving up your non-alcoholic beverages in special glassware can make it more, well...special! Try sipping one of our three favorite non-alcoholic summer drinks in a crystal tumbler, wine glass, or quaint decorative juice glass to add instant flair.  

    We hope these summer beverage ideas help jog your own drink creativity and experimentation! What are some of YOUR go-to non-alcoholic and low-cal drinks for summer? We'd love to hear in the comments below!
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