11Aug

Strength Training for Women

August 11, 2022 Jessica Bottesch 28

_{Today and every day we are focusing on Women’s Health…}

_{More specifically we are highlighting why it is so important for women to resistance train. There are countless reasons why strength training is beneficial for women but here are a few upsides. And, why Empower provides personal trainers for women.}

_{1. Increased Metabolism!}

_{Your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) is basically how many calories you burn while you are at rest, or an easy way to think about it is how many calories you would burn if you laid in bed all day and did absolutely nothing. Now everyone’s RMR is different based on a few factors: Gender, height, weight, age, muscle mass, just to name a few. A big one that is in your control though is your muscle mass! You could be burning less calories at rest than someone who weighs exactly the same as you but they are practicing resistance training and therefore gaining and maintaining lean muscle mass. While cardio is very appealing because when you get done with a bike ride, run, or long walk and you might see a higher calorie burn at the end of a workout than your typical strength training session. However, the muscle you are building during those strength training session will increase your muscle mass and your overall calorie burn towards the end of the day will be much higher over time than strictly doing cardio.}

_{2. Increased Bone Density!}

_{While the obvious and most apparent benefit of resistance training is muscle gain, you are also increasing your bone density. Resistance training puts stress on your bones which increases the overall bone density. Osteoporosis is a huge threat for women, especially menopausal women. The hormonal change that women go through during menopause puts them at a greater risk for osteopenia and osteoporosis.}

_{3. Maintaining your Independence!}

_{Balance is something that everyone struggles with time to time. What happens if you fall and can’t get up on your own? You don’t want to lose your independence. Most of the time people think of balance as being able to stand on one foot without falling over. While that is one example of balance, there is so much more to it than that. Balance allows us to do so much – walk on uneven surfaces, walk in the dark without falling, be able to walk in the grocery store and scan the shelfs and walk without having to look down at our feet.}

_{It has such an impact on our life that we don’t even realize we are going it. As we age our balance has a natural decline, doing balance exercises and core exercises can help slow down that part of the aging process and even help prevent falls as you get older. What if you do end up falling? Can you get up on your own? Do you have the strength to get up without help from an object or another person? The answer may be no, which is scary. Resistance training can help give you the strength you need to get yourself back up after a fall where you find you are by yourself.}

_{4. Increased Hormonal Response}

_{As we age and go through life stages such as menopause, it is natural for the anabolic hormones in our body to decrease in function which can accelerate the lost of muscle mass and bone density. However, it is well known that an acute bout of exercise can stimulate an increase in anabolic hormone response. Studies in both Cardio and Resistance Training have shown to increase levels in Estradiol, Prolactin, Testosterone, Thyroid and many other anabolic hormones. Estradiol (the precursor to estrogen) and Prolactin (hormone for milk production and lactation) are both key to the development of women across all ages.}

_{5. Prenatal/Postnatal Exercise Response}

_{Regular exercise has been shown to have important health benefits after childbirth. A few published studies suggest that postpartum exercise improves aerobic capacity, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, and insulin sensitivity. In prenatal and lactating women further studies have shown that there are no adverse effects to regular exercise.

These a 5 great reasons to start (or increase) a strength training program, and there are more including weight loss (but we didn’t want that one to steal the show). 😉}

Want to get started today? Try this Trip-Set Strength Training Workout:

Try this one!

Interested in working with an Empower Personal Trainer?

Book a FREE Session Here!

16Mar

Group Fitness is Back!

March 16, 2022 Jessica Bottesch 52

Drum Roll Please . . .

Something great is returning to Empower, and we are so excited.

As you know, we made a lot of big decisions throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and one of those decisions was to halt all group training sessions to minimize exposure to people from different households. However, as we emerge from the state of isolation that Covid has caused, we are re-launching our Small Group Training Classes. Yippee!!

Here’s what to love about this:

Small Group Training at Empower differs greatly from your typical group fitness studio class. You are not just another number in a large crowd because we limit our group size to 8 (for indoor sessions).

Our sessions are led by fully certified, very experienced, expert personal trainers or instructors. The best of the best!

Small Group Training is like personal training but with friends and more affordable. While personal training offers you the ultimate level of personalization, these small group sessions are small enough that the instructor can still help each individual person and with a much lower financial investment.

There is something for everyone with Small Group Sessions like:

Empower Circuit Training

Flow and Restore Yoga

Muscle Gaining Functional Training

Greatest HIIT’s

Barre – Yoga Fusion

and MORE . . .

Starting the week of March 21^st our new Group Fitness schedule will be in full swing and we offer a couple lunch time classes and several that start at 5:30pm so you can fit it in before heading home for the day.

REGISTER HERE for Small Group Training Classes: First Class is Complimentary!

(remember full class schedule begins 3/21so scroll to that date to see all classes)

SCHEDULE

Monday

12:30pm- 1:30pm – Empower Circuit Training with Brooke (in studio only)

5:30pm – 6:30pm – Flow and Restore Yoga with RJ (In-Studio and Virtual)

Tuesday

5:30pm – 6:15pm – Muscle Gaining Functional Training with Marques (in studio only)

Wednesday

11:30am – 12:30pm – Empower Circuit Training with Marques (in studio only)

5:30pm – Deep Stretch Yin Yoga with RJ (In-Studio and Virtual)

Thursday

9:00am – 9:45am – JAR Barre – Yoga Fusion with Judy (virtual only)

6:00pm – 6:45pm– Greatest HIIT’s Training with Marques (in studio only)

Friday

9:00am – 10am JAR Barre – Yoga Fusion with Judy (in studio only)

11Oct

Mindful Movement & Meditation

October 11, 2021 Jessica Bottesch 24

Mindful Movement and Meditation:

4 Week Series – Sundays, 4:00 – 4:45 pm

Starting Oct. 17^th

If you are one of the majority who thinks you can’t meditate because you can’t sit still, we designed this class for you. By incorporating qigong and tai chi-inspired movements prior to meditation, you will release built up energy in the body allowing the mind to settle so you can receive the benefit of a guided meditation. This 4 week series of 45-minute classes is perfectly balanced with movement and meditation so you won’t get bored. No experience needed. All Welcome.

Blanket, Bolster, and blocks are recommended, but not required. Empower can provide for in-studio participants, but please bring your own.

In-Studio registration is limited. Click the sign-up button below to reserve your spot. You will choose In-Studio or Virtual.

https://clients.mindbodyonline.com/classic/ws?studioid=8802&stype=-8&sTG=36&sView=day&sLoc=0&sTrn=100000057&date=10%2F17%2F21&fbclid=IwAR0dYCqH3qYhg8phbQTn922iBpqfSQ-b8kv16WHn7Vrk3DY9ywBGN4_FHyA&sessionChecked=true

19Sep

R.J. is Back at Empower!

September 19, 2021 Jessica Bottesch 21

This is the best news we have had to share in a long time . . .

For those of you who have been at Empower long enough to remember R.J. Lisander, it thrills us to announce SHE IS COMING BACK to Empower!

For those of you who have yet to meet R.J., you are in for a real treat, one that will make an impactful difference in your life.

R.J. is an amazing yoga and mediation teacher and an all-around incredible human. Her practices are peace and love and understanding and nurturing movement all rolled up into one.

If, like so many of us, you are operating in a constant cycle of stress, R.J.’s new offerings are just what your body, mind and spirit need. She will offer 2 unique restorative yoga trainings and a movement and mediation workshop – all will be offered both in-studio and virtually through Zoom. So, whether you would like to experience these sessions in our beautiful studio or have the convenience and comfort of participating from home – we’ve got you covered.

R.J. joins us from Greece (where she is currently) with this message. R.J. takes it away:

Yoga at Empower:

Flow and Restore Yoga: Mondays 5:30 – 6:30 pm

Starting Oct. 4

Accessible In-studio and livestream through Zoom.

This yoga flow helps you focus and reset, even after the busiest of days. In this class, we’ll work the whole body in gentle Vinyasa-inspired moon salutations to work off some of the heat of the day and will wind down in longer held poses designed to bring the body and mind into alignment setting you up for a focused evening to be enjoyed with people and events you enjoy the most. No experience needed. All are welcome.

Blanket, Bolster, and blocks are recommended, but not required. Empower can provide for in-studio participants, but please feel free to bring your own.

Deep Stretch Yin Yoga: Wednesdays 5:30 – 6:30 pm

Starting Oct. 6th

Accessible In-studio and livestream through Zoom

Perfect for everybody, this class will remind you of the importance of longer held, deep poses that stretch tight muscles, lubricate the fascia and strengthen muscles around the joints. Because the class focuses on slow, mostly mat-based poses, the challenge of this class often goes beyond the pose itself and to the power of the mind-body connection. You will leave class feeling stronger, more flexible and agile in body and mind. No experience needed. All are welcome.

Blanket, Bolster, and blocks are recommended, but not required. Empower can provide for in-studio participants, but please feel free to bring your own.

Meditation at Empower:

Mindful Movement and Meditation: 4 Week Series – Sundays, 4:00 – 4:45 pm

Starting Oct. 17^th

If you are one of the majority who thinks you can’t meditate because you can’t sit still, we designed this class for you. By incorporating qigong and tai chi-inspired movements prior to meditation, you will release built up energy in the body, allowing the mind to settle so you can receive the benefit of a guided meditation. This 45-minute class is perfectly balanced with movement and meditation so you won’t get bored. No experience needed. All Welcome.

Blanket, Bolster, and blocks are recommended, but not mats. Empower can provide for in-studio participants, but please feel free to bring your own.

Registration coming soon.

More about R.J. Lisander:

Coming to yoga later in life, RJ was well aware of the physical modifications her athletic, yet aging body needed during yoga classes. Sadly, because of the size of classes, instructors weren’t always able to offer options to provide the ease she needed to practice with confidence. As her practice and interest in yoga continued, she completed yoga teacher training and began guiding others through class sequences. As a guide, RJ quickly witnessed the diversity in range of movement and desire for practitioners to push to a pose that was counter to the needs of not only healthy or aging bodies but also bodies moving with injury and/or dis-ease. While she did what she could to offer alternatives and modifications in class, RJ just knew there had to be a more inclusive way to offer yoga and meditation practices. From there, the seed for that inclusive style of yoga was planted. The result is a practice philosophy that considers the idea that not all bodies have lived the same lives, so it is unreasonable to expect all bodies to move and interpret poses in the same way. With this as a foundation to her offerings, RJ co-creates spaces and sequences with class participants in a way that offers challenge to all, while highlighting the importance of utilizing props and taking modifications to allow for an easing into poses through awareness and compassion for self.

As group and private sessions have grown with the philosophy of making yoga and meditation accessible, RJ has the honor of working with not only healthy, competitive athletes and weekend warriors, she also shares the same spaces and sequences with many individuals recovering from injury, surgery, new and old medical diagnoses (including auto-immune disease), trauma, and caregivers. As a natural extension of these interactions, RJ offers more than a space to practice yoga and meditation, she offers a schedule, mindset practices and online tools to help you make the practices of mindful meditation and conscious movement a more accessible part of your everyday life.

RJ speaks and teaches internationally on the topics of mindfulness and conscious movement. She is the founder of Lotus Seed Meditations and Lotus Seed Lifestyles. She is a certified wellness counselor, Cornell University. RJ completed her 200-hour Prana Flow® teacher certification from Evolve Movement, Raleigh, NC and a 200-hr certification in yoga therapy through Kripalu, Birkshires, MA. Additional qualifications in Divine Sleep® Yoga Nidra through Kripalu, and pre/post-natal care yoga through Asheville Yoga Center, Trauma Informed Yoga through Yoga International and Advanced Yin Practices through Yoga Medicine. She is a certified instructor and facilitator with LoveYourBrain’s six-week FUNdamentals Yoga and online Mindset Programs. She completed Shamanic Reiki I and II through Shamanic Reiki Worldwide and has certificates in hand and foot reflexology. RJ holds a Bachelor of Arts in English with a minor in Creative Writing from West Virginia University.

Welcome R.J. we are so grateful and excited to have you back.

08Sep

Got Glutes?

September 8, 2021 Jessica Bottesch 27

There is far too much talk about what our backside looks like and not enough talk about what these muscles actually do.

Let’s look.

There are three different glute muscles:

Gluteus maximus

Gluteus medius

Gluteus minimus

Together, these muscles are the primary movers for hip extension, hip internal rotation, and hip abduction (moving the leg away from the midline of the body).

While the glute maximus is the largest and most powerful of the three, (and what I like to call one of your “pretty muscles” that gets a lot of hype because it contributes to what our bodies look like), the glute medius and minimus also play a really important role in controlling the motion of the pelvis and the femur, (they might not be as “pretty” but their function is key to smooth and pain free movement).

Our glutes do so much more than just produce movement at the hip. Strong glutes are important for proper pelvic alignment during running, and even support and balance when standing on one leg. And here is what might grab your attention:

Strong glutes help to support the lower back anytime we lift something

Strong glutes prevent knee injuries and pain during lifting and walking/running

Strong glutes are key to increasing power and athletic performance

Say that again–glutes help:

1. Reduce Back Pain:

Your glutes handle hip extension, but when your feet are fixed to the ground when standing, your glutes assist with raising the torso upward, like when you pick up a package from your front porch. Therefore, when your glutes are strong, you have a more stable pelvis and better support for your lower back. This means any load can be more evenly distributed through the lower back and lower extremities.

**One sign of weak glutes is a rounding of the back when you pick something up off the ground or perform a deadlift.

2. Reduce Knee Injury and Pain:

The pelvic stability the glutes provide is important for other reasons as well. Our lower extremities function together in a closed kinetic chain. When your pelvis isn’t stable, it puts a lot of pressure on your knees and ankles to compensate.

Instability at the hip can cause excessive medial rotation of the femur, which creates lateral tracking of your patella (kneecap). This improper lateral movement is a common source of knee pain.

3. Increase Power & Athletic Performance:

It doesn’t matter if you are an Olympic athlete or a weekend hiker, your glutes are essential to many active pursuits: acceleration, jumping, climbing, lifting, and more. Your glutes not only help you prevent injury, they are also your powerhouse. If you let your glutes get weak, you may find yourself less powerful and less effective on the golf course, the tennis court, your next road race, or the hikes you like to take.

So, how do you get stronger glutes?

Strength training, my friends (I know, that is my solution for almost everything).

Here are 7 of Empowers’ Trainers’ favorite Glute Strengthening Exercises (one for everyday of the week–hint, hint):

Clam shells

Lateral ankle band walks

Hip thrusters

Single leg squat

Single leg deadlift

Curtsey lunge

Lateral step-ups

If you would like more instruction on how to do these exercises or even better, a whole body fitness plan to help you reach your goals, we can help.

Schedule a FREE session with an Empower trainer and get started Today!

Want a quick Fab Four Fitness Moves workout to strength and stretch your glutes at home?

Check out this video and challenge yourself with this workout:

Single Leg RDL x 15 each leg

Curtsy Lunge x 15 each leg

Lunge with Forward Reach x 15 each leg

Figure 4 Stretch – hold 60 sec each leg Workout:

Repeat this circuit 3 times!

24Jun

Fueling for Performance, Recovery and Results

June 24, 2021 Jessica Bottesch 41

By Michael Raynor, MS, RD, LDN

Eating the right things at the right times around our workouts is one of the biggest things we can do to improve our performance for our workouts and improve our recovery from them—ensuring that we’re getting the most out of them. It also is one of the most neglected areas of nutrition for active people. The good news is, it just a few tweaks in the pre-, during, and post- workout periods can have a huge effect on our performance and recovery. It also doesn’t have to be complicated, so I want to keep this fairly simple and short so that it’s easier to remember and apply.

Background

Just a few reminders about the macronutrients before we get into nutrient timing around workouts. To keep things simple, carbohydrates are our body’s fast energy source and are the primary energy source during exercise. We can’t store very much carbohydrate in our bodies for future use, so it’s important to make sure we’re topped off on carbs before workouts. Fat is a good fuel source for lower intensity activity and inactivity, but it’s less efficient and less preferred by the body for high-intensity activity, so it’s less crucial right around workouts. Finally, protein is the building block of many tissues in the body, especially muscle, so it’s important to get enough protein in order to rebuild and repair from workouts. So, let’s look at how to time these nutrients.

Pre-Workout

Before a workout, the goal of our meals and snacks is to make sure we’re hydrated and fueled. We want to make sure we’re drinking plenty of water throughout the day; the best way to gauge your hydration is by the color of your pee. The goal is for our pee to be pale yellow (no darker than the color of pale lemonade), but not clear. So, if your pee is darker than that, drink some more water until it lightens up, and if it’s clear, lay off the water for until your pee is back to a pale-yellow color.

We also want to make sure that our pre-workout meal/snack is fueling and helping us, not bogging us down. The closer to your activity, the smaller and simpler a meal/snack should be. The further out from activity, the larger and more complex a meal can be. This is a simple issue of digestion. We take time to break down and process the food we eat, and protein and fat slow down the rate that food moves through our body—this is a really favorable thing outside of workouts because it helps our food keep us full for longer, but right around our workouts, we want to use the energy from our food in a timelier manner. Since digestion takes some time, if we’re having a pre-workout snack in the hour before our workout, we want to keep it a little smaller and simpler (like a piece of fruit, a piece or two of toast, an energy bar, or even a piece of fruit and some nut butter). If we’re eating a little farther out from our workout, say 2-3 hours in advance, that can be more of a normal meal with an emphasis on carbs (for example, a sandwich with a side of fruit or rice with protein and veggies).

Everyone is different, so it may take a little experimentation to find what works for you regarding what foods you eat before a workout and when. Don’t be afraid to test some things out.

During Workout

I always tell my clients that hydration is the key to success. I won’t go off on a tangent on all the ways dehydration negatively affects us, but proper hydration is one of the biggest things we can do to feel and perform better in our workouts. We can set ourselves up for success by heading into workouts hydrated, and by staying hydrated during our workouts.

If your workout is an hour or less, you can drink plain water during the workout to stay hydrated. For workouts longer than an hour, it’s a good idea to incorporate a sports drink that contains electrolytes and carbohydrates to keep you fueled and to prevent dehydration.

Post-Workout

Workouts do a few things to our body. They cause microscopic damage to the muscle, and they cause our body to breakdown stored carbohydrates (glycogen). We have three main goals with our nutrition after a workout. Remember that our glycogen stores are pretty limited, so one of our nutrition goals after a workout is to replenish that glycogen by making sure we eat carbohydrates. One of our other main nutrition goals after a workout is to ensure we’re getting protein in to help repair muscle damage and rebuild muscle. The amount of protein and carbohydrate you need after a workout is specific to your calorie and macronutrient needs, but a general rule that can help to maximize recovery is a 3:1 ratio of carbs: protein (for example, if you have 15g protein, aim for 60g carb).

Our third goal of our post-workout nutrition is to REHYDRATE. You may have gathered by now that I’m huge on hydration and really reinforce it. One easy way to do this is to weigh yourself before your workout and again after; aim to drink 16-24oz of water after your workout for every pound of weight that you lost. For example, if you lost 2 lbs over the course of your workout, aim to drink 32-48oz of water to help with rehydrating. Again, monitoring our pee color is a great way to check in with how we’re doing with rehydrating.

If you have questions or want to know the specifics of how to apply these recommendations, drop us a line HERE to set up a FREE initial consultation with Michael.

02Jun

Group Training is Back

June 2, 2021 Jessica Bottesch 27

PERSONAL GROUP TRAINING IN DURHAM–WE’RE BACK AT IT!

We are so super excited to announce that we are adding 2 IN STUDIO group training sessions to our schedule as we tip-toe back toward “normal”! YAY!!

We would love to have you join us. You don’t have to be a client or have a membership to attend group training sessions!

STARTING THIS WEEK!

💪🏽 Mondays 12:30pm – Empower Circuit with Brooke – Sign Up Here

🧘🏾‍♀️ Fridays 9am – Barre to Yoga Fusion with Judy–Sign Up Here

Our Group Training sessions differ from classes in big box gyms or even group fitness-focused studios because you are not just a number in a crowd. At Empower we strive to personalize every experience. Our group training sessions are led by certified trainers who know you (and your body) and can help change every exercise for every person in the group.

Get an excellent personal trainer-led workout, sweat with friends, get fit together!

25May

Empower ON DEMAND Training

May 25, 2021 Jessica Bottesch 27

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Description automatically generated

_{Whether investing in a personal trainer isn’t in your budget right now, or you don’t live close enough to Empower to come in to our studio, or you simply need the convenience of working out anytime and anywhere –}_{Empower On Demand Membership}_{is the perfect fitness solution for you!}

_{Empower On Demand Membership allows you to stream expertly designed workouts whenever and wherever you need them…}

_{Unlimited access to over a hundred workouts}
_{Wide variety of exercise formats from strength training and cardio circuits to balance and yoga – we have it all!}
_{Dynamic mobility videos for a pre-workout warm-up}
_{Stretching sessions perfect for post-workout cool-down}
_{New content added weekly}
_{Guidance and motivation from the expert trainers at Empower}

_{If you want well-programmed workouts from a team of professionals but need the convenience of an on-demand format, this can very much be your stand-alone fitness solution to help you achieve a stronger and healthier lifestyle.}

_{So, how is Empower different from any other streaming fitness service out there?}

_{At Empower, fitness is personal!}_{We are designing this membership}_{just for you,}_{so if you would like a certain type of workout that you don’t see in our library, simply send us an}_email_{and our team will create a workout based on your request! You will have 24/7 email access to our team so we can help change workouts and motivate you along the way. Just another way we personalize every Empower experience.}_{Are you ready for committing to YOU, your health, your fitness with the help of the Empower Team?}_{For less than one dinner out per month – you can have unlimited access to a wide variety of workouts to help you become stronger, healthier and happier. Plus, we add new content every week so you will never get bored.

What are you waiting for? Give this a try this month and don’t forget to let us know how we can tailor any workouts to your specific needs.}

12May

Empower ON DEMAND Coming Soon!

May 12, 2021 Jessica Bottesch 20

Our team is excited to announce that our Empower On Demand Workout Central – a workout video library built by our expert trainers just for you – has gotten A LOT more user friendly. This new membership site offers a large variety of workout formats, intensity levels, and durations – so you will find sessions that fit your goals, your fitness level and your schedule.

Empower On Demand Workout Central is the perfect solution for your off-day workouts (when you are not meeting with your trainer) or as a standalone fitness solution (you do NOT have to be a current Empower client to take part). For less money than 1 dinner out to eat ($30/month) you can have the expertise of our training team on demand.

We are very excited to be launching this new membership option! Also, we’ll be adding new content regularly and because we want this to be THE BEST solution for your fitness needs, please let us know if there is anything you would like to see added.

Interested in learning more? Email me and I can answer all of your questions and put you on the waitlist for when it goes live.

03May

Mother’s Day Special

May 3, 2021 Jessica Bottesch 26

Today and every day we are focusing on Women’s Health…

1. Increased Metabolism!

2. Increased Bone Density!

3. Maintaining your Independence!

4. Increased Hormonal Response

5. Prenatal/Postnatal Exercise Response

Empower On Demand Membership allows you to stream expertly designed workouts whenever and wherever you need them…

So, how is Empower different from any other streaming fitness service out there?

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