Breakfast

I know you all have heard this a million times so lets make it one million and one! Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Your body has been in a state of fasting for the better part of 6-10 hours depending on what time you last ate the night before. You need to put fuel in your tank to start your metabolism.
I've found a breakfast that works GREAT for me that I think everyone should try. If you live here in NYC you have to try Jamba Juice's Steel Cut Oatmeal. I know what your thinking, Oatmeal? Yuck. But this is different. You can get it with apple and cinnamon (tastes just like Apple pie, right Rachel?), blueberry and blackberry, or with fresh bananas. What makes Jamba's so good? Its steel cut oats so it has a great texture, and its cooked in soy milk. The bottom line is that it tastes better than any oatmeal i've ever had and it just flat out makes me feel full. Any of you who know me personally know that is VERY hard to do and you would never believe that one small serving of oatmeal could power me for the next 4 hours of my day, but it does! I really hate sounding like an infomercial but I've been eating it at least 4-5 mornings a week for the past 3 weeks and I've dropped about 7lbs! It just sets the tone for my day but giving me energy without making me feel full and bloated and when i'm ready for my next meal, I'm not even really hungry so as I result, I don't overeat. Don't have a jamba juice, try making your own oatmeal but stay away from those instant packets. You can use instant oatmeal, just avoid the packets with all the added sugars and preservatives. Freeze some berries or bananas and cook them right into the oatmeal and they will melt in and spread that flavor throughout the whole batch. There is nothing I hate more than oatmeal that only tastes good when you have a huge hunk of banana on the spoon but all the other spoonfuls taste blah!

Once again it's on!

Okay, we're doing it again! In our never ending quest to prove to you that fitness can be both fun and affordable we are leading another hiking trip up Breakneck Ridge! This is easily one of our most popular events because it offers something for everybody. Not your average boring stroll through the woods, you will definately get a workout as we make our way to the top. Once there you will be rewarded with amazing views of the Hudson River Valley! At the end of it all we will hike back to the historic town of Cold Spring where I am proud to say I will be drinking at least one pint of beer afterwards and probably more. What does that have to do with being healthy you ask? Trust me, when you finish this hiking trip, you will have earned your ice cold Daveweiser and will not feel guilty about it!!!!! I did say there was something for everyone didn't I?????

The Cost:$35 before 3/23 $60 after (includes round trip Metro North Ticket) RAIN DATE 4/5/2008

Invest in yourself!

So like many people i've been trying to stash some extra $$ money away with all the pronouncements of doom and gloom. Instead of putting money into a miniscule interest earning savings account I decided to buy some stock last month. Nothing crazy, just a few hundred shares of the parent of New York Sports Club, Town Sports Inc. Just my luck, the damn stock just hit a 52 week low today! I just got off their Q4 results conf call and I found it quite interesting. The most interesting piece from the call? Gym usage is up 15% over the same period a year earlier. The good news is that means more people are choosing to make fitness a part of their lives. The bad news is that it's probably because they have more free time due to the fact they have lost their job. I really hope thats not the case. I hope that people are just looking to the gym as a source of relaxation and stress reduction. If you've lost your job, I wish you the best of luck in finding a new one, it's a tough road right now and more than a few of my clients have been impacted by this and thus, i'm impacted pretty heavily too. But please, do yourself a favor, instead of drowning your sorrows in food and alcohol, hit the gym! While it sucks to be out of work, it doesn't have to be all negative. Life is all about turning negatives into positives. Take advantage of the time you have to hit the gym and get back in tip top shape. You'll be amazed at how much better you will feel mentally and physically and looking a little better in those suits can only help you on job interviews!

I got my start in the personal training business when my old corporate 9 to 5 got bought out and the company merged and moved headquarters to Texas. My job was safe, but being in my early 20's and not loving my job and not having a family to support, I volunteered to take a package to save someone else's job and I moved to NYC and got my start as a personal trainer. Through the wonders of Facebook, i've come across so many of those old coworkers who lost their jobs and am happy to see they all landed on their feet and in most cases they are BETTER off now than they were back then! It's great to see people reinvent themselves as nurses, teachers and entrepreneurs!