Category: Fitness

STEPHANIE TWIFORD, THE TRAINER & MICRO-INFLUENCER

Stephanie Twiford, 23, at Crunch Bellmore demonstrates a hammer curl exercise, where she is currently a personal trainer. (Photo by: Antasha ‘Tish’ Islam)

Stephanie Twiford, personal trainer, and micro-influencer wants to show the world how fitness has changed her life. Micro-influencers have a smaller number of followers than the higher-level influencers, but they also tend to have more engaged audiences like Twiford herself targeting people looking for fitness tips and exercises. Micro-influencers have a lower follower count than macro-influencers, such as how Twiford’s Instagram page is currently in the works with her followers in the 300’s. Twiford, a trainer at Crunch Bellmore, NY, says she is currently working to grow her fitness page where she posts content for her followers to have easy access to workouts, healthy recipes, and mental health practices to help them grow.

Her revelation that she needed to embrace a healthy lifestyle came five years ago. “I grew up as the ‘chubby’ kid and spent most of my life insecure,”  emphasizes Twiford, 23, when asked who and what influenced her to become a trainer and influencer. “I found a love for fitness in 2016 when I decided that I was done abusing my body. I researched and learned so much about fitness over the years and fell in love with it.”

One thing Twiford wants her followers to know is, “Don’t be afraid to eat. Food is your friend. You can’t grow without fueling your body.” You might think you have to be in a massive calorie deficit to lose body fat, but you shouldn’t be afraid to eat full, well-balanced meals when you’re lifting weights.

“The quote I live by is: ‘There are always flowers for those who want to see them,’ says Twiford. “Life is only as dark as you allow it to be. When you believe there is light, there will be light.” This mindset, she explains, keeps you positive and pushes you through even your toughest days.

Eating well and exercising are not her only suggestions for a healthy life.“REST. REST. REST.” Twiford exclaims, “Always take time for yourself. Allow your brain to shut off. Push through your hard days, but also accept that listening to your body when it needs a day off is better progression than forcing a workout and ending up strained/injured.” Rest is vital for better mental health, increased concentration and memory, a healthier immune system, reduced stress, improved mood, and even a better metabolism.

Weight-lifting is the main part of Twiford’s workout schedule. “Developing a back injury from trying to progress too quickly was probably my biggest failure, says Twiford. Stressing that rest with patience is key for growth and success, “I learned to take my time and that growth is a long process,” she learned that form is more important than the weight you’re lifting.

“TAKE YOUR TIME,” Twiford emphasizes again. She advises perfecting your form before you start adding weight and making sure you have a “phenomenal” form before going heavier with weight. “It’s a marathon, not a sprint so don’t expect to be lifting super heavy right away like you see your role models doing,” she adds, “you didn’t see the hard part of their journey when they were starting out just like you!”

 

 

 

JUMPSTART YOUR DAY: STAYING FIT DURING THE HOLIDAYS

SOME RESOURCES THAT CAN JUMPSTART YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS:

10 Benefits of Running That’ll Make You Want to Put on Those Sneakers and Chase Your Goals, ASAP

Running Girl(“Running Girl” by aarmono is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0)

Never been a fan of running? These breathtaking benefits of running are about to change your mind.

  1. Running crushes your risk of heart disease.
    1. Running can cut your risk of death from cardiovascular disease by 45 percent, according to research published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. How you ask? Cardiovascular health. Running helps improve blood sugar sensitivity,  HDL (good) cholesterol, and blood pressure, explaining  Janet Hamilton, CSCS, an exercise physiologist at Running Strong in Atlanta.
  2. Runner’s high is so real.
    1. One of the biggest benefits of running is its mood-boosting effects. When you run, your brain pumps out two powerful feel-good chemicals, endorphins, and endocannabinoids. Sounds a lot like what cannabis does, huh?  That’s because chemically, the endocannabinoids your body produces during a run aren’t all that different from marijuana’s mood-altering chemical, THC. The most studied mid-run endocannabinoid, called anandamide, was actually discovered when scientists were trying to figure out how pot gets people going.
  3. Running strengthens your bones.
    1. Lots of people consider bones as strong and unchanging. But, after age 30, there is significant potential for decreases in bone density. Bones are living things and get stronger when a force—like running—stimulates growth. High-impact exercise (like running!) aids bone growth and promotes healthy bone mineral density. It’s a must if you want to avoid fractures and stay active your whole life long.
  4. Running torches serious calories.
    1. Running requires a lot of energy (aka calories). In fact, the average 150-pound person will burn about 12.2 calories per minute running a 10-minute mile, that’s one of the body benefits of running on flat terrain. Running where wind and hills increase your effort, you can expect to burn even more.
  5. Running is like meditation.
    1. If yoga isn’t your thing, running can work wonders for stress relief. Running reduces stress because you need to be very present while doing it, like a form of meditation. Where you really focus on your breath, sometimes even saying a mantra on the inhales and exhales. Running actually mitigates the effects of long-term chronic stress on the brain, according to a recent study published in Neurobiology of Learning and Memory. 
  6. There’s always room for a run.
    1.  On Vacation? Don’t have a gym membership? Have only 10 minutes to work out? Whatever your workout constraints, you can still run. That’s an extra advantage for busy people who can’t seem to make other workouts or classes fit their lifestyle, whether it’s on the treadmill or around your neighborhood.
  7. Running can improve your memory.
    1. A 2014 study at the University of British Columbia revealed that regular aerobic exercise—the kind that gets your heart rate up and makes you sweat, SoulCycle, or running—can boost the size of your hippocampus. The hippocampus is the area of the brain involved in verbal memory and learning.
  8. Running can help you ditch the melatonin. 
    1. Researchers at John Hopkins Medical Center found that cardiovascular exercise can help you fall asleep faster and improve sleep quality—as long as you give yourself a few hours afterward to wind down for bed. Running helps you fall asleep faster, which in turn allows you to sleep more and the more you sleep, the less tired you’ll be which makes it more likely for you to stick with an exercise routine!
  9. Running works your core.
    1. The lower body isn’t the only part of you that feels the benefits of running. It’s a core-carver, challenging not only your six-pack rectus abdominis, but also the deeper core muscles, including your obliques, erector spinae, and transverse abdominis. Those deep muscles play important roles in stabilizing your spine, transferring power between your swinging arms and legs, and sucking in your gut.
  10. Running can lengthen your lifespan.
    1. When taken together, all the health benefits of running could actually help you live longer. Runners actually have a 25 to 40 percent reduced risk of premature mortality and live about three years longer than non-runners, according to a 2017 study published in Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases. Studies show that runners who also regularly took up other aerobic physical activities, such as cycling, swimming, walking, basketball, and racquet sports, had the greatest mortality benefit, with a 43 percent lower risk of death. So if you’ve been dying to skip your morning run and try that indoor cycling class, use this research as a reason to give it a go.

Jumpstart Your Day: Fitness Resources

Some resources that can jumpstart your fitness journey:

Krista Anson, the trainer

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Krista Anson, 24, at Crunch Bellmore where she is currently a personal trainer. (Photo by: Antasha ‘Tish’ Islam)

Krista Anson, a former soccer player, and track athlete knows how to help people get healthy – from the way they exercise to what they eat. A former coach at OrangeTheory in Bethpage, NY, now a trainer at Crunch Bellmore, NY, Anson says she advises her clients to find balance in their fitness regimes.

“It doesn’t happen overnight, patience and consistency are key,” Anson says, adding that balancing out mental and physical health is the secret to reaching long-term goals, whether it’s eating that piece of pumpkin pie you were craving or beating the sun and making time to get a workout in at the crack of dawn.

“The quote I live by is: ‘Nobody cares, work harder,’” Anson said. “No one wants to hear your excuses and how tired you are, just show up and do better.” This mindset, she explains, puts “you against the world,” you push yourself harder and strive for more, especially when you “don’t feel like it.”

Anson says being physically active is the key to being physically and mentally fit, it helps people become a more balanced, physically fit person. Being active improves mental health by reducing anxiety and depression by improving confidence, self-esteem and supports one’s cognitive development. Many people think that maintaining their fitness will just aim at their physical image but don’t realize that being physically active will actually help maintain their overall health by improving the body’s development and functions.

Last, but not least- diet. We’ve all heard the saying “abs are made in the kitchen,” but what does it mean? Anson explains where one can start. “It’s the 80/20 rule: When you’re trying to lose weight, 80 percent of your results come from your diet, and only 20 percent come from exercise”. This doesn’t mean you can stop working out, it’s still a huge percentage, but if it seems like the scale isn’t changing, you might need to understand your body’s needs and work on your calorie intake. Being in a caloric deficit, along with exercise will help one reach their weight loss goals, which means eating fewer calories than you’re burning. Besides counting calories, you need to make sure you are consuming quality calories. This means, if you have a calorie target of 1800, then you should not eat pizza, burgers, etc., you need to make sure those 1800 calories are coming from foods that are high in fiber, and are good sources of protein, carbohydrates, and fats.