Live Healthy One day at a Time     by Jennice H. Spence, Jan. 1st 2020 Hello again, and welcome to the new year. 2019 presented plenty of challenges and obstacles that have made my family and I stronger than ever.   This past year my family and I have been able to do so much more physically since Jenna's first birthday. Her independence has allowed Isaac and I to travel, go on more dates and keep with a strict To Do list. However, in the midst of everything…..we…

  193, 194, 19...5. My scale kept climbing toward 200 lbs. At 5'8, that is not a healthy weight. I managed to gain 40 lbs in one semester of college at Penn State's Main Campus. It was no secret why. Well at the time, I did not know why exactly.  Here are the no-brainer reasons I gained 40 lbs.   1.) I drank way too much alcohol (beer and mixed drinks for the most part)   2.) I ate way too much pizza (often after a night of beer and/or…

Forward head posture, rounded shoulders, and a hunched back are just some of the many problems we increasingly face on a daily basis.  These can result in shoulder pain, lower back pain, neck pain, and more.  I personally went through this journey after years of bad posture from improper driving positions, constantly looking down at my iPhone to text, write emails, work in my programs, and surf the web, as well as jutting my head forward while working on my computer.  It finally came to a point where I was…

    Making your way to better health can take a lot of sacrifice and self-discipline, and it is rarely easy to make lasting changes. This is particularly difficult if there are issues of drug or alcohol use, or other bad habits that cloud your decision-making. For me, my tumultuous relationship led to weekly drinking, and subsequently my physical health fell by the wayside. It took a move back to my hometown for me to realize that I needed to make some changes, so I turned a negative life event…

Usually Saturday has been a cardio day for me. Sometimes I run long distance, and for someone who is primarily into strength training, four to six miles at a medium pace is a relatively long distance. I felt the itch to do my long distance run this past Tuesday instead. So today, the gym opened up at 7:30 AM. I usually have a client around that time, but she is out of town, and since I am an awesome trainer, I did not ask my second client to wake up…

Earlier this week, we came across an excellent article on MyFitnessPal, which listed 67 Science Backed Weight Loss Strategies. From the list, we came up with some of our favorite numbers. I personally have used many of these strategies, and I recommend them to my clients. There are some new ones on here as well that I will share with my clients and everybody reading this article. Here are some that personally helped me out and have helped out my clients. 7. Prioritize your pantry - It is recommended to…

Our certified personal trainer, Deonte Toliver demonstrates this TRX Plyo Single Leg Lunge, which is an advanced move he has had his football clients and players perform. This is also an excellent exercise to help build full body strength and torch body fat! For more information about Deonte, check out his profile at http://cassfitness.net/trainers/deonte-toliver/ You can also book Deonte for one on one sessions in the Washington, DC area or online sessions anywhere you have a computer connection! Watch the full video demo below!

A very common question I come across is whether exercise or nutrition is more important for weight loss.  Well, the answer has multiple parts. In short, nutrition has more impact. It is easier to reduce 500-700 calories in your diet than it is to burn 500-700 calories in a workout right away unless you are a little more advanced in your physical abilities. In addition, with the busy schedule of most people (career, commute, children), it can be tricky fitting in exercise as often as you want to. However, it…

Over the next few weeks, I will show you how I shake up cardio and utilize it as a fat loss and strength training combination. I lift weights four to five times a week, and I work out five to six times a week. Usually Tuesdays are a good cardio day for me. Mondays have recently consisted of supersets with biceps and triceps often taking no breaks except to go to my next group of exercises. I finish off with running speed work mainly outdoors when the weather is nice.…

If you train with a CASS Fitness trainer, you more than likely have experienced a battle ropes routine with one of us if we have enough space to set them up. You may also see my videos or Instagram posts with the Battle Ropes. Why do I like them so much? Here are a few reasons why they have popped up in many CASS Fitness workouts, including the regular routines of our trainers: Battle Ropes are an excellent tool to spice up your cardio and strength routine, no matter what…