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Fargo-Moorhead Muscle Health with Amanda Simmers of Inspire Fitness and Nutrition & Tessa Simmers, RD, Nutrition Coach

Amanda Simmers, Nutrition Coach, Owner of Inspire Fitness and Nutrition; Tessa Simmers, RD, Nutrition Coach

Sister-in-law duo, Amanda and Tessa, share a passion for nutrition and exercise. Amanda graduated from NDSU with an education degree. After working as a preschool director for 14 years, she went back to school for personal training and nutrition coaching. She started the company almost 10 years ago, and Tessa joined her as a nutrition coach in January 2023. Tessa graduated from NDSU with a degree in food & nutrition and is currently a Registered Dietitian living in Fargo

Why is it important?
“Muscles are essential! They play a critical role in our bodies by keeping us alive and allowing us to interact with our world. Muscles are important for movement, stability, posture and many other functions. Strong, healthy muscles are critical for our overall health and wellness.”

3 Things You Should Know

1. Building muscle requires sufficient and consistent nutrition.

“It is very important that you fuel your body adequately with enough calories that include [the right amount of] protein, carbs and fat. Protein is the key nutrient to help recover and build those muscles. Carbs are your number one fuel source that will give you lasting energy during your workouts and fats help support hormone levels. Trendy diets can be appealing because they promise quick results, but they are restrictive in caloric intake and do more harm than good on your metabolism and they could cause you to lose lean muscle mass because of inadequate energy (food). How much one should eat depends on each person individually and depends on their goals, daily energy output and dieting history. In my Ditch the Diet program, we help each client individually figure out exactly how much they should be eating each day. It is not a one-size-fits-all plan and takes some deeper digging to get more accurate numbers.”

2. There is a smarter way to build lean muscle without having to spend hours a day lifting weights.

“We understand that most people have jobs, families, school and many other responsibilities and time can be hard to come by some days. Doing more so always better in this situation. As a matter of fact, rest days are a very important part of building lean muscle. You can see significant improvement in your lean muscle mass just by doing a strength training program for 20-30 minute sessions, 2-4x/week. These strength training programs can be done at a gym or at home. No matter where you train, it is best to push yourself mentally and physically with a shorter program than trying to pile on many exercises with a longer program.”

3. It is normal to lose strength as we age but it doesn’t mean we can’t continue trying to preserve and even grow muscle.

“Research shows that keeping your muscles strong as you age can lower your risk of falls, fractures and disability. Loss of strength may also limit mobility and prevent you from living independently. Strong, healthy muscles help you live an active life and work to support your skeletal system. When muscle mass decreases, fat mass increases which could put you at a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and diabetes.”

Try Local!

“Power Plate Meals of Fargo inspires change by making healthy eating accessible for everyone, one meal at a time. I purchase a lot of my lunches from Power Plate Meals because I know each meal is made with high-quality ingredients and flavor. Plus each meal has a great deal of protein in them to help reach your daily protein goals.”

“Dynasty Performance Training and Owner/Trainer Cole Jirik can help you develop and execute a personalized, effective strength training program in a top-of-the-line facility.”

Dynasty performance Training owner Cole Jirk has developed the gym’s training principles through his own thoughts, his experience playing for NDSU football where he worked with one of the top strength and conditioning coaches in the country, Jim Kramer, and from his time training at ETS Performance in Minneapolis, MN!

“Swanson Health Products Retail Store offers the best selection of vitamins and supplements plus an excellent variety of organic and natural products.”

“Kota Botanics is a premium CBD wellness brand and marketplace in Fargo, ND and Shakopee, MN that focuses on providing the highest quality and the most effective CBD and other wellness products to improve their customers’ well-being such as inflammation, pain, stress and sleep. Kota Botanics owner, Vivian, has a wealth of knowledge and will help you find the best product to suit your needs.”

Who To Follow:

Make sure to follow Amanda & Tessa online for more tips and to try out the program!

Website: a m a n d a s i m m e r s . c o m
Facebook: / a m a n d a . l . s i m m e r s
Facebook: /tessasimmers.nutrition
Instagram: /amandasimmers
Instagram: /tessasimmers_nutrition

Google flexes its health care AI muscle

Illustration of a robot arm lifting a medical cross

Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios

Google showed off an array of new artificial intelligence (AI)-driven health care tools on Tuesday, from a souped-up chatbot that can shed light on your medical symptoms to enhanced search features that tell you if a doctor takes Medicaid.

Why it matters: There’s an arms race among big tech companies to infuse their products with AI — but the results, particularly in health care, can have unwanted consequences or pitfalls, like racial bias, privacy concerns and ethical problems.

Driving the news: The “large language model” that Google has been building for the medical world — an AI chatbot called Med-PaLM 2 — now consistently passes medical exam questions with a score of 85{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f}, placing it at “expert” doctor level, the company said.

That’s an 18{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f} improvement from the system’s previous performance, per the company, and “far surpasses similar AI models.”
A rival generative AI tool, ChatGPT, also passed the medical exams — but just barely. (ChatGPT’s creator, OpenAI, just released a new, more powerful version of its underlying tech.)
Google’s system is being trained to “retrieve medical knowledge, accurately answer medical questions, and provide reasoning,” the company says.

Yes, but: Google acknowledges AI’s shortcomings in the medical realm.

“There’s still a lot of work to be done to make sure [Med-PaLM 2] can work in real-world settings,” reads a blog post from Yossi Matias, a Google vice president of engineering and research, and Greg Corrado, its head of health AI.
Google found “significant gaps” when the tool was “tested against 14 criteria — including scientific factuality, precision, medical consensus, reasoning, bias and harm,” per the post.
“We look forward to working with researchers and the global medical community to close these gaps and understand how this technology can help improve health delivery.”

Meanwhile: Google’s conversational AI technology Duplex has called hundreds of thousands of U.S. health care providers to see if they accept Medicaid. The results are being displayed in Google Search, ahead of a March 31 re-enrollment deadline.

Google Search results will also soon highlight “providers that identify as community health centers offering free or low-cost care,” the company said.
And an improved version of Fitbit’s health metrics dashboard will soon be available — in some cases without a subscription — to help people map changes and trends in their breathing rate, skin temperature and blood oxygen.

What they’re saying: “The future of health is consumer-driven,” Karen DeSalvo, Google’s chief health officer, told reporters.

“People will expect a mobile-first experience with more personalized insights, services and care.”

Zoom out: Google is also deploying AI tools to help offer high-quality, low-cost medical diagnostics globally.

Ultrasound devices with Google AI are being used to detect breast cancer in Taiwan and determine gestational age in expectant mothers in Kenya.
Another Google AI tool that checks chest X-rays for signs of tuberculosis is being rolled out in Sub-Saharan Africa.

A schematic image of an ultrasound of a pregnant uterus and a screen that shows gestational age. — Google’s AI-powered ultrasound system. Image: Courtesy of Google

Between the lines: The company is acutely aware of criticisms that “Dr. Google” can sometimes lead users to misleading or dangerous health guidance.

Another new YouTube feature helps people “find human answers” to their health questions, said Garth Graham, director and head of health care and public health at Google/YouTube.

Google also announced a partnership with ThroughLine, which connects users to free mental health crisis support in more than 100 countries.

“This will increase the number of crisis helplines that appear at the top of search results,” reads a blog post from DeSalvo. The feature is aimed at “searches related to suicide, domestic violence and other personal crisis topics.”

The big picture: Even as they take breathtaking strides toward improving health care with AI, tech companies and others have been stumbling with what they’ve unleashed.

Older people covered by Medicare Advantage are finding their benefits cut off by AI algorithms no matter how dire their medical needs, a Stat News investigation found.
Verily Life Sciences, a unit of Google parent company Alphabet that focuses on treatment personalization, started laying off staff in January, per the Wall Street Journal.

On the plus side, AI is starting to detect breast cancers that radiologists miss, as the New York Times reports.

The development is “one of the most tangible signs to date of how AI can improve public health,” per the Times — yet the technology produces too many false positives and still needs to “show it can produce accurate results on women of all ages, ethnicities and body types.”

The bottom line: Medicine will always need to rely on a healthy mix of technology and human know-how.

“AI on its own cannot solve all of health care’s problems,” Alan Karthikesalingam, the surgeon-scientist who leads Google Health’s machine learning research group, said Tuesday.
“Medicine, after all, is about caring for people.”

How to Rebuild Muscle and Strength: Trainer’s Six Week Plan

Liam Cavanagh set himself the 2023 goal of rebuilding his strength after a training break.
Consistency in the gym and tracking his nutrition helped him smash his targets in six weeks.
Cavanagh aims to eat at least 3,500 calories and 200 grams of protein daily.

Liam Cavanagh is a qualified personal trainer, but he still makes new year fitness goals like the rest of us.

He lost strength last year after training for a marathon and traveling, and his resolution was to get back to and exceed the weight he was lifting at the end of summer 2022.

Cavanagh shared his new year training journey with Insider. He said working out five times a week was a “non-negotiable” and that he’d be tracking his food intake.

As an experienced gym-goer, he knew progress might be slower and would require a certain level of discipline, so he vowed to push himself hard in the gym, sticking with the body-part split format (training a different body-part every day) that he enjoyed.

It paid off: After six weeks, Cavanagh had not only hit his previous levels of strength but surpassed them.

Cavanagh started working out as a teen because he didn’t want to be skinny

Cavanagh, 25, started working out aged 15 because he “didn’t want to be the skinniest person” at house parties, he said.

He didn’t make much progress at the gym for the first three years because he didn’t know what he was doing, he said. But he learned the importance of eating for building muscle at college and fell in love with working out and the benefits he felt, such as having more energy and being more disciplined in other areas of his life.

He qualified as a personal trainer in September 2019 and stayed active during the UK’s COVID lockdowns, but found working out five times a week challenging when life returned to normal.

After a good start to 2022, factors like being away, social events, and training for the London Marathon in October got in the way of Cavanagh’s workout consistency and meant running replaced gym time.

Getting back to the gym felt good

Cavanagh’s main strength goals in 2023 were centered around the three big lifts: squats, deadlifts, and bench presses.

Liam Cavanagh deadlifting and squatting.

Liam Cavanagh

In 2022, his personal bests were:

Squats: 110 kilograms (243 pounds) for three sets of seven
Deadlifts: 140 kilograms (287 pounds) for three sets of six
Bench press: 90 kilograms (198 pounds) for three sets of six

In his first workouts of 2023, Cavanagh did:

Squats: 90 kg (198 pounds) for three sets of 10
Deadlifts: 120 kilograms (265 pounds) for three sets of eight
Bench press: 80 kilograms (176 pounds) for three sets of eight

Getting back to the gym felt surprisingly good, Cavanagh said, and he didn’t feel like he’d regressed too much on most exercises.

He was hitting his five workouts a week every week, working out Monday to Friday so he had the weekends for socializing and relaxing, and consistency was easier when going to the gym was part of his morning routine.

Cavanagh also did Dry January, which he said definitely helped as he felt energized and was sleeping well.

Mid-way through January, he started eating more

Cavanagh didn’t change his diet at first to see how his weight and strength might change while eating around his maintenance calories. Not only did Cavanagh not gain weight, he actually dropped a small amount.

After a couple of weeks, he started eating in a calorie surplus to aid muscle-growth, tracking his calories and protein to ensure he was eating enough. He aims for at least 3,500 calories and 200 grams of protein daily on average, spread across the week so he doesn’t worry about each day being perfect.

As a numbers person, and someone who had experience tracking his food intake, Cavanagh said he enjoys the process and finds it satisfying to hit his targets.

And the combination of consistent, challenging strength-training and a high-protein diet with a calorie surplus was working — Cavanagh’s weight started to slowly increase and he began to notice more muscle growth.

“I’m definitely a lot more vascular so maybe I’ve lost a bit of body fat,” Cavanagh said.

As January went on, the numbers in the gym were creeping back up to where they had been too, and Cavanagh was feeling great.

Three weeks into the month, Cavanagh checked his workout tracking app and realized it was the first time he’d done five workouts a week for three consecutive weeks since November 2021. He felt extra motivated to continue his consistency, he said.

By mid-February, he had smashed his strength targets

Six weeks into 2023, Cavanagh’s consistency with training and nutrition had paid off as he had surpassed his strength goals.

He felt both leaner and stronger and he was lifting more than he had done the previous summer and achieved:

Squats: 110 kilograms (243 pounds) for three sets of eight
Deadlifts: 140 kilograms (287 pounds) for three sets of eight
Bench press: 95 kilograms (209 pounds) for three sets of eight

Liam Cavanagh bench pressing.

Liam Cavanagh

Cavanagh plans to continue eating in a small calorie surplus and training hard to keep up his strength and muscle-building progress, without gaining fat.

At the start of the year, he weighed 87.5 kilograms (193 pounds), and after six weeks he was 89.9 kilograms (198 pounds), he said.

Not only was Cavanagh stronger and leaner than he was at the start of 2023, he had fallen back in love with training consistently, he said.

“I’ve really enjoyed the process,” he said. “It makes a massive difference having that goal in mind and being very conscious in the gym, pushing myself.”

Cavanagh is enjoying nailing his nutrition and workouts, is “buzzing” to see his strength increase, and it feels sustainable so he very much plans to continue.

“It gives you such a good feeling,” he said. “I come away from the gym so pumped.”

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Diet, Exercise Tips to Build Muscle

Arnold Schwarzenegger enjoys to solution admirer thoughts about physical fitness on social media.
His recent Reddit AMA bundled recommendations about taking in much more protein and greens.
He also suggested being offline throughout a exercise session and tracking your reps to make progress.

Bodybuilding legend Arnold Schwarzenegger shared assistance on eating nutritious and exercising in an impromptu visual appearance on social media, giving information and encouragement in reaction to fans’ queries.

Schwarzenegger, regarded for currently being active on-line, hosted the shock “Request me anything at all” thread on Reddit’s “Fitness” discussion board for 5 hrs, discussing all the things from his very own work out routines to his beloved protein shake recipe.

His major tips for setting up lean muscle and staying wholesome consist of receiving a lot more protein and vegetables, creating down your exercises, and sticking to a schedule for ideal final results. Listed here are his tips:

Build muscle mass by tracking your workouts

To create muscle mass, do basic routines like squats and deadlifts “more than and about,” but maintain keep track of of your progress to go on challenging oneself, in accordance to Schwarzenegger.

The former 7-time Mr. Olympia explained he employed to look at off his sets and reps on a chalkboard for each and every exercise session.

“The excess weight ought to go up, the reps need to go up, the sets should really go up, the rest time need to go down, or the time it usually takes to do the stretch and flex of each individual motion need to go up,” he wrote.

Expanding the difficulty of a exercise routine above time is a foundational conditioning principle termed “progressive overload,” and it is effective by placing a lot more stress on your muscle groups to prompt them to increase even larger and more robust.

Keep off your mobile phone at the fitness center

Even though most of us right now use an application alternatively of a chalkboard to observe routines, Schwarzenegger warned from making use of your mobile phone far too considerably all through workouts.

Listening to music is high-quality, he clarified, but be wary of scrolling social media amongst sets, since study implies working with your cell phone in advance of workout may well cut down your power by approximately 30{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f}.

Get protein in each and every food

Schwarzenegger’s diet program suggestions for constructing lean muscle mass is to commence by consuming far more protein.

“Concentrate on uncomplicated items,” he said. “Anytime you put food in your mouth, make sure there is a protein source.”

He claimed his favored large-protein meal in his bodybuilding period was eggs, but that he failed to observe macronutrients like carbs and fat.

“I failed to evaluate something. I have no endurance for that! Hardly ever counted. I imagine overthinking conditioning and nourishment can close up derailing a good deal of men and women,” Schwarzenegger wrote.

He also shared his go-to protein shake recipe, with a uncooked egg, protein powder, a banana, and cherry juice.

Eat your veggies

Schwarzenegger has been outspoken about consuming a largely plant-primarily based diet regime to strengthen his heart and shared some of his favourite vegetarian meals that preserve him energized.

“I really feel terrific and my cholesterol numbers make my physicians really satisfied,” he said.

For lunches, Schwarzenegger said he eats omelettes or scrambles with “absolutely each individual vegetable in them” and usually has a salad, with yogurt and granola for breakfast, and almonds for a snack. His normal supper is vegetable soup with pumpkin oil.

“I like vegetable soups. No cream, just puréed veggies. Unique ones each and every night. I apologize that it is really uninteresting,” he explained.

Uncover a program you get pleasure from

A person of the most prevalent thoughts for Schwarzenegger was how he is stayed determined to be healthy for many years, which he claimed will come down to a secure plan.

“I just maintain likely just about every working day. Some times even I feel shitty, but by demonstrating up and performing my daily regimen, it normally snaps me out of it. Lifestyle is all about routine. Achievements is not magic, it comes from displaying up every single day,” he reported.

Schwarzenegger stated he is effective out in the morning, in advance of breakfast. His present timetable features biking to and from the gym each day, and executing a work out split that focuses on chest and back again, arms and shoulders, and legs on various days, even though education abs and calves each and every day.

But you don’t have to duplicate his routines or routine to get benefits, according to Schwarzenegger. He stated the very best way to get started is to pick anything you can do each working day and progressively work your way up.

“There are a million approaches for achievement. Never allow anyone, even me, try out to notify you there is only 1 way. Any person who states their diet regime or method is the only way is absolutely a shyster selling you one thing,” he reported. “If you adore it, do it. Just strike all your muscle teams and development in some way week to week.”

5 Bad Fitness Habits That Cause You To Lose Muscle Mass

The foundation of any productive health regimen is constructed upon balanced routines. Irrespective of whether your goal is to operate your initially marathon, established a deadlift personal document, or dedicate to a day by day walking regime, the key is sticking to normal patterns that nudge you together the route to a much healthier, fitter you. Even so, when it arrives to achieving your health and fitness and health ambitions, realizing what not to do is often similarly as significant as understanding the ideal points to do. Making and sustaining muscle mass is no exception to this common rule. To enable you build and maintain on to your lean muscle mass, we’re sharing 5 bad health and fitness habits that trigger you to drop muscle mass mass so you can stay away from them at all prices.

You can commit numerous hours in the health club and educate with Tazmanian devil-like intensity, but if you have awful health habits, you’re taking pictures by yourself in the proverbial foot and are unlikely to achieve your physical fitness plans. The good news is, by earning insignificant tweaks to your nourishment, exercise routine schedule, and everyday behaviors, you’ll prevent the pitfalls of negative patterns and substantially increase your means to grow muscle mass. Qualified own trainer Kate Meier, CPT of Fitness center Garage Assessments shares the lowdown on which negative health behavior you really should steer clear of like the plague. Preserve examining to come across out what they are, then verify out The 5 Best Diet & Training Tips To Get back Muscle mass Mass.

5 Bad Fitness Habits That Cause You To Lose Muscle Mass — Shutterstock

A surefire way to eliminate muscle mass mass is not consuming ample vitality (energy). Food is gas for your muscle groups, and not ingesting sufficient calories implies your system will operate on an empty tank.

“Noticeably cutting energy combined with intense cardio will direct to muscle mass reduction in excess of time,” claims Meier. “Converse with a nutritionist or use an on-line calorie calculator to help determine how many calories your entire body wants to support every day features and your education regimen.”

man fatigued, overtraining at the gym — Shutterstock

“Training continuously is a vital facet of building muscle, but overtraining can have the precise opposite outcome,” cautions Meier. Except you happen to be an endurance athlete who runs marathons or competes in triathlons, performing out also much can lead to overtraining syndrome (OTS), a situation that takes place when you you should not allow for for proper restoration soon after constant, vigorous teaching classes, in accordance to the Healthcare facility for Unique Surgical procedure (HSS). Additionally, minimized muscle glycogen levels and muscle weakness are connected with overtraining, analysis shows. Typical signs and symptoms of OTS include things like prolonged fatigue, bad slumber excellent, small power, persistent muscle mass soreness, and mood swings, according to the HSS.

Similar: Above 50? Listed here Are 6 Workout Mistakes You happen to be Also Old To Make

man yawning in bed, fatigued — Shutterstock

Slumber is possible the most effective (yet most underrated) part of any well being or physical fitness purpose. Working towards fantastic snooze cleanliness and making significant-high quality, restorative rest a top rated priority will assistance you retain and expand muscle. Exploration demonstrates that not acquiring superior excellent snooze, or not sleeping ample, can heighten your chance of losing muscle mass.

“Your muscle mass maintenance and increase whilst you sleep, and slumber regulates almost all of your bodily features,” says Meier. “Intention to get 8 strong hrs of shuteye each night. This will assist avert very long-term tiredness and help with muscle mass advancement if you work out continuously.”

man holding tray of protein — Shutterstock

Your entire body consists of roughly 20{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f} protein it really is located in all of your cells. Hence, acquiring ample protein is critical for not only good health but also for building and retaining muscle mass mass.

“Regardless of your diet system, be certain you might be getting more than enough protein in your diet regime,” says Meier. “Muscle is fueled by protein, so correct restoration and muscle growth relies upon on it.”

Whilst the global advised nutritional allowance (RDA) for the total of protein you need to eat is .8 grams per kilogram of your physique bodyweight, you may will need to eat extra if your goal is to enhance muscle mass progress and get better from routines quicker. The American School of Sports activities Medication (ACSM) recommends consuming between 1.2 and 2. grams of protein for every kilogram of physique pounds each day for the finest benefits. Just make guaranteed you are energy teaching and acquiring your protein from whole food stuff sources and superior-top quality protein powders.

Linked: The Best Physical fitness Behaviors That Improve Your Muscular Stamina Immediately after 50

woman on snowy winter run to lose holiday weight — Shutterstock

Although normal cardio workout is excellent for overall health and fitness, heading overboard can trigger muscle mass reduction. The Actual physical Exercise Pointers for Americans propose that nutritious grownups get a bare minimum of 150 minutes of moderately intense aerobic exercise for every week. Nonetheless, continuously likely above and beyond this threshold—combined with not taking in more than enough calories or doing power training—is a bad routine for everyone wanting to maintain or regain muscle mass.

“Generating certain your body is appropriately fueled ahead of cardio exercises is critical, because as a lot as it allows you burn up additional calories and body fat, it will also melt away muscle at the time other electrical power sources are depleted,” suggests Meier. “The bottom line is you should locate a great equilibrium in between cardio and strength instruction if your purpose is muscle expansion.”

Adam Meyer

Adam is a well being writer, accredited holistic nutritionist, and 100{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f} plant-based athlete. Read through much more about Adam

Building Muscle Tops Weight Loss as Primary Focus for 2023

Life Time’s annual survey gleans insights on health and wellness

CHANHASSEN, Minn., Dec. 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — With 2023 just days away, Life Time (NYSE: LTH), the nation’s premier heathy lifestyle brand, is sharing results from its annual health and wellness survey. Among the notable findings of more than 1,000 individual responses: although separated by just 2{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f}, building muscle topped weight loss as primary focus for the year ahead – an increase of 10{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f} from last year’s survey and a departure from “losing weight,” which typically tops most New Year’s resolution lists year after year.

Building Muscle Tops Weight Loss as Primary Focus for 2023 — Respondents in Life Time’s annual fitness survey said their primary focus in 2023 is building muscle, topping losing weight.

It should come as no surprise that our personal health is our best defense in virtually every aspect of our lives.

Respondents highlighted the following as their top fitness goal in 2023:

“The benefits of building and maintaining muscle go far beyond defined arms, abs and legs. In fact, it’s one of the most important aspects of long-term health and longevity so this finding is music to my ears,” said Anika Christ, senior director of fitness and nutrition and RD, CPT for Life Time. “More often than not, people get fixated on dropping pounds as their priority when the reality is building strength leads to weight loss, the ability to do more in our daily tasks, an improved mental state and so much more.”

Respondents to Life Time’s annual survey included both members and non-members answering 12 questions about their health, exercise habits, workouts and other fun insights. For example, when it comes to having a great workout:

Nearly 60{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f} of respondents said sporting new workout gear or feeling confident in what they wear to their health club makes a difference.
The responses were split on the style of music people listen to with .5{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f} separating old school music like Metallica, Eminem and Salt-N-Pepa (35.9{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f}) from top 40 hits from Lizzo, Drake and Taylor Swift (36.3{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f}). Podcasts topped country music at nearly 16{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f} compared to 13{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f}.

In looking at how people view their overall health since the start of the pandemic in 2020, the trends were encouraging:

51{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f} felt their health was better in 2022 compared to 2021, which was an increase of 11{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f} from 2021. At the end of 2020, nearly 70{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f} said their personal health was negatively impacted by the effects of the pandemic.
When asked about the top contributing factor for improved health, 67{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f} of respondents noted it was because they were exercising more and took charge of their overall health.

“It should come as no surprise that our personal health is our best defense in virtually every aspect of our lives. Everything from reducing the severity of viral infections and many other diseases to boosting our mental health and longevity can be improved with movement, exercise, good nutrition, and sleep,” Christ continued. “At Life Time, we have all of the tools to help people no matter where they are on their journey, and it can start with just one positive action.”

Does the early bird get the worm when it comes to workout times? According to respondents:

56{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f} said early morning workouts are when they get their sweat on.
18{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f} who say, “to heck with lunch” and find it to be their most enjoyable workout time.
16{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f} find their happy hour exercising post-workday while just over 10{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f} are night owls.

Other key responses in the survey include:

23.4{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f} said Pilates is the workout they’d like to try most in the year ahead.
31{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f} said they learn new exercises by watching what others do at their health club.
53{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f} said being overall healthy is their motivation for living a healthy lifestyle while just .4{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f} do because of social influences.
52{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f} said their workouts are an equal mix of cardio and strength training.
51{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f} said they get an average of 5,000 to 10,000 daily steps, while 23{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f} get more than 10,000 and 27{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f} get less than 5,000.

Last, and not surprisingly, 81{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f} of respondents noted summer and spring are the times of year they feel they’re in their best shape with only 7{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f} noting winter. Christ notes, “I get it—between colder temperatures and less daylight, we’re less inspired to exercise. But the benefits are too great to skip it and now is the perfect time to get going. We’re gearing up for our first 60day^sm Challenge of the year on January 28, which offers the perfect combination of motivation, accountability and results to start the year off right.”

For those ready to start 2023 off with their health front and center, Life Time is fully open on January 1 to welcome and support people on their commitment to being healthy and happy with something for everyone 90 days old to 90+ years old. For those not located near a Life Time, the Company is providing complimentary access to its robust digital membership through January.

LINK TO LIFE TIME BROLL FOR USE

About Life Time^®, Inc.
Life Time (NYSE: LTH) empowers people to live healthy, happy lives through its portfolio of more than 160 athletic country clubs across the United States and Canada. The company’s healthy way of life communities and ecosystem address all aspects of healthy living, healthy aging and healthy entertainment for people 90 days to 90+ years old. Supported by a team of more than 30,000 dedicated professionals, Life Time is committed to providing the best programs and experiences through its clubs, iconic athletic events and comprehensive digital platform.

Life Time's 2023 survey revealed 67{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f} of respondents felt better about their health in 2022 because they're exercising more compared to 2021. — Life Time’s 2023 survey revealed 67{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f} of respondents felt better about their health in 2022 because they’re exercising more compared to 2021.

Life Time, Inc. (PRNewsfoto/Life Time, Inc.)

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SOURCE Life Time Inc.