May Exercise Classes
April 30, 2009 by Aaron Webb · 1 Comment
May offers some great classes at CrossTrain! We have something for ALL fitness levels and remember that you do not need to pre-register for classes…simply show up! Our classes are included with your membership.
May Class Offerings:
Power Pump- This class will be a variety of formats to overload and build muscles. If you want weight lifting for a total body workout and NO cardio moves, then this class is for you! This class is great for MEN & WOMEN of all fitness levels.
Bootcamp - The Bootcamp workout is a fast-paced military style interval training class that incorporates calisthenics such as push-ups, jumping jacks, sit-ups, running drills, and football style drills. Alternating quickly between movements helps to burn calories and fat faster. This method is the most efficient way to increase the intensity of your workouts and still have fun doing it! The environment is designed to keep you going even when you are ready to give up. You are sure to push yourself to your MAX! This class is not recommended for beginners.
Burn-N-Firm- This class was designed by Deb Finnestad, one of CrossTrain’s owners! This class offers a total body sculpting workout and offers deep muscle toning too. You will use all major muscle groups as you tone and tighten your body. This class is perfect for all fitness levels!
Body & Soul- This class will offer a combination of stretching techniques that will strengthen abdominal muscles, back muscles and work on range of motion too! This will give you a chance to slow down your brain and body and work on calming the body while working on breathing and flexibility. This class is a perfect calss for quiet reflection and focus on our Heavenly Father. A sticky yoga mat is recommended…all fitness levels welcome!
Moovin’ & Groovin- If you like to dance and be a little SASSY…this class is for you! Shake and shimmy the inches away! Each class will be slightly different and will have steps from past classes that you may have done before in Repeat the Beat, Soulsweat, or Line Dancing…once you get the hang of it…you’ll be ready to dance and sweat at the same time. Don’t worry if you haven’t done these classes before…all are welcome.
Walking 101- Learn the fundamentals of walking…yes, there is a right way and a wrong way and we want to teach you the RIGHT way to walk toward optimim health. Our goal is to help you increase your endurance so you will successfully complete a 5K (3.2 miles) at the conclusion of this 8-week course. This is not a progressive class…you can drop in anytime. This class will be held off-site at Crestbrook Park in Ankeny.
On Core 10 - This class is back by popular demand. Get minutes of “hard core” work with this 10 minute BURST offered at the end of most exercise classes. All welcome at this one!
Click here to download our May Class Schedule
Sin vs. Hurts
April 25, 2009 by Deb · 1 Comment
Today at Church we are having a weekend event called Discovery weekend. This is where our senior high kids lead and work with mid-high kids. I was asked to speak about sins and hurts and just what forgiveness was all about. This is from the talk I gave.
What is Sin?
A short answer can be found in Romans 8: 7. “The sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.” Sin is a terrible thing…it hurts us and it hurts others. But the worst thing about sin is that it hurts God. Do you know why it hurts him? Because he loves us so much.
Even though God loves us, he cannot overlook our sins or pretend that he does not see them. He must punish sin. The Bible speaks of a definite punishment for sin, “The wages for sin is death” Romans 6:23. This means separation from God in Hell forever. How terrible!
God created us, God sustains us, and God sent his son, Jesus, to take the punishment for our sin (Romans 8:3-4). In accepting Jesus Christ as our lord and savior, we have accepted a rebirth in him, submitting our will to his. We can never atone for our own sins, but through the blood of Jesus, we have a way to be cleansed of the stains sins put on our soul by confessing the sins to Jesus and those we have sinned against, and repenting.
So how can we experience God’s forgiveness?
Experiencing God’s forgiveness comes through confession and repentance. In (Psalms 51:3), David had written a confession to God after a particularly sinful episode in his life. David was truly sorry for his adultery and for murdering the husband to cover it up. He knew that his actions had hurt many people. But because David repented of those sins, God mercifully forgave him. No sin is too great to be forgiven! Do you feel that you could never come close to God because you have done something terrible? God can and will forgive you of any sin.
KEY BIBLE VERSE: If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong. (1 John 1:9)
God wants to forgive us. He allowed his beloved Son to die just so he could pardon us. When we come to Christ, he forgives all the sins we have committed or will ever commit. We don’t need to confess the sins of the past all over again, and we don’t need to fear that God will reject us if we don’t keep our slate perfectly clean. Of course we should continue to confess our sins, but not because failure to do so will make us lose our salvation. Our relationship with Christ is secure. Instead, we should confess our sins so that we can enjoy maximum fellowship and joy with him.
Honest confession includes turning away from sin. True confession also involves a commitment not to continue in sin. We wouldn’t be genuinely confessing our sins to God if we planned to commit them again and just wanted temporary forgiveness. We should also pray for strength to defeat temptation the next time we face it.
Confession reestablishes relationship with God. If God has forgiven us for our sins because of Christ’s death, why must we confess our sins? In admitting our sins and receiving Christ’s cleansing, we are: (1) agreeing with God that our sin truly was sin and that we are willing to turn from it, (2) ensuring that we don’t conceal our sins from him and consequently, from ourselves, and (3) recognizing our tendency to sin and relying on his power to overcome it.
What is a hurt? Hurt is something that someone else has done to you…probably a sin that they have done to you, and that you need to forgive them for.
Why should we forgive one another and how can we do it?
Joseph is a model of genuine forgiveness. Joseph was rejected, kidnapped, enslaved, and imprisoned. Although his brothers had been unfaithful to him, he graciously forgave them and shared his prosperity. Joseph demonstrated how God forgives us and showers us with goodness even though we have sinned against him. The same forgiveness and blessings are ours if we ask for them.
KEY BIBLE VERSE: Don’t let evil get the best of you, but conquer evil by doing good. (Rom 12:21)
Forgiveness is a mark of the Christian life. If we love someone the way Christ loves us, we will be willing to forgive. If we have experienced God’s grace, we will want to pass it on to others. And remember, grace is undeserved favor. By giving an enemy a drink, we’re not excusing his misdeeds. We’re recognizing him, forgiving him, and loving him in spite of his sins — just as Christ did for us.
Forgiveness is contrary to the pattern of the world. In this day of constant lawsuits and demands for legal rights, Paul’s command sounds almost impossible. When someone hurts you deeply, instead of giving him what he deserves, Paul says to befriend him. Why does Paul tell us to forgive our enemies? (1) Forgiveness may break a cycle of retaliation and lead to mutual reconciliation. (2) It may make the enemy feel ashamed and change his or her ways. (3) By contrast, returning evil for evil hurts you just as much as it hurts your enemy. Even if your enemy never repents, forgiving him or her will free you of a heavy load of bitterness.
Forgiveness is an act of the will. Forgiveness involves both attitudes and actions. If you find it difficult to feel forgiving of those who have hurt you, try responding with kind actions. If appropriate, tell such people that you would like to heal your relationships. Give them a helping hand. Send them a gift. Smile at them. Many times you will discover that right actions lead to right feelings. At the very least tell God that you forgive them and then pray for them! Remember forgiving them isn’t saying that what they did was right and it doesn’t mean that you have to forget…..it is for YOU not for them.
KEY BIBLE VERSE: If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins. (Matt 6:14-15)
If we expect to be forgiven, we need to practice forgiveness. Jesus gives a startling warning about forgiveness: if we refuse to forgive others, God will also refuse to forgive us. Why? Because when we don’t forgive others, we are denying our common ground as sinners in need of God’s forgiveness. God’s forgiveness of sin is not the direct result of our forgiving others, but it is based on our realizing what forgiveness means. It is easy to ask God for forgiveness, but difficult to grant it to others. Whenever we ask God to forgive us for sin, we should ask ourselves, have I forgiven the people who have wronged me?
Real forgiveness follows God’s pattern. Because God has forgiven all our sins, we should not withhold forgiveness from others. Realizing how completely Christ has forgiven us should produce a free and generous attitude of forgiveness toward others. When we don’t forgive others, we are setting ourselves outside and above Christ’s law of love.
Jesus told us there are two roads in this life…the broad road and the narrow road. He said, “Enter in at the straight gate; for wide is the gate that leads to destruction and many there will go in threat…straight is the gate…narrow is the way, which leads to life, and few there be that find it”. Mathew 7: 13-14. He said there were many people on the broad road and few on the narrow road. He told us where each of these roads leads. He said the broad road leads to destruction (Hell) and the narrow one leads to Heaven. He urged us to choose the narrow road. Heaven is more beautiful than we can ever imagine. It is a place of perfect happiness and joy. In heaven there are no tears, no heartaches, no hurts, no sickness, no hunger, no loneliness, no hatred, no sin and no death. That’s where I want to go and I’m sure you do to. But there is something we must do if we want to go to heaven. We must choose the narrow way by choosing Jesus Christ as our Savior.
Why do we need to do this? The Bible says, “There is none righteous.” Romans 3: 10, 23. This tells us that we ALL have sinned and done wrong. In God’s words he tells us what is right and wrong, but we have NOT kept HIS commandments. We have been proud, we have been unthankful and we have selfish. We have chosen our way instead of God’s way and this is SIN.
God doesn’t want us to sin; he speaks in love and tells us to turn from our sins before it is too late. The Bible says, “God now commandeth all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). Experiencing God’s forgiveness comes through confession and repentance.
What does it mean to REPENT? It means to “turn around”. The reason we need to turn around is that we have been going the wrong way…we have been doing things our way, not God’s way. We must turn around if we want to be saved. Jesus said, “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish”. Luke 13:5. Repentance is not just feeling bad or shedding tears over your sins, it is turning to God and saying that you have been doing wrong and ask for his forgiveness and for his help to turn away from sins. Once you truly ask for forgiveness and repent God will forgive and he does forget.
So my final question for you is which road will you take?
10 Best Spring Cleaning Workouts
April 23, 2009 by Deb · Leave a Comment
Tulips and daffodils are blooming. Butterflies and birds are flying under sunny skies. It’s springtime! What better way to chase away the winter blues than to get your blood pumping by doing a bit of spring cleaning. A recent study showed that we burn over 50,000 calories a year (which adds up to almost 15 pounds of fat) just by cleaning our homes.
Here is a list of the top 10 highest calorie-burning chores (listed from the lowest to the highest, with the average number of calories burned per year). The good news is that the more you clean, the more calories you’ll burn through. And the more body weight you’re carrying, the more calories you’ll burn. Not only will you get your workout, you’ll have a clean house to enjoy afterward. So, get out that vacuum and get cleaning!
10. Dust and polish (burn 2,228 calories per year). This can be one of the easiest chores to overlook, but since you are deep cleaning why not get totally into it? You don’t even need fancy furniture sprays- just a combination of olive oil and white vinegar. It’s like salad dressing for your furniture only better (combine 1 cup oil and ¼ cup vinegar and shake well). Use a soft cloth to buff and shine your furniture. You’ll not only expend elbow grease (getting a bit of upper body work in) you’ll have naturally shiny furniture. Light dusting burns about 170 calories per hour (assuming a body weight of 150 pounds); with heavier scrubbing and buffing you can burn up to 204 calories per hour.
9. Change the bedding (burn 2,728 calories per year). Although this will depend on how often you change the bedding, most people change their sheets once every week or two. To get a little more exercise, be sure to make your bed every morning. This way you’ll have a nice made bed to slip into each night and you can burn 136 calories per hour. I’m sure it won’t take you an hour to make your bed, however if it takes you around 15 minutes you will burn enough to indulge in some bonus calories else where!
8. Clean the bathroom (burn 2,891 calories per year). Sure, cleaning toilets is not most people’s idea of a good time but it doesn’t have to be such a chore. Put on some fast music and get moving. The old saying, “whistle while you work” just might get you through this task and you can have the whole bathroom clean in about 20 minutes. You can burn about 231 calories per hour scrub a dubbing!
7. Sweep the floor (burn 2,896 calories per year). For outdoor areas and garage floors, nothing beats an old broom and dustpan. This burns 276 calories per hour. So, it makes sense to sweep up the driveway and even down the sidewalk. To increase your intensity you could reach up and get cobwebs out of the corners of the garage.
6. Tidy up (burn 4,591 calories per year). This is something you can do everyday to add to your burn. Don’t worry about being efficient because the more back and forth you walk the more steps you get in. If you have stairs in your home you’ll get even a better workout. Be sure to hold your abs in while doing your work it will give you a little abdominal workout as well as improve your posture. Also be sure to put heavy things away to get a bit of strength training in. Even light tidying up lets you burn 170 calories per hour and when you do the harder stuff it can burn as much as 240 calories per hour.
5. Scrub the floor (burn 5,117 calories per year). Get on your hands and knees and scrub those tile or linoleum floors. Use large circular motion and reach under the bed and other hard to reach places. You’ll burn about 258 calories per hour.
4. Wash and dry the dishes (burn 6,781 calories per year). Give your dishwasher a break and wash those dishes by hand. You’ll burn 156 calories per hour just by standing and washing the dishes; but if you dry them and put them away you’ll get more bang for your buck.
3. Iron your clothes (burn 6,794 calories per year). Personally, I hate this one, but it does burn quite a few calories and you’ll end up looking sharp! To make it more fun try cranking up the music you like and dancing in between items….who says you can’t have a little fun while ironing?
2. Vacuum the floor (burn 6,800 calories per year). According to a recent survey, people found vacuuming around the house to be enjoyable. Again crank up some tunes and go for it! Vacuuming burns 238 calories per hour. Get out your attachments and do corners and even the ceilings to get more of a workout. If you find it really enjoyable, go over carpet twice.
1. Do the laundry (burn 9,464 calories per year). Although doing laundry only burns 150 calories per hour we generally have several loads to do and those calories do add up. The larger your family the more burn you get….you also get to spend more time folding and putting clothes away!
If you have outside space, you can burn even more calories by gardening (246 calories per hour), raking (264 calories per hour), or mowing the lawn (a whopping 363 calories per hour).
Now that you’ve cleaned the whole house, kick back with a tall glass of water and enjoy your handiwork. The next time you don’t feel motivated to haul yourself down to the gym, put on your favorite music, and pick up your vacuum instead. Remember, doing your housework faster and more intensely not only makes for a better workout; you’ll be done with your chores sooner. Happy cleaning! For those of you who know me, you know I’d rather BURN my calories any way EXCEPT for CLEANING!
Deb Finnestad, CPT- Format #1 for Online Exercises
April 23, 2009 by Deb · Leave a Comment
Squat matrix & push up matrix
Regular, reverse and side plank holds
Squats
Start with feet hip distance apart, and weights held at hips-10 Squats
Right foot forward-10 squats
Left foot forward-10 squats
Push ups
Hands shoulder distance apart, on toes or knees-10 push ups
Right hand forward-10 push ups
Left hand forward-10 push ups
Squats
Start with feet in a narrow stance-10 squats
Right foot slightly forward-10 squats
Left foot slightly forward-10 squats
Push ups
Hands Close together, on toes or knees-10 push ups
Right hand slightly forward-10 push ups
Left hand slightly forward-10 push ups
Squats
Start with feet in a wide stance-10 squats
Right foot forward in wide stance-10 squats
Left foot forward in wide stance-10-squats
Push ups
Start with hands out wide-10 push ups
Right hand forward in wide stance -10 push ups
Left hand forward in wide stance-10-push ups
Regular Plank hold
Hold in straight line –try to hold for 1 minute
Reverse Plank Hold
Hold in straight line –try to hold for 1 minute
Right side plank hold
Try to hold for 1 minute
Left side plank hold
Try to hold for 1 minute
Should You Exercise on an Empty Stomach?
April 18, 2009 by Deb · Leave a Comment
I often get asked this question and there is so much confusion on this I thought I’d try to help clear it up a bit. Question: If I exercise on an empty stomach in the morning, will I burn more fat, and should I exercise on an empty stomach?
Answer: The theory behind this is that your blood sugar levels are low when you’re in a fasted state (after going all night without eating) which targets more fat burning.
There are some other benefits to eating before your workout:
• It can help you sustain longer, more intense workouts
• It can help you avoid low blood sugar, which can make you feel dizzy or nauseous
• It can make your workouts more enjoyable (since you’re not thinking about eating the whole time)
If you do eat before a workout, make sure you give your body time to digest. The larger the meal, the more time you’ll need. But, if you choose a light snack (100-200 calories) and stick with higher carb fare, you can probably exercise after about 30-60 minutes. Try some of these pre-workout snacks to get your body ready for exercise:
MORNING EXERCISERS
* 6 ounces orange juice
* 1 small banana
* Whole Wheat toasted English muffin spread with 2 tsp. strawberry jam
* 1 cup nonfat or low-fat yogurt
AFTERNOON EXERCISERS
* 8-ounce fruit smoothie
* 1 ounce Whole wheat crackers and 1 cheese stick
EVENING EXERCISERS
* 4 cinnamon whole wheat graham crackers
* 1 ounce baked sweet potato or whole wheat tortilla chips
Base Lunges and Arms
April 12, 2009 by Aaron Webb · 1 Comment
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Base Exercise
April 11, 2009 by Aaron Webb · Leave a Comment
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Success Story-Meet Monica
April 11, 2009 by Jenny Neighbour · Leave a Comment
Monica before REV
Monica after REV
I never really had a problem with my weight. A product of the 70’s, I always wanted to be 10 pounds less than I was, but I really was never overweight. So, when I turned 50 and started packing on the pounds, I didn’t recognize it as a problem. I saw it more like the inevitable effects of aging. Why not just embrace that roundness? Hadn’t I earned the right to enjoy big tubs of buttered popcorn, cartons of pralines and cream ice cream, bags of chips and overloaded plates of comfort foods? Why not? Who cared? It felt good, didn’t it?
Really? Did I really feel good? Sure, it all tasted great. But then my stomach hurt. I didn’t sleep well, and mornings were truly painful. My clothes did not fit well. Dressing in professional business attire was not comfortable. I felt old, and worse, when I couldn’t avoid looking in a mirror, I knew I looked older than I thought I should look. But I was much too busy to take on a serious exercise routine. I worked out three or four nights a week for 30 minutes. I couldn’t do anything more.
Then I read about REV at CrossTrain. It grabbed my attention. The nutrition counseling, the group support, the serious exercise classes. And it cost just enough to make it a serious commitment. So when I started, I was really thinking I’d never make it to classes regularly and I set very low expectations for myself. Maybe I’d lose a couple pounds and that would be nice. I told Jenny, ” I need to do something, but I’ll NEVER be one of your stars.”
A few days into the program, I was late ONCE AGAIN to class. I stopped at the front desk, looked at the clock and decided just to do the circuit as long as I was there. One of the staff looked at me and said, “OK, you missed the first 15 minutes. You’ve still got 40 left. Go exercise!” I did.
I can’t explain what happend after that. I got hooked. The counseling sessions made sense. The reliance on scripture and turning the control over to God took off the pressure. The exercise classes felt good. Against all odds, I even learned to like to sweat. Although I still hate to run, I worked hard, and it immediately began to pay off. The pounds came off. I stuck to the eating guidelines, tracking what I ate to be sure I ate enough vegetables, not too many cereals and lots of water! It continued to make more sense to me. The longer I stuck to it, the easier it got. I lost the cravings for chips and popcorn. Fruit came to satisfy me. I began to feel really good in the mornings. People began noticing that I was losing weight. I signed up for a second session of REV.
When I looked in the mirror and saw my cheek bones again, I knew I was on my way to finding the former me. We were planning my younger son’s wedding, and I set a new, STRETCH goal for that wedding. A weight I hadn’t seen for nearly 10 years. I not only reached that weight, I lost 8 pounds more than that – - more than 40 pounds in total in six and a half months!When my son’s fiancee and my daughter-in-law took me dress shopping for the wedding, we had a blast! All the dresses looked good. I decided I could even consider a strapless if I wanted to. When I found the perfect dress and loved how it fit, I knew REV had helped me end a bad phase of my life and start a new, much more constructive one.
Life isn’t all about how much you weigh, but it is important to feel good about yourself and to be healthier. I am stronger, I have more endurance, my blood pressure is way down, my water content is higher, and I feel BETTER! I like the way I look, which makes me happier and much more confident in all aspects of my life.
I am sure I won’t revert. This truly is a life REVolution. It’s not a diet or a fad. It is a more thoughtful, sensible way of life. Disciplined eating, regular exercise and trust in God’s ability to give us the strength to make the right decisions is all that it takes!
Thank you CrossTrain for being there when I was ready to make the changes in my life!
Monica
CrossTrain-Testimonials-Results
April 8, 2009 by Jenny Neighbour · Leave a Comment
Many of our CrossTrain Fitness members have seen great success on our program! We are here to help you every step of the way. Please take a minute to meet some of our wonderful members that have seen awesome success at CrossTrain Fitness! Many of them are still on their journey but as you will see, they feel blessed to have God at the center of their journey because they know that with God all things are possible!
CrossTrain-Testimonials-Support
April 8, 2009 by Jenny Neighbour · Leave a Comment
It is hard to do the weight loss thing alone! It is so much easier to be surrounded by a great group of people that understand exactly what you are going through! At CrossTrain, we have been there! As owners, we have tackled many aspects of weight loss and continue to tackle it each and everyday. We have experience and knowledge on our side and really want to help you reach your goals. Support is essential if you want to be successful with weight management. We all need a “team” surrounding us every step of the way. Not only will the CrossTrain owners and staff be there for you but so will other members! You will help each other to get through this journey…together!