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JUPITER, Fla., Dec. 24, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --Empire Holdings and Investments, LLC ("Empire", "Empire Holdings", or the "Company"), the parent company of luxury fitness brands TMPL, Palm Beach Sports Clubs and LIV, announced an agreement in principle for a $100 million commitment by Kennedy Lewis Investment Management LP ("Kennedy Lewis") through a senior secured first lien delayed draw term loan facility and an approximately 51% common stock investment, which is anticipated to be signed and consummated prior to year-end. The Company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Town Sports International Holdings, Inc. (OTC:CLUBQ). Patrick Walsh, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board, commented, "We are excited to move forward with our longstanding partner, Kennedy Lewis. Kennedy Lewis recognizes the essential value of the fitness industry to our country and the material benefits of health and wellness for the American people. The health of our citizens is more important to our country's success and survival than at any time in the last 100 years. Our Company's platform is uniquely positioned to restore and rebuild the fitness industry to the benefit of the American people and provide much needed jobs to fitness industry professionals. I am excited to have Kennedy Lewis join the Board and enhance their partnership with me and our team. This investment will materially increase our financial strength and attest to investor confidence in our ability to weather this unprecedented crisis and rapidly rescale our operations. We look forward to executing definitive agreements and closing the investment shortly." David Chene, Kennedy Lewis Co-Managing Partner commented: "We are proud to increase our investment and further our partnership with TMPL, Palm Beach Sports Clubs and LIV. The pandemic led disruption in the fitness industry is unprecedented and provided Kennedy Lewis with the opportunity to provide much needed capital to an industry that is critical to the well-being of our country. We have tremendous confidence in Patrick Walsh and the Empire team and expect that their efforts to position the Company to capitalize on opportunities presented by this disruption will further grow market share and deliver an even safer and more exceptional experience to our fitness members."

Material Terms:

About Empire Holdings and Investments LLCEmpire Holdings and Investments, LLC is a diversified holding company with various subsidiaries engaged in numerous businesses and investment activities. The Company's corporate structure provides flexibility to make investments across a broad spectrum of industries to create long-term value forshareholders. The Company is led by its Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board, Patrick Walsh.

About Kennedy LewisKennedy Lewis is an opportunistic credit manager founded in 2017 by David K. Chene and Darren L. Richman. Kennedy Lewis pursues event-driven situations in which a catalyst may unlock value and focuses primarily on corporate and structured credit opportunities in North America and Europe.

Forward-Looking StatementsThis release may contain "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, without limitation, statements regarding future financial results and performance, potential club closures, results of cost-savings initiatives, and other statements that are predictive in nature or depend upon or refer to events or conditions, or that include words such as "may," "should," or the negative version of these words or other comparable words. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date when made, and the company undertakes no obligation to update these statements in light of subsequent events or developments. Actual results may differ materially from anticipated results or outcomes discussed in any forward-looking statement.

SOURCE Empire Holdings and Investments, LLC

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Patrick Walsh, Chief Executive Officer of TMPL Fitness, Palm Beach Sports Clubs and LIV Fitness, Announces Agreement in Principle for a $100 Million...

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Okay, scratch 2020. Onwards and upwards. As the New Year approaches, its natural to start thinking about goals, resolutions and personal progression and health and fitness are obvious places to start.

If necessity saw you working out from home this year, and you found it was actually your jam, you might like to use your summer break to step up your home gym set-up.

Among the benefits are flexibility, costs, privacy, less travel time, no babysitting needed, your own music choices, and less gym odours. Consider these options:

What you need

How long is a piece of string? There are gym equipment options for any budget and space.

Cardio equipment can be bought or rented and preloved machines sourced from online marketplaces or the Green Shed.

If thats not within your budget, a combination of hand weights or kettle bells, yoga mat and resistance bands (available from discount stores) and a little knowledge will help keep you fit in 2021.

DIY options

A Pinterest search ranges from upcycling household items into equipment to large scale creations. Choose your own adventure, depending on your time, effort, skills, and care factor:

Space and storage

Whether your workout space is a spare room, balcony, backyard or shed, you need accessible storage.

A dedicated space within common sight where you hang equipment, workout schedules and motivational boards will help keep your health and fitness goals on track.

New year, new goals, new attitude, same you

Set one or two goals for yourself and make them SMART: Simple, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely make sure to write them down.

When setting these goals, be kind to yourself and remember, successful people are not those who dont fail but those who get back up and try again.

Dont give up and make a coping plan so you know what action to take if/when things get off-track.

Reframe your goals. Rather than imposing a three-day-a-week gym rule, resolve not to go longer than three days without exercise. Give yourself breathing room and flexibility and credit when you get it right.

Schedule it. A rule of time management is if you write it on a list it wont happen, when you schedule time for it, it will. And be sure to ask yourself, what time of the day works best for you?

Music, apps and the internet

Traditionally its pump-up music that gets us moving, but research suggests people who listen to audiobooks are twice as likely to exercise more. Stay on top of trending podcasts and audiobooks with a wireless speaker system or headphones.

There are a myriad of fitness and nutrition apps out there. Pick one that allows you to log your progress, learn new health information and keeps you accountable, without being too severe.

Get outside

Mix it up. One of the benefits to come out of lockdown is our return to local parks and outdoor spaces. Get your cardio and get involved in your neighbourhood at the same time especially now Park Run is back.

Small changes for a mental and physically healthy and fulfilling 2021:

Follow this link for more health and wellbeing inspiration and information.

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Health and fitness at home this summer - Canberra Weekly

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BOCA RATON, Fla. A new report from the Department of Veterans Affairs shows the suicide rate among veterans is climbing. The rate currently stands 1.5 times the rate of non-veterans. In response the VA developed a National Strategy for Preventing Veteran Suicide and local veterans in places like Boca Raton are responding.

If you're a veteran whose feeling blue, Wade Waddick, the owner of Evolution Fitness in Boca Raton will try to sweat it out of you.

Its definitely an issue an issue in the veteran community and exponentially worse in 2020 where we have 48-million Americans out of work, said Waddick. The veterans suicide rate has actually gotten even higher amongst female veterans so isolations is one of the worst things they can do. They have to get out and reconnect.

Each week Evolution Fitness offers Savage Saturday, a 9:30am group workout free of charge in response to veterans issues. The session builds strength and resilience, helping vets like Braden Smith who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Arthur Mondale

Sometimes Im mentally not in a good place, but here I can forget about everything that's going on in my head, Smith said.

And vets like Joseph Plumadore also come here to share stories.

This is definitely mission based. Everybody here is mission essential, Plumadore said.

And the influence is growing. Group workouts are followed by 2 Marines 1 Mic, a post-workout personal development podcast that focuses on mindset, fitness, and valuable lessons learned. Wade and Phil take their Marine Corps experiences and relate them to everyday life, business, and daily practices so that you too can operate on a higher level.

We're all just kind of sick and tired of being told a narrative, Waddick said.

To listen to 2 Marines 1 Mic visit here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/2marines-1mic/id1375678963

Or here:

To view 2 Marines 1 Mic visit here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC10DGqRnA_vj4V20dKgrZiA

If youre a veteran in crisis or concerned about one, contact the 24/7 Veterans Crisis Line. Its a free, anonymous confidential resource - even if youre not enrolled in VA healthcare. Call 1-800-273-8255 or text 8-3-8-2-5-5.

To learn more visit here: https://www.veteranscrisisline.net/get-help/hotline

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Evolution Fitness group workouts and podcast builds veteran resilience - WPTV.com

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Kansas City Chiefs fans hoping to work off some of those game-day pounds may have an especially apt place to exercise, come spring.

The team announced this week that it plans to open a top-line fitness center in Overland Park featuring the latest in fitness and recovery equipment. The centers projected opening date is not yet clear.

The new Chiefs Fit center will be in the Regency Park Shopping Center near 93rd Street and Metcalf Avenue at the former site of a Michaels Craft Store.

The 37,000-square-foot space will have a full range of strength and conditioning equipment, right down to Chiefs-branded free weights. There will also be an indoor turf field, cryotherapy, hydromassage machines, a sauna, spray tan booths and a locker room, as well as personal training and fitness classes, according to the teams announcement.

Chiefs Fit branded apparel and gear also will be for sale there.m

We have continued to focus on health and wellness over the past couple of years, and not just for our players, coaches and staff, said Chiefs President Mark Donovan in a press release.

NFL team-branded fitness centers have popped up in recent years in other cities, including Dallas and San Francisco.

The Overland Park undertaking is a joint project between the Chiefs and M6 Football, whose founder, Mark Mastrov, is former chairman of 24 Hour Fitness.

We are very excited and proud to be able to partner with the Super Bowl Champion Chiefs to bring this amazing facility to life, Mastrov said.

The team also pledged to employ the same health and pandemic safety protocols currently in use at Arrowhead Stadium.

The new facility will have touchless water fillers, appropriate air handling, and social distancing. It will comply with all state and local orders regarding gyms during the pandemic, the press release said.

The gym is designed for all levels and membership information will be announced in January.

Regency Park has recently undergone a face lift, with new facades for many of the buildings. There have also been some changes in businesses in the area. Just north, a Whole Foods grocery moved out. Developers are planning a facility for clinical research trials for that space.

Continued here:
Chiefs to open fitness center near 93rd and Metcalf in Overland Park - Shawnee Mission Post

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2021 will be the year people focus on overcoming their fitness fears, according to Mindbodys COVIDEdition: 2021 Wellness Trend Predictions.

The report is based on consumer behaviors of its thousands of fitness, spa, salon and integrative health businesses that run on its platform along with external consumer surveys.

Mindbody leveraged data from thetens of thousands of fitness, spa, salon and integrative health businesses that run on its platform, in addition to the1.3 million consumerswho use its marketplace. The company combined that data with external consumer surveys to develop the insights.Below are three of the findings that relate specifically to fitness.

COVIDhas forced Americans to prioritize their health and wellness. Fifty-nine percent of people surveyed said that they have become more focused on health and wellness since the pandemic started. Of those who are more focused, 60 percent said the pandemic has made them realize that they need to be healthier in order to withstand disease and illness.

Gym intimidation keeps some from working out. Of those that shared they are intimidated by going to the gym, 56 percent said they would feel more comfortable joining a gym or fitness studio if they were in better shape first.

With a new imperative on wellness and the acceleration of virtual offerings, 2021 may be the year where Americans are willing to break down any fitness barriers that have stood in their way in the past, according to Mindbody. How will they do so? Twenty-three percent of those who are intimidated said watching informative video tutorials would help, while 21 percent said that taking virtual classes first would put them at ease.

New virtual fitness options boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing fitness studios and gyms to continue to offer workouts and personal training while closed. Pandemic disruption and a new global wellness imperative have created a new wave of fitness defined by both in-person and virtual experiences.

Americans are forming new workout habits. Thirty-seven percent joined a live stream workout at least once a week. Forty percent exercise to pre-recorded fitness videos. Its now possible for people to stay home while trying any workout type from studios all over the world. Yoga is the most popular virtual workout of choice with an average of 60,000 classes being booked daily.

When virtual exercisers rushed in earlier this year, they quickly came to realize the benefits of virtual workouts (lower prices, no commute, increased variety, etc.), according to Mindbody. Even as in-person workouts are more accessible post-pandemic, many Americans will continue to incorporate virtual workouts for optimal flexibility and benefit.

Workdays are more fluid than ever before. Childcare, work and wellness are all happening in the same spaceand often at the same time. Americans are grabbing time to work out whenever they can, and its not always the longer sessions they used to log at the gym, according to Mindbody. Thirty-nine percent of those surveyed said their workouts are a half hour or less.

Snackable workouts give Americans a chance to exercise when they might not have otherwise. Mindbody said to expect that the popularity of these bite-sized sessions will increase in 2021.

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Three Fitness and Wellness Trends for 2021 | ClubIndustry - Club Industry

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For many Americans, fitness studios are an important part of an active and healthy lifestyle, one that helps them remain resilient against infections, including COVID-19 and that has been linked to few if any outbreaks.

Closing them down seems to havereal downsidesandlittle discernible benefitin terms of COVID-19 numbers.

>>> Whats the best way for America to reopen and return to business? The National Coronavirus Recovery Commission, a project of The Heritage Foundation, assembled Americas top thinkers to figure that out. So far, it has made more than 260 recommendations. Learn more here.

Even so, Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser recently issued anorderthat banned indoor fitness classes and reduced the limit on outdoor classes to 25 people, down from 50. The order came as a shock to owners of fitness studios, who have been complying with health guidance and orders for months.

Its another example of government shutting down businesses, harming citizens, and imposing economic harmwithout any scientific evidencethat these actions keep residents safe or limit the spread of the virus.

Most would agree with the ban if government at least hadclear and persuasive proofthat fitness studios are hot spots for transmission of COVID-19 before. But the D.C. Health Department releasednew outbreak hot-spot datajust a few days agoand gyms and fitness studios are not even listed.

Yet, the mayors restrictions mean many studios in the District have been forced to close and lay off employees, adding to the economicstress our country is underand contributing to the10.7 million people unemployedin the U.S.

One fitness studio chain native to DC, [solidcore], practiced civil disobedience and stayed open, as it had after previous lockdown orders. Owner Anne Mahlum published aletterto Bowser, asking her to reconsider the order as it was not based on COVID-19 transmission data.

Disallowing group fitness wont change the COVID numbers for one simple reason: There has beenzero instances of community spreadingat [solidcore], or any other boutique fitness environment of which I am aware, she wrote.

David Magida, owner of Elevate Interval Fitness,agreed. I understand what the city was attempting to do. They were attempting to deal with bad optics and an assumed source of spread but the only thing they accomplished was effectively hurting small fitness studios without actually increasing safety.

Other studios took an adapt or die approach and chose to dramatically alter their business models and products. Orangetheory Fitness, a global chain with 12 locations in the District, changed its workouts from instructor-led classes to an open gym format to comply with the order.

Studio owners and employees were blindsided. Many said they had worked tirelessly to keep customers healthy by enforcing social distancing, sanitizing equipment, eliminating shared equipment, and limiting class sizes. Some even installed specialized air filters. Maddie Watkins, owner of 202Strong,saidthat working out in an indoor studio is safer than dining inside, as [clients] are masked the entire time and confined to specific zones.

The fitness industry is an important sector of the American economy, not just because it supplies jobs and incomes to families, but also because it encourages and facilitates an active, healthy lifestyle.

As Americans adjust to the societal changes brought on by COVID-19, exercise is essential to maintaining physical and mental health and boosting the immune system. In cities such as the District, where many urban apartment dwellers do not have space for personal exercise equipment in their homes, access to exercise facilities is even more importantespecially during winter months, when its more difficult to exercise outdoors.

Fitness studios should not be the target of government orders when they have been complying with local health and safety guidelines and have not been shown to increase the spread of the pandemic.

No activity involving other people is 100% safe, but customers and businesses were doing what they could to prevent transmission of the diseaseand it appeared to be working.

Responsible government policy protects the health and safety of the public. Given there were no known instances of COVID-19 outbreaks in fitness studios or gyms in the District of Columbia, the government is out of line to ban indoor fitness classes. Government should not preemptively ban activities that have not contributed to the spread of COVID-19, and officials need toshow their workbefore issuing harmful orders.

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Fitness Classes Are All But Banned in D.C. Over Baseless COVID-19 Fears - Heritage.org

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If you just unwrapped a new Apple Watch this morning, there are a variety of tips and tricks that can help you get the most out of your new wearable. Read on for some guidance on our favorite Apple Watch features for health, activity, customization, and more.

For many people, the Apple Watch is first and foremost a fitness-focused wearable. The key to this is a trio of rings each represented by a different color: red for move, green for exercise, and blue for stand.

By default, the green exercise ring closes when you log 30 minutes of intense activity, the blue stand or roll ring closes when you move around for at least 1 minute of 12 different hours, and the red move ring closes when you meet your personal goal for active calories burned in a day.

This year, however, Apple added the ability to customize your exercise and stand goals for the first time. Maybe youre recovering from an injury and 12 stand hours paired with 30 minutes of exercise is too much for your body to handle. People have also been calling on Apple to integrate rest days into the Apple Watch rings system, and feature at least gives users more control over their goals.

Heres how to change your Apple Watch move, exercise, and stand goals with watchOS 7:

The exercise ring can be lowered or raised in intervals of five, down to a minimum of 10 minutes or a maximum of 60 minutes. The stand goal can be changed in single-hour intervals, down to a minimum of 6 hours. You cant increase the stand goal beyond the default 12-hour mark.

The centerpiece of your Apple Watch is the watch face. On your watch face, you can add bits of information known as complications, including things such as weather, activity data, heart rate information, and much more. The easiest way to build an Apple Watch face is with the Apple Watch app on iPhone.

You can find the entire library of watch faces in the Face Gallery tab of the app, and as you build them, you can add faces to your personal collection. Once you create multiple watch faces, you can swipe between them from your Apple Watch, making it easy to adjust on the fly for different scenarios.

You can find apps built specifically for the Apple Watch in the watchOS App Store. Simply press the digital crown on your Apple Watch and look for the App Store icon. Here, youll be able to easily find and install dedicated Apple Watch applications without using your iPhone at all.

One of the ways I love to stay motivated with my Apple Watch is by sharing my activity data with friends and family. When you do this, you can see when your friends complete workouts, how much progress theyve made towards their goals, and when they earn new awards.

To share your Apple Watch activity data with others, follow these steps:

The Apple Watch is not only useful for deliberately tracking your fitness progress, but also for passively monitoring it in the background.

Fall Detection

One such feature is called Fall Detection, and it uses the gyroscope and accelerometer to detect if youve fallen, and more importantly, if youve fallen and cannot get back up. By default, Fall Detection is disabled for users under the age of 65, but you can manually enable it with these steps:

Heart

In the Apple Watch app on iPhone, you can also enable a suite of features that will allow your Apple Watch to help you look after your heart. Simply open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone and look for the Heart category. In this section, you can enable the following features:

Blood oxygen

If youre using an Apple Watch Series 6, you also have support for taking blood oxygen readings with your device. Apple Watch can also take measurements in the background so you have data to regularly reflect on. Simply open the Watch app on your iPhone, look for the Blood Oxygen category, enable the settings as you desire.

The Apple Watch makes it incredibly easy to stay on top of your notifications. Every time an app sends a push notification, youll get a tap on the wrist and hear a sound. For many people, however, this can actually be overwhelming and unnecessary.

To manage notifications on your Apple Watch, open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone and choose the Notifications category. Here, you can see a list of applications and manage notifications as necessary. My recommendation is to limit notifications as much as possible on your Apple Watch, otherwise, you might become overwhelmed.

One of the newest Apple Watch features is deep integration with APples new Fitness+ subscription workouts service. Apple Fitness+ offers access to a library of hundreds of on-demand workouts across popular categories such as running, cycling, HIIT, rowing, yoga, and more.

Apple Fitness+ features deep integration with Apple Watch, showing live data from your Apple Watch on the screen during your workout. Plus, if you recently got a new Apple Watch, you likely have 3 months of free access to the service.

You can find Apple Fitness+ in the Fitness app on your iPhone or Apple TV. Its also available on the iPad, and you can download it from the iPadOS App Store to get started.

Finally, you might be looking to complement your new Apple Watch with accessories such as charging docks and watch bands. Here are some of our favorites.

Best Apple Watch charging docks:

Best Apple Watch bands:

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

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Here are some of the best features to try on your new Apple Watch - 9to5Mac

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You got a new fitness tracker or smartwatch for Christmas. Great! Now what?

Whether youve got the latest Apple Watch Series 6, a Fitbit, an Oura ring or any other one of the best fitness trackers or best smartwatches, itll come with instructions online or within a physical booklet to help you get the device (and you) up and running.

Youll need to download the accompanying app, pair your device with your phone, charge it up and learn how to use the basic controls. Exactly how you do these things will vary from device to device and we recommend you follow the step-by-step instructions and do those first.

However, most instructions get you started. But what comes next? Beyond the set-up steps, there are plenty of other things you need to know to get the most out of your new wearable so it can make a positive difference to your life and work for you, not against you. You dont want it to be a negative drain, a waste of money or another present that gets stuffed in a drawer somewhere and forgotten about.

Our advice includes the importance of a comfy fit, habit-setting suggestions, why customization is worth it, tips about goals and much more.

Of course, every wearable device is different, as is every person who wears one. But these are our suggestions that should give most people a better chance of getting on well with their new wearable device.

You just put it on and fasten it tightly, right? Sort of. Its very easy to strap any wearable on and start using it. But its important to be mindful about how it fits. Are the buckles digging in? Is the material irritating you a little? If it doesnt feel good now, you wont want to wear it in future.

You want a just right fit that isnt so tight it leaves marks on your wrist, but is tight enough for the sensors to work properly. For example, most wearable devices these days have a heart rate sensor built-in to the back. For this to measure bloodflow accurately, it needs to be close to your skin.

Play around with how tight you wear your new smartwatch or fitness tracker and, if you need to and its possible with your device, swap out the strap for one thats a better fit or made from a more comfortable material.

The key thing to remember when you get a new wearable device is: make it work for you. What we mean is there are plenty of devices that can track and do all kinds of things. Some people might love this and want to find out everything there is to know about their sleep, fitness levels, stress levels and much more. Others might just want to count their steps and take a look at heart rate data occasionally. Just because your device can do anything doesnt mean you need to track or care about everything. This can lead to you becoming overwhelmed, focusing on numbers that dont really matter to you and just extra stress you dont need.

A good place to start in defining what matters to you and what doesnt is to customize the stats you see on your apps dashboard. Its not possible to do this for every wearable. But some, like Fitbit, allow you to edit which stats are shown as you open up the app (take a look at the screenshots above). For example, with the Fitbit app you can customize your dashboard so you see nothing about calories. This is really handy if you want to feel generally fitter and healthier but dont want to focus on weight loss which can be problematic for some people.

One workout we do a lot at the moment is spinning. However, for the longest time its been the last activity in the exercise menu on our Fitbit Versa. Sure, we can just scroll down to select it. But it would only take a minute or two to move it to the top spot by using the Fitbit app, making things feel easier and more intuitive. If you have a wearable that has a screen and allows you to customize or make small tweaks to what you see on it, spend some time ensuring its exactly what you need in the order you need it.

This might not seem like a big deal. Who cares if you have to scroll two more times to find the workout you need? But its these small bits of friction that can make using tech feel more like a chore than a helping hand especially if they all start to add up. So taking the time to change these settings now and make them more you will help in the long-run.

We've tried a lot of wearables over the years. Sometimes we've had to take them off to charge them and immediately put them on as soon as the battery reaches 100 per cent. Others get left for days because we just keep forgetting amidst all the other jobs we need to do. Where you charge your wearable really matters.

Under a desk where its out of sight, out of mind? No good. In the kitchen near the coffee machine so we see it every time we go to get another hit of caffeine? Perfect. This will be different for everyone, but again, the goal is to make using your new wearable device every day easy. Because the buzz of excitement you feel to wear it right now is unlikely to last.

Picking the best charging place for your wearable device so you dont forget about it is part of a wider consideration about turning your wearable and wearing it, checking it and charging it into behavior that feels natural and habitual.

This is why we recommend borrowing some suggestions from habit-building theory to help. This doesnt have to be confusing or extensive. Instead, we can pick and choose what we incorporate.

Social scientist and researcher at Stanford University BJ Fogg is a big believer in the power of prompts. In his book, Tiny Habits, he explains that no behavior happens without a prompt. This is essentially something, anything, that tells you to do a thing now. He gives the example of a woman who would do the same morning routine, then write her priorities on a post-it note.

Prompts can be physical, like that example, maybe you could put a Post-it saying Fitbit next to your coffee machine or on your mirror? Or whats known as a context prompt, this is when youre prompted to do something because you associate it with something else in the example above, we had begun to associate making a coffee with strapping my tracker on.

Other prompts that Fogg recommends are: sending yourself a text message, writing on your bathroom mirror, setting an alarm with your voice assistant and sticking a reminder on your fridge. All of these could work well when it comes to prompting yourself to put on your new tracker.

The good news is, this simple prompt for one simple behavior can have a positive effect on other behaviors. Fogg writes: what had started with one Post-it turned into a productivity avalanche.

Most wearables can do a lot, but they cant tell you everything there is to know about your health and fitness. For example, many can track your activity and heart rate levels. But few have menstrual tracking features that are as good as apps like Clue and Glow. Whats more, some have nutritional tracking databases, but not many are as extensive as MyFitnessPal. That means you might want to sync up the apps you already use and love with your new wearable and its app. Simply put, youll want to get your apps to talk to each other so you can get more from each of them and find out more about yourself.

The way to do this is different for every wearable, but most have a section in the settings called apps or connections. Theres usually a list of supported apps here and you can select which one youd like to give permission to access your health and fitness data.

This is also a good way of revoking access to apps you dont want to access your health and fitness data. On that point, watch out for any apps trying to seek permission to access data that they just dont need. Always question whether an app really needs to know your step count or your location. If it's not obvious why a health app or taxi app, for example then don't allow it.

If you have a wearable with a screen then chances are you can have notifications from your phone also sent to your wrist. Some devices can only notify you of texts and calls. Others can send any app notification, including WhatsApp, email or Ring notifications, sent to the screen.

The question is: is this a good idea or a shortcut to panic? The answer is: it all depends on you. Personally, we like to have any notification that pops up on our phone screen to appear on the wearable too. Why this is good for us and our productivity is because of something called in-phone interruptions. This is the idea that if we look at our phones for one thing, theres a good chance well get distracted by something else. So the reason you looked in the first place takes much longer and can often be forgotten completely!

But just because this works for me doesnt mean its right for you. We know some people find sending all of their notifications to their wrists really panic-inducing and would instead like to keep it as a message-free space. Settings to turn them on, off or customize them are within your wearables app and tend to be easy to toggle on and off, so we'd suggest trialing them to see what you think.

If you have a fitness tracker because theres something specific you want to do and it'll help you, which most of the time there is, take advantage of the trackers goal-setting feature. This could be setting a step goal for the day or, if youre training for something and have a device built for fitness, particular distance or time goals. If you want to increase your fitness generally, you might want to set a goal of just five days of exercise a week, regardless of what it is.

We like to use wearables even when we dont have a super specific goal in mind, but therell always be something we're interested in hitting eight hours sleep, 8,000 steps, something like that. The key for us over the years has been to focus on one thing at a time. Our wearable tech can track a lot of things, but it can perform better when weve got one clear goal at once.

This is also the basic premise of Greg McKeowns book Essentialism. The idea is that, to achieve more, we should pursue less stuff and do it better. Theres a lot more to McKeowns essentialist view of life, but a few key things for us to remember when it comes to fitness trackers is: choose what to pay attention to (dont feel like you have to do everything), remove obstacles to make your goals easier and experience joy in the journey of getting things done.

This sounds good in theory, but what does it look like in practice? To us, its choosing one goal to set and think about at a time, editing an apps home screen so what ww want to focus on is there and what we dont isnt. Its also about making the customizations to the app and wearable screen mentioned above we want to remove obstacles. Finally, experiencing joy for us comes with less pressure and more games, fun badges and, importantly, ways to switch off when we need to which we'll come to soon.

A lot of the best fitness trackers these days are designed for 24/7 wear you just need to take them off every couple of days or every week to charge them up for a few hours. Thats why it might seem like this advice is a bit weird especially for a tech site. But its important to go without your tracker now and again for a few important reasons.

The first reason is itll lessen the chances your skin will be irritated if you give it a break every so often. Most wearables are specially designed to not cause irritation whether thats the strap or the body of the watch or wearable that sits flush to your wrist but we've noticed we can experience some mild irritation and itching. Especially with waterproof wearables that we wear in the shower our thinking is that soap likely gets caught behind it.

The second reason is itll lessen the chances that you become too reliant on your wearable. Wait a minute. Didnt we just cover how to create habits with putting on your wearable? Absolutely. But theres a balance here. The majority of people dont have issues with becoming too hyper-focused on their wearables and the data they collect, but there are cases of people becoming obsessed with sleep data (researchers have called this orthosomnia), as well as others having eating disorders triggered or exacerbated by the calorie and activity data thats so easily accessible.

When we wrote about the possible link between disordered eating and fitness trackers and wearables, Dr Carolyn Plateau, a lecturer in psychology at Loughborough University, recommended making peace with taking it off now and again. Maybe you make this regular. Like every Sunday youll leave it off or you realize you dont need to wear it at night. It doesnt matter when you choose, its just about proving you could wear it all the time, but you dont need to.

When we spoke to Dr Carolyn Plateau she told us people are less likely to have problematic relationships with devices when they're used to improve general wellbeing and to read a positive goal rather than one that feels more negative, i.e. losing weight. If you feel like you need to lose weight and have support and a healthy mindset, were not stopping you. But this is about doing whats right for you, choosing things that'll work in the long-run and not triggering bigger problems. So its worth considering your why from the get-go.

With all the focus here on goal-setting and habit-building, its also worth mentioning that fitness trackers can be used for awareness-building to begin with. What I mean is, maybe you dont know what your step or sleep goal should be because, where would you begin?

Our advice would be to use the tracker for a month to see where youre at now, whats possible and what you might want to achieve in the future. So much is said for constantly improving and upgrading, maybe you just want to watch, track or just for things to stay how they are and to aim for more balance instead. Theres no right or wrong way to use health and fitness tech.

Excerpt from:
How to use a wearable: tips to make the most of your smartwatch or fitness tracker - TechRadar

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If you're looking to test your fitness mettle, there's no better way to do it than with a military fitness test. There's a whole genre of videos showing otherwise fit folks getting wrecked by the gauntlet of physical challenges, YouTubers Buff Dudes giving a test a shot and getting totally savaged. One super challenging test via the U.S. Navy is the U.S. Navy's Physical Readiness Test. Now, bodybuilder and MH Next Top Trainer host Steve Cook, has given it a shot.

The Navy's PRT test consists of a 1.5 mile run to be completed as quickly as possible, along with 2-minute tests of situps and pushups, with scores calculated on how many reps a recruit or veteran sailor can successfully complete in the time frame. Final scores are based on all three events, and are scaled for a participants age and gender.

Men's Health

"This is my first 'challenge' video since I got COVID 6 weeks ago," says Cook at the outset. "I felt pretty sick for the first 3 days, and I still can't really taste or smell very well. But we're back in the gym now."

Cook also notes he hasn't run at all since pre-COVID times, and that he probably trained less in 2020 than any other year.

"I'm not really in good shape,' he says. "I want to do this like a stress test. I want to see if I'm really that out of shape."

He warms up and gets to the 2 minutes of pushups and cranks out 73 reps, but with 40 seconds to go, he falls to his knees.

"That's the least amount of pushups I've been able to do probably since I was in sixth grade... ugh 2020," he says.

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Next, he hits the 2 minutes of situps. And he's able to do 61 reps.

"Whew, eye-opening. That's what this is. Good to know...you don't know where you're at until you test yourself," says Cook.

Next up is the 1.5 mile run, which he decides to do on a treadmill.

"I definitely am not thinking I will break 10 minutes on this. I'll be happy to get 11," says Cook.

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He gets to it, and ends up clocking in at 11:19.

"You know what, for the next month that's my goal. I'm training to get better at this," he says. "I need a good training goal. I've never been this out of shape I think in a long, long time...I refuse to accept that."

Cook's goals were to get an under 10-minute 1.5 mile run, 100 pushups, and 100 situps. He technically passed the test by its standardsbut not by his.

"I was not there today. I gotta get better...I will get better," he says.

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Bodybuilder Steve Cook Tries the US Navy Fitness Test and Fails - menshealth.com

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If you need some motivation to keep exercising, a little pre-planning can go a long way.

Are you struggling to maintain a healthy exercise habit?

Its pretty easy to start exercising or eating healthy, but sticking with it in the long term is a much more difficult task. You get busy. Youre too sore. Life happens. Sooner or later, the excuses start to pile up. You end up skipping a few days. Youll skip a week maybe even a few weeks and youre back at square one feeling defeated before you know it. Its a vicious cycle.

With a slight change of your mindset, some simple planning and a little motivation, you can finally start and keep a consistent workout schedule for good. Here are some tips on how to get started and maintain your new, consistent exercise routine.

CREATE THE ROUTINE

One of the best ways to start any kind of habit is to create a routine around whatever it is you want to start doing. Working out is no different.

For example, maybe you want to work out first thing in the morning before you go to work every weekday. You might create a routine where you get up, eat a small breakfast while listening to your favorite podcast, go work out, shower and then commute to work.

The idea is to get your mind and body so used to including a workout in your morning (or whichever time of day youd like to work out) routine that you no longer have to think about it. It should just come naturally to you.

PUT IT ON THE CALENDAR

Another way to make sure your workouts are ingrained in your schedule is to simply put them in it, just like you would for any other appointment.

Schedule time in your calendar every week for your exercise. Make this time non-negotiable and expressly for you. If a potential conflict comes up, try saying something like Im sorry, but I have plans or Thanks for thinking of me! Id love to do this another time. If you must make a change, reschedule your workout time for another day that week and stick to it. Treat your exercise appointments like any other essential appointments you cant miss and remember: you are your own boss.

COMMIT FOR 30 DAYS

Most of us have heard it takes anywhere from 21-30 days to build a habit that sticks. The key is to commit to the habit you want to create such as working out four times a week and give yourself a 30-day trial of doing that habit consistently. Tell yourself that, if you want to, you can go back to your old habits at the end of your 30 days.

At the end of those 30 days, make an assessment. Do you feel stronger? More confident? More energized? More fit? My guess is that youll decide you prefer the way you feel after working out consistently and will not want to return to how you were beforehand. If thats the case, congratulations youve just created a workout habit.

START SMALL

When you first start working out on a regular basis, its never a good idea to commit to six days a week of hardcore workouts. Why? Because youll be sore, exhausted, burnt out and possibly even injured before you know it.

A better tactic is to start small. Try out two to three exercise days a week for a few weeks to a few months. Only then, when youve stuck with the workouts for a while and feel like youre motivated to do more, should you push yourself to increase ether frequency or intensity of your workouts. Baby steps now equal massive success in the long term.

DONT MAKE EXCUSES

Just dont make excuses.

Are you traveling? You can still work out, even if all you have is a hotel room. Are you tired? Exercise will boost your energy, so try 10 minutes of movement and see if it gives you a little lift. You are the secret to accomplishing everything on your to-do list. Instead of finding reasons you cant exercise, start finding reasons you can. Stop with the excuses and start with the exercise. Youll thank yourself for it.

No matter how you go about it, the only way to really, truly keep a consistent workout schedule and establish exercise as a lifelong habit is to start. Stop waiting start doing. You are worth committing to. Keep challenging yourself to be good to you.

And dont quit. Never quit.

Mike Gartz is a personal trainer who owns I Hate My Trainer at 117 E. Reynolds St. Plant City.

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Focus on Fitness: Sticking to the plan to stay fit - Plant City Observer

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