Feeling stressed, anxious, or blue? Struggling with bad habits or feel like you're living in a mental fog? Exercise can help.

Exercise has a wide range of benefits, but most people focus on the physical. While there's nothing wrong with using exercise to lose weight, build muscle, or maintain flexibility and stability — in fact, those are great reasons to work out — physical benefits are hardly the only reason to lead an active lifestyle.

When you go to the gym to work out or are working with a trainer, you think about all the muscles you want to improve, the "look" you may want; how you want to get stronger or rehabilitate a certain part of your body.  Physical activity- whether it be cardio, strength training, yoga, Pilates or group classes, are all great for overall health. Some specific benefits of these activities are: improving cardiovascular fitness, decreasing body fat, increasing bone density and muscle mass, lowering cholesterol and blood pressure, increasing your overall mood and productivity.  Exercise can even lead to a longer life!  What is not to love about all of that.

When you are doing physical training, you are training more than your body and your muscles and your heart and your lungs. To me, the most important thing to not forget to train is your brain.... I call it, "Mind over muscle". I have recently read a book called How Bad Do You Want It and it specifically talks about how people can overcome their physical challenges by mental training.

Jennie has exercised regularly since she was 18 years old. She was always known by her friends and family as a healthy and fit person, exercising 5-6 days per week and eating lots of fruits and veggies.  However, she never did weight training.  

Milestone personal trainer Alison Cardoza gives you some simple exercises to do on your own at the gym or at home.  Incorporate these exercises into your fitness routine to spice things up as you get Derby-ready and summer-ready!

Get Spring and Summer fit!

You can do this! Fit into that bathing suit you have always wanted to wear. Turn heads when you walk in a room. Be confident in your own skin.  Living a healthy lifestyle will help you achieve these goals. 

It's that time of year again! Time to shed the heavy coats and winter clothes. The month of May will be here before we know it and summer is fast approaching. You ask yourself,  "Is my body Derby dress ready?"  "Is my body bikini ready for the summer?" If you want to get fit and stay healthy, try these nutritional and fitness tips.

One of Milestone's greatest strengths is its personal training program.  It is comprised of 58 personal trainers who all hold bachelor of science degrees and nationally accredited certifications for personal training.  All of these trainers work with the general population, helping people become stronger, more toned, increasing cardiovascular health, weight management, improving mobility, and much more.  Some of these trainers carry additional specialties.  Andrew Crowe is one who specializes in sports conditioning and boxing.  He invites YOU to join him at one of his upcoming demos!

Regular cardio is essential to any fitness regime worth it's salt, but it can be really painful if you suffer from bad knees. Your capabilities will depend on the precise nature of the injury, but in most cases,  you can safely perform these cardiovascular exercises without fear that they will aggravate your already vulnerable knees.*

Melanie Hubbs was born and raised in Louisville, KY.  She went to Christian Academy of Louisville and then on to The University of Alabama where she studied Health Promotion and Nutrition. 

My name is Lena Hartlage and since January of 2017, I have lost over 80 pounds and more than 30% of my starting body fat percentage!  My weight has been an issue I’ve battled my whole life- from the 3^rd grade when I wasn’t allowed in a club because there was a weight restriction; to a college graduate struggling to find professional clothes for a plus-sized woman.  Dieting and exercising to lose weight have been a part of my life since I was a teenager.  Each time I would have a small amount of success followed by gaining the weight back and then some.

When I made the decision a little over a year ago, to finally commit to improving my health, I can honestly say it was the best decision I’ve ever made.  It has been a rough year, each day with new challenges and obstacles, but between the support of my loved ones and my own determination, I have achieved success.