Vital Signs

The Corporate Wellness Solution

Recently while thumbing through The Hartford Business Journal, I noticed a column written by Laura Petrecca; a writer for USA Today. The title was “Wellness Programs Targeted” and it went on to explain how in today’s economy many corporations are cutting workplace wellness programs to save on their healthcare costs.

Weren’t workplace wellness programs first instituted as a means to help lower costs?

Well, whatever the case, it seems that far too often it’s the hard working employee who ends up getting the short end of that deal- whether the business saves money or not. This certainly isn’t what a business owner that cares about their employees would want. True, it does take a certain investment to provide an effective workplace wellness program for workers, but it shouldn’t and doesn’t have to break the bank. There are many solutions.

For example, my company Vitality Fitness and Nutrition can help you downsize the cost of your wellness program without downsizing the benefits your employees will receive. We can help you plan an onsite fitness center to fit your needs and your budget. We can provide, install and even service your equipment. We can also provide a variety of wellness services including but not limited to one-on-one personal training, group exercise classes, nutrition and weight management services and educational and motivational classes. Learn more!

Why pay year after year for gym memberships or wellness services for your employees when Vitality Fitness and Nutrition can help you to provide those same great services right in your own workplace? With Vitality, everyone wins. You save money, your employees get healthier and your company gets stronger. So what are you waiting for?

Announcing Outdoor Group Exercise Classes at Rockwell Park –
Sign-up for Camp Vitality!

Since the formation of Vitality fitness and Nutrition, most of our business has been done in a private setting, either in our studio, or in the privacy of the clients’ own home. We have been looking for a way to get involved in our community on a public level for a while and we’re very pleased and excited to announce that Vitality Fitness and Nutrition has been given a green light to offer outdoor group exercise classes in beautiful and historic Rockwell Park in Bristol CT!

At one time, Rockwell Park was a jewel in the crown of Bristol’s park system and it is listed in the national registry of historic sites. I can personally recall many fun-filled memories from childhood swimming in the lagoon and tearing up the playgrounds. Unfortunately, the park fell into disrepair over the years, but that is now all changing as we speak. The town of Bristol is well under way bringing about the restoration of this beautiful asset of ours. What better way to get fit and healthy than being able to take your workout outdoors in this beautiful setting. The best part of all of this for me, is that I now have two children of my own, and they absolutely love the new changes happening in the park

Among the initial classes being offered are Zumba, Yoga, Kickboxing and Fitness Bootcamp. For more information about the classes being offered and to sign up, contact Scott Chasse at scott@vitalityfitnessandnutrition.com or 860.707.3158.

We’re extremely grateful to the town of Bristol for working with us on getting this project off the ground. I have a feeling these classes will book up fast so make sure you sign up early. Many of my past and existing clients have already expressed their excitement about being able to take their fitness programs outdoors and will be signing up themselves. Why stay locked up in an indoor class packed like sardines? Get outside with Vitality Fitness and Nutrition at Rockwell Park, where the sky truly is the limit!

Recently, there’s been a lot of talk in the news about “brown fat”.  This was spurred on after the April 9th release of The New England Journal of Medicine in which there were three published studies on the subject. Much of the media talk around this has been filled with phrases like, “exercise in a pill”, and “cure for obesity”.  As a fitness professional, I often end up frustrated by the way the media can relay this information to the public. Very often the “news” you’re watching is little more than a precursor to a pharmaceutical ad and little else.

We’re going to take a closer look at this now, and see if brown fat really is the next great hope for people living with obesity related diseases, or is it just more smoke and mirror tricks played by greedy pharmaceutical companies.

In order to put things into a realistic perspective, we need to understand a little bit about what brown fat is and what its role is in our bodies. Then, we’ll look at what the studies say and whether this information is really something that can benefit us.

Brown fat, as opposed to white fat, is a special type of fat that is found to be present in babies and small children. Scientists used to think that brown fat went away as we grow into adult hood. It was thought that the fat acted as some part of a survival mechanism helping us to adapt to cooler climates. Interestingly, animals are found to have more brown fat than humans. What makes brown fat so special is that it is thought of as an “active fat” in that it is responsible for increasing metabolism and generating heat in cooler conditions. Part of the mechanism for this is that the cells have a higher mitochondrial density. This causes the cell to act like a passive calorie burner; and this is why the pharmaceutical companies are taking a closer look at it.

The ultimate goal of the physicians studying this is to find a way to modify brown fats activity and possibly it’s distribution over the body. Interestingly, doctors have found higher concentrations of brown fat in leaner people. They also discovered that individuals with the highest brown fat concentrations also showed healthier blood glucose levels. So it seems there is some real value in gaining a better understanding of brown fat and how we can use it to help us be healthier people. However, any real treatment for obesity- if they are actually able to create one- is still years down the road.

And so, we end up back where we started.  The most effective treatment for, and prevention for type 2 diabetes and obesity related diseases is- you guessed it!  A sound nutrition and exercise program. Sorry couch potatoes. The holy grail for the lazy is still out of reach. I think rightly so. To me, personal health and vitality are a blessing and a luxury that I hold in high value. It is something that when worked for, even fought for, pays in ways too numerous to say. The satisfaction and reward of working for and earning your greatest health and vitality are something that no exercise in a pill could ever give.

Watch this movies to learn more about proper nutrition!

Vitality (vit-tal-ete) noun, plural – ties. 1. Exuberant physical strength or mental vigor. Example: A person of great vitality. 2. Capacity for survival or for the continuation of a meaningful or purposeful existence. Example: The vitality of an institution. 3. Power to live or grow. Example: The vitality of a garden. 4. Vital force or principal that distinguishes living things from nonliving things. Examples: Spirit, Chi, The Holy Ghost, Prana, etc. Root- Vital (adj) 1. Of or concerned with life. 2. Essential to life, Very important.

Deciding what I wanted to call myself as a company wasn’t that hard a decision to come to. I had a few ideas floating around up there, but it was important to me that what I called myself represented what I wanted to bring to my clients. It isn’t hard to come up with some generic sounding name like Hard Bodies Fitness. I mean, sure, I help people loose unwanted weight and build healthy muscle, but to me that’s just a by product of what I’m really trying to bring them. Better health. Improved VITALITY.

In this business, there’s a lot of emphasis on appearances. It’s easy to get lost in the visible aspects of health and wellness. After all, the weight loss industry is a multi million dollar a year industry. There’s more to it than that though. No matter what we look like on the outside, there is an inner aspect to taking part in our personal health and wellness that we can’t afford to neglect. Believe me, I’ve seen my share of unhappy thin people too. People come in all shapes and sizes. The clients that I admire the most, are the ones who don’t have that perfect body, but are happier and motivated because they know what they are working for. They feel better because they are nurturing and growing vitality within themselves.

Regardless of what your external fitness goals are, no one can escape the reality of aging. At least not yet.  However, as we learn more about the mechanisms of aging and illness, we are zeroing in on more and more factors that we can control. Longevity and quality of life are becoming more important as our population grows older

It doesn’t stop with just eating well and exercising though. Managing stress, getting enough sleep, giving attention to the spiritual or emotional nature through religion or philosophy, yoga, meditation, etc. All of these things contribute to our overall health and wellbeing. If we neglect our inner condition for the sake of the outer appearance the whole will inevitably suffer.

So that’s the Vitality philosophy. Work on the inside is not just important for our wellbeing, it is imperative to our success on the outside. I mean this on a physical level as well as a mental and emotional level. What prevents people from achieving their highest weight loss or fitness goals is nearly always an internal issue. People often seek me for help with how they look on the outside. If I do my job well, then I can bring the client to their ultimate goal. If I do my job really well, then how they look on the outside will be secondary to a true reflection of what’s on the inside. A strong and vital, self. Drawing that self out and seeing how it can change a person is the great aim, and also the great reward of my career.

Hello everyone! Welcome to the new and improved Vitality Fitness and Nutrition Blog. We’ve made a few changes to the site as we come into our third year on the web. We hope you’ll book mark us and come back, because we’ve added a new health and wellness article library filled with informative articles on a wide range of topics. We’ll also be keeping the blog current with wellness related news, motivational articles, product reviews and the occasional rant by me. Last but not least, be sure to check out our educational video clips highlighting the amazingly effective My Vitality weight management and nutrition system. Learn how to smash those barriers keeping you from your weight loss goals.

We have lots of plans for the upcoming year. We’re still offering all of our great services in the Connecticut area- personal training, nutrition programming and group exercise classes – not just in the home, but also to apartment complexes, active adult communities and now, we’re expanding our services to the corporate environment. If you are a business owner interested in saving health care costs by offering wellness programs to your employees – talk to us and we can create a corporate wellness package as individual as your company.

Whatever your wellness goal is, we have what you need to make it a reality. Sign up for our free enewsletter. That way you can stay on top of all the goings on here at Vitality Fitness and in the wellness community. Till next time, Be healthy and vital!