Benefits of adding weight in your fitness routine

8 Benefits of Using Weights In Your Fitness Routine

It’s Monday night (or Tuesday, or Wednesday, or Thursday...) and you’re about to hit the hotel gym. What are your options? Well, you’ve got the treadmill or dumbbells. You don’t know what to do with dumbbells, so treadmill it is! Again.…
Try this 30-minute travel workout the next time you're on the go!

Try this Travel Workout: Travel-Sized Exercise for Your Next Trip

Whether you’re taking one last seasonal trip, planning for holiday travel or jet setting for business reasons, traveling provides excitement and a new perspective. However, all that time spent getting to and from the airport, exploring new…
Why you need to incorporate martial arts into your workout routine

Why You Need To Incorporate Martial Arts Into Your Workout Routine

You probably know of martial arts, but do you know why they are important? Or how they relate to fitness and wellness? Martial arts require an understanding of the properties of balance, stability, strength and mental discipline. When we exercise,…
How to train like Chicago professional soccer player Sam Johnson

How to Train Like Chicago Professional Soccer Player Samantha Johnson

One hour of torture or 35 minutes of effective work? When it comes to working out, slogging it out on the treadmill is not my idea of a great workout. As a professional soccer player, I do enough running as it is. I personally never recommend…
Try this kettlebell workout now - fitness workouts

Miracle Workouts Don’t Exist, But This Kettlebell Workout Comes Pretty Close

My name is Sam Gonzalez and I am an Elite Trainer with FFC. After 8 years of experience and hundreds of clients and students, I understand the challenges that most people face when they decide to start a new training program. For most, the question…
Man stretching his legs

Yoga For Guys 101: As Told By An Inflexible, Weight-Lifting Dude

Many of us dudes have been there. Peeking through those glass doors, observing the mysticism that is a yoga class as we finish our last set of curls. Yoga for guys? Not a chance. A class full of side bending, head standing, lotus-posing girls…
Image of personal trainer at FFc club

Common Misconceptions About Personal Trainers – There’s More Than Meets the Eye

When you enter the fitness area at the FFC West Loop club, you may get the instant impression that there are a lot of personal trainers. They seem to occupy much of the open space available and at times, can have their clients doing some…

5 Tips for Getting Your Pre-Baby Body Back

Well, my little baby girl recently turned five months old and I cannot stress enough that exercise and sleep are what will get you through those first few months. I know it sounds crazy… new moms, you’re probably thinking something like,…
Woman on treadmill doing cardio

Do You Know Which Piece of Cardio Equipment is Best for You?

Cardiovascular training, better known as “cardio”, is the process of working to improve your heart and lung health. It mostly relies upon the aerobic energy system – a system in which the body expends energy – to complete the exercises.…
Where should my gears be? The basic Spinning 101 guide - fitness tips

What is RPM? Where Should My Gears Be? The Basic Spinning 101 Guide

According to research from Duke University, exercise is as effective as antidepressants. That means you can consider spinning your way to a good mood! People who exercise perform better at work and have been shown to increase their memory and…
10 best types of pushups and how to master them FFC fitness tips

10 Best Types of Push-Ups and How to Master Them

The push-up is commonly associated with military conditioning, gym class, and some martial arts. For many, they can feel like an impossible or even gruesome exercise. If you feel similarly, we hope you will feel empowered to incorporate this…
Try this now: tips on foam rolling for fitness recovery

You Have to Try This Now: Foam Rolling

Perhaps you've seen some members at the gym rolling around on long black cylinders and wondered what they were doing. Or you have been foam rolling for a while now and wonder if you are doing it right or what the science is behind it all. I’m…
Get better fitness results with this resistance training efficiency hack

Get Better Fitness Results with This Resistance Training Efficiency Hack

Resistance training is an essential part of any workout program, regardless of whether you want to lose, gain, or maintain weight. However, most people are either doing way more resistance training than they need, or are doing exercises that…
Exercising pregnant - the fine line between doing too much and too little for expecting moms

Exercising Pregnant: The Fine Line Between Pushing Too Hard And Doing Too Little

Being a fitness instructor and athlete, I knew exercising would be safe while pregnant. While I've been able to stay very active, and still exercise every day, there are definite modifications that I wish I would have known about when I first…
Burn a ton of calories with this mom-friendly 45-minute workout

Burn a TON of Calories with This Mom-Friendly 45-Minute Workout

To say Kristin Strom, regional Pilates manager at Fitness Formula Clubs, has a busy schedule would be an understatement. She has little time to sleep, let alone burn a ton of calories! In addition to managing the Pilates program and teaching…
Weight training vs cardio - which achieves greater fat loss?

Weight Training VS Cardio, Which Achieves Greater Fat Loss?

How many people do you see at the gym riding the same stationary bike, gliding up the same treadmill incline, churning away at some other piece of cardio equipment or taking the same step or cycling classes? If you look at the rest of the…
Are you performing one of these potentially unsafe exercises?

Are You Performing One of These 9 Potentially Unsafe Exercises?

Exercises are like music; there are a million options to choose from, but not all of them are good. I've put together a list of some of the most common exercises found in peoples’ fitness programs that are inefficient, and often times, not…
5 fitness tips for any kind of injury or pain

5 Must-Have Fitness Tips for Any Kind of Pain or Injury

If you love activity as much as I do, chances are you’ve had to battle your fair share of pain or injury. I’m not only talking about the blown-out knees, dislocated shoulders and all the cringe-worthy stories - I’m also talking about…
Tips for getting back into a fitness routine

5 Tips to Get You Back Into Your Fitness Routine

We have all probably said it at some point or another – “I’ll start working out tomorrow” or “My diet starts Monday”. How often do we keep putting this off as we let time slip away from us? Too often. Fitness is about routine and…
Better fitness: 5 things you should stop doing at the gym

Better Fitness: 5 Things You Should Stop Doing At The Gym

From myths and “advice” that has been taken way too far to poor workout habits, here are 5 things you should stop doing at the gym that will help you gym better and see better results. Trust us! Easy does it, Road Runner! High-intensity…