10 Steps for Disease Prevention and a Healthy Lifestyle

1. Develop good eating habits.

A healthy diet is one of the prime ways to go about disease prevention. Well-balanced meals provide nutrients that help nurture the body and provides energy boosts. It’s best to substitute foods that have low amounts of sodium and cholesterol with fruits, vegetables, dairy products, and items that are rich in protein.

2. Exercise regularly.

It’s also crucial to stay in good shape. Working out frequently enables you to burn fat, regulate bloodflow, and possess a positive outlook on life. Taking walks, running on treadmills, lifting weights or enrolling in an aerobics course are ways to initiate a consistent routine. Some individuals also hire personal trainers to maintain structure.

3. Avoid smoking.

Tobacco is a huge killer among first world populations. Smoking can lead to cancer and lung disease, as well as other cardiovascular problems. It also results in gum disease and skin ailments which can be unsightly. It is important to stay away from cigarettes in order to keep a healthy lifestyle.

4. Get health screenings.

Going to the doctor and getting routine examinations will help catch and prevent long-term health issues. Allowing your physician to administer screenings will give you peace of mind and prevent illnesses from advancing beyond their preliminary stages.

5. Take care of your skin.

Bad skin is an indication of your overall health. Acne or rashes, for instance, can signify that you’re stressed out, not eating the right foods and/or failing to wash correctly. Be sure to purchase creams or ointments that complement and replenish your skin and drink a lot of water to cleanse it. For fragile or overly sensitive skin, see a dermatologist.

6. Research helpful supplements.

Vitamins and herbs are often effective substitutes for healthy foods that you’re unable to eat. For instance, you can purchase vitamin D if you’re allergic to milk but still understand its role in sustaining bone density.

7. Don’t over-exert yourself.

One of the biggest contributors to a breakdown in the immune system is a result of biting off more than you can chew. Be careful not to overcrowd your schedule, as it drains your strength which wears down your ability to fight off germs and disease. Remember that it’s okay to say no sometimes.

8. Try holistic treatments.

Another key to health and wellness is making time for alternative medicines, such as massage therapy or chiropractic treatments. These kinds of techniques are known to benefit individuals both physically and mentally.

9. Get adequate sleep.

Avoid going to bed too late on a regular basis. Not getting enough rest hinders your daily performance and makes you more susceptible to sickness and stress. Experts recommend that individuals get at least 7 or 8 hours of sleep every night. Sticking to a regular sleep schedule will help to get a good nights rest.

10. Find time to unwind.

All work and no play is also detrimental. Set aside time to indulge in a hobby or take a vacation. Regular doses of leisure is good for the body, as well as the brain.

Lyndsey Ellis is a freelance writer with Article Writing Services. Her work can be found at Vegan Blogs.

Surprisingly, physical health also has massive effects on memory, as has been shown by scientific studies by researchers in areas of neurology and cognitive science (see for instance “Effects of aerobic exercise on mild cognitive impairment: A controlled trial” in Neurology [2010] and “Cardiorespiratory Fitness, Hippocampal Volume, and Frequency of Forgetting in Older Adults,” a 2011 study done at University of Illinois by Amanda Szabo et al.).

Of course the term “routine” is one that many people have an instant aversion to. As it turns out, exercise need not involve a routine, if by that word we mean a series of exercises done at the same time on designated days, and in the same way. Changing things up can be very helpful in terms of keeping the activity exciting—in terms of making exercise something that we look forward to because it is disguised as something else: Play. And who doesn’t like to play?

Ideas for sporting activities can get as diverse as you like and don’t have to cost any money at all.

Here, then, are some ideas.

Organized sports: Participate in a sport that your friends are involved with or use organized team sports as a tool for making new friends.

Enjoy outings with children. They’ll certainly make you work for it! If your nieces and nephews enjoy activities such as skating or swimming, join them!

Dance: Go out! Pick your favorite night club and dance all night. Don’t sit or stand in the corner watching others who are doing it. Be the life of the party, or just fit in on the dance floor.

Take a walk in the mountains and bring your favorite mp3 player with you. Groove to the beat of your favorite tunes and forget that you are doing something that is beneficial for your health.

And finally, don’t underestimate the importance of food. But more than this, it’s not simply the type of food one eats that determines health quality. Its food safety too! Don’t put your milk on the refrigerator door, as it isn’t cold enough. Don’t put your eggs there either—it doesn’t matter if the door has a special egg compartment. Don’t leave your butter on the counter for too long, and finally, don’t eat leftover food that has been in your fridge for over three days.

Stay healthy!

Feeling great is the side effect of getting in shape. If you’re in the Oshawa area, you should look into some Oshawa fitness clubs and find one that will fit your lifestyle design. You might want to avoid the Oshawa pizza places, if you want to lose weight.

Once we get in, the need to commit to a new lifestyle becomes constant.  This is because a holistic fitness camp does not only hand its participants a set of exercises and exercise machines. It should aim to study each participant’s habits that contribute to his or her current physical condition.

Does the participant smoke? How does he or she order when in a restaurant? Which activities does he or she consider fun?

A good way for a trainer and for a participant to keep track of such habits, and to maintain their commitment to the participant’s lifestyle changes is to keep a photographic journal of each meal the participant takes, and of the physical activities the participant does. Some weight loss camps hand out diaries where participants can write about their experiences, what they did, how they feel, and especially, what they ate. However, as they are written from the participant’s point of view, these experiences might be different from what actually happened. Twenty laps in a pool, for example, could be exaggerated to thirty.  And a big starchy meal could be written down as a light snack.

Another way to truly commit to a fitness camp, and to the new lifestyle that comes with it is to condition your body weeks or days before the actual camp. You can do this by doing a variety of simple exercises regularly for short periods of time. Do lunges and bends for thirty minutes each morning. Or jog around the block after work. This way, you and your body will not feel jarred when the first day of weight loss camp starts.

Remember also to take things in stride. Lumping together all those exercises and all those lectures on nutrition can be overwhelming. It can be so overwhelming that most weight loss boot camp participants forget to breathe. Breathing helps our blood circulation. It also helps us relax and be comfortable with whatever activity is put in front of us. Breathing also helps us pace ourselves. The fitness camp is not a race after all. Having the fastest time does not count. What count are that each participant is able to do activities, and that each participant is able to move all the parts of his or her body for a well-rounded exercise.

This is, in essence, what fitness camps can do that exercising on your own cannot. The trainers and your fellow participants will encourage you to do exercises that you thought you would never enjoy, along with exercises that you do enjoy.  Someone who only does yoga, for example, could benefit from jogging or cycling. Someone who only jogs could be encouraged to cross-train.

FitFarms, the longest established fitness camp / weight loss camp in UK have been awarded No. 1 by Virgin.

A healthy and fit lifestyle is its own reward, but don’t think that the road leading to it is an easy one. Whether you’re a beginner, an experienced exerciser, an aspiring bodybuilder, or a professional athlete, there will be times when you will feel less than enthusiastic about the thought of going to the gym. There will be times when you feel like relaxing at home instead of lifting weights, when you’ve simply got so much more to do than put yourself through another grueling session. And there will be times when you’re tempted to give it up for the time being – and to leave training for another time.

Our advice? Don’t give up. Two of the most common reasons why people fall short of their fitness objectives are lack of time and lack of motivation. So, before you even think of canceling that gym membership, you may first want to try out these great ways of staying motivated in training.

1. Sign up for a marathon. This will give you the motivation that you need to stick to your training plan. Just imagine crossing the finish line, and the amazing feeling that comes with having worked hard to achieve a fitness goal.
2. Make yourself pay. Skipping a workout is taking a step backward. So set up a punishment for taking a step backward. Like surrendering your credit card to your partner, or closing a weekend to perform chores and home repairs.
3. Mark the calendar. Need a visual reward for your hard work? Post a calendar on your bedroom wall and mark each completed workout date with a smiley, a huge check mark, or a star. Yes, feel free to use a gratifyingly thick marker.
4. Work out with a buddy. It’s not just the social support that you’ll get from training with someone you know and love. Look at it from a psychological standpoint, too – with a view of making yourself more accountable. You’ll feel guilty just at the thought of standing a friend up.
5. Blog about it. Why not? It’s the 21^st century way of keeping a diary. This way, you get to cope with the challenges that your body constantly has to face. And you get to keep your sanity.
6. Find a personal trainer. He’ll be your coach, guide, mentor, friend, judge, and assessor. He’ll stand as the monolith of professional support. Yes, not showing up at the gym while your personal trainer is waiting will also make you feel like crap.
7. Just get there. Oftentimes, all it takes to get through another workout session is to get your butt to the gym, no matter how lethargic you feel. Once you’re there, you’ll have gotten over the biggest hump.
8. Read fitness magazines. They’re bound to contain plenty of information – as well as inspiration. Looking at pictures alone of those toned bodies and perfect abs may get you all pumped up for the next session.
9. Prove yourself to someone. Make a friendly bet with a colleague or a neighbor who thinks you can’t do what you want to do. Tell him or her that you’ll lose a certain number of pounds in a certain number of months, and that you’ll join a 10k race after completing the program. That ought to get your competitive juices flowing.
10. Reward yourself. Not with chocolates or Big Macs or anything edible. More like, a new iPhone app or a new favorite mystery novel after each completed workout with the personal trainer. Or a trip to the spa!
11. Listen to music. If it takes Soulja Boy to help you get through weight training, Justin Bieber through a half hour at the treadmill, Lady Gaga through cardio, or Queen through a set of stretching exercises, then by all means.
12. Sign up for classes. Bored and unmotivated? Sign up for the gym classes you see being advertised on the announcement board. Whether it’s yoga, Pilates, Latin dance, or pole dancing, trying out something new just may give you the extra motivation that you need. And don’t worry about coming in as a beginner; typically, there are personal trainers who’ll help you get off to a smooth start.
13. Tie your health to your exercise. Check your cholesterol levels; have someone take your blood pressure. Or measure your body fat percentage. Then set goals based on these numbers. Sometimes all you need to be able to stay right on track is to know that at the end of the program, you’ll have better statistics. And better health.
14. Shop for athletic gear. Admit it. It’s pretty exciting to merely think of a new fresh pair of kicks, or a new training shirt, or a new timing gadget. So go ahead, cop that new pair of Air Jordans, and show up at the gym looking as stylish – and motivated – as ever.

Overtraining is a mistake that anybody can make. It doesn’t matter if you’re an experienced exerciser, a superstar athlete, or an average American: if you have become too enthusiastic in your quest for weight loss, a toned body, and a healthy lifestyle, such that you’re feeling a lot worse instead of a lot better, then chances are you have been overtraining.

There are signs to look out for, although you must understand that overtraining is a result not of a few days’ worth of rigorous workouts, but rather of months and months of not knowing when to stop. It’s also perhaps a result of working with a personal trainer who is unaware of your limits. Or who simply doesn’t care enough to correct the intensities and volumes of your workout. Whatever the cause is, the result is not good: overtraining risks more than your performance; it risks your health.

So how do you know you’re pushing too hard? Here below are the surest signs that you’re overtraining.

Increased effort during normal workouts: You’re failing to lift the weights you’re used to lifting. You can’t run the distance you’re used to running. You’re unable to complete normal workouts, or at least it takes you so much more effort than you’re used to exerting. Your endurance levels are lower. These are signs that you’re overtraining: you’re getting weaker instead of stronger, slower instead of faster. What was once a walk in the park is now a grind.

Stress and agitation: Running on short temper? Having difficulties concentrating? Annoyed by the littlest things? You might be overtraining. Don’t take it out on your personal trainer. It’s the hormones reacting to your overtraining. Your body just needs rest; it needs enough time to recover in order to stabilize your moods and sharpen your focus once again.

Heavy legs: “Heavy legs” is a feeling that comes to define the experience of fatigue. After the workout with your personal trainer, you’re actually supposed to feel the heady rush of endorphins, the refreshing glow that comes from having strengthened your body. If you’re overtraining, however, the post-workout feeling is exactly the opposite: excessive fatigue.

Chronic muscle pain: Sore muscles are supposed to be relieved once you’ve gotten enough rest after workout. But if the pain in your muscles and joints never seem to go away, then you might have been pushing too hard for too long. Or you might have been performing your exercises in bad form or technique, which, if left uncorrected, is also linked to overtraining (and to its related injuries).

Weaker immune system: One of the many great benefits of exercise is an improved immune system. Excessive exercise, however, can do the exact opposite – and make you more prone than ever to frequent respiratory illnesses, infections, coughs, and colds. That’s because overtraining overworks the systems and functions of your body, such that the demands you’re putting on it are actually outweighing what it can give.

Restlessness and insomnia: An overtrained body is typically unable to relax. And sleep. It’s been used to going so fast, pushing too hard, and lifting too much all the time, such that it’s unable to slow down and recover naturally between your workout sessions.

Loss of appetite: No, it’s not a good thing. At all. If your appetite has gone missing, it may be a sign that you have been overtraining, and that there’s been a subsequent increase in the production of the hormones epinephrine and norepinephrine in your body – both of which, among other things, tend to lead to a decreased appetite.

Elevated heart rate: If your heart rate, at rest and during exercise, is higher than normal, if you wake up in the morning and you feel like your heart is pounding – gasping for dear life – then it’s a sign of overtraining.

One of the keys to knowing whether or not you’re overtraining is to work actively with your personal trainer, who should be able to adjust the exercises in your program according to the proper levels of intensity and volume.

As you go about your search for a Chicago personal trainer, it’s good to have an understanding of how exercise programming begins. And it begins with what is called a proper fitness assessment, which is typically performed by your certified personal trainer.

The fitness assessment basically measures your current fitness levels, and determines if you are prone to certain health risks that may become an issue in your fitness training. It’s also a means of helping your personal trainer in Chicago gather data about how fit you are, and what your body can take, which will then be used as a basis for developing an individualized program, identifying training goals and objectives, and maximizing the efficiency of the time you’ll be spending at the gym.

What are the components of a fitness assessment? To begin with, these components are meant to evaluate the following areas of fitness:

- Body composition

- Cardiovascular endurance

- Flexibility

- Muscular endurance

- Muscular strength

- Agility

- Balance

- Coordination

- Power

- Reaction time

- Speed / dynamic mobility

Your personal Chicago trainer will be looking at each of these as he or she writes out the recommendations for the intensities and volumes of your workout exercises. Of course, the fitness assessment is going to be performed more than once: every three or four months, or whatever is suitable enough for your personal trainer to be able to monitor your progress. That way, you will also be able to know if the hard work you’re putting at the gym is paying off.

Here are the other objectives of your Chicago personal trainer’s first fitness assessment:

- To identify strengths and weaknesses that may affect the design of your program;

- To identify potential risks of injury, as well as contraindications before you get on with you program;

- To collect data that will serve in the future as a means of measuring improvement and rate of progress;

- To assist in identifying short-term, intermediate, and long-term training objectives;

- To assist in the determination of appropriate exercise intensities and volumes (That way, you’ll know that your trainer didn’t pull the number of your reps from the air!).

As your personal trainer performs the fitness assessment, he or she will give you certain instructions. These vary from trainer to trainer, but you can typically expect the following:

- Postural assessment, in which the trainer aims to look at the alignment of your body, from head to feet, as you stand up or walk;

- Movement analysis, in which your trainer takes notes on your ability to maintain proper joint alignment while performing, for example, squats, lunges, pull-ups, and pushups;

- Flexibility assessment, in which the trainer looks at which individual muscles or muscle groups need strengthening and lengthening; this is usually done by way of a set of stretching exercises.

A certified personal trainer will also be measuring your body composition (or body fat percentage), which should guide you as you make decisions regarding your diet and exercise program. Don’t worry if your Chicago personal trainer begins to measure folds of your skin using calipers; it’s all with the view of helping you set realistic and challenging training goals.

Other components that may be included as the trainer assesses your fitness levels are:

- Resting heart rate

- Target heart rate zone

- Blood pressure

- Body mass index

- VO2 max (a clinical measurement of how efficiently your body can use oxygen during aerobic exercise)

Given all these details, what can you, as a client, expect from the results of a fitness assessment as conducted by your Chicago personal trainer? One is that you’ll be able to determine if your diet is consistent with your training and fitness goals. The assessment will also let you know if your program is delivering the results that you’re looking for: have you been working out hard enough? Are you right on track, or do you feel like you need more kinds of exercise in addition to your training session? Is your current diet supporting the work that you’ve done at the gym?

The answers to these questions – and more – are not possible without the fitness assessment. So play an active part as your personal trainer works to find out what it takes to help you live a healthy and fit lifestyle.

Stretching isn’t exciting. Right? If only we can do without stretching exercises. If only we can skip the boring preliminaries and proceed straight to the more exciting parts of our workout, like lifting weights and crunking it in aerobics class.

Indeed, it’s pretty easy to become averse to stretching – before and after your workout sessions. It’s pretty easy to get kind of peeved at your personal trainer and think, Jeez, what’s this all about? I’m not losing any weight or building any muscles doing these silly poses. But really, if there is only one exercise in the world left for you to choose, then it should be stretching. That’s because, in its most basic form, stretching offers a wide range of health and fitness benefits that allow you to do so much in so little time. You can be sure, therefore, that every good fitness program will include a set of stretching exercises – and that there are actually a bunch of good reasons why.

Stretching is natural. What do you do when you wake in the morning? When you get up from the office chair that you’ve been sitting on for hours? That’s right: stretch. It’s a natural, instinctive activity. And it’s an activity which, once incorporated by your personal trainer into your workouts, prepares your muscles and your body for the more strenuous forms of exercise.

Stretching increases flexibility. Stretching involves elongating an individual muscle or muscle group to its fullest length; if you think this sounds brutal, well – it isn’t. Stretching actually helps you perform more comfortable and fluidly, and it helps you avoid muscle, joint, and tendon injuries that may otherwise occur from tight muscles, slow, restricted movements, long periods of inactivity, or aging. Increased flexibility from stretching, moreover, can significantly improve your exercise capacity.

Stretching promotes better circulation. Here’s something that your personal trainer may never tell you: stretching can actually decrease the risks of coronary disease. That’s because it increases blood flow to the muscles, brings more nourishment to various parts of your body, and prevents the hardening or clogging of your arteries (improving artery function). It also tends to remove more byproducts from the muscles and reduce cholesterol levels and blood pressure – effects, no doubt, that come from improved circulation.

Stretching reduces stiffness. Feeling lethargic and stiff just before your session with your personal trainer? Feeling sore and hot and restless after a workout? Try stretching – both before your workout and during the cool-down period. Not only will this help reduce the stiffness that’s common before and after strenuous exercise; stretching exercises will also reduce tension, thereby allowing you to relax the tightest muscles and tensest parts of your body.

Stretching can eliminate muscle pain. After a grueling workout with your personal trainer, you may just as well expect all kinds of muscle pain and soreness the day after. Stretching exercises – particularly after the workout – can eliminate that. Muscle tightness, back pain, sore quadriceps, hip, hamstrings, butt, and other parts of body that can feel like they’re burning up: if you’re looking for a remedy, count on stretching exercises to serve as the great reliever.

Stretching improves balance. Some people complain about their own clumsiness, and how their joints are badly coordinated and how they seem to catch every dent on the road and trip too frequently. With stretching, this can be resolved. It improves the range of motion of your joints and keeps you in better balance, allowing you to avoid injuries, conquer age-related clumsiness, and be more naturally mobile.

Stretching relieves stress and relaxes the body. Indeed, it’s a great way of clearing your mind; it’s a mental balm. That’s why yoga, which features postures that offer full stretches to all parts of the body, is so effective as a form of meditation. Not only does it promote better flexibility and circulation; it also induces a kind of relaxation such as you cannot get from most other forms of exercise.

Going to the gym and working with a personal trainer does not guarantee you a healthy and fit lifestyle. It’s a good first step, of course, since it demonstrates your commitment, but at the same time, you’ve got to be cautious of the fact that some people spend so many hours at the gym with their personal trainer – only to end up staying out of shape, looking less confident, feeling less motivated, and

These are people who make the all-too-common workout mistakes that you should avoid. To find out more, continue reading below.

Wrong form or improper technique: This is one of the most important reasons why you have to find a personal trainer, even if you’re going to work with him for only a month or two. Bad form or technique while working out – with no one to correct it – is one of the surest ways to get injured. With a personal trainer, you’ll learn proper exercise techniques and program-design strategies that minimize the risk – and maximize all the effort you put into your workouts.

Not stretching or warming up: Stretching exercises aren’t just for show; they improve your posture and help your muscles become more flexible in preparation for your workout. Warming up, meanwhile, increases your heart rate and circulation, which in turn helps you progress more quickly while preventing injuries and other risks.

Winging it: This phrase refers to the act of showing up at the gym with no set goals or training objectives; it means reckless and randomly working out on whatever machines and gym equipment that happen to catch your eye; in short, “winging it” is springing into action – without a plan. Avoid this by finding a personal trainer who will help you assess your fitness levels and develop a strategic plan based on your results and feedback.

Same workout all the time: We don’t just speak of variety here. The key is to progress and to continue to challenge your body, no matter the level of fitness you’re on. Don’t go for months – or, heaven forbid, years – before you mix it up, increase your weights or reps, or focus on a different muscle set. With the advice of a good personal trainer, you should be able to change up your workout routine and prevent repetitive strain or overuse injuries.

Not eating: Losing weight does not mean not putting any food in your mouth. Otherwise, what’s going to be the fuel on which your body engine will run? So don’t starve yourself; instead, eat more to burn more. Keep your calorie deficit small so that every time you work out with your personal trainer, you will actually have some calories to burn.

Skipping workouts: Accountability leads to more motivation in your workouts, as well as to a healthier, more disciplined you. You may think that missing one session isn’t going to affect you all that much, but what many people don’t understand is that weight loss, or a toned, muscled body, is a cumulative product of a series of forward steps. Skipping workouts is a backward step. That’s why finding a personal training is so important: you have someone to which you’ll be accountable, and you have someone who will ensure that you continue to stay consistent, disciplined, confident, and motivated.

No balance in training: It’s great to walk into the gym and say to your personal trainer that you want to work on specific muscles, like your abs, your butt, or your chest. This does not mean, however, that you are only going to do exercises that target those muscles. It’s important to have functional balance in training, and to develop, too, the other structures and parts of your body that support your “favorite” muscles. So find a personal trainer who’ll create a program that develops every joint and muscle group, with respect to your training objectives.

Building up too quickly or slowly: A good personal trainer creates progressive and challenging programs so that you’re able to train to the best of your abilities. This keeps you from under-training or overtraining – from building up too quickly or too slowly. With a progressive program, your body is challenged consistently, while also being given sufficient time to adapt and adjust.

Using machines all the time: Machines aren’t necessarily safer; they can actually prevent you from activating more muscles and burning more calories than you’ll otherwise be able to if you use free weights under the guidance of a personal trainer. That’s because, unlike free weights, machines don’t encourage your muscles to control the weight and range of motion – everything is “fixed”; sure, they may support your strength-enhancing exercises, but for the most effective results, go for free weights and equipment that allow you to train in real-life movement.

No pain, no gain, and therefore, no rest: Torturing yourself is no way to live a healthier lifestyle. The key is to make you feel better, not worse. So avoid the workout mistake of not giving yourself sufficient time to rest. Let your muscles heal and go back to training only when your body has recovered from your last session.

America is a nation that genuinely treasures and looks up to a lot of great athletes, and many fans would indeed consider these sports stars as heroes. Here at Chicago we have had the pleasure of watching a number of legendary figures in sports – in basketball, baseball, football, and hockey, among other fields. What every sports fan must realize, however, is that behind every highlight, every championship, and every stat-filled career is an individual who recognizes the importance of fitness training, and of working hard every day with personal trainers to achieve a level of greatness that people will appreciate.

Let’s read below some of the insights on fitness and training that came from no other than Chicago’s finest athletes.

Mike Ditka: Mike Ditka won the prestigious NFL Super Bowl ring several times – as a player, assistant coach, and head coach of the Chicago Bears. Totaling 427 career receptions, 5,812 yards, and 43 touchdowns, Ditka was known as “Iron Mike”, one of the 100 best football players of all time, and a tight end who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1988.

Among some of Mike Ditka’s insights on fitness and training: “Here’s what I tell anybody and this is what I believe. The greatest gift we have is the gift of life. We understand that. That comes from our Creator. We’re given a body. Now you may not like it, but you can maximize that body the best it can be maximized.”

Also: “I really believe the only way to stay healthy is to eat properly, get your rest and exercise. If you don’t exercise and do the other two, I still don’t think it’s going to help you that much…. Some people are willing to pay the price and it’s the same with staying healthy or eating healthy. There’s some discipline involved. (And) some sacrifices.”

Scottie Pippen: Scottie Pippen of the Chicago Bulls wasn’t just basketball’s greatest sidekick; he was also one of the most versatile small forwards to ever play the game. Teaming up with some guy named Michael Jordan, he won a total of six NBA championships while earning seven All-Star Game appearances, one All-Star Game MVP, and multiple All-Defensive Team honors. Pippen made his mark behind the scenes, too, and came to practice every day with his personal trainer in Chicago, and gave the same level of effort that you would see on a game night.

Here’s what he has to say: “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.”

Dick Butkus: Personifying the hard-working side of Chicago, Dick Butkus left the NFL as perhaps the greatest linebacker of all time. He first starred as a football player for University of Illinois, then took his talents to provide extra muscle for the Chicago Bears. A member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Dick Butkus played in eight Pro Bowls before a knee injury forced early retirement. But his legacy of toughness remains, exemplified by his own statement on the type of attitude it took for him to succeed: “I worked hard at becoming a professional football player, just like society says you should. It said you had to be fierce. I was fierce. Tough. I was tough.”

Stan Mikita: This Slovak-Canadian served as the face of the Chicago Blackhawks franchise for more than two decades – and owns records for most goals, assists, points, games played, and seasons. Talk about durability. Mikita also proved himself as a winner when the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup in 1961. A two-time MVP, four-time league scoring champ, and six-time All-Star, Mikita remained humble about his individual achievements – without, of course, underestimating the value of hard work.

“Some athletes are so great they don’t have to practice,” he said. “Bobby Hull is one of them. He is so good everything comes natural to him. I have to work hard and practice hard. It’s not so simple.”

Walter Payton: Nicknamed “Sweetness”, Payton was the NFL’s all-time rushing leader from 1984 to 2002. He also won a championship as part of arguably the greatest team of all time, the 1985 Chicago Bears. As a player with a unique combination of power and finesse, Payton succeeded primarily because of the workouts with his Chicago personal trainer, and came into training camp in better shape than any of his teammates. He put himself through a lot of challenging workouts in the offseason, so that he missed only one game in 13 years. “I want to be remembered as the guy who gave his all whenever he was on the field,” he said.

Michael Jordan: Perhaps the most famous and greatest athlete of all time, Michael Jordan dominated the game of basketball, and was so legendary that he transformed the sport and took the city of Chicago to greater heights. We won’t talk much about his individual achievements here – there are far too many – and we’ll focus instead at some of the things he said that provided an insight on how much he had trained throughout his career.

- “You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.”

- “I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

- “Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.”

- “I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.”

- “If you’re trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I’ve had them; everybody has had them. Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.”

The first step to an active, healthy, and fit lifestyle is finding a gym. What, you expected to start working out at home, on your own, with no personal trainer? Don’t sweat it. The right gym – plus the right Chicago personal trainer – makes for a smart investment in a healthy lifestyle, one that can help sustain your efforts much better than a list of New Year’s resolutions would. Recent studies, moreover, suggest that working out at a gym or fitness center you’re comfortable with is a major factor in your ability to achieve your training or weight loss objectives.

How do you know if a gym is right for you? What things should you take into consideration when choosing a fitness center for your training sessions? Read below to find out.

Location

You may start off feeling very enthusiastic and motivated about your decision to work with a Chicago personal trainer and live an active lifestyle. But there’s no guarantee that this enthusiasm will last for more than a few weeks or months. So, to ensure regularity in workouts, choose a gym that’s in your Chicago neighborhood. If you can, choose one that you actually have to pass through on your way home from work. If you choose a gym that is too far for a walk or a short drive, you’re just giving yourself an excuse to procrastinate.

Hours

Always take into consideration the operating hours of a gym or fitness center. Find out, too, about the availability of your Chicago personal trainer. This will allow you to trim down your choices – and personal trainer candidates – to those which can actually fit your work schedule.

Equipment

You don’t have to be an expert in gym and fitness equipment to see if they’re in good shape or bad. If you can, find the time to tour the facilities you’re interested in, and inspect for signs of wear and tear, and of faulty machinery. Also, it’s important to keep in mind that a gym with too much equipment can be as counterproductive to your training as a gym that doesn’t have enough. The key is to find a facility that will cater to your training needs – and not confuse you before you even begin.

Cleanliness

Dirty towels? Poorly maintained lockers? A weight room that makes you queasy? These are some of the signs that the place is not for you. Look for a gym or fitness center that provides a clean, safe, and healthy environment for clients to work out in. You don’t want to be discouraged from training just because you feel like there’s so much bacterial residue on those dumbbells – so address the cleanliness issue from the get-go.

Amenities and facilities

A big city like Chicago will have its fair share of the ill-intentioned. So if you’re coming directly from the office to the gym and bringing valuable belongings with you like your car keys, laptop, and cell phone, you will have to find a facility that has enough lockers and storage to keep these belongings safe and secure. You also might want to check out if the fitness center has a sauna or ample parking space, as you certainly don’t want to be inconvenienced before your workout session, or feel restless and uncomfortable after it.

Staff and personal trainers

A gym can only be as good as the staff members that run it. When choosing a fitness and training facility, it’s highly recommended that you first pay a visit to the place and get to know the people who work there, and the roster of personal trainers that are offering their services in the facility. Get a feel of how helpful they are, and whether they will be available in those times when you need to ask questions. Inquire about special classes and the specializations of the staff. Ask around for the certifications and qualifications of the Chicago personal trainers. Remember: just because they have big muscles and sculpted bodies doesn’t mean they are automatically qualified to help and train you.

Clients

Nothing can make an average client more insecure than Mr. Perfect Body or Miss Universe walking in to take the next treadmill. In choosing gyms and touring the facilities, pay attention to the people who work out there, the would-be fellow club members. Studies indicate that if you’re a beginner, you’re more likely to find comfort in training next to men and women of similar age range, interests, and fitness levels.

Reputation

Favor word-of-mouth buzz over glitz and glamour. Get testimonials. Don’t always fall for what is being advertised. As you search for the right gym or fitness center, ask around and consult your friends and colleagues. Gyms that earn their recommendation and enjoy good reputation are gyms that are likely going to be a better fit for you. Ask buddies, too, about Chicago personal trainers, and find out if they’ve worked with someone who truly helped them achieve their training objectives. Remember: it’s better to hear from people you trust than to go around searching gyms and personal trainers on your own.

Trial

Once you’ve narrowed your list, give the gym a try. Don’t sign up for a long-term commitment, unless you want to squander your money on a gym that you might soon give up on. Ask the staff if they have a free trial program, and if they have policies for refund or subscription cancellation. A good gym will have every reason to let you try their product before finalizing your decision.