Introducing The Strong Body Studio

The Strong Body Studio is coming.......

On January 18, 2010, The Strong Body Studio will open in the 5321 Derry Ave location. Please go to the new blog for for information....Click here to go to the new blog

The Studio Will Not Close

I am still here, and will be!!!

betterbody too will cease to exist 12/31/09, but I will still be at the studio.

My passion is making women strong, and making strong women stronger. It is what I do. And over the past year, I have become very good at what I do.

I am at the studio every day. Come work/play with me...

It is your choice and privilege to choose where, when, with whom, and how you work out. I hope you will try out and choose me, but wish you your best way to be strong, whether it be with me, another Pilates studio, spin, bicycling, dance or whatever engages your body, your mind and your spirit...

And as I always close all my letters to you with:

Wishing you strength & joy,

Emily Belanger

Thanksgiving Classes at betterbody too

I will be holding two classes Thanksgiving morning: a 9:30 Xtreme and a 10:30 group reformer. Come into the studio and then enjoy that extra piece of pie or helping of stuffing without a smidgen of guilt!!!!!!

The REAL Reason to Workout with Me

Why should you work out with me?

Because you'll get a better body? Yes, but that's not the real reason...

Because you'll be healthier? Yes, but again, not the reason I'm thinking of....

Because you'll feel better? BINGO!!! You will feel AMAZING!!! A reformer or cardio/reformer workout activates the release of endorphins into your blood stream. In addition, working out strongly activates your body on a cellular level. All parts of your body function better, including your mind and your ability to handle stress.

I have several clients who come for the mental/emotional boost as their primary motivation. The fact that their bodies are also getting firmer and stronger just feeds into their overall feeling of well-being.

So.... come play with me in the studio -- you'll be amazed at how good you will feel.

What do I do?

What am I doing? What do I want to do? How do I get from question one to question 2?

I am in the business of transformation. Currently, it would seem that I deal wholly with the transformation of the body from weakness to strength, from potential to power, from tired to beautiful.

But that is wrong.

In the process of getting you in dialogue with your body, you will discover that you are in a better dialogue/oneness with your self. Rarely, rarely, rarely does anyone leave a session with me not feeling stronger, calmer, happier!

Working this deep into your body stimulates the nervous system, stimulates the brain. Neurochemicals are released into the bloodstream that lead the self to feel better, see themselves with more clarity and strength.

There is joy in that. Joy, as I define it, is happiness tempered by the furnace of experience. It is stronger and deeper and more lasting than happiness.

It is not by mistake that I close all my letters and emails with "Wishing you strength & joy..."

It is what I do, what I want to do. It is my passion.

And I am very, very, very, very good at it.....

What is the best time to workout?

The easy answer is -- whatever time works for you!!!

I know it sounds lame, but you should put exercise into your life in a way that will feel good for you. If having an endorphin high first thing in the morning makes you happy, go for it!! If you want to work out just before bed, do so (though please take a shower before hitting the hay!!!)

Being fit and being healthy should be pleasurable. Otherwise, you won't stick with it.

Strength & Flow - Thought on my Private Lessons this Week

For the first part of the week, I was working the Reformer in a traditional weight training mode -- repeated sets of exercises targeting muscle groups almost to exhaustion. Deep, intense work with little or no breaks between exercises.

For the second part of the week, I am working on flow, emphasizing flexibility and flow from one exercise to another. Small numbers of reps flowing into each other, and then finally singles of doubles of exercises flowing one into the other. This challenges stability and form, but results in deeply flexible work.

Done together in one week, they should make your body feel strong, well-worked and fine-tuned.

SEE YOU IN THE STUDIO!!!!

If you thought XTREME-60 kicked butt, wait until you try ENDURO -- the new version of XTREME60!! Offered at 3:30 Mon/Wed/Fri, ENDURO consists of 20 minutes on the Reformer in a Weight-training Repeated Set format followed by 25 minutes of coached cardio -- think Spin -- think being pushed out of your comfort zone -- think SWEAT!!!! -- ending with a stint back on the Reformer for butt/thighs and stretchout!!!

Come try it -- but be prepared to work out hard, and get put away wet!!!!!!!

New LOW Pricing for betterbody too!!!!

LABOR DAY IS FREE!!!

Okay, I don't know about you, but this last weekend of summer has been filled with incredibly good food and drink, and some amazing family time, so much so, in fact, that I NEED NEED NEED to do an XTREME60 class tomorrow.

I know. I know. It's a holiday. We should be closed, but I will be there working out, and would love to have you join me!!!

9:30 Monday, September 7 - Labor Day XTREME60...is FREE!!!!!

Back to School -- Getting Your Life & Body Back!!

September -- school supplies, new clothes, registration materials.........The First Day of School.....and then ......SIGH!!!!!.......

When I was growing up, my mother and her friends would go out for a martini lunch to celebrate getting their lives back. They were perhaps more happy about school starting than I was.

Let me congratulate all us Moms for surviving another summer!!!

So.....what now? Getting your life back. A lot of clients don't come as much or at all in the summer because they are busy with their children. Now is the time that they come back to the studio. And if you have let the workout piece slide, now is the time to get back in the groove.

What better time to try something new than at the beginning of a new school year!!!

Come join us at betterbody too and try XTREME-60, our cardio-Pilates fusion workout. Or come and do a group reformer class and find out why we are the studio that other Pilates instructors come to for their workout. YOUR FIRST CLASS IS FREE. With over 25 classes per week scheduled at Mom-friendly times, you'll find that betterbody too is THE place to get back to YOU!!!!

What is the best exercise to lose fat?

Metabolic Circuits are the new term for an old concept. To lose weight, you need to work at high levels of cardiovascular effort. In other words, forget the fat-burning zone on your elliptical or treadmill, and work aerobically, or even, in spurts, anaerobically. Newer studies have found that not only will you burn more fat during a working this way, but the continuing higher metabolic rate will continue for longer if you work harder -- up to 36 hours after your workout!!

For this effect to take place, you need to work harder than many of us are used to. If you can read a book or magazine during your cardio, you are not working hard enough. If you can hold a conversation with the person next to you, you aren't working hard enough.

If you end a workout drenched in sweat, and just about fagged out, you have worked hard enough!!!

Popular metabolic circuit workouts are CrossFit and our own Xtreme60 Pilates-Cardio fusion.