Jay and Heidi Bryan

Anytime Fitness
Sequim

Bio: Jay and Heidi Bryan started Anytime Fitness of Sequim in early 2009.  Jay has over 25 years of experience in the health and fitness industry including a Master’s Degree in Human Performance from the University of Wisconsin – LaCrosse and 3 years as an Exercise Physiologist and study coordinator on the Fitness and Aging Research Project at the U.W. in Seattle in the early 90’s.  Jay also has experience in cardiac rehab, personal training, athletic coaching, and fitness management.

After becoming a physical therapy aid at South Whidbey Physical Therapy and Sports Clinic in the mid 90’s, Heidi discovered that the field of exercise was her dream career.  She then added certifications from the American Council on Exercise and the National Acedemy of Sports Medicine.  She has been a personal trainer since 1997 with a specialty in pilates, balance, and de-aging.

Expert answers to your health and wellness questions

Question: What is the best exercise for the abdominal region? I am not that much overweight but I have a belly and need to get rid of it.

 

Heidi: I hear that question on a regular basis. First of all, there is no one exercise, or even a combination of exercises, specifically for the ab region that will solve your problem. Wrong answer? I know! Sorry.

 

However, I do have some helpful suggestions for you and if you follow them you will have good results.

 

1) Address your nutrition right away. Begin making healthier food choices by lowering your fat and simple carbohydrate intake. Eat fewer processed foods, more fruits and vegetables (seven to nine servings per day — really!) and most important of all, get your caloric intake under control. That belly didn’t get there by accident. It got there by overeating and under-exercising.

 

2) Get on an overall resistance training routine that will accelerate your metabolism. This can include some ab exercises. One I highly recommend to start out with is the basic plank move because it’s pretty safe and can be done placing hands or forearms on the floor or by using a Swiss exercise ball.

 

3) Include regular bouts of cardio activity in your day. Go for a walk two to three times per day. Go to the gym and ride the bike for 20 minutes. Take the stairs whenever possible. Park farther away from the entrance to the store. The plan here is to burn calories all day long.

Question: Can exercise really help my memory? My body works fine but I am starting to get the CRS disease!

 

Jay: CRS. Let’s see. That means, “can’t remember stuff,” right? Well I have good news. While there is a growing amount of research touting the effects of exercise on the brain, a recent study is particularly encouraging. Scientists at the University of Pittsburgh found that adults ages 55-80 who embarked on a supervised exercise program for an entire year actually increased the size of their brains! The area of the brain that showed most of the changes, the hippocampus, is crucial for memory and spatial navigation (which affects balance). Really cool. Now get out there and exercise!

 

Jay Bryan is an exercise physiologist and Heidi Bryan is a certified personal trainer. To ask Jay or Heidi a question, e-mail them at sequim@anytimefitness.com.