Athletes and gym members alike have been using ice packs and ice baths for decades to reduce inflammation and pain, both before and after workouts.

While these types of cold therapy work to a certain extent, they’ve never been fun. Holding an ice pack for hours is boring — and submerging your body into an ice bath is downright excruciating.

Thanks to whole-body cryotherapy chambers like the one at AFAC gym, it’s possible to reap all the benefits of cold therapy in about 3 minutes with no downtime!

The cryotherapy chamber at AFAC gym is so fast and convenient that it can be used pre- or post-exercise. Because of this, our members often ask the question, “Is it better to do cryotherapy before or after my workout at the gym?”

The answer is, it depends! Read on to learn the benefits of getting cryotherapy before or after your workouts at AFAC’s Thornton, CO, gym.

During the 1980s, a fitness fad called “aerobics” hit the country by storm in the form of Jazzercise, step aerobics, and workout videos. In every gym, people proudly wore their neon leotards, legwarmers, and headbands as they sweated to the oldies and top-40 hits.

While some of these fashion trends faded over time, Americans kept their love of aerobic exercise because it’s an incredibly effective way to increase cardiovascular fitness, maintain weight, prevent disease, and feel energized.

The lesser-known cousin of aerobic exercise is “anaerobic” exercise. Even if you’ve heard about both aerobic and anaerobic workouts, you might not know exactly what they are or how they help you reach your fitness goals.

In this blog, we’ll define aerobic and anaerobic exercise, what their benefits are, and examples of these exercises you can do at AFAC’s Thornton, CO, gym.

If you’re looking for a strength-training workout that helps you maximize calorie burn at the gym, you need to give kettlebells a try.

Since kettlebell workouts are compound exercises that target several muscle groups simultaneously, they amplify the calorie-burning process, allowing you to shed fat and get toned at the same time.

In this blog, we’ll show you the best kettlebell exercises for torching calories at AFAC’s Thornton, CO, gym.

Congratulations! You worked so hard to lose weight, and you’ve finally reached your weight loss goal.

You should be proud of yourself, because losing weight is one of the hardest missions to accomplish, and only a fraction of people who try are successful.

Now that you’ve arrived at this incredible milestone, you’re probably focused on keeping the weight off. That is a feat in itself, as studies show that maintaining weight loss can be even more difficult than losing weight in the first place! Not to worry, though, the team at AFAC’s Thornton gym is here to help you with exercises and other tips to maintain the results you’ve worked so hard to achieve.

The name sounds like a friendly way to start the day instead of a weightlifting move, but “good mornings” are a beast of an exercise that can help you build iron-clad hamstrings, glutes, abs, and back muscles.

As great as good mornings are, however, there is one downside — if done improperly or too quickly, they do come with a risk of back injury.

Read this blog to learn about what good mornings are, their benefits, and how to do them at our Thornton gym.

As much as we all love working out at the gym, we also love using our time efficiently and getting the most “bang for our buck” when exercising.

One way to make your workouts as efficient as possible is by doing compound exercises, which not only save you time at the gym, but also improve your coordination, calorie burn, and strength.

In this blog, we’ll explain what compound exercises are, their benefits, and the best compound exercises to add to your workouts at our Thornton gym.

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Do you ever feel tired and worn down? Do you struggle to get out of bed some mornings? Do you get drowsy in the middle of the day? After work, are you too tired to go to the gym — or really do anything at all — except sit on your couch and watch TV?

We’ve all felt exhausted at one point or another during our busy days, and most of us just accept it as a routine part of life or a symptom of getting older. When that feeling becomes chronic fatigue, it can hinder your performance at home, work, or school – and it could also be preventing you from achieving your fitness goals at the gym.

Fortunately, there are many simple ways to boost your energy, and some of these ways can even slow the aging process. Read this blog to learn about what fatigue is, some common causes of fatigue, and how to fight them so that you have plenty of energy to exercise at our Thornton gym!

Why do you work out at the gym? In 2016, 603 people were asked this question, and the answers were not all that surprising. In the survey, where respondents could pick multiple reasons for their gym memberships, 54% said the gym helps them stay healthy, 42% said the gym helps them optimize their strength and endurance, and 41% said the gym helps them manage their weight. Other reasons included that the gym “helps me get a better-looking body” (38%) and “helps me optimize my appearance” (37%).

There’s no doubt that exercising at the gym can crush all these goals, but there are lots of different exercises out there and each one affects the body differently. While most people associate gym exercise with losing weight, this assumption overlooks the other positive changes that occur with your body’s composition when you work out regularly.

In this blog, we’ll discuss what body composition is and how it can be impacted by various workouts at our Thornton gym.

When you join a gym to embark on a fitness journey, one of your first questions is probably, “How fast will I see results?” That’s a fair question since you want your hard work to pay off as soon as possible. But the reality is that most fitness goals like losing fat, gaining muscle, and getting stronger require consistent lifestyle changes over a long period of time. None of it happens overnight.

The desire to see positive health changes is great, but without a lot of patience and a solid plan, some people find themselves getting discouraged before they reach the finish line.

Why is it so difficult to change your body composition and maintain it over the long haul? In this blog, we’ll discuss some common setbacks that people face at our Thornton gym and how to overcome them.

Could stronger muscles lead to a longer life? According to a recent study out of Japan, the answer is yes! The study found that lifting weights at the gym for just 30 minutes per week cuts the risk of dying early by up to 20%.

Today’s blog will discuss the findings of this study and the many strength training options we offer at our Thornton gym to help our members live longer, healthier lives.

The barbell might be the simplest-looking piece of equipment at AFAC gym, but it also can be one of the most challenging to master. Modern 45-pound barbells have been around for at least 100 years, yet some gym members can go their entire lives without ever touching one. Hopeful weightlifters have also been known to try barbell training, only to injure themselves due to poor form.

Whatever the case, the only negative part of training with barbells is that many gym members don’t know how to use them, but if you really want to test your strength, barbells are the way to go. And if you’d like to give barbells a try at our Thornton gym, our team of personal trainers is here to assist you every step of the way.

Read this blog to learn about the benefits of barbell training and the best barbell exercises to add to your gym routine.

Most of us know that a proper diet is essential for weight loss. To lose weight, you need to maintain a calorie deficit by eating fewer calories than you burn and exercise at the gym to torch extra calories. Plus, it helps to eat plenty of protein so that your body has what it needs to maintain and build metabolism-boosting muscle tissue after your strength training days at the gym.

One of the most debated topics when you’re trying to lose weight, however, is whether it’s better to eat before or after gym workouts. This is a particular focus for those who exercise first thing in the morning. In this blog, we’ll discuss everything you need to consider about eating before or after your workouts.

After you’ve finished an intense strength training session at AFAC gym, you might be tempted to spend the next day or two resting so that your muscles can recover.

But is sitting around doing nothing for a couple days really the best approach? Many experts say no. Instead of being completely inactive, it can be more beneficial to move during your recovery period. This is called an “active recovery” because it keeps your blood flowing to help your muscles rebuild after your rigorous workout.

As long as you’re not in a lot of pain after your workout — which could be the sign of an injury that needs medical attention — an active recovery comes with several benefits. Read this blog to learn about the advantages of active recovery days, the different types of active recovery, and some active recovery exercises you can try at our Thornton gym.

Have you decided to log regular cardio workouts at the gym? That’s great! Cardiovascular workouts help you burn calories, get your heart pumping and lungs breathing, tone muscles, and increase your endurance. And, once you’re done with your cardio workout at the gym, your endorphins will be flowing and you’ll feel energized. What’s not to love?

There’s just one problem. When you walk into the gym, there are so many cardio machines to choose from that you might wonder, which one will give me the best workout? Should you hop on the treadmill or elliptical? How about a stationary bike? The StairMaster, VersaClimber, and Jacobs Ladder can surely make you sweat, and the rowing machine works almost all the muscles in your body. But which machine is the best?

The good news is, they all are the best, but for different reasons. One machine is not necessarily better than the other — it all depends on your fitness goals, physical abilities, and personal preferences.

To help you make the decision about which cardio machine is best for you at our Thornton gym, this blog will discuss the unique benefits of each.

Let’s face it – aging is inevitable. But unfortunately, aging well is not. There are many factors that can influence your physical and mental well-being as you age, but one of the most important is strength training.

Exercise not only helps you feel and look younger, but it also has been shown to slow down the aging process. Exercise takes many forms and all of them are beneficial, but strength training seems to be where the anti-aging magic happens – it’s one of the best types of exercise people over 50 can do!

It’s never too late to start going to the gym and work on getting stronger, building your dream body, and even sculpting that summer six-pack.

In this blog, we’ll explore the benefits of strength training for people over 50 and some specific exercises you can do at our Thornton gym.

Think about the times you’ve witnessed jaw-dropping examples of athletic power. It might have been a receiver on the football field, a figure skater on the ice, or a snowboarder on the slopes. Regardless of where it happens, when you see these talented stars perform seemingly impossible feats, chances are they’re young – in their teens, 20s, 30s, or maybe 40s. Rarely do you see someone in their 50s or above reach their peak of athletic prowess.

There are multiple reasons why athletic performance tends to decrease as the years go by. One main culprit is, as our bodies age, our muscles don’t respond to exercise the way they used to.

While people of all ages build muscle in the same way, as you get older, the biological processes that turn your gym workouts into muscle become less effective. This makes it harder for you to build strength, but at the same time, it makes your workouts at the gym that much more important as you age.

Read this blog to learn more about how your body builds muscle, how that process changes as you age, and how you can stay fit at our Thornton gym.

If one of your fitness goals at AFAC gym is to reduce belly fat, make sure to pay attention to what you’re eating, too. It turns out, your diet is a key factor in how much fat you have around your midsection, and by “diet,” we don’t only mean how many calories you eat.

In addition to watching your calories, it also pays to watch what you eat – making sure you consume plenty of vegetables to give yourself the healthy body and trim tummy you’ve always wanted.

Are you wondering what the link is between eating vegetables and reducing belly fat? Read this blog to learn more!

It’s no secret that stretching is an important part of physical fitness, and many of us stretch to ensure that our bodies are loose and ready for any upcoming exercise. Stretching can also boost overall performance and help you prevent injuries during your workout. But did you know that there are two different types of stretching?

They’re called static stretching and dynamic stretching. While static stretching was the fitness industry’s go-to technique for decades, dynamic stretching has gained popularity in recent years as the preferred method.

In today’s blog, we’ll discuss what dynamic stretching is, how it’s different from static stretching, when to use each type of stretching, and some examples of dynamic stretches you can try at our Thornton gym.

Most of us understand that drinking water is important. Getting plenty of water to stay hydrated helps your body carry nutrients and oxygen to your cells, aids in your digestion, regulates your body temperature, boosts brain function, and maximizes your physical performance at the gym.

But did you know that staying well-hydrated throughout your life could also reduce your risk of developing heart failure?

One recent study says this might be true. In this blog, we’ll discuss the findings of this study, which we hope will inspire our gym members to consume plenty of fluids both inside and outside AFAC’s gym in Thornton.