Shop our secure, on-line
store for a great selection of fitness equipment,
running and cycling gear and sports apparel.
Metabolic Testing
Merlino Fitness Studio
May 2008
Call Us @ 713-523-2577 To Book Your Test
Whether
you are looking to loose weight or increase peformance, metabolic
testing can help you reach your goals. Our resting metabolic
rate tests rates your metabolism and gives you a gauge of how
many calories per day that you need to maintain or lose weight.
Our VO2 - anaerobic threshold tests let you know your true heart
rate zones to get the most out of your fat burning ability while
you do your cardio workouts. Runners and cyclists can also take
their sport and racing to the next level by getting heart rate
zones to help with realistic heart rate training goals. Check
out the links below for more info about both tests and call
us at 713-523-2577 if you have questions about testing and how
it can benefit your fitness goals.
Save
50% on the entire line of DeFeet sportwear while supplies
last.
Inflatable Fitness Balls
Inflatable
fitness balls and weighted balls from Harbinger and Theraband.
Great for abdominal and core body strengthening.
Weighted
Fitness Balls
A
great alternative to traditional weights, these water-filled
rubber balls are great for training core body.
Clif
Shot Bloks
A
great alternative to power bars and carb gels for runners, cyclists
and endurance athletes. Available in variouos flavors. Some
flavors include caffeine or added sodium. Purchase our Clif
Blok sampler and try 4 of our most popular flavors.
Sugar-Free
Protein
Sport Cookies
A
quick high-protein snack with no sugar. Available in 5 delicious
flavors: chocolate chip, trail mix, banana nut, peanut butter
and lemon.
Harbinger
Big Grip
Workout Gloves
Heavy
duty gloves for the serious lifter. Available in wrist wrap
and non wrist wrap styles.
Ultima
Sports Drink
Sugar-free,
low calorie sports drink with More elecrolytes than Gatorade.
Hydrate well without all of the sugar. Great for long distance
athletes, everyday exercisers, diabetics and children. Available
in 4 great flavors: raspbery, orange, kiwi strawberry and banana
berry.
Weight
Training
Wrist Straps
Increase
wrist support with our wide selection of weight lifting straps
from Harbinger and Grizzly.
Nip
Guards
Abrasion Prevention
For Runners
Protect
from painful nipple abrasion. A must have product for male runners.
Don't run your next long run or race without them.
Run Fast by
Hal Higdon
Whether
you are a beginner road racer or shooting for a new personal
best, this book does a great job of breaking down training schedules
and drills to run smarter and prepare for race day. More
book reviews
Whether
you are looking to loose weight, get fit or improve
your sport we have the fitness solutions for you!
Houston Certified Professional Fitness
Trainer, Michael Merlino, is ready to help you
reach your fitness goals. Train with us at the
Houston Downtown YMCA, our private fitness studio
or in your home. We offer a variety of fitness
and nutrition services to fit your budget and
busy schedule. Call us today at
713-523-2577 or follow the links
below to learn more about our fitness programs
and how to get started today.
Fitness
Latte
Michael's New Fitness & Nutrition Blog
Houston
Personal Fitness Trainer, Michael Merlino, offers
a fresh brew of fitness and nutrition thoughts
at his new fitness blog, "Fitness Latte".
Tune in for his takes on the latest in fitness
and feel free to reply to his posts to get some
on-line discussion going. Michael is always looking
for some new new material to write or comment
about so stop by, check out some posts and let
us know what is on your mind.
Houston
Marathon Coach, Michael Merlino, shares and discusses
the sport of running, road racing, half marathon
and marathon training. Every runner is welcome
here as he offer training tips, discusses and
review local and national races and provides other
resources to help improve your running. In
Flight Running is also the name of Michael's
Houston based marathon and half marathon coaching
program.
Merlino
Fitness customer, Richard Brazzle, U.S. Army (seated
on bench) and a few comrades take a short break
between sets in their desert gym in Mosul, Iraq.
Merlino Fitness salutes all of our armed forces
in Iraq and throughout the world. Our thoughts
and prayers are always with you and your families.
Great job troops!
Early Injury Detection and Treatment: Saves Time and Money
If you wanna play you gotta pay and sometimes injuries can get the best of us.
This month Dr. JD Hasenbank shares some great information on detecting and properly
treating injuries to get you back on your feet quickly.
Meet
Health and Wellness Director Christina Merlino
Please welcome our new addition to the Merlino
Fitness Team, Registered Nurse, Christina Merlino.
Christina is a graduate of Indiana University
with a minor in accounting and a major in nursing.
She has worked as a registered nurse in the specialty
areas of Obstetrics and Gynecology, general women’s
healthcare and Neonatology of premature and critically
ill infants. Outside the parameter of bedside
nursing, Christina is also certified as a Clinical
Research Coordinator. She has set up several pharmaceutical
clinical trials with companies including Pfizer,
Merck, Quintiles, Eli-Lilly and others. Christina
will be educating our web visitors on health and
wellness and women's health issues. Check out
her latest article on Osteoporosis.
With
two simple tests, which last
30-40 minutes combined, we
can determine your unique
metabolic profile. These tests
are routinely
done on Olympic and professional
athletes although everyday
people can benefit greatly
from them also. Using the
results from your Resting
Metabolic Rate (RMR) test and
your VO2/Anaerobic
Threshold test, you can
train scientifically, knowing
exactly how many
calories per day and how
intense you
need to work to achieve the
goal you want. Whether you
are looking to lose weight,
improve your cardio fitness,
decrease your body fat, or
run or cycle faster, these
tests can help take you to
the next level. Training
without your true numbers
is like training
in the dark, regardless of
your fitness goals. These
tests are appropriate for
all levels
of fitness enthusiasts, from
the beginning exerciser,
to the marathoner, or cyclist.
Amanda
from Manitoba, Canada asks...What should I eat the
morning of my track meet? Answer
Ross
from Sidney, AustraliaI
am currently trying to eat six small meals per
day. Apart from breakfast and dinner, I always
seem to forget or skip my meals during the day.
I also need some simple, easy meals (snacks)
that do not require refrigeration or preparation,
apart from the obvious fruits. Answer
Pamela
from Chihuahua, MexicoI
work out 5 days a week and can't loose weight.
I do spinning, tae bo and many types of cardio.
Where am I going wrong? Answer
Weekly Fitness & Nutrition
Chats Are Back
Meet us at the watercooler every Friday afternoon
from 11:00 - 11:30 AM central US time for our weekly
web chats. Take a break and jump into the Merlino
Fitness chat room to discuss fitness and nutrition
with certified fitness trainer, Michael Merlino, and
weekly special guests.
Merlino
Fitness Health & Wellness
Director and RN, Christina
Merlino, discussions hypothyroid
disorder and how exercise
can counter-act many of the
risk factors that are caused
by this common ailment. more
Osteoporosis
Merlino
Fitness Health & Wellness
Director and RN, Christina
Merlino, discussions Osteoperosis;
What it is and how you can
prevent it. more
Build
Your Own Weight Training Workout
Certified
professional fitness trainer,
Michael Merlino, shows you how
to design your own weight training
program by muscle group. more
Article Archives
Classics from our fitness and
nutrition vault. more
Weight Training
Lat
Pulldowns
Pulldowns
are a great exercise for
the back muscles but avoid
pulling the bar behind the
head. Pull the bar down in
front of the body toward
the collar bone and with
the bar just below your chin.
Pulling the bar behind the
head puts undue stress on
the shoulders and rotator
cuff.
Running
Avoiding Shin
Splints
Do you have
lower leg pain or shin splints
from running? Running on
hard surfaces, worn out running
shoes and weak calf muscles
could be the culprit. Try
running on soft trails, buying
a new pair of running shoes
or adding calf exercises
to your weight training routine.
Walking
The
Talk Test
A great way
to make sure you are staying
in your aerobic fat-burning
range is the talk test. If
you cannot comfortably carry
on a conversation with your
walking partner you probably
need to bring down the intensity
to assure yourself that you
are burning fat.
Fat Burning
Your Anaerobic
Threshold
A great way
to make sure you are burning
fat during cardio sessions
is knowing your anaerobic
threshold or where your heart
rate zone needs to be to
burn fat stores. Find a gym
or fitness center that offers
anaerobic/VO2 testing. Merlino
Fitness offers anaerobic
threshold testing every month.
Check out the link below
for more details. Merlino
Fitness Metabolic Testing
Nutrition
Keys
to Weight Loss
If you are
trying to drop weight make
sure you incorporate the
following to get you on your
way. Drink lots of water,
don't skip meals (especially
breakfast), do not eat late
night meals or snacks after
7 or 8 pm and build as much
activity into your everyday
life as you can. Michael
also recommends joining weight
watchers to anyone trying
to lose weight and keep it
off long term.
Nutritional Supplements
Stay
Away From Ephedra!
The weight
loss/energy supplement is
in the news again. Supplement
companies that market this
controversial supplement
claim it is safe although
many have died from this
dangerous supplement. Make
sure you check the labels
of your nutritional supplements
as many are laced with ephedra,
also known as ephedrine or
ma huang (the actual herbal).
Quick Tip Archives
Our archived collection of fitness
and nutrition tips to
help you stay focused
and fit. Tip
Archives
Amanda
from Manitoba, Canada asks...
Weekly Fitness & Nutrition
Chats Are Back
