We’ve spoken about motivation in the past as well as the benefits of consistency when it comes to exercise and health. That’s why we’re happy to announce the success of our APOGEE Challenge.

If you’re not familiar with our challenge, it’s a competition where one member will win a Whole Foods gift card. Participants must complete 28 days of exercise within one month in order to be eligible. Not an easy task by any means – But that hasn’t stopped these motivated members from kickn’ butt and rocking steady! In no particular order, here are our challenge participants all of whom are still in the running to win:

But, if we had to guess, we’d say they were motivated by something more than just a gift card (although it doesn’t hurt!).  So keep up the motivation, guys! Every challenge becomes a stepping stone once we overcome it.

And, for those of you who need proof that consistency pays off, here’s a wonderful letter we received from a member, Allison who want’s everyone to know just how much Pilates has improved her already stellar tennis game.

“As a recreational and competitive tennis player, I am always looking for ways to improve my game. I started taking group tower classes at Apogee Pilates studio in White Plains. I started with a once weekly class. I quickly saw improvement in my core strength on the court and in daily activities. My posture improved and I realized that I needed more. I now do a minimum of two private sessions per week. The outcome is tremendous. I am capable of so much more on the tennis court with increased speed, endurance and accuracy. I also believe that Pilates has helped strengthen me and has saved me from injury. I highly recommend a commitment to pure Pilates for competition in any sport and for longevity.”

Allison McCarthy

White Plains, NY

So, just to be clear, we want there to be tons of names to choose from for this month’s winner and we want even more names next month. Great job, everybody!

Enter the Apogee Challenge – a dig deep competition of the willing. On the first of each month, participants can register at either our Bedford Hills or White Plains location to take part – All you have to do is sign in and exercise 28 days out of the month.

Easy right? Well for a little extra motivation, (not that you need it) participants who complete the challenge can even win a $200 Whole Foods Gift Certificate just for sticking it out.

Aside from the obvious physical benefits, consistent exercise can also reduce stress, increase creativity and brain function, allow for better relaxation and build self-confidence. So, if you’re looking to step up to the challenge, here are some easy ways to stay motivated:

Have a Goal – No matter how big or small, having a goal will help keep you focused. This can be done both in a daily goal and a monthly objective.

Surround Yourself with Motivated Peers – you know the saying, “Birds of a feather . . .” well, the same holds true for motivation. By surrounding yourself with positive energy and a little healthy competition, you’ll be creating a better environment to reach your goals.

Reward Yourself – Don’t be afraid to indulge after reaching one of your objectives. After all, that’s one of the perks!

Continue to Challenge Yourself – As you move on, you’ll find certain things you love and some that you’ve even mastered. Great! Now move on and face the next challenge. Keep your body, mind and energy fresh.

Now it’s time to step up to the Apogee Challenge. And, if you think it’s not for you, we want to challenge you to create a mini competition of your own. Set a goal and go for it! Only ours has a $200 Whole Foods Gift Certificate. Either way, you’re on your way.

She’s there to help: Jane and the staff at APOGEE Bedford Hills are offering free 15-minute private stretching sessions to all APOGEE members. They’ll help you safely and gently stretch aching muscles to ease soreness. Then, you should address your weaknesses so you’re ready for the next big storm.

Where you’re aching is a key to the kind of training your body needs, says Jane.

Sore lower back? Basic Pilates moves on the Reformer will strengthen your Powerhouse, the core and back muscles that you probably strained while lifting and throwing the snow.

Sore legs? Lunges and squats will build strength in the quads and hamstrings to make pushing and lifting even the biggest shovel easier.

Sore shoulders? Try shoulder press and rows to strengthen your back and arms so you can throw snow with ease.

Huffing and puffing? If you’re out of breath, you need cardiovascular fitness. Try an intense interval training class or use one of the new treadmills, increasing the incline to challenge yourself.

Call  now (914-244-1606)  to schedule your free 15-minute stretch at APOGEE Bedford Hills—the staff is offering the sessions from now through 9:00pm Wednesday, January 5. Or, consider private training at APOGEE Bedford Hills or APOGEE White Plains.

In a just a few weeks, Danae’s chicken curry wraps and black bean burgers have become favorites of APOGEE members and staff, who grab them for a nutritious, long-lasting meal after a workout.  “I’m passionate about the quality of my food,” says Danae. “I breathe it, eat it, smell it! Food is my passion.” Danae is cooking for the APOGEE Cafes at White Plains and Bedford Hills.

Danae comes by her culinary skills naturally:  Her parents owned restaurants in Athens, Greece and Alexandria, Egypt. “I was born into it,” she says. Over the years, she has created healthful versions of international favorites such as chicken chicken soup and grain salads, collaborating with nutritionists including Dina Khader, who worked on the bestselling book, “Eat Right 4 Your Type.”  Danae’s café at the Sawmill River Club earned the Best Café in the County award in 2007.

Related: What to Eat Before and After a Workout

We’re here to help with a new juice cleansing program. Fasting with juice gives your digestive system a rest and allows your body’s natural cleansing system to take over. A juice cleanse can deliver real health benefits. “Not only does fasting rest your overworked gut,” writes Woodson Merrell, M.D., APOGEE’s integrative health advisor, “but especially if you introduce maximally healthy nutrients (with vegetable juices, probiotics, fiber, etc.) fasts can promote detoxification, reduce inflammation, improve overall health and dramatically increase energy.”  

A juice fast that includes healthy nutrients also means that you won’t suffer from deprivation. When you drink fresh, natural juices at regular intervals during your day,  you will supply your body with easy to assimilate calories so you’re not staggeringly hungry. Even better: A juice cleanse can help sensitize your body to blood sugar, so you may be more in tune with your body’s energy needs after the cleanse. And of course, fresh vegetable and fruit juices supply your body with the enzymes, vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients it needs to clean out and detox while it’s resting from the regular input of big meals.

Our Nourish Juice Cleanse, which will be available by Nov. 1, is a line of fresh, hydraulically cold-pressed fruit and vegetable juice combinations. We will provide you with six sealed juices for each day of your cleanse. You can choose from a one-day, three-day or five-day cleanse, or schedule a month of Monday cleanses and pick up a one-day supply of juice on four consecutive Mondays.

Of course, like any health tool, you’ll want to approach a cleanse mindfully and with awareness. Here are some tips to make it work for you.

–Drink one juice every two hours. Take 15 minutes to finish the entire bottle; swish it around so you can savor the flavor. Mixing it in your mouth also starts the digestive process. Our juices are blended for taste and nutrition, so enjoy each one.

–Drink a lot of water. Each day of your cleanse be sure to drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water, plain or with lemon, or non-caffeinated herbal tea. This can help lessen side effects such as dizziness, fatigue and even bad breath.

–Stay quiet. On your cleanse days, dial back on vigorous exercise, socializing and even media consumption. Focus inward; keep a journal to write down your thoughts—use this time to be more aware.

Also, please contact your doctor before you begin so you know if a juice cleanse is good idea for you, with your specific health history. Let your doctor know that juice cleanses can change the way over-the-counter and prescription drugs act in your body; your doctor may want to change your dosage during the fast. There are health conditions, including pregnancy, diabetes and cancer, with which you should not do a juice cleanse–please review the list here.

You probably know about APOGEE’s new F.I.T. classes, including kettlebells, TRX and Tabata classes. They’re structured with repeated periods or intervals of intense training to create a time-efficient workout. The intensity can be physically and mentally tough, but the benefits are worth it. Here’s how vigorous workouts create results:

Go hard: Intervals are bouts of vigorous exercise that alternate with a period of rest: You can alternate one minute of walking with one of jogging, for example, or 30 seconds of pushups with 30 seconds of stretching. In one study, subjects biked hard—at 95 percent intensity—for one minute, then slowed down to almost nothing for one minute. They did this for 20 minutes three times a week and had the same positive body changes—calories and fat burned, aerobic capacity boosted—as subjects who had biked for five or more hours a week. That’s 60 minutes a week compared to five hours a week!

Then go easy: The rest intervals are important because it’s then that your muscles sweep away the waste products that can cause muscle soreness. It’s also hard to maintain high physical intensity for more than a minute or two; the rest period allows you to repeat the vigorous period, again and again, adding up those high-heart-rate minutes.

You’ll burn more fat and calories: Studies have shown that bouts of vigorous exercise burn more calories than steady exercise. Intervals have been shown to improve the way your body uses blood sugar, potentially lowering your risk of diabetes.

And accrue health benefits: Intervals stimulate many of the same changes as exercising at a steady pace. You’ll gain cardiovascular fitness, meaning more blood vessels form to deliver blood to muscles (including your heart muscle) and your fit muscles will work even more efficiently.

It’s not easy! Anyone can do intervals anywhere, but quite frankly, it takes a lot of mental discipline to perform the intense bits again and again—it’s tough! That’s why APOGEE F.I.T. classes are a good idea: You can hand over the discipline and motivation to someone else.

Be safe: Whether you’re on your own or in a class, you have to warm up for at least five minutes and cool down properly as well. And you should check with your doctor before starting any new exercise program, intervals included.

APOGEE F.I.T. at White Plains
APOGEE F.I.T. at Bedford Hills

But when it comes to deciding whether or not to workout, how hard you will exercise and even how you feel after—that depends a lot on the people around you.

Exercising in a group, it turns out, has a powerful effect. When you’re deciding on when and where to do your daily sweat-and-strengthen, consider the following.

If you exercise in a group:

You’re more likely to show up: People who work out with others are more likely to show up, especially if they feel they are part of a community—perhaps they identify as being part of a class or studio or even know the names of their classmates. “People sign up to change their body,” says Susan Moran, senior vice president of Power Pilates, an APOGEE Wellness company. “But they make friends and receive energy from the community.

You feel better afterward: More endorphins? Researchers aren’t sure. But after rowers worked out in a group, they could withstand more pain than rowers who did the same routine on their own. (Researchers use pain threshold as a way of measuring endorphins; they actually squeezed the rowers’ arms really hard!).

You might even exercise more intensely. “When you’re alone there’s no one pushing you to the physical edge and that’s when change happens,” says Susan. In a class, you can get caught up in the group energy. “In our classes, we create a collective rhythm and a sense of community,” says Susan.

Your health will benefit: When you are socially connected to others, your body responds, says Woodson Merrell, M.D., APOGEE’s integrative health advisor, Participating in a social group—whether it’s a church or a fitness studio—has been shown to improve the function of your immune cells and boost production of cytokines (signaling molecules of your immune system) and other important hormones. “When you have a positive supportive community,” writes Dr. Merrell,” the good vibes, so to speak, resonate in your body.”

Find a group exercise class in White Plains and Bedford Hills.

Strength Training, Including Pilates:

If you’re a beginner: For the most rapid change, beginners should do Pilates twice a week.  “Pilates is a new physical language that you have to learn,” says Susan Moran, senior vice president of Power Pilates, an APOGEE Wellness company. Beginners will get results if they practice twice a week for an hour. “Just two hours a week—it will change your life!” says Susan.

Beginners can also strength train—with weights or other types of resistance—twice a week, says Jane Nielsen, APOGEE’s Fitness Manager. “It just takes 20 minutes,” says Jane. “You don’t need hours and hours.”

If you’re already active: Schedule in three weekly Pilates sessions and increase the frequency of your strength training to three or four times a week, says Jane. To allow your muscles a day to recover, don’t do the same exercises two days in a row, she says. “You might do lunges one day and work on inner and outer thighs the next,” says Jane. Ask an APOGEE trainer to create a list of exercises that challenge different muscles, reducing your risk of injury while working all of your muscle groups.

The exception: “You can work your abs every day,” says Jane.

Cardiovascular Training

Running, walking, cycling, striding on the elliptical, and indoor rowing build cardiovascular fitness, ease stress, reduce risk of chronic disease and help you maintain or lose weight.

If you’re a beginner: Schedule 30 to 45 minutes of cardio three to five times a week, says Jane.  Start with a goal that you are sure to accomplish; it’s better to be conservative and meet your goal than be ambitious and set yourself up for failure. “People say they want to workout six or seven days a week but that’s almost impossible,” says Jane.  Both APOGEE White Plains and Bedford Hills have a wide selection of group cardio classes to motivate you.

If you’re already active: Maintain a habit of 45 minutes of cardio five times a week. Ask an APOGEE trainer about making one or two of your workouts longer or more intense. Try a Spinning or Indo-Row class; there are challenges built into every session!

“Do cardio, Pilates and strength training every week and eat a healthy diet and you’ll look great,” says Jane. “Why wouldn’t you?”

Rowing is one of the best routes to total fitness—not only is it an extraordinary cardiovascular workout, but it is a true total-body workout, activating your legs, core, back, shoulders and arms. With so much muscle mass recruited for each stroke, rowing is a huge calorie burner—up to 700 calories an hour. But because you’re seated, there’s no pounding stress on joints. And you can row easily or all-out—you decide how much effort to put into each stroke.

Indo-Row is the perfect complement to Pilates. The stroke is easy to learn, but as with Pilates, the more you concentrate on flowing movement, the greater your results. Your core acts as a link between your upper and lower body as you row; the stronger your core, the more powerful your stroke. “Indo-Row allows our clients to complement their Pilates experience with an exhilarating aerobic workout,” says Dr. Howard Sichel, executive vice president of APOGEE Wellness and founder of Power Pilates. “Our instructors ensure each class is high-energy, fun and challenging.”

Three things make APOGEE’s Indo-Row class stand out.

It’s Motivating
First, Indo-Row is a group fitness class, and APOGEE instructors use group dynamics for motivation—that’s where the team competitions come in. Instructors create short relay races to up the intensity. You also get support from the group. Because everyone is rowing at the same pace, it’s easy to keep the rhythm—even the sound of the rowing machines acts as a cue. “The greatest part of Indo-Row is the sense of community in the class,” says Sichel.

There’s Constant Feedback
APOGEE Indo-Row classes utilize the newest innovation in indoor rowing equipment. Indo-Rowers have a sealed water flywheel that provides smooth, constant resistance during each stroke. The exact resistance varies depending on how intensely you row. “What’s great about the Indo-Row machine is that an elite athlete can row next to a beginner at the same pace, and they will both get a great workout,” says Sichel. The water also creates a wave-like sound that is soothing, realistic and almost meditative. Each machine has a simple electronic read-out that gives you instant feedback on your effort.

You’ll Incorporate Pilates Moves
Most importantly, APOGEE instructors break up the 45-minutes of rowing with three Pilates-based interludes of strength, stretch and recovery exercises that keep you connected to your core and ensure your back, legs and shoulders stay supple, strong and healthy.

Let the rowing begin!