The PTI Blog

Attending the Subway Franchisee Expo in San Fransisco? If so, then join Personal Trainining Institute’s Dee Mullin for her morning runs

admin — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 15:50:53 +0000

PTI’s Morning Runs with Dee Mullin, Personal Training Institute’s Franchise Services Director.

Start your morning right with an outdoor run! Runners are strongly encouraged to bring a small water bottle to all outdoor runs.

Thursday, 7/28/2011 – 6am: 2.5 Mile jog – Beginner runners welcome!
Meet at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis on 55 4th Street at 5:50am and take a light 2.5 mile jog with Dee. We’ll keep the pace between a 10:30/11:30 minute mile. Walkers are welcome too! This is not a competition; it’s about camaraderie and fitness! We should return to the Marriott by 6:30. Guaranteed to leave you feeling energized the rest of the day!

Friday, 7/29/2011 – 6am: 5k practice run with Jared Fogle!
Meet at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis on 55 4th Street at 5:50am and prepare for Sunday’s San Francisco 5k, a 3.1 mile run, with Dee and Jared. Beginner to intermediate runners are encouraged to join! This run will be around a 10:00/11:00 minute mile pace and will leave you feeling confident for Sunday. We should return to the Marriott by 6:30. Even if you’re not participating in the 5k, join us to get some fresh air and an invigorating start to your morning!

Saturday 7/30/2011 – 6am: 5k or 10k run
Meet at San Francisco Marriott Marquis on 55 4th Street at 5:50am for a 3.1 or 6.2 mile morning workout with Dee! Runners should be looking to pace at approx 9:30/10:30 minute mile. The course is a loop, so runners looking to cover 6.2 miles should run the distance twice. This will be a relaxed, longer distance run. We should return to the Marriott by 7:15.

PTI Congratulates our own Jessica Swanson

admin — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 21:18:44 +0000

Congratulations to our own Jessica Swanson, Personal Training Institute’s Director of Training. This past weekend, Jess ran her fastest yet Iron Man Competition in Lake Placid clocking in at 12 hours and 47 seconds.

We’re all so proud of her and her passion for fitness. GREAT JOB JESS!

Cool off with these Low Calorie Frozen Desserts

admin — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 17:11:36 +0000

There are a lot of frozen dessert choices out there, but a lot of them are packed with fat and calories. Try some of these tasty frozen treats on a hot summer day. They taste great and they won’t wreck your fitness and nutrition plan!

You know you want one!

Breyers Light Double Churned: 120 to 130 calories per serving
Breyers Light No Sugar Added: 80 to 120 calories per serving
Edy’s/ Dryer’s Slow Churned Ice Cream: 100 to 130 calories per serving
Edy’s/ Dryer’s Fat-Free Frozen Yogurt: 90 to 100 calories per serving
Healthy Choice: 100 to 120 calories per serving
Stonyfield Farm Nonfat Frozen Yogurt: 120 to 140 calories per serving
Healthy Choice ice cream bars and sandwiches: 80 to 140 calories each
Klondike Slim-a-Bar – Fudge Bar No Sugar Added: 90 to 110 calories each
Klondike Slim-a-Bar – Ice Cream Sandwiches: 110 to 130 calories
Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwich: 140 calories each, all flavors
Starbucks Frappuccino Bars: 110 to 130 calories each
Weight Watchers: bars, cones, sandwiches, 60 to 140 calories each

Fitness Fast Fact: Play some Beach volleyball and burn 280 calories in 30 minutes!

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2011 Superfoods for the Summer

admin — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 19:50:09 +0000

Check out these super cool superfoods this summer. Have you tried any of these already? Let us know what you liked or disliked about them.

Sea Buckthorn Berries- contains Omega-7 fatty acids

Cupuaçu

Mangosteen – best for anti-aging

Cinnamon – excellent anti-inflammatory

Mulberries – high content of Vitamin C

Chia seeds – reduce Cholesterol and high in fiber

Black Garlic – higher anitoxidant value than regular garlic

Cupuaçu – new from the Amazon, high in anti-oxidant

Teff – whole grain that is also gluten free

Skyr – Icelandic yogurt packed with protein

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The Worst Drinks for your Body

admin — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 16:56:04 +0000

We know the best way to stay hydrated this summer is good ole water. However, as it gets hotter, we seem to grab and go with drinks that may be very unhealthy and we don’t even know it.

Here are some of the worst types of drinks to consume in place of water.

It gives you wings....oh and love handles!

Juice drinks that are not 100% juice
Whipped coffee drinks
Flavored water
Diet soda
Frozen mixed drinks
Fruit smoothies – can have as many as 700 calories
High calorie sports drinks
Soft drinks
Energy drinks – mostly caffeine and sugar

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Sushi, is it all Created Equal?

admin — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 13:44:57 +0000

Sushi comes in all shapes and sizes but not all sushi is created equally when it comes to nutritional content. See the table below for nutritional information on many popular sushi rolls.

Click for full size image

As you can see not all sushi is created equal. When ordering your favorite kind of rolls, be aware of the calories. The more you “layer” a roll with, tempura flakes, spicy mayo, special sauces and more, the more calories it will contain.

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Press Release: PTI-Encino Wins “Best Personal Training” Accolades

admin — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 15:22:08 +0000

PTI-Encino voted #1 in personal training!

Encino, CA, July 6, 2011 – Personal Training Institute-Encino has won top honors for “Best Personal Training” in the 2011 “Best of Our Ventura Blvd” contest, as voted by members of the community. Results are currently published on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/OurVenturaBlvd by clicking on the “Best of Our Ventura Blvd” tab and scrolling down to “M is for Muscle.” The complete list of winners and finalists will be published in the “Best of Ventura” issue of Ventura Blvd Magazine. PTI-Encino is located at 16350 Ventura Boulevard, Suite C in the Avalon Bay Encino shopping center.

“This award is truly gratifying,” comments Joe Hlavenka, President of PTI-Encino. “While we are new in the community (PTI-Encino opened in March 2011), our combination of one-to-one strength training combined with nutritional counseling is making a difference in people’s lives. This award reflects the enthusiasm of our clients and is a testament to our strong PTI team.”

Personal Training Institute co-founder Carol Kur, MSRD, remarks, “I am thrilled for Joe and his Encino location! We are all so proud of how Joe has proved to be a great franchisee and to have such a great honor bestowed upon his facility so early in the game. We expect more great things to follow.”

Personal Training Institute-Encino opened in March 2011 and is off to a winning start

Personal Training Institute offers personalized programs for multi ages from children to seniors with a goal of producing the best results based upon individual body type and lifestyle.
Programs vary from endurance training and weight loss to strengthening, sculpting and nutritional education. PTI offers family and student discounts and insurance reimbursement to eligible clients.

Personal Training Institute: PTI has been changing lives since 1987 by combining its proven integrated program that encompasses one-to-one strength training and customized nutrition counseling for every client. Ranked in Entrepreneur’s “Franchise 500,” PTI was also named among the “Top 50 Franchises – for franchisee satisfaction” by Franchise Business Review. This results-oriented franchise is growing nationwide to help members and owners to achieve their goals. Visit www.ptifranchise.com for more information.
For further information about this location, call Joe Hlavenka at, 818 783-4792, email him at, Encino@personaltraininginstitute.com or find PTI on Facebook: ttp://www.facebook.com/PersonalTrainingInstituteEncino.

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Farmed Raised Fish vs. Wild Caught Fish?

admin — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 17:17:25 +0000

Last week we talked about the benefits of including more fish in your diet. From both a nutritional and environmental perspective, farmed fish are far inferior to their wild counterparts.

Here’s WHY:

Wild Salmon get more exercise!

Despite being much fattier, farmed fish provide less usable beneficial omega 3 fats than wild fish
Due to the feeding conditions of aquafarming, farm-raised fish are filled with antibiotics and exposed to more concentrated pesticides than wild fish
The fat content of farmed salmon is excessively high–30-35% by weight
Wild salmon have a 20% higher protein content
Farmed salmon contains higher concentrations of toxins known as PBDE‘s, a horrible class of carcinogenic compounds.

Fitness Fast Fact: Play 12 minutes of volleyball on the beach and burn 100 calories!

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Why is Oily Fish so Good for You?

admin — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 20:29:09 +0000

Oily fish has an exceptionally high amount of Omega 3 fatty acids. These fatty acids are the essential fatty acids your body needs for almost every function from producing hormones to reducing inflammation.

Braised Salmon

Omega 3 fatty acids also:

lowers blood pressure
lowers heart rate
lowers risk of death from heart disease
lowers risk for stroke
lowers risk for depression
lowers risk for some cancers

What is the best fish to eat:

Salmon
Halibut
Tuna (in moderation due to high mercury levels)
Cod
Sardines
Anchovies

Fitness Fast Fact: Try water aerobics for 30 minutes and burn 150 calories!

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Sunrise Day Camp Arts and Crafts Drive at PTI Jericho – NY

admin — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 01:07:18 +0000

On June 18^th volunteers of Sunrise Day Camp will be holding an Arts & Crafts Drive at Personal Training Institute located at 511 North Broadway in Jericho, from 1pm-4pm to benefit this very special camp.

Sunrise Day Camp, located on the Henry Kaufmann Campgrounds in Wheatley Heights, New York, is the only dedicated day camp in the nation for children with cancer and their siblings and is offered completely free of charge. Having a child with a chronic, life-threatening illness can have a devastating impact on a family, emotionally and financially. It costs $6,000 to provide a child with a camping experience they will never forget. Fundraising events and Drives like thes are critical to providing resources needed to operate camp and other year-round Sunrise programs.

Consider making a generous donation of arts & crafts supplies to benefit this very worthwhile camp and help these volunteers out. Bring some sunshine to Sunrise Day Camp by donating new and unused arts & crafts supplies from the list below.

Imagine the joy and healing-power a summer filled with

fun, friendship and hope can offer these kids.

Sometimes these things make the biggest difference… and you can

ART SUPPLIES FOR COLLECTION

Acrylic Paint

Beads (also large wooden beads)

Button making supplies

Canvas boards and canvas

Ceramic tiles (solid colors)

Charcoal

Clay pots to paint (terracotta)

Craft kits

Craft paper (white and brown rolls)

Crayons (all sizes)

Drawing pads

Embroidery string (all colors)

Fabric paint and fabric markers

Fishwire

Foamboard

Fun kid stickers

Glitter

Heavy construction paper (all colors)

Masking tape (plain and colored)

Model Magic (Crayola)

Mosaic tiles

Mosaic tile cement

Paint brushes

Paint palettes

Paint sets (individual)

Picture Frames to decorate

Plaster cloth

Pottery clay (self hardening)

Pottery tools

Scissors (righty and lefty, large and small)

Sharpie markers (black and other colors)

Smocks/aprons

Stick-on foam shapes and figures

Tempera Paint (all colors)

Tie dye materials (for cold water)

Tissue Paper (multicolor)

Watercolor paper

White painter’s hats/headbands (adjustable sizes)

Wire sculpture supplies

Wooden dowels (all sizes)

Woodworking supplies (small hammers, nails, wood, hand vise, small hand held saws, sandpaper

Sneaking Healthy Ingredients into Family Meals