Frequently Asked Questions
Where are sessions held?
Your preferences are important to us. Your one-on-one sessions can sometimes be at a gym where you are a member, your home gym, or at one of our locations.
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What are the fees?
Fees vary based on location and type of session/class. Please email for a sample pricing list.
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Do you do guest appearances?
Yes. In-Spira can be a part of your corporate workshop, day of learning, or company picnic. Make your event unforgettable and health-inspiring with a special guest appearance by In-Spira.
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Do you provide more traditional types of exercise programs?
Yes! If traditional fitness coaching is more your style, we can formulate the right program for you, including aerobic training, resistance workouts, flexibility exercises, and a nutrition plan.
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Do you provide dieting advice?
We approach diets from a perspective of establishing proper body composition, including nutrition, regular exercise, and the best in medical nutrition therapy, not weight-loss schemes. Diets don’t work in the long run. In fact, they may lead to a yoyo cycle of weight loss with muscle loss and weight gain that can place a tremendous strain on your body. Our programs are designed to bring balance, eliminate cravings and make healthy eating an integral part of your lifestyle, for life.
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What is lifestyle therapy?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), chronic diseases are the leading causes of death and disability in the U.S. These illnesses are responsible for 7 of every 10 deaths, affect the quality of life of 90 million Americans, and consume 78% of all health care expenditures. Because a wide variety of these conditions are caused by unhealthy lifestyle habits, national clinical guidelines for their management advocate a multifactorial lifestyle approach designated “therapeutic lifestyle changes” or “TLC.”
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What is Bioimpedance Analysis?
BIA is an important clinical tool for evaluating metabolic status and altered body composition, muscle to fat ratio, hydration status and the health of the cell membrane to facilitate the absorption of water and nutrients.
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How is therapeutic lifestyle change different from dieting?
It’s not just a weight loss program. While most programs are focused on weight, FLT is a comprehensive TLC program, best used as a first line treatment for common, chronic health problems. The FLT program is the perfect prescription for the prevention of and treatment conditions such as obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, insulin resistance, and many others. It works because it addresses the underlying causes of these conditions, such as unhealthy body composition (lean mass to fat mass ratio), insulin resistance, hormone imbalance, inflammation, and other physiological issues.
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How is the dietary plan is different.
FLT uses a low-glycemic-load diet that is consistent with current research. New research has shown that low-glycemic diets are more effective than lowfat diets in treating obesity, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes. Patients report less hunger, more energy, and higher compliance with the FLT diet than with commonly recommended lowfat or no carb diets.
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What are medical foods and nutraceuticals?
Medical foods are designed to address the unique nutritional needs for specific health problems. Nutraceuticals provide targeted nutritional support for specific functions, such as supporting insulin sensitivity, managing blood lipids, slowing glucose uptake, etc. They shorten the time it takes to achieve goals.
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What is Metagenics?
Metagenics are the medical food and nutraceutical products used by and solely sold to Licensed Healthcare providers. Metagenics maintains a staff of over 30 clinicians and scientists who are involved in every aspect of product formulation, manufacturing and testing—MDs, PhDs, NDs, DCs, RDs, and others with over 300 years of combined experience in our industry.Each Metagenics formula undergoes extensive review by these experts to ensure that they reflect the latest in nutritional science. Metagenics funds additional research, both internal and third-party studies, to document the effectiveness of individual dietary supplements and medical foods.
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What is Zumba?
Zumba is a fun form of aerobic workout combining Latin and world music with simply choreographed dance moves. Routines involve interval training sessions, alternating fast and slow rhythms to tone your body and sculpt your physique while burning more than 500 calories in an hour.
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What is Muscle Activation Techniques® (MAT)?
MAT is a neuromuscular therapy that views muscle tightness as a protective response of the body. The goal of Muscle Activation Techniques® is first to identify the weak muscles that are creating this protective response. A manual stimulation technique, followed by active stretching is used to increase range of motion and improve stability. Special exercises are used to strengthen the targeted muscles. MAT addresses the cause—weak muscles, rather than the symptom—muscle tightness.
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What is muscle inhibition?
Muscle inhibition is a result of impaired communication between the nervous system and a muscle. This breakdown in communication prevents the muscle from contracting fully on demand and creates instability. When the body senses instability, other muscles react by tightening, thus inhibiting range of motion.
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What causes muscle inhibition?
Trauma, stress, or overuse can contribute to muscle inhibition. Normal exercise is a cycle of exertion and recovery. Trauma, stress or overuse may make it impossible for the muscle to recover. A good example of prolonged stress is: sitting in front of a computer in an awkward position day after day. A sudden trauma, such as slipping on ice, can also stress a muscle past its ability to recover. Muscle inhibition or neurological weakness can be the result.
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What is Muscle Activation?
It refers to ‘jumpstarting’ the muscle by identifying and strengthening weak or inhibited muscles. This “jumpstarting” restores the critical messaging from brain to muscles and helps prevent compensation injuries that can lead to joint instability and abnormal wear on the joint surfaces.
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Can MAT help with arthritis?
Yes. When muscles are strong, they help stabilize and support the joints. The progress of degeneration, including arthritis, can be slowed and prevented by the maintenance of proper joint alignment, which is primarily controlled by muscle tone.
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What are the symptoms of muscle inhibition?
Symptoms can include pain, muscle tension or instability of a joint. Tight hamstrings and lower back muscles, shin splints, and knee pain are also signs of muscle inhibition.
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What types of exercises are used to jumpstart inhibited muscles?
Isometric exercises are designed to isolate a specific muscle and exercise it in a shortened position with light resistance. This helps the traumatized muscle to move back to a position of vulnerability, where light contraction are used to repeatedly remind the nervous system of the circuit and activate the muscle.
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Will any isometric/active stretching exercises help?
Not necessarily. Joint position, direction of force, and intensity of contraction are critical to focusing specific muscles. Done incorrectly, other muscles will begin to inhibit the same muscle, and compensation injuries may recur. A Certified MAT instructor will select exercises to address specific problems and train you in the proper way to perform them.
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Can strength training, stretching, and yoga correct inhibited muscles?
That depends. If your muscles have been inhibited by prolonged stress or trauma, then moving into a position of vulnerability may cause increased muscle tension and joint instability. Some exercises tend to mask weakness by developing strength in compensating muscles. MAT identifies inhibited muscles and prescribes a corrective course of action.
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Why are these called neurological exercises?
In inhibited muscles, the neurological connection between the brain and the muscle is impaired. Isometric exercises are designed to stimulate a reconnection between the specific muscle and the brain. MAT Isometric exercises are about strengthening the muscle and, equally important, restoring the neurological connection.
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When should I do MAT exercises?
This will be determined by your session based on your particular circumstances, but generally speaking, they should be done two to three times per day for the first two weeks to restore the neurological connection of an inhibited muscle. They will then be incorporated into your fitness routine as warmup/cool down exercises. It may be wise to discontinue the activity that caused the inhibition to allow the body to heal. The isometric exercises should help jumpstart the muscle so that you can return to your normal exercise routine safely.
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Will MAT® help an athlete improve performance?
MAT® can help athletes recover from injuries quickly and help prevent injuries from happening in the first place by helping the body to be more efficient during training and athletic performance. Athletes may be predisposed to injury due to muscular imbalances that place stress on joints and muscles. Training at a high level magnifies the stress and injuries may occur. MAT® can correct a problem before an injury occurs.
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Will MAT® help in rehabilitation?
Yes. MAT® creates an environment where healing can take place, so that the athlete can return to participation faster.
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What does Gyrotonic mean?
The word Gyrotonic is a combination of “gyro”, meaning spiral and “tonic”, meaning to tone or invigorate.
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What are Gyrotonic exercises?
Gyrotonic exercises involve graceful, circular movements designed to increase range of motion, coordination, flexibility and strength. Juliu Horvath, who was trained as a ballet dancer in Europe, developed the Gyrotonic system following an injury of his Achilles Tendon, which ended his dance career. He co-developed a system called "Yoga for Dancers", which evolved into Gyrokinesis, the basis for GYROTONIC®.
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What kinds of movement are involved
GYROTONIC® exercises are based on movements found in dance, swimming, yoga, gymnastics and tai chi. The exercises are designed to improve flexibility and balance, increase muscle strength, and joint stability that leads to mobility. It has been compared to and contrasted with Pilates. The Gyrotonic System uses yogic breathing patterns to cleanse, detoxify, and rejuvenated the body.
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What are the benefits of Gyrotonic?
Gyrotonic exercises can rehabilitate faulty movement patterns and rejuvenate the neuromuscular system. Circularity, spiraling, and undulating movements increase the functionality of the spine and create spherical and three-dimensional awareness, resulting in better equilibrium. From the very beginning, the practice of Gyrotonic can relieve stress and increase awareness of the body. Over time, Gyrotonic exercises can increase muscle strength and efficiency of movement and promote a sense of well being.
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What is SPX?
SPX is an innovative and aggressive approach that combines pilates and traditional strength training for a full body conditioning on specialized equipment. The workout integrates resistance and counter-resistance in a sequence that allows peak muscle contraction during periods of zero gravity. This sequence enables maximum exertion with low risk of injury while promoting functional movement patterns and core strength.
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What is Yogilates?
Yogilates is a hybrid form of exercise combining the best of yoga and the pilates. The combination of disciplines enables you to establish a firm core, from which yoga postures can be performed safely.
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Should I see a doctor first before working with you?
If you have health concerns or recent injuries, or if it has been more than a year since your last physical, we recommend that you visit your doctor first.
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How do I decide which private sessions or classes I need in order to accomplish my goals?
We recommend that you schedule a one-on-one consultation before beginning any fitness program. You and your fitness professional will determine the best strategy for you, based on your goals, your current physical fitness, your medical history, and your budget. Call or e-mail us today to schedule an introductory consultation at half-price. This special offer may be changed or withdrawn at any time.