Applied Fitness Solutions-Ann Arbor

Caring for two generations at once? Five realistic ways to protect your own health, plus a 60-second burnout self-check.

Sandwich Generation Stress: 5 Tips to Stay Healthy & Fit Caring for kids and aging parents at once? An exercise physiologist shares 5 ways to protect your own health, plus a 60-second caregiver burnout quiz

Even the most perfect exercise program is meaningless if it never gets done. And that's exactly what a health coach is for.

Michael Stack on the five ways a health coach keeps you on track, from connecting your workouts to what you value most, to knowing exactly when a check-in helps (and when it doesn't).

There's also a 60-second quiz inside if you're interested in seeing what an accountability coach can do for you.

Accountability Coach: How a Health Coach Keeps You on Track Most people know what to do for their health. Doing it is the hard part. An exercise physiologist shares five ways a health coach keeps you on track.

That ache when you raise your arm to shoulder height has a name: shoulder impingement. It's one of the most common causes of chronic pain in exercisers, and it usually starts with the posture you're sitting in right now.

Michael Stack explains how to spot it early, how to calm it down, and the daily routine (band rows plus a doorway chest stretch, about 10 minutes) that fixes the cause instead of just resting until it comes back.

Your shoulders will thank you:

Shoulder Impingement Exercises: How to Fix It for Good Shoulder pain when you raise your arm? An exercise physiologist explains shoulder impingement and the daily exercises that fix it, plus what to avoid.

We have a start date! Here's your update on the facility remodel and what it means for your training.

That demolition will take place the weekend of 8/21/26 and requires that we close 8/21 and 8/22. We will reopen on Monday 8/24, and those two days will be the only days we’ll have to be closed for the entirety of the remodel.

Our contractors will be taking great care during the remodel to ensure dust is minimized and their work has little-to-no impact on your experience when you’re in-facility.

More details here:

Remodel update AFS is shutting down Friday and Saturday, August 21st and 22nd, and re-opening on Monday August the 24th.

"No pain, no gain" is one of the most repeated lines in fitness. It's also one of the most misunderstood. Being sore doesn't mean you built more muscle. And a workout that leaves you feeling fine the next day isn't a wasted one.

Soreness (DOMS) mostly tells you a movement was new or unfamiliar to your body. It isn't a scoreboard for how good your training was, and some of the strongest people we coach barely feel it. What actually drives progress is challenging your muscles a little more over time and recovering well between sessions.

Michael Stack breaks down what soreness really means for muscle growth, how much is too much, and the rare warning signs worth getting checked out.

Does Soreness Mean Muscle Growth? Sore after every workout? An exercise physiologist explains what muscle soreness (DOMS) really means for muscle growth, and how much is too much.

Eat carbs, don't eat carbs. Eat only meat, don't eat any meat. The advice contradicts itself weekly, and every camp swears theirs is the answer.

The diets that work all share the same foundations. Kemper lays out the common denominators of healthy eating, plus a simple method for changing one habit at a time so the change actually sticks.

Read the guide here:

How to Start Eating Healthy: What Every Diet Has in Common Every diet that works shares the same foundations: calorie balance, protein and produce, fewer ultra-processed foods, and one change at a time.

Losing 2 pounds a week can be safe. It also requires about 10 hours of your time each week. Most sales pitches fail mention how much of your time is required to make their program work. Our new blog breaks down the real time budget behind every pace, plus four more questions to ask before you commit to any program.

How to Choose a Weight Loss Program: 5 Questions to Ask An exercise physiologist's five questions for choosing a weight loss program: your why, your starting point, a realistic pace, and the right support team.

39% of American adults dealt with back pain in the past three months. If you're one of them, the fix usually starts with muscles most ab workouts skip: the glutes, deep abdominals, and back extensors that hold your posture together.

We just updated our guide to training your real core. Inside: which muscles to strengthen, which to stretch, and a simple 5-exercise routine you can do 1 to 3 times a week.

Read it here:

Core Exercises for Lower Back Pain: Train Your Real Core The real core goes far beyond abs. An exercise physiologist explains the deep core muscles behind lower back pain, plus five exercises that help

The hardest part of exercise is showing up. A workout class solves that in the most effective way possible: on the days you have zero interest in moving, you still want to see your friends, and your friends are in the class.

That's one of four reasons group workouts have outlasted every fitness fad since Richard Simmons. The rest are on the blog, along with a five-point checklist for picking a class that fits you.

Benefits of Group Fitness Classes vs. Training Alone What a group fitness class adds to exercise: support, confidence, connection, and coaching at a lower cost.

Your health gets a measurable boost from movement you already do: cleaning the house, taking the stairs, playing with your kids. Researchers call it NEAT, and in the study that coined the term it predicted a tenfold difference in fat storage. The updated blog explains how it works and gives five ways to build more into your day.

NEAT Exercise: How Everyday Movement Builds Health NEAT is the movement in your day that isn't exercise. Small bouts, real health benefits, no gym required.