Q&A Session with Fitness Trainer Angie Miller (6-20-2011)

Belles:  You have three great workouts under your belt already. Everyone wants to know, do you have any new DVDs or projects in the works? 

Angie: I do.  I have two DVD projects I’m working on right now and I’m very passionate about both.  I will be filming again soon and I can’t wait to release some great new workouts!  

I’m also very involved in getting information out there about what exercise does for the brain and our emotions.  I published an article for American Fitness magazine that is posted on my website, and I’m working on more articles, doing continuous research, and developing ways to get people moving not just for physical health, but for emotional and brain health.  My interest in this is two fold.  When it comes to the emotional side, my interest stems from my background in counseling. I believe strongly that exercise has an incredible ability to stabilize emotions, decrease anxiety, and lower your risk of depression.  On the brain side, my interest is very personal.  My dad passed away five years ago from Lewy Body Disease and my mom has been diagnosed with the same disease.  It’s a form of dementia similar to Alzheimer’s, but with a Parkinson’s like effect.  I was a caregiver for my mom up until a month ago.  Exercise has the power to lower our risk of dementia and related neurodegenerative diseases as it is proven to increase blood flow to the brain and essentially boost our brain power. (I have more about this on my website).  I’m no longer interested in exercise from just a physical perspective.  Yes, I want to fit into my skinny jeans, but more importantly I want to remember where they are. 

Belles: In your workouts, we love how you utilize a variety of equipment (dumbbells, tubing, kettlebells). Does this reflect your actual workout routines and what is the benefit of “variety” in our exercise routines? 

Angie: It absolutely does!  I teach so many different formats and I believe that it has helped prevent burnout for me personally.  It’s also kept my body guessing, my mind engaged, and enabled me to challenge myself in so many new and unique ways.  I think there are huge benefits to maintaining variety in your workouts.  You avoid overuse injury, have potential to burn calories more efficiently, and you don’t get bored!   

Belles: Fitness beliefs are constantly evolving as to “best way” to achieve weight loss or any other fitness goal. With so much information out there, how do you recommend individuals weed through all the information?

Angie: First and foremost, do what you enjoy.  If you enjoy it, you will stick to it and that is half the battle.  At the same time, I recommend that people step out of their comfort zone and challenge their mind and body with new and unique ways to achieve their fitness goals.  I didn’t like kettlebells when I was first introduced to them.  But I found them challenging, and that was enough inspiration for me… I decided I had to “conquer the bell,”  ha ha.  I found myself learning everything I could learn about them, practicing endlessly, and loving the results!!  I was so happy that I went that extra mile and discovered a great way to get fit. There is no “best way to get fit.”  There is no magic bullet.  You have to come to terms with that, and realize that it’s an ongoing effort and it will always be part of your life.  You have to keep working at it… just like relationships, and just like raising your kids.  Just do it, was the best slogan ever!  At the end of the day, you just need to move.  Don’t expect there to be one way or one answer.  Just do it! 

Belles: Is there one constant that you have come across that fitness researchers always come back to?

Angie: You can exercise all you want to, but if you are not practicing sound nutritional principles and watching your calorie intake, chances are you won’t experience the results you are looking for.  It’s all moderation.  I love chocolate, and I rarely go a day without it, but if I maintain my exercise routine and create a balance between calories in and calories out, I will be okay.  There’s also many fitness principles that are based on science and research and those will never change.  One of them:  You have to burn more calories than you take in if you want to lose weight.  

Belles: There are many reasons individuals adopt a fitness program. Do you find that the majority do it for overall wellness, weight loss, or another reason? 

Angie: I think that different people do it for different reasons, but weight loss, or at least maintenance, is probably what I hear the most. I’d like to think, however, that as we continue to learn more from all the research, we will realize that exercise helps us in so many ways and weight control is just one of them.

To learn more about Angie Miller, visit:

Angie Miller Fitness on the web

Angie Miller Fitness on Facebook

Angie Miller on Twitter