Author: benefitspt

Sharissa Reichert is the personal trainer to meet all of your fitness needs. She is AFFA certified in personal training, nutrition, senior population, Yoga essentials, pre- and post-natal fitness, PNF stretch (specialized stretch), Pilates Yoga Double Ball and stress management. Sharissa creates your individualized program in a very caring and professional manner. She gives you an exercise program that will make you improve your health, strength, balance, and flexibility. She creates a, and a fitness program that you will truly enjoy. She is well-versed in training clients with special needs, such as bone loss (osteopina and osteoporosis), heart conditions, injuries, knee and shoulder issues, morbid obesity, scoliosis and many other issues. Sharissa takes a holistic approach to fitness, looking closely at you and your needs as an individual. She takes into account your individual body mechanics, lifestyle, and preferences when designing your program. Sharissa has 9 years of experience in the fitness field. She has worked at Crunch Gym, and has managed at Fitness Together personal training studios, taught classes, and served as a fitness director supporting other trainers in program design. She is now the owner and proprietor of Bene-Fits Personal Training and serves the greater-Brooklyn area. Sharissa has an extensive knowledge of yoga, Pilates, weight training, and martial arts and incorporates all of these disciplines into her workouts. She also has an extensive knowledge of nutrition. She is well-versed in healthy cooking and Proper nutrition. When she’s not training, Sharissa is a food activist who fights for your right to have healthy food in your neighborhood and on your plate. She is also the developer of the Super 60s workout class for active seniors and the ‘Thought for Food’ seminar on how food affects the brain and how to develop a healthy eating style. Why work with a Personal Trainer? Workout videos, exercise classes, and fitness TV shows are meant for 75% of the population. They are not meant for anyone with any type of physical issues. A personal trainer can create a safe, effective program that meets your individual needs. Sharissa has designed thousands of workouts for all types of bodies. On working with seniors: “I love to work with seniors,” says Sharissa. “Seniors are a population that is often ignored and underestimated by most fitness professionals and by society at large. It is amazing to me to watch a person who is over 60 and was told just to stay in bed for their health a generation ago to improve with exercise. I love to facilitate the improvements of my senior clients. I love seeing them walk better, not have to worry about falls and bone breakage, and be able to do things they haven’t been able to do in years. Anyone can improve. You just have to work at it with the proper guidance.” On working with pre- and post-natal clients: “I also love to guide my clients through the birth process. My pre-natal clients have very easy births with little pain, and my post-natal clients look like they did before having their babies – and sometimes better. ” Services: 1-hour session ½-hour session Skype lesson Consultation with mini-session and 3 printed workouts ½ hour PNF (full body stretch) Check out my fitness and nutrition blog Bestpersonaltrainerbk.com at On Twitter@bene-fits. Email me at: bene11fitspt@gmailcom

Healthy Eating Tip!!

Easy tip: Cook 5 cups of veggies at the beginning of the week and add them to everything.

 

Here is this week’s veggies mix:

 

1 red pepper

1 yellow pepper

1 zucchini

5 cloves of garlic

1 medium red onion

 

  1. Chop all to half-inch pieces

 

  1. Sauté in a wok with 3 tbsp grapeseed oil and a little salt for about 7-10min.

 

What to do with them:

 

* Eat as a side dish.

  • Add them to your tomatoes sauce when eating pasta
  • Add them instant soup.
  • Throw them on top of pasta
  • Add them to your grill cheese
  • Wrap them in your burrito skins and/or taco shells and dress with salsa. You can add hot sauce to them before enjoying them Mexican style.
  • Put them on top of rice cakes with hummus
  • Put them on top of a baked potatoes or squash

 

And last but not least for the college set:

 

Add them to your Ramen noodles (gasp!) or your Annie’s mac n cheese. When boiling the noodles for the instant mac n cheese just add you veggies in after the noodles are almost cooked boil for 30 sec drain and prepare you mac n cheese as directed.

 

You can do this with just about any veggie, but keep in mind carrots and root veggies may take a little longer to cook than 10 min in the wok.

 

You can also do this with roasted veggies. Just keep the seasoning neutral (don’t add anything but salt) so you can season them according to your dish of the day.

 

For instance: Having pierogies? Add a little dill to the veggies and put them on top of the pierogies.

 

Use nonfat Greek yogurt instead of sour cream and voila — instant complete meal!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why I work as a Personal Trainer.

Why I am in Business as a Personal Trainer

 

I got rid of many of my own health problems through exercise, I wanted to show others the joy of working out and the health benefits of exercise.

 

My first session was with a young friend of the family who was not taking care of his health. The kickboxing teacher from the gym where I worked and I were trying to get this kid into exercise as a better direction for his lifestyle. During our first session, this guy opened up to me about wanting to get healthy. He loved what I taught him, and looked much better after our workout.

 

It was after that session when I realized my mission in life: I was meant to heal others though exercise! Today I can honestly say that I love being a personal trainer not for the money but for the service it provides to so many people.

 

 

 

 

Here are several reasons why I love my job:

 

  1. I love healing others.

 

  1. I love watching others get stronger, and have less pain/fewer colds and flu (while reaping all of the countless benefits of working out).

 

  1. I like watching others build confidence. To see someone not be uncomfortable in the gym and know what to do is great!

 

  1. I like to study. I love learning new things. I study exercise and practice what I learn 6 days a week, whether that means reading an article in a trade magazine and sharing that knowledge with a client, or reading a new book on an exercise theory. There is always something new in this industry to learn and bring into sessions.

 

While some people choose to have bigger paychecks, but work jobs they hate, I can honestly say I love my job because of the difference it makes in my clients’ lives. Today, personal training isn’t just an elite service used by the rich. It’s affordable to many clients of all income levels.

 

I’m so happy to be part of the fitness trend, and hope to continue personal training for many years to come.

 

 

Client Testimonial

When I contacted Sharissa about training, I had thought that I knew what I wanted:  a few sessions to teach me how to safely do a few dumbbell exercises to supplement my cardio.  What I got was so much more.  She has showed me a wide range of exercises that do large muscle groups, small muscle groups, abs, balance, and coordination.  Although I’ve been working out on my own for many years, I have never seen my body change so quickly, and get so much stronger in so many ways. Its only been about 10 weeks!   I don’t like gyms, and she designed the training to be done at home with a minimum of equipment.  Furthermore, I was apprehensive about starting to do weights again after having overdone it and given myself a case of tendonitis.  When I told Sharissa about this, she worked my exercise program around it, and my elbow is MUCH better than before I started.  Furthermore, she helped me with some shoulder tightness that has been bothering me for years.  She is careful, attentive, and really knows her stuff.  She will push you, but not further than you can go.  I can’t recommend her enough.
Paul Geltner, Psychoanalyst, Park Slope.

Brick Bars , Snack Review

 

 

New Product Review: Bricks Bars

 

While shopping in one of the fancier markets in a high-end neighborhood near the gym where I work, I ran across some “meat bars.”

 

It was one of those stores where you buy five things and are shocked at the bill, and these bars — made by Bricks Bars — were no exception at $3.99 for each 1.5 oz bar. That is about 40 bucks a pound, folks.

 

That day, there were two types of bars available at the store: one that contained grass-fed beef with uncured bacon, cranberry, and sunflower seed; and another one composed of Turkey with sweet potato, cranberry, and pumpkin seed. Curious and hungry, I got both.

 

I showed one to a friend, and she asked if I had just bought a Thanksgiving meal in a bar. I laughed, recalling the “Meal in a gum” concoction created by Willy Wonka, where the more you chewed the more different flavors you tasted.

 

I ate the beef one on the way home. It was coated with a kind of oil and was nice and solid. It tasted kind of like trail mix with jerky in it.

 

The flavor was… good! All of the ingredients were really complementing each other. By the time I finished the bar I was giving this product a thumbs up and an A plus. It WAS really good and the best part a nice lingering peppery taste in my mouth. I wish it was a little saltier, but the low salt is better for you.

 

More than anything, I could taste the love the makers of the bar must have put into the development of this product. Making something this unusual and healthy must have taken tons of time, and they did a fantastic job of it. It reminds me of Astronaut food (and, as matter of fact, they should market this great snack to NASA). The best part was with the bars 10 grams of protein, low sugar content, and one to two grams of fiber, which staved off my hunger through several personal training sessions.

 

Upon closer scrutiny of the label, I noted the bar was a local product made by a family right here in Brooklyn! So hooray for local business! That, in and of itself, makes me not mind the high price. My money goes into local pockets and not some CEO’s million-dollar bonus. That means I could, literally, run into the makers of Bricks Bars by chance, and tell them I love their products.

 

Overall, I give both Bricks Bars flavors high marks. If you’re looking for a filling snack that’s savory and sweet, they’re perfect. Buying a bar will satisfy your hunger and, if you’re in the New York City area, help a neighborhood business.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Client Review.

Bene-Fits Personal Train Testimonial

I have been training with Sharissa for 6 weeks after recuperating from delivering twins.  I have worked with other trainers in NYC and Sharissa has far exceeded all my expectations. Firstly,  she is very knowledgeable about a woman’s body after pregnancy and she has an unique style for training that has proven to be effective.  Her style is simple and yet very methodological.  She first expertly accessed my body condition (she could tell I once had a broken foot!).  Then she created a fitness program that helped my body while I could still keep up with my responsibilities at home.  Sharissa’s training style does not involve killing you so you can’t move the next day.  She expertly designed a program that had a fine balance of challenging and doable exercises. I could tell the program was working because Sharissa methodologically kept notes of my workouts and showed me my progress in weights and endurance.  No other trainer I had worked with ever did this for me.  The results I have achieved with only ten sessions are a more fit body, a great feeling of accomplishment and the motivation to continue to take care of myself.  The last one is the most important to me because I have grown more confident to workout on my own using everything I have learned with Sharissa.  Overall my training with Sharissa has turned out to be the best investment I have ever made for myself. I am so lucky I found such a great trainer to help me recuperate from pregnancy.