Private coaching sydney has become well price and something every man and his dog is trying on as career. So ask your self how much are you paying and how great the PT actually is ?

personal trainers in sydney are a penny a dozen but not many essentially know whats optimum for your body and what your really need to achieve your goals. With private coaching courses are all about how quick you can get qualified so the company running the course can get the following heard about folks through. hunting for personal training sydney ? Look for these main elements
Having hands on experience is better than anything you can get out of text book.

personal training sydney has built a name for it’s self for could cost you a fourtune, something that you truly need to pay for ?

Well lets brake it down for you :

Then there’s always the danger of your coach lacking in experience and doing you more harm than help or just just not delivering the results you desire.

Plane old gymnasium membership : cheaper option yes ! But what quantity of people sign up to a gymnasium with all the plan to get fit healthy and beat the world, only to attend for the initial few months then try again and again again to get back on the healthy kick again,’ I could start again monday’ Sound familiar ?
Our body’s need different stimuli all the time to continually achieve results. So after a while of doing the classes the results slow down and so does the incentive and guess what ? Folk fork out for a PT or merely give up.

After seeing personal training sydney is aa joke, well price, over cooked with trainers and wanna bee’s RDF is changing how PT will work sydney wide.
No Appointments, unlimited session, Personalised training each visit, your coaching garments washed and stored ( Including your sneakers ) and it’s at no addtional costs to your monthly direct debit, which works out be a little more than a mug of coffee every day !!
no one trick pony’s RDF has weight reduction, muscle gain, fighting, boot camps, pilates the whole shebang!!
It’s the very very first of its kind anywhere and with the scope to grow world wide personal training sydney, personal coach sydney will words that are spoken no more

they are giving out free trial session so you can experience it all your self.

I will teach my last fitness class on the 17th of December. Not only is my husband’s automobile unreliable, it has no winter tires. We are saving to purchase a car next year Feb/Mar time frame, and therefore don’t plan on wasting money on tires we will only get to drive a few months. Continuing to make the Tuesday/Thursday drive to Ramstein over winter is impossible.

The good news is, I am willing to provide free training for military spouses from my home in Waldfischbach this winter!! I do the workout one day earlier than the workout of the day found on the CrossFit homepage, so you will always know what to expect. I will supervise and assist you with childcare during your workout, and will scale it appropriately (BrandX provides scaled workouts for the CrossFit WOD). Please let me know if you are interested, so that I can arrange times for the group (daily if necessary) that are acceptable.

Today’s workout:
Complete as many rounds as possible 20 minutes of:
15 Double-unders
15 AbMat (or ball-clenched) Sit-ups
15 Back extensions (can lay down on belly and lift arms/heels)

For those of you not in class last Tuesday, we discussed training for a run (10k or less in length) sometime next spring in March/April time frame. I will try to find out when the next race is that’s sponsored by MWR or Youth Services. Next year on 2 May in Kaiserslautern there is a Half-Marathon run which allows time for feasible progression if anyone is interested. I will supply a training plan, training assistance, and even childcare (when I can) here in Waldfischbach to anyone interested in training for these races! I trained for my second Ironman distance race using a babystroller with my 45lb dog inside (long story). I finished the marathon (at the end of the Ironman) in 4 hours flat.

For anyone who wants a starting benchmark, this weekend on 29 November there is a Weihnachtsmarktlauf (Christmas market run) in Landstuhl. The cost is 6 euro and the distance is 7.6km (just under 5 miles) – you must signup before 11am on race day to participate.

This week was a short week due to the Thanksgiving holiday, so I worked out with Alan 3 times this week instead of the usual four. Enjoyed two fabulous turkey dinners, one for lunch and one for dinner with different sets of friends; and both were really fun and muy delicioso. I abstained from any pie but nibbled on the olives. I’ve still only lost 14.5 pounds, so I ordered some goodies off Amazon to give me some extra help… more on that later.

It seems everyone assumes that I must be eating like a horse since I’m being completely faithful to my workouts yet not losing weight, but in fact, I’m eating healthier than ever and in very reasonable portions. For instance, a yogurt for breakfast; a salad with hard-boiled egg for protein for lunch and no dressing; a bowl of homemade chili for dinner; yogurt for a before-bed snack; and water, water, water, water. That can’t be more than 1200 calories, surely. All I know is to stick with it, and my contrary metabolism has got to cave sooner or later. I did splurge and have one beer on Wednesday evening at the school festivities, but all I got for that was a horrible headache. Me + beer = Le Miserable!

Alan is planning to mix up my workouts since he says my core is very strong now; so we will be doing an assortment of upper and lower body weight training in addition to cardio intervals and core exercises. I just keep doing whatever he recommends, because I always feel better after my workouts than I did when I walked in; and I’m so energized and strong, I don’t want to lose all the progress I’ve gained. I just want to keep making significant gains in my confidence, endurance, energy, and strength. The amazing thing is that when I first started I was so far behind everyone else, but now I’m one of the strong ones. I’m one of the people who’s always hanging out in the weight room after school, dressed and ready to work. I’m realizing that one reward I’m receiving that was totally unexpected is the confidence that other people are expressing in my determination, and the respect in their voices when they comment on how I’m so consistent and faithful to my regimen.

Another thing that never seemed real to me before is that once I started to change my story, I could also help other people to change theirs too. I mean, if I can become disciplined in this, ANYONE can. And it’s not by strength of will except for the first two or three weeks; after that, my motivation has been totally based on the benefits I’m reaping in how I feel every day, and how I sleep, and how much more content I am with my life. It also helped me a lot to have people I didn’t want to let down. Alan is a terrific friend, and I didn’t want to let him down. My friends Gretchen, Kim, Beth, and Rhonda were cheering me on. That has been so helpful! So even though I’m kind of bummed about not magically dropping 25 or 30 pounds over the last 13 weeks, I know I’m on the right track, and since this is a life change, I’m not stopping for anything.

Things I never imagined before have now become a possibility to me. Firstly, trekking all over Egypt and climbing pyramids was my short-term goal. And that is only two weeks away!!! But I’m also looking forward to coaching soccer next year. I was already planning to do it this year, and all excited about it, but then there was a scheduling conflict with the classes I’m teaching to my colleagues every Tuesday and Thursday after school, so now that is postponed till next year. I’m thinking of my future vacations as opportunities to hike and bike and climb and swim and challenge myself in all sorts of ways. Isn’t that crazy?

More importantly, as I take more risks in the physical realm, I believe it will empower me to meaningfully demonstrate more faith in other areas of my life… being courageous and positive in my actions where before I was fearful and negative.

This week, I watched the movie Pay It Forward, and the words of the main character, a middle school student who believed in the power of change, really stuck in my mind.   It was less about helping yourself than being available to help others.  He said that it’s not enough to plan something out that you want to do for someone; you need to keep your eyes open and see where the need really is; and the thing that you give has to be a huge sacrifice, something you really don’t want to give.

No Guts, No Glory

After reading the book A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller this week, I became inspired to “rewrite” my own life story, to throw away the boredom and routine in order to live a life more stressful, more painful, more sacrificial, and more REAL than I could have dreamed possible. Because things that are worth achieving are worth earning the hard way.

Open to Change

I no longer desire a life of comfort and ease, of TV and movies and pseudo-happy endings; of selfishness, vanity, safety and security. I want my life to BE more, to MEAN more, to MATTER more. I don’t know exactly what that entails, but I’m open to change. And at my age, I don’t have a lot of time to waste!!!

I have the great fortune and honour to work with some amazing people.  What could be more awesome than having a client arrive for her personal training appointment with Hello Kitty in tow?

hello kitty

The workout was not a piece of cake.  The sore muscles the next day?  They were the icing on the cake!

Thank you M, for your commitment and the fine company you keep.

Article entitles the importance of personal fitness coach in effective personal training sessions

Tone and Tighten-Online Personal Training and Weight Loss Coaching

Head coach of Aerobic ascendancy Training Systems, is teaming up with the partners at Custom Fit Personal Training Studio to bring you the Custom Fit Boot Camps. This ten week program is matchless from copious boot camps within that 1 to 10 ratio of football coach to athlete will ensure that the workout is catered to every level of fitness. To expand variety and excitement the boot camp will take place at 4 different locations over the 10 weeks bringing you the best Custom Fit and mother nature has to extend. For the third year within a row, Aerobic ascendancy and Train within Spain are excited to be offering cyclists and triathletes a fantastic training experience within beautiful Mallorca. There are copious options to consider depending on the experiences within 2008 and the goals for 2009. Aerobic Powers programs set aside a enormous range of options for the athlete that is just looking at a year to maintain some fitness and maybe sharpen the skills all the way up to the Elites requiring each day multiple workouts. It is frustrating to watch individuals locate so notably time and effort into training yet come up short because they did not give enough planning to nutrition planning. Sprint across new terrain within SKECHERS sharp athletic Energy joggers.

Indication of Source
Careers in fitness and personal training, Randy Littlejohn, 2005

Tags: personal training personal fitness boot camp

3. Glad “you” asked My own training has been going super for the past 8 weeks since I got out of my rut and started up again (I know, super embarassing). Fortunately in these last 8 weeks, I’ve even been able to surpass some strength I attained in the past — gotta love muscle memory!! Basically what I’ve been doing is starting up with a basic template for these two months, slowly inserting things to create a more athletically-based program rather than a typical “lifting” program. Again, this is just how I prefer to train. One of the key things I’ve been working on is to keep exercise progressions going; pretty much 3 weeks with a movement, master it, and progress it. Now I’m not going to get into progressions and how long and whens the right time to switch and who laid a finger on my Butterfinger, just that in the past I feel that I have stayed with things a little too long in the hopes of reaching a certain strength level. Alright folks, three blogs in three days, makes for one hungry me!! Thanks for reading!

CB

Photo provided by RS Lindner

This might shock some people.  The goal of exercise is muscular fatigue.  Many don’t seem to understand this concept.  When one exercises, especially when resistance training, muscles are actually being damaged.  Soreness is a result of this damage, and the burning sensation during exercise a result of lactic acid build-up in the muscle.

Muscle does not increase in size or improve in tone during a workout.  This happens during rest.  Rest is important because this is when muscle recovers and gains are made.  Therefore, when one exercises too frequently without rest, the body is perpetually damaged and can never repair and improve itself. Similarly, when muscle is not appropriately fatigued it never has a reason to grow because muscle fibers are never fatigued enough to become damaged (this is the goal).  This fatigue is a stimulus for growth and exercise the catalyst.  Fibers almost never grow in number.  They only grow in size.  The way bone regenerates after it is broken is analogous to muscle building.  After a bone repairs itself it is slightly thicker and stronger than it was before.  The processes are not the same, but this helps convey the idea.

When a person stops at a specific number of reps when they could actually do more, they are not appropriately damaging the muscle for maximum benefit. The entire goal of a workout should be to shock and confuse the muscle so it never adapts, has reason to grow, and never reaches a plateau.  A muscle grows only as it needs to.  Fibers increase in size when loads are performed that the muscle is unaccustomed to performing.  The body compensates for these load requirements by increasing muscle in that specific area.  People reach plateaus for this same reason.  Their bodies have become accustomed to a particular movement (if the exercise routine hasn’t been changed in a while), and thus their muscles no longer have a reason to grow.  The muscle is not “shocked”.  If one has been using the same routine for months (or longer), it is likely your muscles are bored with the movements, have compensated and adapted to them, and are no longer stimulated to grow.

Women are sometimes reluctant to perform intensely because they often fear appearing more masculine.  If she trains correctly, this won’t happen.  Each method is an entirely different way to workout even though they both require a certain level of intensity.

Photo provided by RS Lindner

There is often much debate and confusion about the quickest way to reach one’s fitness goals…at least among non-professionals.  The people that seem to concur most often are the professionals (with formal education) because they utilize the latest research.  The last person one should listen to is the self-proclaimed guru marketing a product and whose first goal is profit.  The confusion begins when a consumer hears numerous different things from numerous different sources claiming they have the secret formula for magazine-cover bodies.  Here are some ways to get to your goals that are based on what is actually proven (by research) to work:

Fatigue the muscle. This means pushing yourself.  Females are reluctant to do this because many fear that by pushing themselves they will look more masculine—not if you train correctly.  Whether you are looking for basic tone or you are lifting for power, fatigue is required (that’s the whole point).

Shock the muscle. This isn’t exactly the same as fatiguing the muscle (although you can accomplish both simultaneously).  Your body adapts to exercise.  This means that after a period of time your body will reach a plateau.  The most common reason for a plateau is that your muscles have become stale.  In other words, your muscles have become “used to” the movements and have no reason to improve.  Physiologically, your muscles only improve if they have reason to.  This means applying loads or performing movements they are unaccustomed to.  Muscles compensate for the increase strength requirement by increasing muscle mass in that area.  To prevent a plateau, change your workout routine relatively frequently.

Interval train. There is a plethora of research that now supports the use of interval training as the most effective means of fat burning.  If your goal is improved performance (not fat burning), that’s a different story.

Jump-start the metabolism. The best ways to jump-start your metabolism are to eat more frequent smaller meals that are balanced (in terms of carbohydrates, protein, and fats), and to avoid “starvation mode”.

Perform your cardio at the appropriate times. This means either first thing in the morning on an empty stomach (if your goal is fat burning, not performance), and preferably not after you have eaten (at least 2 hours).

Have a plan. Do not meander through the gym like a lost puppy.  Know what you’re doing.  Have a preconceived program specific to your goals that you can track (via fitness assessments).  Know how many sets and repetitions you are performing and why.

As promised in my previous post I said I would detail what and how I did to make my personal transformation. Here are my top  pieces of advice for all those looking to get in great shape and these apply to those that want to drop fat or get more muscular.

1. Take more fish oils – every single week there are papers published on the positive benefits of fish oils (EPA/DHA). Fish oils are anti-inflammatory i.e. they help to supress inflammation which is the cause of so many degenerative conditions. They are also vital for better hair, skin and nails and not to mention helping optimal hormone production. I recommend taking 5-10g per day and not only will you recover faster from workouts but you will drop more fat.

2. Juicing – no i am not suggesting you take steroids! We are taking cucumber and celery juices. Just basically any juice with plenty of vegetables in it really. Do this daily and its an easy way to get in plenty of greens into your diet and keep your body more alkaline which again is vital for optimal health and recovery from the hard training sessions you are all doing.

3. Use progressive resistance – if you are not doing regular weight training right now and are looking to get in superb shape then please look at my videos in the workout of the week section or home workouts section. Getting back to the point, when weight training you must focus on getting stronger and slowly increasing the weights you are lifting. If you are skinny right now and looking to get bigger and more muscular this point is vital. Please stop using a bodybuilding program that emphasises pumping and splitting up the body parts. Use a full body program and if you are not getting stronger you will never get more toned and for guys more muscular. Have I gotten stronger over the past 12-18months? Absolutely, and on every single exercise because I did not care about how big my chest, legs or biceps were and focused on getting stronger EVERYWHERE!

4. Change your program – a training program is really only useful for about 6 weeks. There after there is going to be a point of diminishing returns as your body gets used to it. So it does not matter if you are a woman looking to firm up or a guy looking to pack on the muscle, you must change what you do not to ‘keep the muscles guessing’ as some people put it but to make sure you are using different exercises, rep/set ranges etc to push into new strength and conditioning territory.

5. Stay injury free – you can’t make optimal progress when you are injured so please read and watch my video on this post – http://thetransformationcatalyst.wordpress.com/2009/09/14/rolling-away-aches-pains-and-the-road-to-better-results/ Nine out of 10 clients that come to see me have terrible flexibility to begin with which increases chance of injury. Foam roll before and after every session and for the love of God stretch way more. Do not tell me you have a bad back or knees when you can’t even touch your toes with straight legs or do any of the stretches mentioned in this video -

6. Do some olympic lifting – this has possibly been the biggest change in my training over the past year thanks to Gill who came to do an olympic lifting workshop in my gym and the guys in crossfit. The skills I have learned from doing cleans, snatch etc have transferred into improvements in not only my overall strength but fitness and power also. I could lump kettlebells into this point also as I think they have similar benefits to oly lifting.

7. Stop doing excessive cardio – no one needs any more than 30mins of cardio. If you are training for a 10km+ race then obviously you need to do more but if you are looking to get in much better shape do not do lots of endless cardio. It will only serve to make your metabolism slow down and will in no significant way increase muscle tone and strength. If you look at by before and after shots in the previous post you can see that I was doing more cardio last year and much less now (I still do 2-3 days per week of 30mins cardio). I was found that I was getting more injuries as a result of running most days and felt tired all the time. Where as now I feel great yet still have a really high fitness level and at 14stone could still do a sub-44min 10km. Having a good base fitness is vital but if cardio is the only exercise that you do and you are looking to get in amazing shape well its really not going to happen. Plus getting fit does not mean you have to do running, swimming, cycling etc to get the heart rate up. Just do one of my workouts of the week and tell me your heart rate did not increase! You want to look like this? Or this -

8. My wife – i am very grateful to have a wife that is supportive of my work and commitment to exercise/nutrition and there is no way I would be in the shape I am in without her help. We have a 15month old aby girl now so eating right and training hard can be a little tough and would be so much harder if I my wife was not such a great cook and had an active interest in fitness and training also. So a big thanks has to go to her and the inspiration I take from our young girl. Finally, having people around you (like the guys I train with weekly) always pushes me to a new level and if you want to reach new heights in training it helps to come to some of my group sessions like this to realise your potential. So a big thanks to the guys also.

Finally, in the third part of this series I will detail my training over the past 12months+ so stay tuned if you want to know more…..

Check out what people are saying about How-Fit and the fact is they are getting results by working with our trainers and using our methods on a consistent basis. You to can get great results today by simplifying the long walks, & cardio in short burst intense workouts.

Article entitles the importance of personal fitness coach in effective personal training sessions

Tone and Tighten-Online Personal Training and Weight Loss Coaching

Head coach of Aerobic ascendancy Training Systems, is teaming up with the partners at Custom Fit Personal Training Studio to bring you the Custom Fit Boot Camps. This ten week program is matchless from copious boot camps within that 1 to 10 ratio of football coach to athlete will ensure that the workout is catered to every level of fitness. To expand variety and excitement the boot camp will take place at 4 different locations over the 10 weeks bringing you the best Custom Fit and mother nature has to extend. For the third year within a row, Aerobic ascendancy and Train within Spain are excited to be offering cyclists and triathletes a fantastic training experience within beautiful Mallorca. There are copious options to consider depending on the experiences within 2008 and the goals for 2009. Aerobic Powers programs set aside a enormous range of options for the athlete that is just looking at a year to maintain some fitness and maybe sharpen the skills all the way up to the Elites requiring each day multiple workouts.

Bibliography
Careers in fitness and personal training, Randy Littlejohn, 2005

Tags: personal training personal fitness boot camp

There’s a saying that you can’t teach old dogs new tricks. While it may be true in dogs, and some humans, it’s not always the case.

Allow me to explain…

After the age of 35 in humans brain chemistry does indeed change, making it harder to learn new things. This is across the board from learning a language to a musical instrument, a martial art or any physical skill.

So, to a point it is true that older people will struggle to learn new skills.

But that’s not the whole story.

You see, researchers have found that if a person has kept an open mind about things during their life span that their brain chemistry doesn’t go through the same change. This allows them to continue learning new skills and evolving.

Things they have found to be helpful to keep this youthful brain chemistry are lifelong study habits (although not centred on a single subject but rather on a wide variety of subjects) and continuing to play some sports.

The choice of sport is important too because some sports have more learning qualities in them than others. Traditional endurance sports for instance – running, swimming and cycling – are not good choices. These sports require only a few motor patterns to be learnt and then repeated over and over ad nauseum. A better choice is a sport requiring large amounts of skills to be used during the course of play. Sports such as beach volleyball, martial arts, gymnastics/ circus training, mountain biking, trail running and soccer are all good choices.

So you really are (chemically) only as old as you feel. It may also help to explain how people who have lived the most amazing lives filled with adventure seem to live the longest and keep their marbles too. I’ve long said that your body can only go where the mind leads it. If you act and think young, always trying new things and keeping an open mind – stopping to smell the roses of life, as it were – you will indeed stay young.

And this is where I get to talk about me for a bit. I’m 38, have done martial arts since I was 10 as well as played a variety of sports from field hockey to swimming to volleyball but these days the majority of my training is martial/ combat related and all things kettlebell.

So where does the kettlebell fit into this?

As a tool I’m obviously in love with them. Apart from just recently where I have been barbell squatting for the first time in years as an experiment I haven’t trained in a normal gym or with anything other than kettleblls, chin ups and push ups for over three years. The kettlebell is a unique tool in that it teaches your body not just to move things up and down, as normal weights do, but also to absorb shock, stay balanced and to move the kettlebell around itself to properly and safely execute the lifts. In short, they are motor pattern rich.

In terms of training longevity, things that we should all be looking to do as we get older and can continue for a long time I believe that kettlebells have a place right near the head of the table. I’ll reserve the place at the head of the table, the most important piece of the training puzzle, to creating correct movement. This comes in the form of joint health drills – either Z health, IntuFlow or Pavel’s Super Joints all fit the bill – plus activation drills and stretching.

To get Super Joints, Pavel Tsatsouline’s amazing book, go here:
Super Joints
Russian Longevity Secrets for Pain-Free Movement, Maximum Mobility & Flexible Stength

I know many will disagree with me but if you don’t have a full range of motion sooner or later you’re going to end up looking like a hunchback and moving about as well. Most of my time spent training people is an effort to get them back to correct posture, get the joints moving through a full pain-free range, get the body balanced from front to back, left to right and top to bottom, then build strength on top of that.

Gray Cook, one of the greatest minds in sports training, has a great saying “Dont try to build fitness on top of dysfunction”. In other words, get everything moving right first, then seek increases in performance. Don’t worry about how hard you can hit, how fast you can run or how high you jump before you know the body is right. If you imagine your body is a car, in most people’s cases the tires are bald and the wheels may not even be pointing in the same direction! Imagine what happens when you drop a bigger engine in that car and go to the track…? Boom. Something is going to let go. Now instead imagine that we get new tires on the car, get the wheels balanced, put new brakes in before we drop the big engine in. Is that car ready to go faster now? You betcha.

The problem most people have is that the fine tuning of the car – preparing the body to really work hard – isn’t sexy at all. It’s slow, tedious and won’t generally lead to big changes in body composition. Most people want to lose weight and get stronger. So this is a hard place to be in as a trainer. To earn a living basic business sense says we need to give clients what they want even though we know they really need something else. But once we have affected these seemingly minor changes, all of a sudden people’s progress can go through the roof.

If your posture is bad because you’re tight through your upper back and shoulders, it will stop you working hard on overhead pressing. But imagine we fix your tightness so you can stand straight and press correctly. I’m not kidding when I say I have seen someone double their press in only a few weeks, all from gaining mobility, not strength. I’ve watched someone go from barely a quarter squat to a full depth squat over a few weeks. In both cases – using more weight, or using more range – more work is being done. More work done = better results. So the time spent on these issues, while not seeming as if they will bring you closer to your goal actually make it much faster to achieve it in the long run.

Not only that, but reclaiming fuller ranges of motion satisfy one of my training longevity goals – the learning of new skills – enabling our body to feel as if it were ten years younger. Most of my clients are younger than me and don’t have my injury history yet I move better than all of them. While I’m in no hurry, I’m keen to see what difference another ten years makes.

I feel like I’m getting a better handle on this healthy lifestyle thing. I’ve started noticing bad foods more often. Well, I hate to call any food bad, because it’s ok to eat it in moderation. But I’ve started being able to say no to certain foods much more easily. I’ve always had a hard time with “dieting” and it’s been hard to think of the end result. But this time it’s easier to remember what I want, why I’m eating better, and forcing myself to exercise.

Don’t congratulate me yet on the exercise though. I haven’t done much yet. I joined LA Fitness on Monday. There goes a lot of money. I just hope I will use the gym since I spent so much money on it. That’s always good motivation. I get a free personal training session this evening. I’m excited, and a little scared that I will get my ass kicked.

I’m happy that I’m finally starting to get the hang of this. Not completely, but it’s a great start. I watched Biggest Loser last night with my aunt, and was eating some kettlecorn. It was tasty, but then I thought, “I really want those new CDs…” In yesterday’s blog, I decided to give myself rewards for certain amounts of weight loss. I definitely want some new CDs, but first I have to lose 2.6 more pounds. I’d better get to work on that so I can get the new CDs!

Thanksgiving won’t be too tough this year either. I will be at my aunt’s house and she is cooking healthier food than usual because she’s also trying to lose weight. After our meal, my boyfriend and I will be visiting his friend in Houston. I won’t eat much because I won’t be at home and because his friend is vegan. When I’m around people who eat healthy, I just eat healthier. Maybe I will actually lose weight this week, but I will still be happy if I just don’t gain any. After all, this is Thanksgiving weekend.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Body builders may have a short period of time to get their bodies in shape for competition. Ideally, you want to start your body building career and gradually ease into the workouts. Here are some steps you can take to build muscle a little quicker than normal.

Step 1

Set goals and objectives. Before you can get where you want to be, you have to figure out where it is that you want to go. “I want to build muscle” isn’t enough.

Step 2

Put it in writing. Put some specific and measurable goals down on paper. This will help you stay on track and measure your progress.

Step 3

Set a deadline. Add a timeframe or deadline for you to achieve your goals. Having a set time period can help motivate you to stay on track and gives you a drop dead date for how long you have to reach your objectives

Step 4

Create an exercise/workout routine. Create a workout routine or hire a personal trainer that can help formulate the right workout routine for you to accomplish your goals. Keep track of your workouts including the number of days per week you’re working out, what you’re eating, number of reps, types of exercises, etc.

Step 5

Execute. A plan is only effective if you put it into motion. Once you have your workout routine on paper, now it’s time to implement the plan.

Back for more of the updates? Enjoy!! And as always if you have any thoughts to add, I’d love to hear them!

2. This goes along with my new job. Basically many fitness professionals much smarter than I are putting out products, articles, podcasts, etc to help educate other trainers. Currently much of this is focussed on training athletes or running fitness bootcamps/circuit training (at least most of what my inbox is bombarded with). Because I no longer work with athletes currently and I don’t run bootcamps or have access to much equipment, I’ve had to think more critically about these experts’ ideas. Instead of just trying something out because it seems like a good idea, I now also look at the idea from a logistical standpoint: Where do new exercises fit into my clients’ abilities? Do I have the necessary equipment/space/time? Can I modify an idea to make it work for my clients WITHOUT losing the idea’s effectiveness?

The point being that every time I ingest information in the hopes of making me a better trainer/coach, it can make me better at what I do and the service I provide based on whether I decide to use it or not. Because no trainers’ situations and clients are exactly the same, this not only requires critical thinking of the idea itself, but also the logistics of getting it to blend into an already successful system.

CB

No run today. A little break before the Turkey Trot tomorrow, but an early morning gym workout instead.

In the gym with Mike:

Time: 8:30 a.m.

Training Partner: Jae

Shoulders & Arms

One-Arm Kettlebell Squat, Clean & Press: 5 lbs x 12 (per arm); 10 lbs x 12; 15 lbs x 12; 20 lbs x 8

supersetted with

Scaption: 3 lbs x 12; 3 lbs x 12; 3 lbs x 12; 3 lbs x 12

Upright Kettlebell Row: 15 lbs x 12; 20 lbs x 12; 20 lbs x 12; 20 lbs x 12

Tricep Pressdowns (Cable): 40 lbs x 15; 50 lbs x 15; 60 lbs x 10

Underhand Grip Cable Triceps: 30 lbs x 15; 40 lbs x 15; 50 lbs x 12

Incline Preacher Curl (per arm): 7.5 lbs x 12; 10 lbs x 12; 12.5 lbs x 12

Barbell Curls: 25 lbs x 12; 35 lbs x 10: 25 lbs x 10

Core/Flex on My Own:

Hanging Straight Leg Raises/Tucks: Raises x 12 no straps; Tucks x 15; Tucks x 15

setted with:

Planks: 1 minute; 1 minute; 1 minute

setted with

Hamstring Curls off Ball: 15; 15; 12

Side Leg Drop and Stretch: 90 seconds per side (hold)

Lying Hamstring Stretch: At full stretch, 60 seconds per side

Standing Calf; Standing Quad; Standing Hip/Glute; Standing Forward Bend

]]> http://thegreatbalancingact.com/2009/11/25/youre-invited/ Wed, 25 Nov 2009 03:23:30 +0000 Susan http://thegreatbalancingact.com/2009/11/25/youre-invited/

TO THE GUN SHOW!!!!

Woo-pah!!!! Seriously, whose arm is this? Albeit, the flexing, lighting and flattering angle helps My face is cut out because I’d just stumbled out of bed and it’s smeared in drool and yesterday’s mascara.

Now, I’m not one to go flaunting my body around town, especially on the internet. But, well, I’m kinda proud of my little muscle! You’ve probably heard me whine before that aaalllll my body fat goes to my stomach. So, in my head, my composition looks like this big round middle with skinny arms and legs poking out. I don’t really want to lose any more body fat to take care of the tummy situation (Chris may dump me if my boobs get any smaller ). BUT, I can work on making my arms and legs look a little more solid. Apparently, that work has so far been paying off

In other news I want to thankyouthankyouthankyou for the kind and congratulatory comments about my new job prospects. I am so lucky to have not only a supportive family behind me, but a slew of blog friends out there backing me up as well I’m a little apprehensive about announcing it to my wider circle of acquaintances, co-workers and old schoolmates. They all think I’m crazy for leaving a solid journalism job. For so long I’ve been told that I’m a good journalist. I think that’s why I stuck it out, because I was just following the praise. These people just assume I’d do what I’m good at, but being good at something is not enough.

Plus, as my mommy pointed out, not one person in my family works in the field of their undergraduate degree. The best example being my lovely sister Jane. She was a star psychology student, and gave it all up after graduation to pursue her passion for music. She’s now got two albums under her belt and living a life she loves making music in Quebec City (which you can listen to here!)

Minutes after registering for the personal training course yesterday, I got this in my inbox:

Is that a sign or what!? Totally unrelated too, the e-mail just popped up out of the blue. I can’t go though because I have to stay in Fredericton. Would have been nice to scope out what it’s like to work there.

So this morning, I tried out something that’s been a long time coming – eggs in a basket!

Eggs + toast is my favourite breakfast, and I’d never tried it!

There was some dippage happening…

It was fun Although, I think I still prefer the usual fried egg on top.

I had a date with the treadmill today, so I snacked on another new-to-me Larabar flavour for some sugar energy.

Is there coconut oil in the American version too? I’m not opposed to coconut oil, from everything I’ve read it’s pretty good for you (in moderation, of course )

First, I found it was really mushy. If I buy this again, I’ll keep it in the fridge. It was good but if I had to choose, I like the cocoa coconut better. This is kinda plain, like just dates and coconut. I know that’s the point, but it was just missing a little sumthin’.

My “dreadmill” sesh was stellar today!

On a 1% incline:

2 minutes @ 3.0 mph
3 minutes @ 3.5 mph
5 minutes @ 5.8 mph
10 minutes of 1-minute intervals @ 5.8 mph & 6.2 mph
10 minutes of 1-minute intervals @ 6.0 mph & 6.4 mph
10 minutes of 1-minute intervals @ 6.2 mph & 6.6 mph
10 minutes of 1-minute intervals @ 6.4 mph & 6.8 mph
5 minutes @ 5.8 mph
3 minutes @ 3.5 mph
2 minutes @ 3.0 mph

The last time I did this workout, I found it to be a touch too easy, so this time I upped the speed a little – it was perfect! I never felt like I had to stop, but those last set of intervals were hard. And yay for getting faster!! Hope I can get those numbers to keep going up. Oh, and on my last 6.8 mph interval, the final chorus of “Don’t Stop Believing" from the Glee Soundtrack kicked in on my iPod. Yeah, it was epic.

Since I got home for a late lunch, and needed to do an early dinner before work tonight, I though it would be a perfect opportunity to test out a liquid lunch.

• 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1/4 cup cottage cheese
• 1 banana
• 1 tbsp almond butter
• 1 scoop Chocolate Amazing Meal
• handful ice
   

387 calories, 13g fat, 23g protein, 46g carbohydrates, 12g fibre. Not too shabby, right? I mean, that’s what any other meal looks like for me. I think I felt full-ish after drinking it. But within 90 minutes, I was feeling snacky and wanted something to chew. I thought the fibre in the Amazing Grass would save me, apparently not. This girl needs her food to be solid.

I was ravenous come supper time (at 4:30).

 
More leftover chicken! Today I put it in a pita with blackberry jam, onions, spinach, sprouts and swiss cheese. Grilled to melty perfection. I’m running low on chicken. Need to roast more stat

Eating and exercise aside, I had quite the surprise today. I saw the Canada Post lady walk to my back door this afternoon with a package. I always miss my packages, so I jumped up and met her at the door. I was hoping it would be my recent Amazon purchase or PT course materials. But I was handed a big unfamiliar box. When I ripped it open, I discovered this:

 
A FOOD PROCESSOR!!!!! Holymolyasjbgeiuhsfskg. As soon as I saw the note from Janetha attached, I started crying. JB, this is one of the sweetest things anyone has done for me, thank you SO much!!!! You are such a wonderful person, I don’t even know where to start!

Regular readers know I’ve been vying for a food processor for a while, but I haven’t been able to bring myself to splurge on a nice one for myself.

It’s the perfect size for making hummus! (and baby food as the box implies?) Janetha, I will get on the hummus making immediately so I have more recipes to share with you in thanks for the amazing gift

And with that, it’s super late and this granny needs to hit the hay.

Question of the Day: What should I make in my new food processor?

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Coach Mo Running

Don’t miss Coach Mo this Saturday, Sept. 19th, 12 Noon. Just click:

www.LiberationWellnessHour.com

Call-in Number: (347) 838-9516

Maurice Rene Weaver began his athletic/wellness journey at Power Memorial Academy in New York City.

By the time he graduated H.S. he was one of the most promising distance runners in the United States. After smashing the American Flat-floor Indoor Record in the 2 mile run, a sensational American Record in the Distance Medley Relay & a sterling mile time of 4:08, he was awarded a scholarship to Eastern Michigan University where he pursued a degree in Social Work.

Looking for some place to fulfill this passion for sport and wellness, Maurice began using his own experiences from training and competing to assist others in attaining their running and fitness goals, or more aptly put, taking their well-being to another level.

As Maurice did so many times while competing, he began infusing mind, body, and spirit concepts to coaching his runners/clients. “The synergy between Mind, Body, and Spirit is the chasm by which success happens.” says Maurice who had by now began to formulate his philosophy of coaching, which is to empower individuals with tools or strategies for success.

Whether it is through coaching, a runner, a client, or motivational speaking, Coach Mo’s positive energy is contagious. With enthusiasm, humor & a holistic philosophy, he challenges one to fulfill their maximum potential.

Coach Mo’s Website is  www.CoachMoWellness.com

Since I’ve been AWOL on this blog lately, I’ll keep it to a “random thoughts” type of post since quite a few things have been going on. Hopefully this will also kick my ass a little so that I keep up a little more regular presence here.

1. Regarding the new job, I’m in my 3rd week of duty, and so far so good. Hmmm what have I learned??? I’ve learned that personal training has been enjoyable, in fact the way I see it, each session I have the ability to work on my coaching the same way I would if I was working with athletes. Sure some training goals and focuses might be different, but its still an interpersonal service at the end of the day.

More about my new job?? I’ve realized I need to develop a system of training. I knew this already, but now that I have to create my own to get results, it is something I need to do. Now I don’t mean that I’m going to develop my system of training over the next month or so and never touch it again; what I mean is that I hate playing “exercise selection roulette” when  designing programs. How will you know something works/doesn’t work if you never program things the same way twice? A sample size of one doesn’t allow for much confidence in the results. This past Saturday I took my first step and starting typing things out on my computer. What I found was something that is a lot more difficult than it seems, and that as a result it could take more time than anticipated.

Still want more?? One thing I’ve found is that my clients don’t want to just rest for x amount of time because they aren’t that fatigued. Keep in mind my clients haven’t worked out for varying lengths of time, so I’m starting with the basics. That said, I think intensity (referring to weight lifted) has a lot to do with fatigue. Anyways, this has meant my problem is that I want my clients to rest and not rush through a program, while my clients don’t feel the need to rest and not rush through the program. Hmmm, a toughie!! Fillers to the rescue!! My solution was to make use of rest time so that I get the clients to actually give their muscle groups some rest between tri-sets. This was accomplished by attacking either mobility or flexibility for 30-60 seconds then continuing along. So far, the clients feel like they are doing something during the rest and therefore enjoying that they are not paying me to standing around for a percentage of the hour. Win-win in my opinion.

Until the next rainy day,

CB

This is a demontration of some very potent breathing and bodyweight exercises that are part of the KetYoga system.  Breathing is the most vital process of the body, but it is frequently overlooked in today’s training protocols.

This week Alan and I did upper body workouts on two alternate days, and lower body on the other two alternate days, (total of four days) along with our usual core exercises and stretching. My ankle was doing better but then Friday I was leaving school, going down the stairs slowly because my hips and butt were a little sore, and I was beat! when suddenly my right knee made a funny popping noise. I didn’t think anything about it until I got up Saturday morning and my knee was completely swollen. I couldn’t put any weight directly on it, like to climb into bed, so I iced it off and on Saturday. By Sunday, it seemed fine so I went to breakfast with Ange as per usual, which is a walk of about two city blocks away.

I was fine till we got to the stairs at the grocery store. Took them slow and held the rail all the way; then I got myself some yummy healthy veggies plus chicken and lean ground beef, and my fave yogurt, Fruchtegut in raspberry, peach, and mixed berry flavors. And a bag of fresh apples. Inched my way back down the stairs, with Ange holding one bag of my groceries so I could hang onto the rail. By the time we got back to our building, I was really worried and my knee was swollen up again. I took it very easy the rest of the day and iced it off and on. By Monday, it was a bit better, and I was able to do most of my usual workouts (no squats though).

I’ve accepted the fact that the occasional ache or injury is part of being active, and it’s way better than being a slug. Plus, if I had gotten this injury and not been as strong and toned as I am (getting), who knows how the injury might have debilitated me? So I’m taking a positive look at the situation and basically just keeping on trucking. I’m getting more compliments from people, not so much about my looks, but more about my determination. They are like, You are really sticking with it! And I’ve been seeing you at the weight room every day! After one such observation, I told one of my coworkers, Yeah, I’m not really losing much weight at this point, but I’m sticking with it. And her reply was, I know you will. That was like GOLD!!!!

My confidence, time management, and energy levels are better than ever. Is it worth it to make the time, pack the exercise clothes every day, sweat and strain to make it happen? ABSOLUTELY. I recommend it to everyone, especially if you are over the hill like me. It’s never too late to write a new story about your life. It’s never too late to be an encouragement to someone else, and to help them write a new story too. I’m so thankful for Alan, because he has been my primary cheerleader along this road, but also because he is such a good person and is honest about where he is on his own personal journey. And isn’t that where we all are? Not irreparably useless; not perfect; but somewhere in between, on our own personal journey to find the story that God wants to write on our pages. I’m so thankful for that this week.