The Top 5 Reasons You Should Invest in a Personal Trainer

1) You Need Help Getting Started

If you have never done exercise before, or even if you have but you're a little unsure of where to start then investing in a personal trainer will benefit you greatly. They will be able to give you the correct exercises and technique, make sure your working at the right intensity according to your ability and they will help you progress as you learn to adapt to the exercises so you don't hit a plateau.

2) You're Not Seeing Results in Your Current Training Routine

Have you been using the same old routine week in and week out for a while and not seeing any results anymore? Investing in a personal trainer will ensure that you never do the same workout twice. They have a wide variety of exercises in their knowledge base which will keep your workouts ever changing. With dumbbells alone there are hundreds of exercises that can be done, let alone other equipment such as boxing pads, gym stick and medicine balls. Put all these together and your routine will be ever changing, removing any chance of a plateau again.

3) You're Bored With the Same Workouts You're Doing at the Gym

Similar to the above point, any good personal trainer will make sure you're not bored in your sessions by offering a variety of exercises and equipment. Mobile personal training has proven to be just as if not more effective then working out in a gym because you can train using functional exercises, using your entire body rather than being stuck to a specific machine.

This fact alone will ensure boredom during your workouts will be a thing of the past.

4) You Need Accountability and Motivation

I often hear clients say the reason they pay me is for that last rep, while it may come across as a joke there is a very real point to this. When you're in the gym on your own it is very easy to just stop when an exercise gets hard, but when your with your personal trainer they will push you to complete those last 1-2 repetitions and then keep going. Imagine how much better your results will be completing those last few reps, and then some!

5) You Have a Specific Injury or Illness

If you have a specific injury, more often than not they can be healed with the proper training. Training on your own can often become very dangerous if you are trying to heal a specific injury, but if your personal trainer works alongside with your doctor and/or physio then they can ensure you have a full recovery.

To find out more on how a personal trainer can help you with you health and fitness goals, click here

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Why Six Pack Abs Are Made in the Kitchen

The type of food that you eat plays a very important part in your health. But what many dieters do not know is that there are actually certain kinds of foods that are made especially for trimming various muscle groups such as the abdominal muscles, which is one of the most common problem areas for many dieters and exercisers. So if you'd like some tips, read on and learn about the best kinds of foods that will help you get those well-toned, six pack abs today.

One of the very first things that you should implement in your kitchen is to stop cooking and eating high caloric foods. The only way that you can tone those muscles and get those six pack abs is when you burn more calories than the amount that you take in. Making your meals out from scratch instead of ordering out will give you the freedom to adjust your ingredients and take away those that may add up to the calorie count.

If you have a sweet tooth, you can exchange those candies and chocolate bars with healthy fruit and protein shakes whipped right out from your kitchen. Fresh fruit shakes are fairly easy to make. One good way of hastening the fat loss process is to especially pick fruits that are high in fiber, such as pineapple, mango or banana. Fiber has been proven to help aid in the weight loss process as it acts as a natural appetite suppressant and as a digestive system cleanser. The less you feel the need to eat, the better are your chances of achieving those well-toned six pack abs.

The amount of sodium (or salt) that you put into your cooked meals also plays an essential part in your dieting regimen. Sodium has a very important role in the process of muscle formation. If you are subjecting your abdominal muscles to heavy workouts, it's very important that you get ample amounts of these substances in your body. However, do make sure that you do not use overly large amounts of salt in your cooking as this can also mess up with your water-electrolyte balance and make you feel bloated and extra heavy.

Many dieting and exercise experts recommend that you take smaller but more frequent meals in a day. This change in eating habit can greatly help you get those six pack abs in no time at all. Eating four to six meals in a day can help promote constant metabolic rate and put your body at a state where it is continuously burning fats all throughout the day. This will help you build more lean muscle mass.

Protein is probably one of the most important types of nutrients that you can include in your diet - most especially for those who are actively building up muscle mass. Protein is mainly made out of amino acid - the main building block of muscle tissue. So always include ample amounts of proteins in your diet. Good protein sources come from lean meats, chicken or egg. Remember never to use too much spices or condiments as this can add up to your sodium and caloric intake.

Although most of the dieting regimens out in the market today promote low-carb meals, carbohydrates play a very important role in the body as well. Carbohydrates are the primary sources of energy for the body. Hence, you should never leave them out of your diet if you want to achieve those six pack abs. Just try to have them earlier in the day.

Get carbohydrates from good and healthy sources such as root crops, brown rice, vegetables and fruits. This should go similarly with your fat intake as well. Fish such as salmon and olive oil are wonderful and healthy sources of good cholesterol.

One very important thing that you should remember is that diet is not the only factor to help you get those six pack abs. Although they are considered to contribute to at least 70% of the entire process, exercise plays a very crucial role as well. There are now a number of exercise routines that are made especially for targeting abdominal muscles. It is also equally important that you learn how to perform these routines properly. If not, this can result to injuries and muscles strains.

Toning your muscles is not easy. It will take time and a whole lot of hard work. But with the right kind of diet and exercise, getting those six pack abs is indeed possible.

Darragh Holland is a Cavan Personal Trainer and also runs his own Bootcamps.

He has helped people to lose weight and get toned so be sure to check out his Cavan personal training studio.

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Three Tips to Avoid Binge Eating

Binge eating is a serious issue and it can plague anyone no matter how prepared they may or may not be for the event. That being said it becomes very important to understand what may lead up to binge eating and of course how you can avoid doing it in the future.

The cause

First of all, binge eating can be caused by a number of different factors. One of course could be depression which is caused by influences at either home or work. It could be an issue with family, or it could be a project you have taken on. Either way, binge eating can easily become a problem which leads to even more issues down the road. There are other causes for binge eating of course, aside from depression, and when this issue occurs, you are going to need to seek some kind of treatment or relief. It all starts with something to break the cycle.

Breaking the Cycle

How do you break the cycle exactly? What does it take to return to a healthy standard of living? If you continue your binge eating activities you will gain weight, heighten your cholesterol, and increase your chances for heart attack. If you wish to break the cycle, you will need to find something to replace the activity.

Replacing the Activity

Replacing the binge eating activity is your best hope of eliminating the problem. This might not seem helpful, and you might find it difficult to find a replacement, but you could take up exercise, or you could even adopt a hobby. There are plenty of hobbies for you to choose, from chess all the way to rock climbing. Whatever you choose, it will likely help to curb your unhealthy eating habit.

Create Routines

Routines are different from hobbies in a few ways. First of all, a routine is something that you establish for yourself, and you will perform it on a daily basis. In your routine you can set your meal routine at a specific time as this will ensure you only eat at the times you dictate. To set your routine in stone it would be a good idea to write it down and post it somewhere that you will see every single day. This will help you significantly and will allow you to bring some much needed structure into your life.

These are three great tips for you to follow, but you need to remember that it all starts with you. Once you learn to implement these tips into your life you will need to stick with it, and of course ensure that you do not give into temptation. It will be impossible to remove all of the factors from your life, but you can at least remove some of them and learn to live a better life.

Darragh Holland is a Cavan Personal Trainer and also runs his own Bootcamps.

He has helped people to lose weight and get toned so be sure to check out his Cavan personal training studio.

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Why Should You Work Out?

Do you work out? Are you asking yourself, "Should I go to the gym?" If you frequent a gym, you will notice that people come in different ages, sizes and backgrounds. It is interesting to see people between 45 to 61 years of age actively training.

It is inspiring actually. They are enjoying the many benefits of working out. Unfortunately, not everyone shares the same view. Not everyone can see this as inspiring. In fact, they will even likely spew negative comments.

A 58-year-old gym member will likely be asked if he's going through midlife crisis. He will likely receive discouraging comments like "Aren't you a bit too old to be worrying about your abs?" or "Isn't working out dangerous for you?"

Ironically, it is often people who do not know the value of working out that often ridicule others who do. Often these people are suffering from morbid obesity. They are those who have sedentary lifestyle. They are tired all the time and they have all sorts of medical complaints.

Often these are the same people who complain of being tired all the time. They find it hard to get up in the morning and they cannot even enjoy making love with their partners anymore. It's not even because they are in their 50's. Often, it is actually because they are not happy with their body. They are overweight, obese even, and they cannot enjoy sex. After all, sex is a physical activity and if it is not something you would enjoy doing if you are out of shape.

It doesn't matter if you are in your 20's, 30's or 50's - you will benefit from working out. When you choose not to exercise, you lose connection with your body. Your body speaks for you. It tells your story - what you eat, what kind of lifestyle you have, what you do. Over time, you start identifying yourself with the person that you have become. Because you are overweight or obese, you start shunning things that you used to enjoy. Eventually, you start hating yourself and your life.

This is why you should exercise. You can try working out at home or hitting your local gym. The better shape you are in, the better you will feel about yourself. You will see huge improvement in your self-esteem as well as with your relationship with your partner. You will also see an improvement in your general well-being. You won't feel sluggish or run down.

The testosterone level drops by 1-4% every year once men hit 40. This is why working out twice a day or even once a day helps with increasing testosterone and estrogen production. Of course, aside from exercise, you should also live a healthy lifestyle, banish negativity from your life, minimize stress, spend quality time with your loved one and live a happy life with your spouse or significant other. By doing all these things, there is no reason why you can't enjoy a productive life at 50. If you follow these few simple points people will be able to tell who you are without you even having to say a word.

Mark Johnson is a bodybuilding and personal training enthusiast. He is a blogger and online marketer. He is also a fan of Mike the Machine, an expert on personal training and body building. You can enjoy your favorite foods but still lose weight. Get more unusual but great working out tips from the Machine.

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Tips to Avoid Overtraining

When you are working out to improve your fitness levels, you must be careful about avoiding overtraining as it may injure your body. Overtraining, without providing sufficient amount of rest to your body, can cause muscle injuries, strains, sprains and tendinitis. It may even prevent muscle growth and weaken your immune system resulting in flu, cold and other health problems. Following are some tips provided by boot camp fitness programs to avoid overtraining and gain in strength.

Minimize the Frequency of Workouts
Some fitness freaks undergo rigorous training five to six times a week and do not allow the body sufficient amount of rest. Many other fitness enthusiasts concentrate on the different body parts on different days of the week. Instead of subjecting your body to this rigor, you should limit yourself to not more than a couple of intense workouts giving a gap of one or two days between each workout. Instead of 5 sets of exercise, do 3 sets and switch to a couple of full body workouts every week. Also, it is recommended that you practice compound movements or multi-joint exercises such as shoulder presses, pull downs, push ups, bar dips, bench presses, dead lifts, lunges, leg presses and squats as they offer more workout to the different body parts, while promoting better muscle growth.

Adequate Sleep
In order to obtain adequate recovery between your training sessions, you need a minimum of 8 hours of sound sleep every day to enable muscle growth and optimal release of growth hormones. You also need to eat sufficient amount of food to provide energy to your body.

Alternate between your Exercise Routines
Doing the same set of exercises every day can inspire boredom and disinterest. To prevent this, you should introduce some sort of variety in to your exercise routine. For e.g. you can alter the order of your exercises or you may take up a few new exercises. If you have been doing squats and bench presses, switch to push ups and bar dips or leg presses and lunges. You may also alternate between upper body exercises and lower body exercises during different workouts. Many fitness enthusiasts maintain the same speed or tempo all throughout their exercise regimen. They should instead start off with a slower tempo and graduate to a faster speed.

Allow a Prolonged Break
When you work out too frequently and too vigorously week after week, you might experience cramps and muscle soreness. In these cases, giving your body two days of rest might not be sufficient. If you push your body too hard, it might not be ready for the next workout. Allow your body 8 to 10 days of rest and let it recover fully. Reserve every 4th week for these periodic rests. This will provide your body with the opportunity to recuperate from muscle tears, pulls, injuries and soreness.

Additional Tips for Avoiding Overtraining
A post workout nutrition, in the form of a protein and carbohydrate shake is a must after intense workouts. Eat a small meal an hour later. Take multivitamin pills to curb nutrition deficiencies and fill your diet with sufficient amount of proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and omega 3 oils.

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Workout Tips: Eating at Somebody Else's Home

Working out can be quite challenging. It involves a lot of things, so you can really benefit from checking out workout tips, particularly practical ones, which can help you with your training commitment. For instance, what do you do when invited for dinner? When you are a workout fanatic, visiting somebody else's home for dinner can be challenging. Imagine training 5 days a week and following a strict diet for physical training, this is not easy. However, if you are committed to your training, you will observe the right diet religiously. Unfortunately, not everyone shares the same habit.

In truth, workout addicts are considerably small in number compared to the general public. A significant number of people are battling obesity in the United States alone. Often, you can expect to be served fatty and oily dishes when eating at somebody else's home. Now, here lies the challenge. Do you refuse to eat or do you gobble the food down, afraid to offend your host?

By politely declining the food, you will have to deal with offensive snorts or questions from your host or other guests. There are some who will even offer unwelcome or offensive opinions. This is worse when you are offered a beer and you don't drink. You will often get the instantaneous negative reaction from your host or from the person offering you the beverage.

So, how do you deal with all of this? You can find a lot of working out tips online, but rarely do you find tips on how to deal with these kinds of situations. So, what do you do?

The answer is simple - you politely decline the food or the beverage. Unless you can stomach eating food slathered with everything unhealthy or drinking beer, then all you can do is politely decline the food and the beverage. Of course, you can always eat a little if you want or drink a bottle if you feel you have to, but you will have to burn all of that the next day. However, you can't make a habit out of it. It is easier to decline.

A vegetarian, for instance, will not eat meat and these days, dinner hosts consider their guests eating habits. By declining the food, your host will know what you can or cannot eat. Perhaps, the next time he invites you over, he will make sure that he will prepare something that you can eat. By giving in or eating the food, you will have to eat the same thing over and over again every time you are invited. It will be strange if you decline to eat the food the next time you are invited when you've previously gobbled the same thing the last time you were invited to dinner.

Now that you know what to do, maybe you can include this tip when you share workout tips with other training addicts like yourself.

Mark Johnson is a bodybuilding and personal training enthusiast. He is a blogger and online marketer. He is also a fan of Mike the Machine, an expert on personal training and body building. If you find this article useful and informative, you can get more unusual but great working out tips from the Machine.

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Various Fantastic Tips for Good and Sustained Weight Loss

All weight loss has to top contributors and nutrition is one of them. What goes into your body is very portent for you to be aware of. What you eat translates directly into the appearance of your body. Your total health is certainly also impacted by this.

No matter how much you exercise, if you have a poor diet it won't really help that much. If you maintain a healthy diet, you can still have those foods which you enjoy the most. It's easy to promote both your health and weight loss if you limit your consumption of foods which are unhealthy. No one who has a diet which is predominantly made up of mostly healthy foods should need to concern themselves with calorie counting. Anyone who has a diet which consists of generally healthy foods won't need to concern themselves with nutrition.

Here are four recommendations for healthy and lasting weight loss:

1. Do Not Drastically Cut Calories:

• Your body uses calories as its primary energy source, and they are required for it to function.

• You're going to want to get rid of any empty calories that are in your diet, and maintain healthy calories.

• Food types that are not high in nutrients are generally in the category of those with empty calories.

2. Keep Junk Food Out Of Mind And Out Of Sight:

• Unhealthy snacks are difficult to avoid when you have large quantities of them in your cabinets, cupboards, or refrigerator.

• If you are having cravings, they should be satisfied by healthy snacks, we should always be kept close at hand.

• When you really need something sweet, you should consider having strawberries, or even fresh fruits.

• Carrots and nuts are an excellent suggestion for anyone who has a craving for something crunchy and or salty.

3. Avoid Drinking Your Calories:

• Perhaps the most significant and often unrecognized source of caloric intake is in the form of alcohol consumption, sweetened juices, sugar and cream laden coffee, and in particular sodas.

• At least several hundred, if not several thousand calories can be eliminated from the diet each day by simply switching to water, or an unsweetened tea.

• A large amount of weight can be lost quite quickly if you just eliminate these beverages which are high calorie from your diet.

4. Make Your Fitness A Top Priority:

• If you're serious about exercising, then he can't be something you only do when you have to time to do it.

• Fitness should be one of your most important dates, a priority, which should always be marked in your calendar no differently than any other appointment.

• Stick to whatever time you find is best for you, and make sure you keep doing it.

• The type of exercise you do, and the time in which you do it, is not nearly as important as the fact that you do it consistently.

• If exercising is a habit for you, and you make it a priority, then it will always be done.

By simply adding between 5 and 10 minutes of physical activity to whatever daily routine you keep, you can significantly increase your sports Toronto, and improve your health.

The easiest way to change your life is to athletic Toronto each day, and make the necessary time to be healthy.

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What Is Done Day And Night, Makes Some Muscles Weak, Others Tight And Is Considered Relaxing

Sitting has always been part of the human experience but never to the extent it is now. The allure of technology has swept us off our feet and into a semi-permanent right angle or sitting position, usually staring into a blinking, or is it winking, monitor. We've been enamored for so long it seems most of us have little choice but to spend an inordinate amount of our lives in this position. I estimate people who work on their feet or live an active lifestyle, are in this position 60% of their 24 hour day. Whereas, most of us spend over 90% shaped this way. We are in this position when we eat, when we eliminate what we eat, when we sleep (fetal position), when we drive, when we work, when we worship (usually), when we meditate, when we learn in class (usually), when we read, when we write, when we watch TV, when we play or socialize on the computer, when we drink a hot beverage at coffee shop or when we go to a movie. Sitting's effect on our social interaction and on our physical functionality is both, often overlooked and undeniable.

Sitting is so integral in our lives that we have customs, social and behavioral cues, nuanced language and slang having to do with it. For example, it is hospitable and courteous to offer someone to "have a seat, or "please, sit down," to make them feel welcome and at ease. Not accepting the seat is either rude or calls for an explanation which may still make the host or any guests, uncomfortable. Unfortunately, I've felt the glare of loved ones toward my upright frame on many a social occasion. I'm tall and have a penchant for standing. In circumstances such as this, "sit down" becomes a reprimand. "Sit up" is also a criticism, this of your posture, (or your laziness-as is "sitting around") and quite an accurate one, which I'll discuss later.

"Sitting," as in baby or house, implies trust in the sitter as a safeguard. But "sitting" is also a disrespectful reference to a person in authority who is seen as an obstacle, as in "sitting President" or "sitting Chairman." If said authority is respected the "sitting" isn't there. Whereas, "sitting on" also suggests a powerful position, as in "sitting on the throne." Although around my house when I was growing up, it meant my father was on the toilet. While "sit in," could either be a type of protest, maybe against that aforementioned authority figure, or a reference to a replacement person. "Sit on it" could mean "delay it," or it could be a retro slang term of disdain uttered by a "Happy Days" fan.

We openly both love and disrespect sitting. And although that position is right for squares, rectangles, 3 o'clock, 9 o'clock, intersections and many other things, its wrong for our bodies, if done for prolonged periods. It's so bent that there are stores dedicated to relieving symptoms caused by it. There are also many branches of health care which treat these symptoms: Massage Therapists, Physical Therapists, Doctors of Chiropractic, Orthopedists, Osteopaths and Phyisatrists. And, as a Personal Trainer, I come across the effects of prolonged sitting with most of my clients and even with myself.

But sitting is generally relaxing and easy, so why does it cause problems? We are bipeds, two footed animals, meant to be upright, not sitting, most of the time. When we sit there is a chain reaction which causes some muscles to relax, too much, while others are overused to stabilize where the relaxed muscles should be helping. As our body adapts to make sitting more comfortable, it takes away from our ability to function efficiently while standing. Below is the chain reaction from the legs up:

The back of our legs (Hamstrings) are continually flexed, and thus, shorten and get tight. They pull on our sarcum causing it to tuck which compresses our lower spine. Our hip flexors (Iliopsoas) shorten with the continual hip bend (flexion), inhibiting hip extension and buttocks engagement. Our gluteus maximus lengthens and becomes a minimus. Our low back muscles (Erector Spinae), which are fighting the rounding effects of tight hamstrings, have to work too hard to stabilize the spine because our butt is "sitting out" its partial duty of support when we bend our hip. Our low back is also left orphaned from our now disengaged stomach muscles (abdominals). With all this extra load, and being put into a rounded position for prolonged periods, which goes against its natural concave arch (lumbar loardosis), our lower back becomes highly vulnerable to injury.

The more we sit the more our bodies adapt to sitting and eventually...standing could be a challenge! OK, breathe. I'm not going to tell you to stop sitting? Or, are you secretly hoping I tell you to stop? It would be silly, as most of our lives require times for sitting, even mine as a personal trainer. But I do highly recommend some corrective strategies if you want to retain, or regain, your bipedal body's full functional abilities.

First is to make sure you're sitting to properly support yourself. The arch in your low back must be maintained. If it is, it will cause you to sit up straight and take some pressure off your low back, off your discs and off your supporting ligaments. If your supporting ligaments are weakened a displaced disc can put pressure on your sciatic nerve and cause pain in your buttocks and down your leg. Let me tell you from experience, you don't want that!

If sitting up straight with your back arched all day seems daunting, you could look into getting a lumbar pad or roll, to give you support and position your spine correctly. Or, try an ergonomic chair with the kneeling posture. The kneeling chair keeps the spine aligned by lowering the angle of the lower body. This is especially important when working at a computer where you might lean forward. And don't worry about your knees with this kind of chair, most of your weight will be on your buttocks and some on your shins. You can get these chairs for under $100.

Sitting correctly will limit the severity of the compensations acquired due to prolonged sitting, but it will not eliminate them. We are going to sit, and for long periods, so we all need to find ways to straighten our legs and extend our hips regularly throughout the day. And while doing that, stretch and strengthen those muscles which have become imbalanced. Here are a few ideas:

* Be aware of your POSTURE throughout the day. Try to keep your head above your shoulders which are back and down. Your chest is up, your stomach is gently pulled in and you have a natural arch in your low back. Your hips are over your knees which are over your ankles. You feel you are standing tall. Postural awareness will alert you to any slouching or leaning or rounding you may revert into while sitting.

* STAND UP and WALK around every 30 minutes.

* Stand up and LEAN BACK or extend your back as far as possible, every hour. Keep your knees straight, your feet shoulder width apart and support your upper hip/lower back with your hands. Hold for a second or two and straighten up. Repeat ten times.

* CHAIR SQUATS every hour or two. Stand with your back to your chair as if you are about to sit down. Feet shoulder width apart, slowly lower yourself into the chair without the help of your arms or hands. By slow, I mean take 4 seconds. You'll want to sit far enough back so your knees don't extend past your toes on the way down. The slow descent into the chair will help reintroduce your glutes to perform one of their major functions, to decelerate us when we bend (flex) our hip. When you stand back up, go at a normal speed, again, without the aid of your upper limbs. Putting an emphasis on your heels will help employ your glutes.

* FLOOR BRIDGES (another gluteus maximus strengthener and abdominal enlister) daily. Lie flat on the floor, knees bent, feet flat on the floor, draw your stomach in to engage your core stabilizers, which protect your low back, and slowly, in 4 seconds, extend your hips up toward the ceiling to a neutral spine position. Focus on feeling low abs and glutes. Hold for 2 seconds. Slowly descend toward the floor in 2 seconds. When you touch down you'll immediately extend back up slowly and repeat. You may have to adjust your feet to feel your abs and glutes working. When you can do 15 of these, you can progress this exercise by using one leg at a time and holding longer at the top.

For the STRETCHES below, it's best to do them after a warm up, possibly after a walk or the chair squats. Rather than offering passive stretches, I am recommending stretches which may challenge your balance, thus, requiring stabilization. If done correctly, these stretches will help your body recruit the proper muscle at the right time.

* Standing HIP FLEXOR (PSOAS) STRETCH, daily. Feet shoulder width apart, good posture (head over shoulders, shoulders back and down, chest up), extend one leg behind you as far as possible. Keep your heel on the floor and rotate the back foot inward. It should be pointing to your front foot. Draw your abs in, round your low back (posteriorally rotate your pelvis) and tighten your butt. Hold for 30 seconds. This will stretch those shortened hip flexors.

* THE TRACK STRETCH is another stretch you can do while on your feet-daily. Place your feet shoulder width apart, heel to toe alignment (one foot out in front), front leg is the stretch leg. Bend down and put your hands on the floor, parallel with the toes on your front foot. Now draw your stomach in and straighten your legs until you feel a good stretch in the back of your legs. Hold this for 30 seconds. This will lengthen your shortened hamstrings.

* LYING LEG EXTENSION is an alternative hamstring stretch, if the track stretch seems difficult-daily. You can lie on the floor, one leg straight ahead, the other leg straight up with a bent knee. Squeeze your thigh (quadriceps) and straighten your leg. Hold up to 30 seconds. If you can't hold it that long, stop and start up to:30.

* LOW BACK (ERECTOR SPINAE) STRETCH-daily and only if you have no back pain. Sit on the floor with your left leg straight. Cross your right leg over and place your foot to the outside of the left knee. Put your left elbow on the outside of your right knee and rotate your chest to the right. Hold for 30 seconds.

* PLANKS (ISOMETRIC ABDOMINAL HOLDS) instead of crunches to strengthen your abdominals and your lower back, daily. Lie face down and place your elbows under your shoulders, resting on your elbows. Draw in your stomach and lift your torso so its parallel to the floor, your toes on the floor (a pushup-like position but on your forearms). Keep your chin tucked. Breathe and hold for as long as possible. Then repeat.

* LOVE HANDLE HOLDS (ISOMETRIC OBLIQUE HOLDS), EXERCISE-daily. This is similar to the Plank, but targets the sides of your waist and is done on your side on one forearm. Sit on the floor. Lean to the side and hold your torso up on your elbow which should be directly under your shoulder. Draw your stomach in, tuck your chin and straighten your legs, creating a long triangle. Either, rest one foot on top of the other or straddle your feet. Hold as long as possible. Then repeat for both sides. You'll feel the floor side oblique muscle working as you keep your hip up to maintain the triangle. If this is too hard you can rest on your knee and build up to full leg extension.

* TRUNK ROTATIONS, EXERCISE-daily. Standing with feet shoulder width apart and arms extended out to the side, draw in your stomach and slowly rotate your torso back and forth. You can advance is exercise by adding weight to hold in your hands while rotating. This will also work your entire core.

If your lower back is in pain you should consult a doctor. But if you just have stiffness try these stretches:

* THE SYPHNIX - (PRONATED EXTENSION) is an alternative low back STRETCH, daily, but can be done if you have back pain (but consult your physician first) - Lie face down on the floor, arms to your side, and completely relax for 1 to 2 minutes. Then place your elbows under your shoulders, resting on your elbows. After several deep breaths, let your low back, hips and legs relax and feel like they are sinking into the floor. Stay in this position for 2 to 3 minutes. This stretch will help decompress your spine. You may feel tightness after performing this, if you had tightness when you started. But in a day or two your low back tightness should dissipate.

You can advance this stretch into HYPEREXTENSION by straightening your elbows and pushing your upper body up while keeping your pelvis, hips and legs completely relaxed. At the top of the position, breath deep and exhale allowing your low back to sag. Hold for 1 to 5 seconds and repeat 10 times. Try to push up further with each repetition.

And finally, SLEEP with your back arched rather than rolling into a ball, if you sleep in the fetal position. Try to straighten your legs to lengthen those hamstrings. But don't kick your partner.

Sitting isn't so bad. Robert Benchley, an American humorist, 1889-1945, said, "I do most of my work sitting down; that's where I shine." And the last wish for Bette Davis was "to be buried sitting up." Just be careful about ignoring the effects sitting has on your life. But don't fret either. Any physical imbalances you may have acquired can be corrected and don't have to be taken "sitting down."

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Personal Training Business - Give Some Of Your Best Stuff Away For Free

A great way to stand out from the crowd and separate yourself from your competitors is to always give great value. Being prepared to give away some of your best stuff, be it information, a product or a service can be the masterstroke that will define you and your business.

Step out of your business owner shoes for a second and into that of your typical prospect. Imagine you are looking for a solution to your health and fitness woes and decide to check out what the local Personal Trainers have to offer.

You start your search online by searching in Google. You check out a few websites and all seem to be offering a FREE consultation or even up to 3 FREE Personal Training sessions. All are generally offering the same thing so you continue your search.

There is one website however that caught your eye. Not only do they offer the FREE consults and trial sessions, they also offer you access to their Online Nutrition Program and Weekly Group Training Session.

Additional to this, there is a whole section of the website dedicated to education, eg: How To videos on exercise routines, nutrition video tips and even an ebook on...?

With the professionalism of the website, the accessible free information, the access to the nutrition program (which you can start on straight away), the free group training and the option of the trial sessions and consult, the whole deal gets you thinking...

"Wow! If this is what they are willing to give away, how good must their service be! The other PT's in the area aren't even offering these services, and if they are they are charging for them!"

Now, let's put your owner shoes back on, and look at the this scenario a little closer.

The Complimentary group training session (no commitment to join) sounds like an awesome deal for the prospect. This one complimentary group training session can be held on a Saturday morning and can be your feeder into your Personal Training service.

Why not make it free for all current clients too, and welcome them to bring friends along for no charge...(referrals!) Some may never join, but plenty will. The benefit of current clients being in the session too is they can be 'live' testimonials for you. It only costs you 1 hour per week out of your time.

The Complimentary Nutrition Program access allows you to begin training prospects before they even sign up with you. By them gaining access to your nutrition program they still have a connection with your business. If you are paying for this program then maybe their access is for a limited time? By the prospect having access it gives them a taste of what to expect, and they haven't yet had to commit!

The information and "How To Videos" need to contain information that WILL help someone on their journey and be useful to them whether they sign up with you or not. It is in these short videos you display your knowledge, professionalism and personality.

By far the easiest value to add is that of free quality information as it doesn't cost you anything. What services and other products you want to give away are up to you, but always think about this comment...

"Wow! If this is what they are willing to give away, how good must their service be!"

Travis Beckley from PT Business Systems.

PT Business Systems has been created to assist new and existing Personal Trainers build profitable businesses based on proven information and systems.

With over 17 years of experience in the Fitness Industry owning and operating Personal Training studios we have decided to share our experience and successful business systems online.

For instant access to more PT Business Systems and to download our free ebook "How To Continue To Earn While Your Clients Are Away" visit http://www.ptbusinesssystems.com/

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The 3 Most Important Things a Personal Trainer Will Teach You

As a personal trainer, it is my responsibility to increase my client's body confidence, maintain proper form to ensure safety and educate each person on the benefits of strength training. Every time a client makes the commitment to arrive at our facility for their workout, they are placing their trust in our facility and our abilities to guide them through a challenging and safe session. Each person arrives with different abilities and experiences; a personal trainer needs to be able to adjust to the age and stage of the individual. A personal trainer will demonstrate discipline and motivate you to treat your body, the one and only one you have, with respect.

As you begin to train on a regular basis with a personal trainer, each session will build upon the previous session. The trainer will teach you how to mentally prepare for the workout. When beginning work with a personal trainer after being away from training, there are natural fears and insecurities that can arise. It is natural to feel unsure or intimidated by the gym environment. Each week, as strength increases and clients develop a "can do" attitude, confidence will increase. In addition, if there is a weakness due to injury, a client may become more aware and do proper stretches or exercises on a daily basis as needed to help work through the injury.

Proper form is important, especially when working at an intense level. It is recommended to use machines that movements regarded as compound movement exercises. Compound movements recruit from many muscle groups at the same time. The primary benefits of properly working multiple muscle groups are maximizing the calories being used and the creating lean muscle tissue. The more muscle in our bodies, the more oxygen-rich blood will be created. It is easy to speed up or make adjustments in your body to get through a rep, especially when training on your own. If you work with a personal trainer who is dedicated to a specific protocol, the risk of injury will be diminished as you train slow and use proper form. You will learn to want to do the workout the proper way, in order to achieve your health goals.

Everyone knows that they "should" workout to maintain health and well-being, mentally and physically as we age. It is never too late to start strength training; the older we are, the more we gain from maintaining and increasing lean muscle tissue. Mentally, it is a proven fact that exercise reduces stress levels and is an important component of health and vitality. Wherever you put your attention, will result in a positive outcome; if you focus your mental strength on getting stronger muscles and work with a personal trainer to get that needed intensity... you will get stronger.

Working with a personal trainer taught me that I will always strength train. I knew early on that I would always want to "feel" strong... physically, mentally and emotionally. The positive benefits that I have received over the years continue to renew my commitment to strength training. I am amazed at the human body and how it "wants" the right stuff... so I treat every day as the new day that it is and make it the best it can be.

To get the most out of your workout, you don't need a Chicago personal trainer but it certainly won't hurt. The trainers at CitWide SuperSlow are knowledgeable, effective, and very friendly. They strive to make the experience of working out as enjoyable as possible while helping you reach your maximum potential and get the results you are looking for.

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What Can A Health and Fitness Professional Do For You?

An inspiring fitness coach and health motivator can quickly identify why you're not getting the results you want and help you to get back on track and moving forward again. Is your diet a mess? Do carbohydrates dominate your day? Is exercise a drag for you? Even if you're retired does working out just seem like too much work? Does stress just eat you up inside and tire you out? Do you have the time to exercise and take care of yourself properly? Do you feel like your too out of shape to ever really get back in shape? Does your back ache most or all of the time and you say to yourself "it just doesn't matter what I do." Are you pre-diabetic or insulin dependent and feel it's just too late for you and no one is willing to help? Do you have medical issues that have interfered with your ability to improve your quality of life? Do you have a hard time following through on what you know is actually good for you? Are you fat and sick and tired of looking at yourself that way?

The right health and fitness professional can empower you to work through your roadblocks. An issue or two that interferes with your real progress and success is very common. The best coaches and motivators know that asking the right questions will help provide you the right insight into your specific situation and give you strategies and solutions to your problems. If you haven't taken the time to sit down and consult with a health and fitness specialist you're wasting a lot of your precious time. I'm sure you can seriously benefit from a health and fitness professional while you get the help you need to feel better about yourself. In the long run it's about you and getting you serious results quickly. In all honesty most clients don't want a trainer, most clients just want the results a good coach can provide them. Just remember you can have lots of fun getting your body and life back.

How do you know if you're hiring the right trainer? Good question. This is paramount to your success and unless you sit down and learn more about the process of how your trainer is going to best provide services to you you're missing a key component immediately. Let me give you some questions that are best asked in advance of hiring your coach and fitness educator...

Will your prospective trainer perform a health screening, conduct testing, and evaluate your current fitness level? Will they re-access?Does your trainer have a network of other health professionals such as physicians, physical therapists, nutrition specialists, and other fitness leaders?Can they provide a list of clients who have a similar type of exercise program? Can they show you proof of results from their client base?Are they willing and advertising to guarantee results for their clients with a money back guarantee?What type of nationally recognized organization are they certified by? Does the fitness professional have a degree in a health or fitness related field?How does the trainer keep current on research in strength training and conditioning? How long has the trainer been professionally training clients?

Quite frankly proper screening, assessment, and evaluation has to be apart of your comprehensive program. How else will you measure your progression? Your trainer also needs to be respected for the results he or she provides for their clients, otherwise they're most likely not very good at what they do. A strong network of health professionals confirms you are working with a leader in the field. How many success stories do they actually have? How many testimonials? You should speak with some of their clients to get a better sense of the services you will be receiving. If a prospective fitness coach will not guarantee results, you should look for someone who is confident and will provide a guarantee. Normally the best trainers are highly experienced and credentialed. A national certification from the ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine) or NSCA (National Strength and Conditioning Association) is a good sign you're working with a lifelong learner. Continuing education is required by all nationally recognized organizations, but a great coach is constantly learning nonetheless.

Remember, a top quality coach does more than just "take you through a workout." Any moron can count reps and look important by holding a clipboard. Look for a fitness pro who will educate you about all the components needed to achieve your optimal health and fitness results. Your trainer should review nutrition education with you, educate you about proper supplementation, review resistance training (whether that be power training, kettlebells, medicine balls, core work, stability balls, dumbbells, or body weight training). Based on your needs competent professionals will maximize fat burning while implementing the correct dose of cardiovascular conditioning. Expect your "mental development" side of training to flourish with the right educator. Goal setting, putting together a plan of action, and then holding you accountable and supporting you through the entire process is absolutely critical to your success.

Look for someone who will empower you for life! A great fitness coach will do more than just help you to achieve your goals. A true professional will teach you the foundation of knowledge so you will no longer be lost in the "sea of confusion" when it comes to all the diet and exercise hype. Your health and fitness pro will communicate well and explain nutritional components and also explain the exercises and methods to your understanding. Your trainer will listen to what you tell them about your body and the way the exercises feel. Your feedback about exercises and how your body is adapting is huge! The foundation of knowledge, tools, and correct techniques you'll learn will allow you to maintain your results for the rest of your life. That is what a top health and fitness professional can do for you!

Marin health and fitness expert, John Spongberg is the founder of Personal Training in Marin as well as an accomplished author, speaker and life coach. He is dedicated to helping people reach their optimum level of fitness, health and body satisfaction through a unique, comprehensive whole-person approach, customized to each client.

If you're ready, you can reach Mr. Spongberg at (415) 891-8787 or visit his website at http://www.personaltraininginmarin.com/ where you can download your free copy of his special health and fitness report, The Truth About Losing Weight.

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5 Simple Steps to Gain Weight Fast and Easy Guide

So whether it is intended for well-being purposes or to plainly make yourself bigger plus more appealing, how can you put on weight quickly like a man, and much more important, the proper kind of bodyweight? Certainly, that's exactly what this post is focused on. Right here we will provide a excellent overview on the issue on how to achieve weight fast, allowing you to bulk up immediately.

This is what you should know:

Establish Reasonable Objectives: To begin with, you have to be very clear with your distinction of Quick. All of us need instant improvements with regards to our system, but regrettably, it is the one thing when transformations will never be immediate. Based upon your present body weight obviously, it could perfectly be feasible to begin getting body weight within the 1st couple weeks of the dedicated diet regime in addition to health and fitness regimen, however expect to have the main physical improvements around the three or more calendar month + mark. And let's not pretend, within the great programs absolutely none of it is fairly instant.

Try to eat, Consume, Carbohydrates and Protein! The most significant area of getting weight on is definitely the diet a person put in. You can actually push the whole set of iron bars you'd like, day in and day out, nevertheless employing a low-quality food regimen one actually will likely not get any sort of development. You'll want to begin taking a nutritionally healthy and balanced food and additionally in considerable amount. Make an eating regimen structured for you simply by using a decent manual or even actually talking to a nutritionist, in addition to exercising regularly particularly the quality of what you eat. When it comes to your own body mass so as to volume up. A qualified guide will be able to aid you with such measurements. You will likely get started with a whole lot more as opposed to what you are at this time accustomed to and tend to get much better achievement through splitting up your meal towards 6 various or maybe more dishes a day, in contrast to about three sq. meal.

Contemplate using Healthy supplements: Along with a reliable food plan, supplementation generally is a superior element for boosting your attempts. Truth be told, genuine cuisine will need to essentially be applied besides a product variant where by attainable, however in a few conditions supplementation would be the smart choice. As an example, healthy protein shakes usually are widespread through individuals hoping to improve strength, and they are ordinarily a superior replacement for solid meal to enjoy right after you may have accomplished some sort of exercise. The numerous food will likely be ingested into the body system more readily and start towards your muscle mass groups as soon as they need these nourishment most.

Execute the correct Form of Physical exercise: It is not any magic formula that will get you to achieve extra weight - or maybe lead to almost any kind of realistic physique development - working out is considered the secondary key part coupled with eating routine. Then again, to attain extra weight, you ought to ensure that you're engaging in the appropriate style of techniques. Weight workout routines need to be your principal aim, or simply to put it differently: weightlifting. Jogging along with varieties of aerobic exercise will give you minimal impact body weight gain it could actually cause you to reduce more weight! A final element for you to do will be get started getting rid of these unnecessary calorie consumption you are attempting so hard in! Enroll to in fitness center or even buy a couple of free weights in your place and begin moving some steel!

Wait as well as BE Determined: As a final point, when you've nailed along these factors, all you could do is certainly follow it, wait and see and also in due course, make an effort to have fun with the practice. A lot of people do not ever notice any sort of achievements using eating habits or exercise routine, whether or not could possibly be attempting to lose weight or maybe put on weight, for the reason that tend not to provide it lengthy enough to ensure success. As i have said in the beginning of the write-up, physique improvement calls for precious time. Altogether, we hope this content has provided you a few guidelines to be able to put on weight easily as a man and supplied you a more effective concept of what things to anticipate as well as the tactic you have to consider. The approach is not tough by itself, nevertheless it does require a cognizant efforts along with commitments on your side.

To uncover the secrets to gaining pounds rapidly with regard to individuals, head over to http://fitnessfordudes.com/ today. Certainly read more about the sorts of diet, it is advisable to consider what amount of supplementation that is necessary to assist plus the particular workout routines with regard to developing muscles. Avoid doing it by yourself, get some help and guidance from the people that has the experience and know how today by Checking out this site!

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How to Enjoy Personal Training

First of all, one thing you should always remember is that your physical trainer should be your friend and not just a trainer.

Here are a few things that you should consider when choosing your personal physical trainer:

Check the qualifications and work experience of the physical trainer. Do not put your body fitness into the hands of a novice. Go for a certified personal trainer! Refer to his/her previous work or success percentages.

This approach will enable you to "Enjoy Personal Training" and reap the benefits!

Let's face it, finding a great personal trainer isn't easy. You can take your chances at a gym, risk finding a trainer that may or may not be qualified, or you can take some of the advice I am giving you to go make the task easy for you, and enjoy your personal training!

Some personal trainers are not just certified, but also go through additional training and they're well versed in all of the best in-home training techniques available to help you trim and tone. After all, training at home is different than training at a gym where machines are designed primarily for people that want to build muscle, not trim and tone. Additionally, In home trainers are usually more experienced in yoga, and Pilates so they can always keep your workouts interesting and fun.

No equipment? No problem. Your In home trainer will provide everything you need, similar to training at a facility but with less equipment and more knowledge.

As you begin your session, your personal fitness trainer should assess your fitness level, physique measurements, exercise and well-being history, objectives and other people. You should be ready to step on the weighing scale and face reality in terms of your weight concern and communicate to your trainer your eagerness to undertake the physical workout plan. The activities which you're going to take in every session depend on your objectives. Your personal fitness trainer can incorporate activities for cardio, weight training, flexibility as well as talk to a nutritionist or dietitian for you eat the appropriate sort of food whilst undergoing physical workout programs.

The rest that the trainer can do would be to preserve you going and motivated to ultimately reach the stated objectives.A great trainer can assist you to attain your goals of staying fit and lose weight or whatever the case could be. He or she can draw physical exercise programs which you'll need and helping you using the complete procedure. Your personal fitness trainer might be your buddy also who genuinely cares for you and inside your quest to stay fit and healthy. Discovering the proper 1 might be a challenge and confusing at occasions but you ought to be patient so that you can hire somebody who's competent sufficient and who cares for your progress. Find a personal trainer that is equipped with the appropriate understanding and information that will assist you to undergo the physical physical exercise plan with ease and confidence.Usually the role of a personal fitness trainer is always to assess your fitness level. This may make you realize just how much difficult function you should exert to be able to accomplish the desirable weight for your age. The trainer will also assess your medical history together with other considerations prior to setting up an exercise strategy for you.

Would you like to enjoy losing weight? Please don't go to a personal trainer trying to sell you vitamins. Frankly, it's not necessarily the best thing for you and all it does is put extra money in that trainer's pocket.

Most personal trainers have a little background and understanding with nutrition, but beyond basic water intake and ideas for meals you should see a registered Dietitian to help you with your dietary needs.

The amount of time you spend stretching depends upon your current level of fitness. IF YOU HAVE A MEDICAL CONDITION (such as a herniated disc, torn muscle, sprained ankle etc...) CHECK WITH YOUR DOCTOR PRIOR TO BEGINNING A FLEXIBILITY PROGRAM. There are stretching exercises that you should not do.

Typical Personal Training Program used with Clients:

Fitness Level 1 - You never or rarely stretch

To increase your level of flexibility, try to stretch 3 times a week for 20-30 minutes. (20 - 30 minutes may sound like a lot of time to spend stretching; however, if you incorporate it into a workout routine where you stretch 10-15 minutes before weight training/cardiovascular work and 10-15 minutes after, it is a reasonable time frame to work with.) Stretching should always be preceded by a 5-10 minutes warm-up period where you are moving in a rhythmic fashion using all your major muscle groups. (This sends blood to the muscles and readies them for activity.) Remember to use the Static Stretch method and try to hold each stretch for at least 10-30 seconds.

Fitness Level 2 - You occasionally stretch most of the major muscle groups

To increase your level of flexibility, try to stretch 4 times a week for 20-45 minutes. (20 - 45 minutes may sound like a lot of time to spend stretching; however, if you incorporate it into a workout routine where you stretch 10-15 minutes before weight training/cardiovascular work and 15-20 minutes after, it is a reasonable time frame to work with.) Stretching should always be preceded by a 5-10 minutes warm-up period where you are moving in a rhythmic fashion using all your major muscle groups. (This sends blood to the muscles and readies them for activity.) Remember to use the Static stretch method (no bouncing) and try to hold the stretches for at least 10-30 seconds. Many people like to do yoga first thing in the morning - yoga is considered a flexibility exercise, so if you like yoga, buy a tape or take a class (20-45 minutes will go by quickly when you're in a structured routine).

Fitness Level 3 - You always stretch the major muscle groups

To increase your level of flexibility, try to stretch 5 times a week for 20-60 minutes. Stretching should always be preceded by a 5-10 minute warm-up period where you are moving in a rhythmic fashion using all your major muscle groups. (This sends blood to the muscles and redoes them for activity.) Remember to use the Static stretch method (no bouncing) and try to hold the stretches for at least 10-30 seconds. Many people like to do yoga first thing in the morning - yoga is considered a flexibility exercise, so if you like yoga, buy a tape or take a class (20-60 minutes will go by quickly when you're in a structured routine). I always do personal training with people by strengthening their core and posture through personal training programs. I am happy to see more personal trainers implement this type of training. Thank you.

Conclusion

No matter what your fitness level is or what your goals are, you will look and feel better when you regularly participate in an exercise program, especially with a personal trainer for motivation and better understanding of proper technique and form! To be successful, you must incorporate it into your lifestyle (just like eating and sleeping).

Richard Stadnyk - Owner/Personal Trainer Specialist
? These Techniques with Proper form allow the athlete to be their best which is why I have designed the "New Over-All Body Phase Programs" to be Quick, Safe and Effective! Very few gyms, facilities and Personal Trainers use the "New Over-All Body Phase Programs"
It is more affordable then conventional gyms and allows you to achieve your results in a quicker fashion.
Receive a Free Personal Training session - Call or email today.
> 905-409-8031 or bodyconcepts1@uniserve.com
Would you like a Professional Personal Trainer Specialist? - If so I am offering you my Personal Training services for about half price. Instead of $68 per session you pay only $39 per session, for Toronto & GTA's #1 Personal Trainer services! - For a Limited time.
Please visit my website at: http://www.bodyconceptspersonaltraining.com/aboutus.html for more information on Personal Training Services and a Better Lifestyle"- Live Better!

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Importance of Balance Training

Have you ever wondered how some people can stand on one leg for hours together without any support or loss of balance? Years of practice you may say, but through some extra effort you could do so too! The magic words are 'balance training'. In a world and time where every time at your fitness centre, you hear different types of exercise routines, balance training is something that begins at home.

There have been times when people have asked their personal trainers, what those huge flexible balls were. They are 'stability balls' which help people work better on their stability. Balance training is considered even more challenging than usual training routines.

So what is the need for Balance?
From the very day we learn to stand on our own feet, we have tried balancing in every way possible. Swimming, cycling, gymnastics are a form of 'balance training' that we learn even before our trainers tell us. Incorporating balance training into the workout routine allows you to balance yourself intrinsically and improves your flexibility levels. This is not just for people who are in their mid-lives but also for youngsters who are active on a day-to-day basis. This helps you enjoy tougher physical activities like uphill cycling etc.

Can I try this at home?
Of course you can! You will feel more comfortable and also enjoy it even more. So how does 'balance training' work without going to fitness centres? There are some simple exercises, prescribed by physiotherapists, which can be done at home at your convenience. Here are some to get you started:

1. Feet Together
Try lifting a heavy object from the ground with your feet wide apart. You will see that you can achieve that with ease. Now repeat the same but keep bringing your feet closer together at every attempt. You will see that the same exercise becomes tougher until a point where you feel you might just lose balance. Trying this in small progressions can help build body balance.

2. The Indian Fakir
This could be the simplest exercise to test your level of balance and to build it up as well. Through the day as you go about doing your regular chores, try standing on one leg without any support. If you manage 30 seconds at the first go, then you surely are in good shape. Try increasing this over time. This helps your body focus on a particular point of balance and maintain stability.

3. The Stability Ball
Though it looks conquerable, trying to sit still on this ball initially is a challenge for anyone. Once you get comfortable with it, try doing your abdominal crunches or weight lifts against the wall with this for support. Apart from exercising, you will also be paying attention in balancing on the ball.

All this just goes to prove that mixing Balance training with normal exercise can bring about a world of difference in your day to day balance and equilibrium.

If you would like to lose weight healthily, hire a Personal Trainer North Shore today. Simply visit Sydney Personal Trainer.

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How to Lift the Weight Off the Holiday Hustle and Fatigue to Strengthen Your Life

During the holidays, most of us often feel too busy or too tired. We give in to those feelings and rationalize being non-diligent about our health. But despite the power, or seeming inevitability of those feelings, we can change them and enjoy the holidays with a renewed spirit. Finding the time, the energy and the motivation can simply be a matter of committing to scheduled workouts and receiving social support from several sources. An in-home certified personal trainer can arrange all of this and help to either rekindle or enhance your holiday spirit.

Because the holiday season is the busiest and possibly the most stressful time of the year, it is the best time to start a fitness program! Exercise creates energy and stimulates our brain to release chemicals such as dopamine, endorphins and serotonin. These chemicals, known as neurotransmitters, enable us to focus and take action, maintain longer feelings of happiness, even euphoria (the exercise high), while reducing tension, anxiety and depression.

Although the brain stimulation of "feel good" hormones sounds enticing, you may feel hesitant about exercise. You may believe the regimen might call for you to pass on your mother's to-die-for specialty platters or skip the homemade goodies at work. But don't worry. Your personal trainer wouldn't ask you to sacrifice holiday indulgences. Even the most hardcore fitness guru schedules days for eating a few, less-than-perfect meals. They usually have one "cheat day" every seven days. Your trainer would only ask you to exercise in-between social activities and keep healthy choices in your awareness. Such awareness could cause you to eat only one or two cookies instead of five.

This new holiday habit of exercising and eating to support your body's needs will give you energy and instill a calm confidence. You'll feel this tranquility amidst the hustle and bustle because your in-home personal trainer ("he" for convenience) will do everything for you but exercise. He will prepare your workouts. He will come to you, home or office. He will bring the equipment. He will structure your nutrition. And, with your approval, he will gently, but convincingly, persuade your friends and family to support your efforts which, according to recent research, will give you a better chance at long-term fitness success.

It's hard to think of another season better suited than this to give you, your family and your friends the opportunity to get closer while you, and maybe them, get healthier. You can get creative with ways to incorporate your family and friends in your new healthy habit. You could designate places in the house and the kitchen where you don't eat, especially in places where you found yourself sitting and snacking. You could plan meals for family and friends, based on your nutritional guidelines. And, you could celebrate with family or friends when you reach a goal. The possibilities are limited to your imagination.

The challenge this holiday season is to make it the healthiest time of the year! Imagine the good feelings and high energy you could share with the people closest to you if you commit to this lifestyle change. Such a heightened holiday spirit could manifest in unusual and wonderful ways. Plus, you'll go into next year without the need to make a resolution to change unhealthy habits.

Eric Negri - Certified Personal Trainer - etrainsyou@gmail.com

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Take a Break! Proper Exercise Rest Intervals Explained

Exercise rest intervals are one of the most heavily researched topics in all of the fitness industry. Simply put, the amount of rest time you take between your exercises will help determine the way your body develops--ultimately the way it looks. Unbeknownst to most, rest periods are a critical part of defining the body you want. And there's actually a science behind it, too! Below, I will provide you with a brief overview of the three relatively agreed upon standards of exercise rest intervals. Let's dive in...

0 - 60 seconds rest.

Time to sweat!

Programs that use this rest protocol are going to be fast and intense. Their primary focus will be to shed as much body-fat as possible. By keeping your heart-rate high and your down-time short, your body will be burning extra calories at an amazing rate. Couple that with a good, quality fat burner, and you can just watch the body fat liquify!

But remember, that lack of rest is going to come with a price. In order to combust all those extra calories, your body will be working overtime... The result of your intensity will be higher Lactic Acid levels which will cause your blood's PH Level to plummet--making your workout even more difficult to complete.

But fear not! It's all part of getting lean & mean!

Additionally, you will be rewarded by your strenuous effort on the back end. Extra hard work during workout means extra Growth Hormone (GH) production POST-Workout! Extra GH production in the body will help:

Lower Body-Fat & Increase Muscle Tissue
Reduce the symptoms of aging
Improving Metabolic Rate
Reduction in Alzheimer's symptoms
Improving Chron's Disease symptoms

The best utilization of this rest protocol is to choose 2 - 3 exercises that will utilize more than one muscle group. Ideally, you would choose antagonistic muscle groups (Chest / Back) or divisional exercises (Chest Press / Squats). The purpose is to recruit as many muscles into your circuit as possible to increase the lactic acid generation.

Speed work is all kinds of fun!

60 - 90 seconds rest.

Most of us who lift recreationally, though, will find ourselves using this bracket more often than not. Many studies (6) have shown that for pure hypertrophy (muscle size increase), using a 60 - 90 second rest window is ideal. There is no rule to tell you how to match up your body parts when training with this rest interval.

If you are concentrating on purely muscle size increases, picking one to two body parts to work out in the day would be an option; however, if you still want to get your size increase while having that minimal cardio element there, try picking one exercise per muscle group for the whole body!

It will provide the right mix of keeping your heart rate elevated while at the same time allowing you to recover your strength to perform well on the subsequent sets. It's like getting the best of both worlds.

90 - 180 seconds rest.

This rest protocol is for the big dogs. It's for the powerlifter's who are interested in nothing more than moving as much weight as possible. This is where it's less about your 'show' muscles, and more about your 'go' muscles. To do this most efficiently, athletes will be required to put a maximal effort into a lift--usually only 1-3 times. And then take a rest. Repeat.

Working near your maximal strength output will have you pretty much running on empty after just a few repetitions. Using this extended break time allows your nervous system, metabolic system, and cardiovascular system to almost fully recover, thereby allowing you to lift your heaviest. This is essential for the athlete working towards improving a 1 Repetition Maximum (1RM). It is important that if you find yourself training in this bracket to be lifting 90%+ of your 1RM.

Go Heavy or Go Home!

0 - 60 sec | Fat Burn
60 - 90 sec | Muscle Building
90 - 180 sec | Max Strength Work

While the above list is incredibly simple, it will give you a good point to jump from when designing your next weight training routine. So grab your stopwatch and get to tracking that rest time!

My name is Michael Baes. I am a personal trainer & nutrition coach based in Murfreesboro, TN.

With over 10 years of full-time personal training experience, I provide my clients with the best & latest fitness information; additionally, I offer many unique articles, products, and services!

All of these are available at:

http://www.michaelbaes.com/blog

Thanks for reading!

MB

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The Value of Long Term Goals for Fitness

Exercise is inextricably a part of achieving a healthy body and a quality level of fitness, but for many people, it can be one of the most difficult aspects of getting -or staying-- in shape. Exercise encompasses a wide variety of possible activities and difficulty levels, but no matter the type of exercise being considered; often the most challenging aspect is simply getting started before a session and sticking to an exercise plan. An emphasis on tracking and expecting results from short-term goals is frequently to blame for lowered exercising morale and the idea that a given plan isn't working. From finding that expected weight hasn't been lost or that new pounds have actually been added to experiencing soreness and beyond, there are many ways in which people misinterpret the signs of fitness progress and instead find themselves discouraged about continuing. An excellent way to combat this common problem is to focus instead on long term fitness goals. Keeping track of long term goals allows people to look forward to various milestones to keep motivation running high, while also providing them with a bigger picture that can diffuse the ups and downs of more frequent progress checks.

In order to truly benefit from the power of long-term fitness goals, it's necessary to set an achievable, personally meaningful goal in the first place. There are a variety of reasons why a person might embark on an exercise program, many of which are likely to include the vague notion of "getting healthy." While this is a residual benefit that's sure to occur when quality exercise is achieved on a regular basis, forming a more specific goal can be useful. A common long term goal for many people interested in fitness is joining a competition or other qualification-based event. Most areas play host to several special fitness events throughout the year, and it's also easy to find competitive teams with a basic set of entry requirements. Planning on participating in a marathon, for instance, or working towards improving skills and stamina to qualify for a local swimming team, can give people something exciting to put on their radar while they engage in regular fitness.

Losing weight is a prominent objective for many people who decide to incorporate fitness into their regular routines. Though this particular goal can be dangerous because of the common desire to lose large amounts of weight as quickly as possible, it can be an excellent long term goal if properly considered and worked towards. Rather than running to the scales after every workout or even on a rotating schedule, those who are interested in losing weight can set a goal weight for themselves that will serve as a long-term target. As the changing body fat and muscle bulk of a person is likely to cause short-term fluctuations even when people are successfully exercising and improving nutrition, using weight loss as a short-term goal can lead to many disappointments. When this goal is transferred to the long term instead, it's easier to understand that one is working towards an eventual target, and more immediate results may not seem as crucial.

Not everyone who engages in regular exercise is intent on losing weight of course. Some people may wish to improve muscle tone or gain strength, and setting long-term goals for these objectives can be rewarding, as well. Simply working towards reaching a certain weight-lifting ability or specific maneuver can lead to positive motivation, and people may wish to occasionally take stock of their physical progress with pictures or measurements to see how they're moving towards their ultimate goal. Strength training is also an important component of using exercise to recover from injuries. Rehabilitation after an accident or other medical concern can be frustrating, especially when short term results seem to produce little to no improvement. People undergoing rehabilitation for injuries may wish to think of their recovery in terms of regaining certain ability, such as taking a brisk walk, lifting a certain object, or achieving a particular movement. In most cases, those recovering from injuries are not expected to regain full mobility on a short term basis, but must steadily work towards physical improvement, making this arena an excellent ground for long term goals.

Even when fitness activities are physically grueling, many people find that it's easy to go through the motions of a workout once they've made the commitment to exercising and have geared up for the activity. By providing oneself with long term fitness goals, people can often tackle the challenge of getting started more easily, and may be more prone to enjoying their progress and feeling confident along the way. With the power of long term goals, great things are possible in the world of fitness.

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28 Things I Think I Know

There are many things I have learned in my 10+ years in the fitness industry. Most of them have been based on scientific principles & data I have collected over the years. Others have been hard-learned facts that may or may not be backed up by a study. But if you practice them, they hold true! I choose to believe that science just hasn't caught up to these principles yet...

1. All fitness routines work: P90X, Insanity, Jazzercise, Richard Simmons, Group Power, CrossFit, etc... It's that passion and dedication that you put behind these programs that matters!

2. You don't work out nearly as hard as you THINK you do.

3. Your diet is nearly 90% of your fitness success. If you would just eat well, then you would reduce your body-fat & retain your muscle mass.

4. The sleep you get after midnight is waaaaaaaaaaaaaay more important than the sleep you get before midnight.

5. Women train harder than men. I have no idea for the reason, but the statement is true. Sorry guys.

6. Traditional lifting (Bench Press, Squats, Deadlifts, Curls, Pull Ups, Dips, etc) will produce the best long-term results. Everything else is just a modification of these basic principles.

7. Sprint programs for cardio are superior to long, slow distance programs. I'm looking at you marathoners!

8. Morning cardio, with no calories ingested, with a nice cup of coffee or stimulant of your choice, really does burn off extra fat.

9. Varying your programs up daily will produce you a better fat-loss result.

10. Cardio is more important for overall leanness for the average person than weight training. Most people will not put forth the time to strength train correctly. So they will get more out of a sprint program.

11. Spot reduction works. Maybe not in a traditional sense (no scientific data), but training one area again and again will provide an improved effect.

12. Varying your programs up weekly will yield you a better performance result.

13. If you're going to cheat with alcohol, do it in this order: Vodka > Wine > Brown Liquor > Beer

14. You have to stay on your diet for a minimum of 3 days for it to have any positive effect on your body; otherwise, you're simply putting yourself into a caloric fluctuation. You will not effectively lose fat.

15. Every diet works when you ACTUALLY follow it. Try following the simple rule of: IF IT DOESN'T SPOIL WITHIN 7 DAYS WHEN LEFT UNREFRIGERATED, DON'T EAT IT...

16. Eating OUT is not the same as Eating IN--even if you are having the same thing.

17. All new weight training programs work for 3 weeks. No new weight training program works after 12 weeks. Change is good.

18. Finishing what you began is better than starting something new.

19. Workout music can make or break your lifting day--it has an effect on your mood, adrenaline levels, & overall well-being.

20. It's better to ingest a cheat meal(s) in a constrained time span (all bad things within a couple hours) than it is to spread it out over the entire day.

21. It's better to have an entire cheat day than to have lots of 'mini-cheat' meals thru the week.

22. Working out in a cardio theatre does not yield as good of results as working out where others can see you. You try harder when others are watching you.

23. The stair climber is the best piece of cardio equipment. Period. I don't care what the calorie counter says.

24. Weight training before cardio will provide you a better fat-loss result / lifting experience. You can dedicate your stored sugars to lifting and you're stored fat to cardio.

25. Adding a daily diuretic to your food intake (lemons, asparagus, green tea, etc.) will give you a psychological boost that will help improve your workouts.

26. Working out before 8am is more productive for your day than working out after that time.

27. Workouts designed for athletes are not good for the normal populace. An untrained individual needs to be taught the basic motions first, then graduate to the harder, more dynamic moves.Teaching someone how to olympic lift before a dumbbell chest press is like having a baby run before it can crawl.

28. Weight loss / fitness is a psychological game, not a physical one. If you can master your mind, you will succeed more than someone that can workout better.

My name is Michael Baes. I am a personal trainer & nutrition coach based in Murfreesboro, TN.

With over 10 years of full-time personal training experience, I provide my clients with the best & latest fitness information; additionally, I offer many unique articles, products, and services!

All of these are available at:

http://www.michaelbaes.com/blog

Thanks for reading!

MB

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My Top 5 Basic Nutrition Rules for Optional Body Composition

Here are 5 simple tips that will help you maintain or create a better body composition: less fat, more muscle, or both!

1. PROTEIN FIRST! Protein comes from a Greek word meaning "of first importance". It is the most essential macronutrient, the least fattening (hardest to store as fat) and keeps you full as it generally digests very slowly.

Vegetarians DO have options too so don't feel left out. (tofu, legumes, dairy, powdered protein etc) But for the rest of us its all about MEAT, FISH and PROTEIN SHAKES! (the latter more relevant if you are weight training). Aim to eat a protein source with EVERY meal.

2. Fibre keeps you full. And I mean fibre from vegetables, and not just from grains, cereals etc. Being full ("Satiety") is one of the key deciding factors in whether people stick to their diets or not. No-one likes feeling hungry all the time. So choose cruciferous, fibrous vegetables and eat them raw or steamed. E.G: Broccoli, Cauliflower, Courgette, Cabbage, Spinach, Green Beans etc.

3. ALWAYS get your HEALTHY fats. Ensure that regardless of whether you eat high, moderate or low carb diet that you have a 2-3 times daily intake of healthy fats. In my opinion these fall into two categories: MCTs (medium chain triglyceride) and EFAs (essential fatty acids). The former is found in Coconut Oil and is a great provider of quick energy, especially on a calorie or carb-reduced diet, the latter in Omega 3(6&9 also) and indirectly via Flaxseed or seed based oils (Udos oil is fantastic!). Take fat to lose fat!

4. Avoid mixing high carb and high fat foods. Basic physiology and metabolism here. Fats and carbohydrates are readily used as energy in the body, at different times and under different circumstances of energy expenditure. Eating too much of either can / will lead to storage of surplus calories but if you really want to ruin your physique goals then consistently mix high GI carbs and saturated fats in the same meals. Your body will use the carbohydrate as a fuel source and store a lot of the fat. Examples of this mixture? All the stuff you KNOW you shouldn't eat much of! Pizza, Cakes, Takeaway Food, Fast Food, etc etc. Even your humble Sunday roast can easily pack in too much of both. "Wholesome" maybe.... Good for staying or getting lean? Er, no.

5. Always Re-fuel right after your workout! Intense exercise drains the body of energy. That's one of the reasons we do it! However, repair and re-growth of lean body mass ("muscle") is crucial to maintain a fast metabolism, keep stress levels down and get your body ready for the next workout. Don't assume that the next load of calories going in will undo the hard work of the calories you have taken out! It's not that simple. Right after exercise, take some kind of fast digesting protein and carbohydrate source. If you are a low-carb fanatic and can't bring yourself to do this, then at least fire in some protein asap to get SOME energy back in.

James Ellis invites you to join his Facebook Personal Training Group for more tips and nutrition info - https://www.facebook.com/groups/jamesellis/

Also, find and follow James on Twitter for more of the same:

http://twitter.com/#!/JamesEllisPT

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The Path to Becoming a Personal Trainer

Do you want to work in a field that centers around helping clients set and achieve personal goals and form healthy habits to improve their lifestyle? If this is the case then you should consider becoming a personal trainer. Those that choose to go down the path of find it very rewarding helping others reach their full potential by teaching them how to sculpt and mold their body and live a fit life.

Some time will be spent studying in some form of schooling to pass a test and get certified by one of the numerous reputable training organizations. At the higher levels of certification you will be required to earn a four-year college undergraduate degree in kinesiology or any similar exercise sciences before becoming a personal trainer.

What does it take to become a personal trainer

A trainers career is for the person who lives and breathes the health and fitness lifestyle. Make absolutely sure that you are committed to helping individuals succeed in their physical and strength training goals.

You have to assume an outgoing personality, charisma, and listening and teaching skills. You also have to exude and show unending enthusiasm, updated knowledge, and patience. You need to show your clients your capable of providing results and that you will be the right choice for them. You may realize that this could not be an easy task. You have to also prove that you are flexible and comfortable being around assorted types of people.

Getting Certified

It is necessary and essential to get certified before you can become a personal trainer and start to take on any clients. Secure your certification only from professional and credible organizations. You need to identify yourself as a legitimate certified trainer with the right qualifications. Some of the most popular organizations that provide certificates are CHEK (Corrective High-Performance Exercise Kinesiologists), ISSA ( International Sports Sciences Association), and NASM (National Academy of Sports Medicine).

After becoming a trainer, it is your responsibility to keep your certification current and updated. Some jobs may want you to continue with education after getting your certification. Prospective clients would also surely prefer personal trainers who are actively continuing education because that means such professionals are still up to date about nutrition, exercise, health, and dietary trends.

How to Earn Experience

Top health clubs and fitness centers have a lot to offer to a personal trainer just starting their career. You could learn a lot from such establishments. In later years, you can move into jobs that offer more opportunities and provide you with the options to explore independent endeavors.

Spas, resorts, and cruise ships offer experience to get certified as a trainer because people want to enjoy added services and benefits when vacationing.

Join the ranks of one of the fastest growing professions and become a personal trainer. Becoming a personal trainer guarantees you will be working in an environment that is surrounded with people who are enthusiastic about living a healthier lifestyle.

Being creative with Home Gym Ideas can lead to anyone becoming a personal trainer. If your looking for a way to get a good workout on a limited budget. Try adding Weider adjustable dumbbells to your fitness routine.

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Setting Your Ultimate Fitness Goals

When starting any exercise or diet program, it is important to set achievable short & long term goals. "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail" is the old saying that still holds true today. Unfortunately, not only do most of us fail to properly set goals, when we do set goals, we set the bar pretty high.

I know when I first started lifting weights back in the day; I was reading the typical muscle and fitness magazine that glamorized body builders. Reading about how the body builders were training, what they eating, and what supplements they were consuming (injecting?). I thought to myself that if I could just be a quarter of what they are, I would be happy. Luckily I learned that their training, eating, & supplement usage was outside the realm of the realistic life I wanted to live.

When setting fitness goals, such as a 5km time, pull-ups, or bench press, it is important to analyze where you are at now and where you would like to be. For example, if it takes you 40 minutes to finish a 5km race, try reducing your time by 1 minute a month for 12 months. Realistic? I think so!

If you are setting a weight loss goal, stop! I hate the scale and you should too. It's one number that takes into account everything and means nothing. How much water did you drink today? What clothes and shoes are you wearing? What foods did I eat yesterday? Why does the scale at work say I weigh more than mine at home? These are just a few of the things we think about when we see the number on the scale. When beginning a new exercise program, it also doesn't account for the muscle you are gaining and the fat you are losing. I'm sure people you know have been discouraged by starting an exercise program and not seeing results on the scale, so they give up! Instead, try measuring the circumference of your hips, thighs, and waist in centimeters and try losing a total of a few centimeters from around your body every month.

If you're planning any diet changes, start off slow and don't do anything drastic. Don't try going on a no fat or no carb diet. Why? Besides the fact that no carb and no-fat is unhealthy, they are also unrealistic. Everyone is going to eat carbs and fat at some point in their lives, so it would be a better strategy to learn to live with them than trying to avoid them. The point of any diet modifications should be permanent, long term changes. If you are trying to give up soft drinks, measure how much you are drinking now and cut back 1-2 cans a week until you aren't drinking anymore of them. Bottom line; learn to live in moderation of food you deal with every day, not simply restricting them.

In recap, when setting your exercise and diet goals, make sure they are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely.

Specific - What are you going to do to accomplish this goal?
Measurable - If you can't measure it, you can't achieve it.
Attainable - Not easy, but not impossible. Most require some effort.
Realistic - Set the goal that will provide excitement when you achieve it.
Timely - Set both short and long term goals.

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Differences Between Personal Trainers and Fitness Instructors

In most gyms and health clubs in the United Kingdom you will find fitness instructors and personal trainers working side by side, seemingly doing the same job. They look the same but their role and their levels of education can be very different. In this article I want to explain what the differences are and why it is important to know this.

The most obvious difference between a gym instructor and a personal trainer is education. Gym Instructors are educated to Register of Exercise Professionals (REPS) level 2 and personal trainers are required to re educated to REPS Level 3. You can train to be level 2 qualified in a few weeks whereas level 3 qualification takes at least 2 months of full-time study.

REPS is the Register of Exercise Professionals and is the body in the United Kingdom that oversees education and registration of fitness professionals and trainers. They require a certain level of education and continued learning to remain as a member.

Other differences will relate to the job that each one will undertake. Most gym instructors tend to be employed by the gym and will earn around £7 per hour. Their duties can include anything from inducting new members to cleaning machines to making sure that the gym is clean and tidy and that there are no weights left around. Gym instructors will also be required to do health check on members and maybe even teach classes such as spin and circuits. They are instrumental in helping out members and should be a first port of call if you want some advice regarding exercise for or if you need someone to spot you with some weights.

In most of the bigger chain gyms in the United Kingdom personal trainers are not employed but rather work as self-employed freelancers. Generally the personal trainers will pay the gym anything from £100-£200 per week to work there and it will be up to them to speak to members and find their own clients. This actually works out really well for the gyms as they are getting money in from the trainers and this is also helping them to retain members as well.

The average personal trainer will charge anything from £25-£50 per hour depending on their level of education and experience. For example a newly qualified trainer may only charge £25 per session as they may have their personal training qualification whereas some more qualified and experienced personal trainers who have been qualified as a personal trainer for a few years can charge £40 and upwards per session as they constantly update their qualifications and have a track record of satisfied clients.

If you are looking to get some personal training, I would advise asking your prospective trainer if they have before and after pictures of past clients or testimonials. Any fitness professional worth their salt will always be more than happy to provide you with this.

Liam Thompson is a Personal Trainer Manchester specialising in Weight Loss and Posture Correction and owner of Manchester Boot Camp

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