by Personal Trainerin Exercise, Inspiration0 commentstags: barefoot fitness challenge, exercise, fitness, Fitness Vida, home workout, how to, mobility, movement, routine, stretch, stretching, surf, surfing, tips, training, workout
Stretching 101 by Fitness Vida When it comes to stretching, the act is often overlooked by many that hit the gym or punish their bodies in the name of fun/sport. Maybe it’s lack of understanding or oversight? A proper stretching routine, paired with your fitness routine will go a long way for your overall health and the way your body feels. Since your body will adapt to whatever you do most often with it, not adapting a stretching routine with your workout routine could lead to many negative consequences like back /neck/shoulder tightness/pain, or even injury. Aside from that, it makes you FEEL GREAT when you do it often! Please read on for a quick primer on Stretching 101. What happens if you don’t stretch enough? While the act of exercise mainly puts focus on contraction (the squeeze) of the muscles, it is important to realize that solely contracting the muscles all the time can lead to serious limitations in how you move. Constant contraction will lead to shortening of the muscles, which causes muscle imbalances . With these in place, your posture will suffer and that will first lead to pain, and possibly future injury. If you are an […]
by Personal Trainerin Blog, Exercise, Inspiration, Workout Wednesday0 commentstags: balance, exercise, home workout, routine, Stand Up Paddle Boarding, SUP, tips, training, workout
Stand Up Paddle boarding (or SUP) seems to be everywhere these days. Visit a beach, a lake or a river, and you will usually see many people SUP’ing. Maybe it’s because the learning curve is so shallow that almost anyone can be up and enjoying themselves on an SUP in just a matter of minutes. Or maybe its just because it’s just plain fun. You are on the water enjoying nature, all while getting a great workout for your body. Whatever the reason, it is much more fun to paddle when your body is conditioned properly. The Stand Up Paddle Board Workout was designed to help maximize your fun! Some serious movement conditioning will come in to great play if you plan on spending long periods of time out on the water paddling. If you are serious about SUP, this is a great workout routine that will help you not only stay out longer on the water, but do it stronger and more efficiently while reducing the risk of future injury. In order to understand the exercises, let’s first look at SUP from the body’s point of view Balance, agility, mobility, coordination, strength, physical conditioning and power all come in to play at […]
by Personal Trainerin Blog, Exercise, Fitness Friday Medley, Inspiration0 commentstags: exercise, fitness, Fitness Friday, get back in shape, health, movement, routine, tips, training, workout
Hello again, and welcome to the Fitness Friday Medley 2. If you missed out on last weeks post, you can view it here. This weeks wrap talks about some of the “not so sexy” fitness topics that often are overlooked. When I say “not so sexy”, I mean things that won’t give you a round booty, huge guns or superman speed, at least directly. Indirectly, they all are important pieces of a proper fitness regimen. Read on to find out why. Exercise of the Week: Balance Training Ok, well Balance isn’t so much a simple exercise as it is an element that should be part of everyone’s fitness training regime no matter what their goals are. Like cardio, the less you practice it, the worse it becomes. As you get older and stop being more physically active, poor balance can also be a source for injuries. Please have a look at a more in depth piece I wrote a few years ago regarding this subject here . Smart Recovery One of the most often overlooked elements to a healthy fitness lifestyle is recovery. How you spend your time in between workouts is just as important as the time you spend working […]
by Personal Trainerin Blog, Exercise, Inspiration1 commentstags: exercise, fitness, get back in shape, health, movement, routine, running, workout
“Quality means doing it right, even when no one is looking”-Henry Ford Most people are making these mistakes even if they don’t know it. Read on to find out how to reap huge rewards from your workout routine. Ask yourself, and be honest, ARE YOU GUILTY? You may be without even knowing it. Start with one, or implement all 10 right away. Odds are high your body will thank you for it. 1. Don’t go all CRAZY for your first few weeks if you are just getting started. 3-4 sessions/ week in the beginning is plenty When the body hasn’t moved in a while, it will not be prepped to go out and give everything it has right away. Stay smart, take it slow and avoid the higher risk for injury that persists when you first start out. 2. Get off the Treadmill! Let me explain this one before you jump to conclusions. I am no way advocating against running at all, just doing it over and over again on a treadmill. Due to its low-calorie burn, and the body’s ability to adapt to running at a steady pace, it is one of the least effective way’s to just simply […]
by Personal Trainerin Blog, Inspiration, Monday Motivation0 commentstags: exercise, fitness, health, monday motivation, movement, routine, tips, workout
“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. -Albert Einstein This week’s tips are all about things that seem to be common sense, but are mistakes made by almost every single person working out, REPETITION. See, the human body is one of the most amazing creations, ever. It has a keen sense to want to change and adapt to the things that we put it through. This can apply to a lot of different things, but for now lets keep it to fitness and how it relates to your workouts or runs. 1.Change up your workout routine Since the body has a special ability to conform and adapt to the physical challenges we put it through, it is necessary to change up your routine often to continue to see progress. Keep the body guessing=body works harder=more calories burned. This is also a good thing to do if you are hitting a plateau (no gains or losses in a few weeks of consistent exercise) or just to simply freshen things up and make it a little more enjoyable. 2. Get off the Treadmill! To understand this more, read #1. Repetition=Adaption=Body “cruise control”=less calories burned. Even something as simple as 20 […]
by Personal Trainerin Blog, Exercise, Inspiration, Monday Motivation0 commentstags: exercise, fitness, health, monday motivation, routine, running, tips, workout
For this weeks take on Monday Motivation, I want to add 2 key components I feel are some of the most important items that should be the base of any fitness aspiration. Log 3 consecutive days of meals. If you are just starting out, the point of a new “routine” in the first place is to make changes from what wasn’t working to something that hopefully will. As I have come to determine , most of my clients have no idea how many calories they are actually taking in. Since weight loss or muscle gain in its easiest form is calories in and calories out, it really is a game of the numbers. Once you have everything logged, use a nutrition app such as MyFitnessPal or the US govt site ChooseMyPlate to calculate your daily calories . The results may suprise you and may just hide the key to shedding the pounds. Log 3 workouts or runs. In part 2 of my “Top Ten Tips for Getting Back In Shape” series, I talked about the importance of planning. Knowing what you are going to do in the gym(or wherever you exercise) helps keep you on task and helps you get in and out more efficiently. Another thing I noticed […]
by Personal Trainerin Blog, Exercise, Inspiration, Workout Wednesday0 commentstags: exercise, fitness, hiit, routine, runner, running, tips, training, workout wednesday
If you missed my first post on HIIT, and why it is so important for runners, I would recommend reading that first before proceeding with this exercise to get better understanding of the how/why to my methods for the workout. It can be found here. This will be part 2( or week 2) of 5. Intensity goes up a bit, and we start to work the legs a bit more. The process will be the same as in part 1, as it will be for the following 3 workouts to come in the series. Below you will find pictures of each exercise for those not familiar with the names. Backward Lunge Plank w/ Alt Arm Extension Alt Leg Bounding Push Up Deep Squat Jump For a short refresher on our HIIT workout, perform each exercise with maximum intensity as you can for 20 seconds (30 seconds for pros). rest for 10 seconds before moving on to next exercise. Do this for all 5 exercises and rest 1-2 minutes before performing a 2nd and 3rd set. Repeat 2-3x/week instead of running! Save your knees and get the same cardio impact in less then 20 minutes! Stay tuned for part 3 of our HIIT For Runners […]
by Personal Trainerin Blog, Exercise, Inspiration, Monday Motivation0 commentstags: exercise, fitness, health, home workout, monday motivation, routine, tips, training, workout
So, how did we do last week? We’re you able to try and get your plank time above 45 seconds? If you weren’t able to, that’s OK. No better time to start then the present. As always, we will introduce new tips to help motivate you into bigger change every single Monday. This week again is all about expanding on our current Routine. Yoga has been a sacred practice for many centuries, but over the past decade has seen a huge explosion in North America. If you haven’t tried it yet, no better time. Get on Google and find a class. If you are out in the stix, or just simply don’t have the time, here is a great FREE intro class you can do right from your living room. Since we are big on posture, this class will focus on stretching the hamstrings(a major culprit in low back pain) and opening up the hips. Total time: 33 minutes. Also this week we are going to try to start an “Accountability Log” (or exercise journal). Since change is slow and methodical when loosing(or gaining weight) the correct and healthy way, this will help make sure that the things that need […]
by Personal Trainerin Blog, Exercise, Inspiration, Monday Motivation0 commentstags: exercise, fitness, get back in shape, health, monday motivation, routine, tips, training, workout
So, how did we do last week? We’re you able to add at least one of our new health/fitness tips to your current lifestyle? If you weren’t able to, that’s ok. No better time to start then the present. This week is all about getting the ball rolling. Maybe you have been working out and not seeing any progress? Maybe you are just thinking about starting a fitness routine? Either way, as we try every week, pick a new habit from the list and give it a go. *Studies have shown that people who make small and gradual change over time have a much higher percentage of success then those that try to make drastic changes all at once. Even if you try 1 change/week and stick with it, big things will start to happen.
by Personal Trainerin Blog, Exercise, Inspiration0 commentstags: exercise, fitness, get back in shape, gym, post workout, routine, tips, top 10, training, workout
Date is set, and the plan is in place. You should actually know at least the first 30 days of your plan and what days you have time to work out. Now, to get in to planning those days , lets take a look at the exercises you will be doing. Tip #3 – Types of Exercise Some of the things to consider: Have you worked out in the past? If yes, what did you enjoy? Group Fitness Options Yoga Options Cardio Options Recreational Activities Freeweight Options Bodyweight Options Big Box Gym Rec Center Personal Trainer Options Youtube (? please use extreme discretion here) If you are just starting out, I would recommend no more then 4 days/week and no more then 60 minutes per session. The best example of a training week would be free weights Mon/Thur and Cardio Tue/Friday. This would give the body optimum time to recover and rest since it isn’t used to the rigorous activity it will be experiencing. If you have never planned a workout before, we highly recommend the imuscle2 workout application. For less then $5 on apple or android, it is one of the most complete exercise apps we have ever seen. […]
