Over my many years of training, I’ve probably tried and sampled every form of workout possible. I always get asked the question, “What’s the best workout for my body?”, and the only relevant answer is – “I don’t know”. No one’s body is composed the same, everyone has different lifestyles and varying goals. It is impossible to give you a clear-cut answer on the flip of a coin, and anyone that can, clearly should not be giving you advice. This is the beauty behind having a dedicated trainer – He / she can spend ample time with you and figure out what specific stage in the game you are at, and what exactly is best for you.
The next most frequent question I get asked is, “What do you do for a workout?”. I have finally decided to answer the inquiry and reveal my secrets. Every couple months I always try and change my routine. This is to shock the muscles and always keep them guessing; a stagnant routine leaves your body bored and prepared, which leads to a feared plateau.
I take into account several factors before staging my routine. Depending on my lifestyle, schedule and frequency of exercise, I gear my workout routine towards the season. Colder months I lift heavier to build size and strength; warmer months I pick up the pace and drop the weights.
I’ve been in this fitness game for quite a while now, and my biggest pet peeve is seeing people perform the wrong exercises for their body type, specifically with the wrong form. Most people think that by reading “Lose 15 pounds in 15 days”, in some fitness magazine, it will do exactly that. What you do not realize is these exercises and workouts are not specifically designed for YOU, rather the mass population. Unless you are a professional, you should not be creating your workouts from a fitness magazine.
Everyone’s body composition, structure, and limitations differ. Are you aware of the proper steps to work in order to align and strengthen your lower back up to its full potential after it is injured? No magazine can guide you through these steps, and you cannot learn this by staring at the meathead next to you in the gym.
By reading a couple exercises and examining a few pictures, this does not entitle you certification to perform these complex exercises; however, it does make you a student eager to learn. Without proper instruction and guidance from a professional, you will never TRULY know if you are performing these exercises correctly, if the form is right or if these are even the right exercise you should be performing. Continue Reading…
When it comes to eating, I’m sure you heard this advice before… “Eat smaller, but more frequent meals.” But why you might ask? The answer is quite logical if you break it down and really think about it.
We’ll start with the eating smaller meals part. With a smaller intake of calories at a given sitting, you are less likely to overeat at the time. One of the biggest reasons why people are overweight is because they overeat in each given sitting, and your body does not properly digest the food, which in return can store it as fat. Overeating could be caused by improper chewing, eating too fast so you’re body cannot calculate how much food it is taking in, or a number of other medical factors.
So my advice: Take your time when eating your meal! Chew the food thoroughly so that you give your body enough time to let you know when you are full.
Now on to the eating more frequently part. When you eat more frequently, it gives your body constant sustained energy throughout the day. It also allows your metabolism to constantly be working so it keeps it high, in return burning more calories.
When you combine these two practices, you get: a more frequent, but smaller portioned, constant intake of calories, with a higher running metabolism.
By switching your way of eating up, I can guarantee you will see improvements in your body’s performance.
The general rule of thumb is about three slightly larger meals, with two smaller snacks in between. Remember, this is just a rule of thumb, and there are a number of other factors to take into account to determine how many calories, and what types of meals you should be taking in. A great site to find more information about this is caloriesperhour.com.
