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4 Exercises you might want to include in your training!

Our personal training clients make one thing clear over and over again: they don’t have time!

Additionally I can see people again and again using exercises like biceps curls, triceps extensions and leg extension and leg curls like they are god’s gift to mankind.

Don’t get me wrong, I might (and the emphasis is on might) include some of those exercises in my personal training routines but mostly I don’t!

Here is the reason why: They don’t deliver the biggest bang for the buck!

And you might want to say: “Hold your horses! What if…!”

  • I am injured
  • I want to tone my arms/legs, you name it.
  • …

Here is the deal. Remember the time frame? I only have so much time in the day. I run a business, have a family, exercise and train clients. I want my client’s and my own training to be as effective and safe as possible.

I sort my exercises by priority. The ones that work the most muscles the most efficiently go first. If by the end of the training I want to throw in some curls, etc. I can.

If I do those exercises I know I still did the most important stuff beforehand! But let me tell you, most of the time I am just done physically to do it.

Even if you want to get big and you can ask one of my female clients who likes to bodybuild we do the big movements first. At the end of the training, when she is tired, when she cannot maintain good form on those movements then we move on to isolation exercises.

Here are the four movements you want to include: Please bear in mind that good form is always the key:

Squat and its progressions: Front squat (we don’t do back squats anymore), split squat, single leg squat assisted, etc.

Chin Ups/Pull Ups: What better way to work the arms and back?

Push-ups: you cannot do one yet? No problem, go on your knees! You are pumping out 50 in a row? Stop bragging 🙂 and use superbands around your back to make it harder

Deadlifts and its progressions: A great training for the lower back, hamstrings, and glutes. Work yourself up to doing them on one leg.

I hope this was helpful. If you have questions on how to progress your exercises properly, or incorporate them into your training routine safely, please call me at 704 777 3743 or email at michael@charlottepersonaltrainer.org .

Have an inspiring day,

Michael

Getting Going In Your Office

Hello everyone, evolution

sorry that I have been a little bit behind with my blog posts. I have had some major construction going at the studio and the preparation for it as well as transitioning to a new merchant account really took up more time than anticipated.

Office Job = Sedentary Work Setting

I recently did a couple of “lunch & learns” at local firms and companies. The major topic throughout was the negative effect of office work, or working in a sitting environment on health and performance.

Newest research seems to indicate pretty clearly: Just having a six pack (good for you if you do) and being fit is not enough to offset the negative side effects of your office work. Rising blood pressure, worse lipid profiles, as well as a higher mortality rate seem to be at the end of a long office career.

What can you do?

In a perfect world you would be able to have a dynamic environment that allows you to work sitting, standing, walking etc. That is hardly the case for most of us. Quite the opposite, the classic cubicle or office does not even have standing desks and might not allow them either. But not all hope is lost. This is what you can do:


  • Use the stairs as much as you can.    Work Environment
  • Walk the hallway or stairwell if you are thinking through a problem instead of sitting hunched over in front of your computer screen.
  • Take a 2-3 min break every hour and do some exercises (easy routine shown in the video in this blog post)
  • For the workout do each exercise 10-15 times and repeat the whole set of exercises once an hour for the most beneficial effect.
  • Transition to an adjustable desk or get a standing desk booster for your existing desk
  • Take a nap to enhance your performance. Research shows that a 20-30 min nap can improve your performance by 20-25%. No caffeinated beverage can compete with that over the long haul without getting you addicted.
  • Stretch your chest, neck and shoulders to get out of the hunched over position.
  • After Work Environment

 

  • The more you sit at work, the more you should try to make up for it after work and on the weekends.
  • Go for long walks, inline skate, bicycle, hike etc.
  • Work out regularly. Lift weights, do cardio, play tennis, golf, or run, etc.
  • Go hike or do some work in your yard (not the sitting lawn mower Smile).
  • Park your car intentionally on the far end of the parking deck.
  • Get up during the commercial breaks of your favorite TV show and run up and down the stairs or on the spot.

You see the possibilities are endless. I hope this was helpful. Let me know if you need any assistance with your fitness and wellness!

Have an inspiring day,

Michael

Head Trainer at Shape Up Fitness & Wellness Consulting

michael@charlottepersonaltrainer.org

Be Inspired–Be Great!

Last week we talked about the importance of motivation. Today I am going to talk about the importance of being inspired. If you are inspired the motivation is there, it is simply just there. Get inspired by Shape Up Fitness & Wellness Consulting

Webster’s Dictionary puts it as follows: inspire, inspired: 1. To guide or affect by divine influence. 2. To fill with high emotion: exalt. 3. To stimulate to creativity or action.

In our work with our clients we are seeking to inspire, because we know that this is the ultimate success. When we can inspire a client, success comes almost effortlessly. The effort involved might still be a sacrifice but now you have something that you are striving towards, that drives you from deep inside.

Many of our clients have that drive from deep inside. Some just love their game of golf, soccer or tennis; others like running or lifting weights, while others are passionate in general about health and fitness.

If you want to succeed and keep succeeding look deep inside of yourself and find what inspires you. It could even be inspiring others to a healthier lifestyle and wanting to be a good example.

If you are inspired about something your eyes are glowing when you talk about it, you are excited, you might not be able to sleep, you want tell people about it. If you are currently working out but afraid to tell someone that you are doing it, chance is you are not inspired to work out. Look deep and find out, why do you work out. That will create a little flame inside, which can create a fire. A lot of our inspired clients have lit a fire in other clients.

It is important that you find yourself. Don’t be what you think you should be but who you truly want to be.

Be Inspired – 5 Steps to find your Inspiration:

  1. Write down every evening 1-3 events and activities you liked and why you liked it
  2. When you work out take note on what you really enjoy and what you don’t.
  3. Take an hour and write down how you want to be remembered. Create a VISION of you.
  4. Create a Game Plan to put that vision into action.
  5. Review it regularly and make sure it still represents you. We change over time. Maybe you need to adjust it.

Have an inspiring day,

Michael

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