All posts by NTrainers

Burn Fat, Build Muscle

July 24, 2017

chrisGHow to Burn Fat and Build Muscle

So, you want to get rid of that body fat the one that’s been sitting there for as long as you can remember. Whether its around your arms, your legs or the worst of them all, that’s right belly fat. The one place we all wish to target first if we had the option but unfortunately fat loss doesn’t work like that. When we lose weight, we don’t lose it in one spot, we lose it all over some places more than others. The same goes for when we gain weight, we gain it all over as a unit regardless of whether you believe you gain it in just your stomach first.

 

You may find yourself going to the gym anywhere from 3-5 days a week. Trying your very best to lose weight and I know it gets frustrating g to put in all that hard work and see no results. It can drive you crazy or to the point where you say, “I’m done, I give up” we’ve all been there. Want to know what makes it worse? These new popular diets and easy fixes that guarantee outrageous results like 30 lbs. in a week or eat whatever you want and still lose weight. Which I must say to some degree might work for a while but in the end, you’ll probably gain all that weight right back maybe more!

 

Now if you’re reading this article you probably read a few just like it and or just want to burn fat and build muscle maybe there’s something inside you hoping that someone just tells the truth for once and give you the secret to achieving your goals. Well you’ve come to the right place.

 

In this article I’m going to explain everything from what body fat is? How to burn it off? The best way to build muscle and what your nutrition should consist of. So, no gimmicks no lies and I’m sorry to tell you that it won’t happen in 30 days but I can say with confidence that if you work hard, stay consistent and practice proper nutrition the benefits are extremely rewarding.

 

Let’s begin, so what is body fat? It’s important to know this because it’s something everyone in the world is constantly trying to either get rid of your keep off. Body fat is basically store energy that your body accumulates over time with the food that you ate. As you may or may not already know when we eat food, base off the state our bodies are in we either store it for fuel to have later when needed or it gets used immediately as our energy source. For example, when we first wake up in the morning and have breakfast our bodies uses the energy from the food to fuel us.

 

Now you may ask how do we know that it’s not being stored? Well because during rest we obviously aren’t eating our bodies are in a fasted state meaning no food. After a few hours of not eating while at rest which should be 7-8 hours a night our bodies has used up all the energy source we got from our last meal maybe even before you went to sleep depending on when you had your last meal and the portion of it. Now that it’s been a few hours your body knows that upon rising labor work will be done and for that reason along with being in a fasted state it takes that first meal and supplies you with energy to kick start the day. It’s just that simple.

 

Time for the real question, how to burn it off?

 

Well as a certified personal trainer with the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) and from my own digging and learning I found a few different ways to target the endless fight vs body fat. You’ve probably heard the saying there’s more than one way to skin a cat. Well the same goes for burning fat. Some people count calories, some just start exercising to expend energy (which is what body fat is, stored energy that hasn’t been use yet) and others just changed their diet. Now in my opinion the proper way is all three.

 

Now you’re probably saying “really Chris”?

 

Yup really and I’ll explain why. If your someone whose just starting off you should count calories just to be aware of the amount you consume daily, whenever I come across a new client I always ask “how many calories do you consume daily”? And the answer is always “I don’t know” sometimes not even an estimate. Knowing the number of calories, you consume can help you along the way. Let’s say you’re a female who consumes 2,200 calories a day and you want to lose weight. In order for you to do so you will need to put your body in a calorie deficit which means consuming less calories than your daily intake. Having an intake of 2,200 calories if 2,200 is your maintenance (maintenance meaning your borderline between losing and gaining) will keep you where you are (no weight gain and no weight loss) but if you begin to decrease calories anywhere from 250-300 which is what I normally recommend then you will begin to lose weight. Now you can keep decreasing calories or expand more energy by working out because if your anything like me than you love to eat so expanding more energy is probably your best bet because you don’t want to go too low in calories and who knows how low you’ll have to go before hitting your goal. That is why I feel that counting calories as well as expanding energy are two very important methods. Counting so that you are aware of your daily intake and expanding so that you don’t have to go too low.

 

Obviously, exercises are important so you should already aim for the expanding more energy option also when you engage in physical activity whether its bike riding, dancing, weight training, hiking and or running you will find that your hungry a lot more of the time and because of your physical activity you will be able and need to eat more to sustain your body with the right amount of macro and micro nutrients. As for the exercising, we all know that the benefits are endless other than decreasing body fat. You strengthen your bones, increase your good cholesterol and decrease your bad (hdl and ldl) your heart pumps at a more regular speed/rate. You increase the muscle mass on your body, your cardiorespiratory system improves, you have more energy and just overall feel better because your body is getting exactly what it needs. Remember the human body does not want nor need to be sedentary.

 

Part II

 

Protein carbs fatsOn to the hard part the one we all have trouble with, nutrition. Changing your diet is necessary. You must understand that you must assist a good training program with good nutrition. It is a waste to work hard in the gym just to throw it all away within a few hours of leaving the gym. Listen I get it certain unhealthy food taste good we crave it but think about it like this, that taste comes with a price and doesn’t last if the body fat that is helping you put on. Your diet should consist of fruits but not too much because they contain fructose which is sugar found in fruits and sugar can pack on the pounds but they contain nutrients that obviously your body needs. You also want good sources of protein, carbs and fats.
Good sources of protein are lean chicken (not baked or fried) turkey, salmon, eggs, Greek yogurt, tuna, white fish and cottage cheeses also a protein shake won’t hurt.
Good sources of carbs are sweet potato, brown rice, rolled oats, beans, quinoa, apples, buckwheat, and whole grain bread.
Good sources of fats are almonds, coconut oil, avocados, flax seeds, chia seeds, pecans, olive oil, and peanut butter.

 

Daily food logEvery time I accept a new client I always have them make a food list of everything they eat so for one week they must write down everything they consume whether good or bad and they must be honest about it because if not they’re only hurting their selves. Once that week is over we go over the list and here and there I catch one of them saying “oh my gosh, no wonder why I’m fat” now even through I don’t like the word fat because it tears people down, they are right. Keep in mind every macro nutrition is important to some degree fat may get thrown off but still beneficial. Also, when it comes to protein its job is not to fuel the body like carbs do, protein contains amino acids which is designed to help build and repair the muscle cells.

 

Since we covered what body fat is, how to burn it through calories reduction and the significance of good nutrition whether your goal is weight loss or building muscle. Let’s talk about what you should incorporate into your training program. Every time you step into a gym you can bet anything that you’ll find a good number of people on a treadmill. They come in and either walk, jog or run on a treadmill for hours and believe that, that’s the best way to lose weight some even do it every day then go home and not eat. Now even though it’s not a fan of the treadmill I do believe that they are beneficial for your health obviously but people get thrown off track focusing on it. The best way to burn fat and build muscle is with lifting weights or any form of resistance training either weights, body weight, resistance bands or strength machines. I believe that its very effective for someone looking to lose weight to add about 3-4 days of weight lifting with 1-2 days of cardio whether you’re outside running or jogging on a cardio machine. Now I know your probably saying “but Chris you don’t like the treadmill” and yes, your right only because I believe people focus on them a bit too much and because I’m a firm believer that the stair master is a way better and more effective machine. Don’t think so? If you haven’t already try going on a stair master for 10 minutes vs a treadmill for 10 minutes with the same intensity chances are you’ll step off that stair master looking like you just hop out the shower.

 

Part III

 

Now on to my favorite part weight lifting, let me start by saying this “to all my female readers, weight lifting will not make you bulky or look like a man” so don’t be afraid to pick up a pair of dumbbells and perform a few reps. When beginning a weight training program you’ll want to focus on form, I can’t stress how important it is. The last thing you want is to be that guy or girl who can’t curl or squat properly and you’ll want to reduce the risk of injury at all cost. When I hear of weightlifting I can’t help but think of bodybuilding and powerlifting. Bodybuilders are the most muscular people on the planet with the least amount of fat, when you think of almost everyone’s goal it’s kind of that of a bodybuilder to burn fat to the best degree possibly and build muscle to whichever point they feel necessary now even though most bodybuilders may aim to add on as much muscle mass as humanly possible you can still benefit from a training program like one just without the extreme amount of weight they use. So, when designing a weight lifting program it would be best to split the muscles of the body by day of the week. Give any were from 2-3 muscles to a day of the week and train them with as much intensity as you

 

Can tolerate. For example, when I train I normally pair up back and biceps together, chest and triceps, quad with hamstring and glutes and finish off abs, delts and calves. Over time I always switch up the muscles and the exercises that I use so that my body doesn’t adapt to my program and you may find it beneficial as well, also targeting the muscles from different angles is important. If you’re just beginning keep the weight lite and the rep range from 10-12 with 2 sets and give about 2 different exercises for each muscle that you train that day. Herse another important tip, you don’t want to spend all day in the gym so hit the muscles hard and get out, you don’t need to spend hours in the gym to build. What you’ll want to aim for is a good pump (when the muscles being train becomes filled with so much blood that it appears swollen like your about to burst) and really work the muscles fibers. Whenever we workout we create micro tears within our muscle fibers and after training the body is in a recovery state where it builds and repair the muscles cells that’s why protein is so important after weight training because the amino acids within protein help do just that. It is the building block of muscles and we want to supply our bodies with enough to complete the process. Now you’re probably wondering “well how much protein do I need a day Chris”? Its recommended to have as much grams as lean muscle your body holds and most people never really do the calculations so having as much as your body weight normally does the trick. Every month you should be able to increase the amount your lifting from 5-10 pounds of additional weight so if you were doing bicep curls with 10lbs after a month of consistently doing them you should be able to perform a few reps with 15lbs.

 

Part IV

 

The last topic to discuss is exercises for weight training now keep in mind if you don’t like an exercise you clearly don’t have to do it but just make sure you give it a try before you do so. I recommend using strength machines before moving on to free weights if you aren’t comfortable and or haven’t use them before. You might need or want someone to tell you if your form is good so whether it’s a personal trainer, friend, family member or just someone at the gym just make sure their knowledgeable. If your scared, nervous or just doesn’t have anyone to ask, watching videos before a attempting an exercise just maybe what you need. These are a list of exercises that you can do to target a muscle and or muscle group, keep in mind some exercises are compound movements while others are isolated movements. When training biceps you can do bicep curls, hammer curls and overhand/reverse biceps curls with a pair of dumbbells, barbells ,bands or any type of resistance. Back exercises included seated rows either on a strength machine or cable machine , you can also perform them bent over with a pair of dumbbells and or barbell. Back fly’s bent over or with a strength machine, lat pulldowns which targets the latissimus dorsa muscle. Pulls/chain ups but you’ll need to build enough strength to be able to lift your body weight. Deadlifts is another but this is an advance movement and you may need someone to help you progress this movement it will target your erector spinae (which is your lower back) and this is also a great exercise for legs think of it as another variation to squats. When it comes to chest you may want to incorporate chest press, (with dumbbells) bench press (with a barbell and weighted plates) this is another movement that you should have someone monitor maybe even perform the exercises with just the bar first. Chest fly’s with dumbbells are the machine. Decline and incline bench press, pushups are better for beginners to target the chest. When training triceps you can incorporate a few chest exercises like chest press and

 

Bench press but to isolate the muscle you can perform triceps kickbacks, dips on a flat stable surface like a bench, triceps pushdowns and overhead triceps extensions. Now when it comes to legs squats are amazing and probably the most favorite for leg day. You can perform them with your feet at different angles to target certain parts of your legs but just ensure that you keep your knees behind and or aligned with your toes and remember to stick your glutes outward as if you were about to sit in a chair, also I find it beneficial to press not too much but a little closer to your heels and have good proper footwear because most shoes will cause you to lift your heels slightly off the ground and that will increase the risk of injury and just may push your knees out past your toes. You may see people perform squat barefoot or with toe shoes but you don’t have to do that just make sure you have a pair of flat shoes. When targeting quads, you can incorporate wall sits which is great for a beginner new to exercise, strength machines like legs extensions, hack squats and the leg press machine, when it comes to the leg press machine it’s another variation of squats and target the quads, hamstring and glutes, this is considered a compound movement. Now on to hamstrings, you can use some of the different squat varieties to incorporate but if you wanted to isolate hamstrings you can perform laying leg curls on a strength machine and seated leg curls on a strength machine basically any version of them long as you have resistance, and don’t forget about those deadlifts which should be monitored. Glutes exercises fall under the same list for some quads and hamstrings exercises but once again if your aiming to target them the hip adductor machine is great as well as the hip abductors to focus on the inner portion of the legs and thighs.

 

Now that you have a list of exercises your one step closer to getting started please note that the exercises that I have listed are not all the options you have, there are many that you can choose from to incorporate into your training program. For beginners or someone just getting back into fitness understand that you will be sore more than like if not the next day the following and that is normally. Whenever I train a new client a few always seem to think that their injured when it’s just soreness, don’t worry eventually you begin to know the difference. It’s important to give yourself a rest between days, going right back to training a muscle the next day might work for someone advance but definitely not for a beginner but over time you’ll begin to know your body and its limit. Now that you’re a bit more knowledgeable on the topic you should be a bit better along your journey on burning fat and building muscle.

Too Old For Personal Training?

Am I Too Old for a Personal Trainer?

Personal trainers have to be a certain age. In fact, they have to be 18 years old and have to have a government-issued ID. They need to have some experience in exercise and what works and what doesn’t.

However, there is no set rule on the age of their clients.

Experienced personal trainers can help anyone of any age, setting goals that will be reachable for that person and taking into consideration their general health and age-related concerns.

A Scarsdale personal trainer can guide clients toward a reasonable goal for weight loss, help them craft an exercise plan that will be manageable on a weekly basis and otherwise attainable for someone at that level of experience.

Getting in touch with Westchester personal trainers is simple. A search on the internet can give you an idea of available trainers in the area. From there, you can make a call and ask the trainer a few questions, determining who you feel comfortable working with and who won’t be the best fit for the way you like to handle your exercise regimen.

Next, you can discuss the trainer’s perspective on aging people and their workout routines. If you don’t want to be pushed to the max and the trainer says he or she does not take age into consideration, it may be wise to call another trainer.

However, in the end you can find a trainer that provides New Rochelle personal training plans that will challenge you at the right level and help you with the right pace until you reach the success you hope to achieve.

No one is ever too old to work with a personal trainer. No one is ever too old to try to get more active and live their life the best they can on a daily basis. Talk to a trainer and see for yourself that today is a good day to change your workout regimen.

 

Mat-based Pilates Vs. Reformer

Mat-based Pilates Vs. Pilates Reformer Sessions

Not everyone who starts a fitness program lives to go to the gym or work with a personal trainer.  While many turn towards yoga, others still prefer something different in the form of Pilates, a modality created by Joseph Pilates to help rehabilitate soldiers injured in battle.  As Pilates has evolved over the years, many innovations have occurred.   In the larger umbrella of types of Pilates, there are two types of Pilates sessions offered for those interested in trying it out. People can choose mat-based Pilates or Pilates reformer sessions. Both are beneficial and it is up to the individual to decide which they prefer.

Mat-based Pilates is performed on mats with most of the moves in a lying down position.  This lying down position may be on one’s back, side, or stomach. No other equipment need be involved. All movements are slow and deliberate. They are intended to be controlled and fluid with concentration on breathing techniques as well as balance. Mat-based Pilates exercises do not provide an aerobic work out. However, they are beneficial for overall toning of the body.

The core is the target area in Pilates, providing individuals with strength in their abdomen, their back and their glutes. Muscle strength and flexibility is increased as well. Those who participate regularly have shown a decrease in body fat. One of the advantages to mat-based Pilates is the fact that it crosses the age barrier. Exercises are of a less intense nature, allowing those who are aging to participate along side the young. In addition, people with back problems may be assisted through mat based Pilates.

Pilates reformer sessions involve the use of a piece of equipment called the Reformer. The Reformer allows individuals to perform Pilates exercises in combination with the gym equipment that adds strength training to Pilates through spring resistance. With the added support from using the Reformer, participants are able to have a more thorough work out, working muscles deeply. There are many variations, and standing movements are part of the routine, as well, which can then carry over into regular activities as certain moves may be copied during a daily routine.

When searching for Pilates Manhattan or Pilates Brooklyn, there are advantages to choosing either form of Pilates sessions. Mat based Pilates sessions tend to cost less because gym equipment is not necessary. They are also easy to find in gyms across the area. Pilates reformer sessions to tend to cost more and they are not as common. It may take some hunting to find a gym that offers Reformer sessions. If fortunate, a gym may offer both types of Pilates Brooklyn, providing members with the opportunity to try each kind of session before final selection.

Love Pilates and Personal Training

Love Your Local Pilates Instructor or Personal Trainer

If you live in New York, you are lucky because there are many personal trainers in the area who are happy to help you meet and maintain your fitness goals. No matter what type of exercise you are interested in and no matter what your fitness goals are, a personal training NY professional’s trust can help you.

To find a personal trainer NY locals love, you will want to check out several personal trainers online. Look online to find a personal trainer who specializes in the types of exercises that you like to do. You also want to find some reviews from happy customers before you choose a personal trainer.

It is true that you can exercise on your own, but chances are that you are not doing it as often as you plan. You may be getting bored trying to think of exercises to do to get your heart rate up that will keep you motivated. You may also be confused about what you should be doing, how fast you should be working out and how often you should be working out.

If you are interested in pilates NYC, personal trainers who have multiple certifications are there for you. A personal trainer who specializes in pilates NYC locals trust will be able to show you the proper forms for pilates. You can injure yourself doing pilates or other exercises without a personal trainer to show you how to perform the exercises. Contact a personal trainer today to work together to plan a personalized exercise routine.

Mind, Body, Soul, Pilates

Workout Mind, Body & Soul With Your Manhattan Pilates Instructor

There isn’t a better way out there to get fit than with Pilates, and the best part is that you don’t have to do it alone. Manhattan Pilates instructors are there to help you learn this very popular aerobics exercise that offers such extreme fitness benefits.

Pilates have many benefits sure to be appreciated by all. Not only do you get the chance to workout and tone your body with Pilates, you also work your mind, body and soul. This workout is one of the best since it enables you to become in tune with your inner self for a much more beneficial workout. You can learn how to control your moves for a more complete workout that is less strenuous to your body.

Thanks to Pilates you can lose weight, tone up and feel great. Pilates help you gain strength without getting bulky, something that women oftentimes worry about. And, when you’re actively participating in the workout you can be sure that your posture improves and that you It is a challenging workout but it is also one that is very fun and worthwhile.  As you begin enjoying the Pilates workout you will notice yourself becoming more flexible and your joints having more elasticity.

Trained Manhattan Pilates instructors make the workout even more fun and beneficial to you. They can tailor a Pilates workout according to your needs and your schedule. Whether you are a man or a woman looking to improve themselves, Pilates is a great choice that can help you make amazing improvements.

Pilates Training for Biz Success

Use Manhattan Pilates Training for Business Success

You don’t often consider that the Manhattan Pilates training you do will translate into greater success in business, but if your goal is to get ahead this year – Pilates may be your key. Pilates training embodies all of the principles of business success, but there is a very good reason why you will be able to use that training more effectively in your career than any business workshop.

How business and fitness go hand in hand

The commitment to pace, learning, strengthening and overcoming resistance that is essential to successful Pilates practice are all elements that you need in your career to succeed in business. Where Pilates training is going to benefit you more than a workshop is it takes the principles out of your mind and puts them into a form of action. You can understand something completely in your head, but lack the ability to do anything with it in real life what a chance to somehow practice the action.

Creating routine and discovering commitment

Manhattan Pilates instructors know how their programs and practices can transcend the gym and transform your life. This is why they can be so demanding of your punctuality, commitment and effort. This helps you to build a routine of commitment in which becoming skilled is far more important than any short term goal. Anytime you can practice commitment in your life, it will wash over into the other areas you need it. Just thinking about something won’t do anything to help you achieve it in real life.

At What Age is Pilates Appropriate?

Pilates: A Workout for All Ages?

Working out is absolutely crucial for your well-being. Together with a sensible diet, it can help you lead not only a longer life, but also a more qualitative one. Working out can truly change you and not just on the outside, but also on the inside as well. For your mind and for your body, regular exercising will be the very best thing you can do.

However, when it comes to choosing the type of workout to actually stick to, things can be difficult, especially since there are so many options available out there nowadays. However, if you think a bit of what you need, then you will definitely find the solution that is most suitable for you.

Attending Brooklyn Pilates classes can be one of the best choices if you are looking for a workout that creates long and lean muscles and that helps you relieve yourself from stress. Brooklyn Pilates can be done at various intensities, which also makes it suitable for multiple levels of physical condition.

Furthermore, Pilates is a healthy exercise for most of the age groups out there. While children may not be able to actually control their bodies as much as Pilates requires them to (and it may be boring for them), everybody else can benefit out of the greatness of this type of workout. In the end, even seniors can attend Brooklyn Pilates classes as long as the trainer knows how to deal with this particular age group. Your strength, your physical condition and your flexibility levels will definitely thank you for having chosen Pilates.

Personal Training Business Summer Slowdown

June 17, 2017

Are you concerned that some clients will stop training over the summer?

I speak to NYC personal trainers all the time, as you can probably imagine.  At this time of the year, I often hear the same complaint.  Summer is coming and so many of my clients leave the city for 2-3 months.

For many personal trainers, that can be scary. Losing two or three clients for that long can be the difference of thousands of dollars.

While you can’t keep your clients here and make them train with you, there are a few things you can do to close the revenue gap a bit and still enjoy the summer, professionally and personally.

First, look at the glass as half full.

You still have clients that are here.  Those clients might be looking for an extra training session or maybe they missed a session earlier in the year that you want to encourage them to make up.  No matter how you frame it, offer them this extra session at a reduced rate at a different time than your regularly scheduled session.  This way they understand that this is not normal and you can maintain the integrity of your training rate.

Second, lots of other people are still here.

Again, keeping with the glass half full.  Plenty of people still have yet to fulfill their fitness goals.  It’s never to late to get in shape, right?  Your muscles don’t care about the what season or holiday is around the corner.  Offer them a special summer package.  Establish a rate that is especially for the summer season and at specific times.  Hey, baseball teams and broadway shows are tiering their prices.  You can, too.

Getting 50% of what you normally make is better than missing out on 100%.

A veteran personal trainer recently told me, just train.  Some income is better than no income.

Now, some trainers may say that doesn’t interest them or maybe they can’t drum up the business.

Here are two more things you can do to get more out of the summer.

Think a step ahead.  Use the extra time to gain some experience in areas that you want to learn more about that will help you grow your personal training business in the future.  Work at a community center, assisted living facility or a day camp just to name a few. Working with children or adults who could benefit from supervised physical activity.  These opportunities may be volunteer or for pay, but the main reason you do them is to gain experience working with a special population that you’ve identified as direction you want to take your business.

Finally, if none of that is appealing and you just want to enjoy the summer, try moving a few of your clients around so you can have three or four full days of training and take an extra day for yourself to hit the beach or travel.  Even full time employees have more flexibility in their schedules during the summer.  Offices have summer hours, kids are away at camp, etc.  They may welcome the change, too.

Let me know what you liked or didn’t like here.  Drop me a line.  Whatever you do, make the most of your summer, personally and professionally.  Enjoy the summer!

Pilates and Personal Training

Personal Training at Home, Pilates at Work

Inside a city of six million residents, fitness possibilities abound. That said, it truly is tragic that 58% of New York City residents are overweight. Whilst still below the national norm, it truly is really alarming. A few of the most cutting edge exercise products and programs are readily available to individuals who seek it out. There is certainly no shortage of gyms or fitness studios in any New York City neighborhood. For folks who live and are employed in New York City, you might have the advantage of comparison shopping  close to the house or the office. From personal trainers to Pilates or yoga instructors to nutritionists or health coaches, you should be capable of finding a person who can perform within virtually each and every budget.

For instance, let’s say you reside in Staten Island and are employed in Queens.  Also, you have just decided to make fitness a part of your life.  A personal fitness trainer might be an awesome choice for you. Because it’s the most suburban of all of New York City’s boroughs, a Staten Island personal trainer can meet you at your house for indoor workouts within a basement or garage gym, or they’re able to bring clients out into the backyard to complete a session at anytime. You are going to also have the incredible flexibility of possessing a trainer that works with you by yourself on your own equipment or probably they may have some gear that could be conveniently transported in the trunk of their car or truck.

Now from the office, you can select to do something to diversify your physical fitness plan and get away from personal coaching and weights. In Queens, you could locate a multitude of Pilates instructors who travel to people’s offices or have their own studio. Boost your core strength and flexibility with Pilates Queens, whether you choose to perform Pilates Queens mat-based classes or a compact group studio class utilizing the Pilates Reformer machine. Pilates is an activity that could take place in an empty conference space at your workplace. Your needs are small.  No more than a towel or mat as well as a bottle of water.

Should you be hesitant about investing in individual instruction sessions or Pilates classes, you could investigate some daily deal web pages. You can obtain numerous fitness related  bargains everyday, every week. This can be more of a trying ahead of buying scenario. They may well not be in-house or private sessions, but the applications provided should really give you a sampling of services presented by these fitness corporations.

Should I Measure Exercise Time or Reps?

May 29, 2017

Lisa SnowMeasuring Time Vs. Reps

By Lisa Snow, Personal Trainer

Many gym goers are doing random activity – definitely better than being at home on their couch – but not the most efficient use of their time.  Once a person starts trying to follow a logical plan or “program,” there are a lot of things to decide: which exercises to perform, what order to do them in, and how many of each to do.  Whether you’re getting an exercise program from a book, a personal trainer, or trying to create one for yourself, a timer can help make your workout easier.

What are “reps” anyway? 

A rep is one “repetition” of an exercise – one time through the whole movement.  One “rep” is one pushup, one squat, one time lifting and lowering dumbbells.  A “set” is however many reps you do before you stop to rest.  Depending on the exercise, your strength level, and how much weight you are using, a set might be 5, 10, 15, or 20 reps.  After you rest and start the same exercise or a different exercise, you’ve begun a new “set.”
Lots of people keep track of their workouts by counting how many reps they can do of each exercise.  This is absolutely better than just showing up at the gym and doing as much of each thing as you feel like, and helps you notice how much stronger you are getting over time.  But using a timer has several advantages over counting reps:
  • It frees up your mind to focus on doing the exercises correctly (“good form”)
  • It allows you to measure what you’re doing while still carrying on a conversation with a friend
  • If you’re working out with a buddy, you can each go at your own pace while doing the same exercises.  You might get 10 reps while she gets 12, but you can both move on to the next move at the end of that minute.

If you’re doing 1 minute sets, the timer that’s part of the Clock app on the iPhone is an easy option (it’s free and comes preloaded on every phone).  Many wristwatches also have a stopwatch (which counts up) or a timer (which counts down).  Timers are a better option than stopwatches, but either will work.  Fancy fitness apps are worthwhile for some advanced exercisers, but for newbies, it makes more sense to get a general timer app rather than an app designed specifically for fitness.  Timer apps are easy to understand, easy to start using, and many are free.  (For example, “Timer+” is free, and works on both iPhone and iPod touch.  Unlike the standard Clock app, it allows you to run multiple timers at once.  For example, you could set one timer for 45 min for your whole workout, and another timer for 30 seconds for each set.)  Great apps exist for all types of phones and laptops.  However you choose to measure your workouts, pick exercises you enjoy and give yourself credit for all your hard work!

Lisa Snow
ACE & NSCA Certified Personal Trainer

President

On the Mend Customized Fitness and Massage