All posts by NTrainers

5 Tricks to Eliminate Bloat Before Hitting The Beach

July 14, 2016

geo

Summer is officially in session!   This means more road trips, longer vacations, and fun in the sun baring swimsuits.  Rather than starving yourself to get bikini-ready, here are a few tricks to make sure you approach the beach season the right and healthy way.

stomach bloated frogSnacking on the right foods before you bare it all can fight bloat, fend off fat, and keep you feeling full!

 

1) Rather than snacking on refined grains which convert into glucose, causing you to store fat rather than burning it, fill up on fiber-rich brown rice.

 

2) Eat foods rich in calcium! Research shows that eating more calcium can help eliminate the infamous bloated look we all despise and know all too well. Three servings a day of calcium-rich, low or non-fat dairy can help you attain the recommended 1,000 milligrams of calcium. Great examples are: 1 cup of fat-free almond milk, 8 ounces of lowfat or fat-free yogurt, or 2 ounces of low-fat cheddar.

 

almonds3) Swapping almonds in as a snack instead of opting for other eats, can help you lose inches and unwanted pounds due to almonds’ bad-cholesterol-killing  HDL, unsaturated fat, and protein count. 1/4 cup of almonds should keep you full and satisfied. Try tossing them into your lunchtime salad or swirl them into that calcium and protein-rich yogurt.

 

4) Add some color into your life! I’m not just talking about brightly colored bathing suits either! Brightly colored vegetables contain Vitamin C, which prevents collagen breakdown. Collagen is the skin’s support structure. When skin loses strength, you can experience bulging. Add an orange to your breakfast, and snack on bell peppers with hummus in the afternoon.

 

drinking water5) STAY HYDRATED!  Drinking plenty of water not only ensures the body rids of excess bloat, but protects you from dehydration from sweating and spending so much time in the heat and under the sun.  Two liters of water a day is the bare minimum you should be drinking
Happy Summer guys!
See you on the beach!
Geo Chang, C.P.T.

Contact Geo!

Geo’s FITNESS TIP OF THE MONTH

It’s no secret that in the summer we go out more, we socialize often, and we drink alcohol way more than we should be.  When leaving the bar with the friends don’t go for that pizza slice or fast food; do not drunk eat!
             Your body prioritizes the digestion of alcohol over food, Anything you eat will sit in your stomach and end up as adipose tissue (fat), as your processes the breakdown of the alcohol first. Instead, be sure to consume at least 1 liter of water prior to bedtime.  This ensures that you are diluting the alcohol, hydrating yourself, and prevents you from waking up with a nasty hang over.  Upon waking up, consume another liter of water along with a nice, healthy breakfast.  Let’s make body fat gain and hangovers a thing of the past!!

Where Can I Find the Perfect Training Program?

Does the perfect training program exist?  Most marketing agents for gyms, trainers, books on training will tell you yes.  However, all people are not the same.  Therefore, how can one training program be perfect.  Even if we take that statement to mean individualized training programs, there would still not be one perfect program.  A personal trainer can design a training program that consists of the right balance of strength training and cardiovascular exercise, but it still won’t be perfect.

personal training program designBesides, not every client needs a perfectly put together program.  In fact, most won’t follow it anyway.  Figuring out how to alter your program for the individual’s needs it pertinent to the success of the program.  For a personal trainer to be effective, a program needs to be evolutionary, adaptable, and flexible.  This is a mainstay characteristic touted by the personal training certification agencies.  Effective program design is what really can separate good personal trainers from great personal trainers.  Good results from great results.  Personal trainers know that as they go through each micro-cycle, set and repetition, you always have to be evaluating your client.  These evaluations can lead to changes to help make the workouts and the overall training program more effective.

This also will play into an individual’s ability or rather interest in following along.  If things don’t change they become stagnant.  The client becomes disinterested, which generally means that the muscles are board, too.  Muscles like to be stimulated.  The variations within the program designs helps to keep the muscle fibers on their proverbial toes.

As you search for your perfect trainer, keep in mind what it is that you are trying to accomplish. Be sure to work with a personal trainer who peaks and holds your interest.  It is this connection that will help you feel more accountable to your personal trainer and in the end to yourself.  If you have certain exercises and movements that you prefer, be sure to find a personal trainer who is willing to incorporate your ideas and not take a “my way or the highway” approach.  The perfectly designed training program is one that looks different than it did yesterday and again tomorrow.

 

Show Your Clients The High Energy You Expect From Them During Sessions

When a person really wants to lose weight, they will do everything they can to do so. Eating right and leading a healthy lifestyle can definitely lead to a person losing weight, but at some point, they may find that exercise is also extremely helpful. At this point, they have a few options as to how they will go about exercising: do it alone at home or at the gym or hire a personal trainer to assist.

 

Upper West Side personal trainers are often hired by people who feel like they need an extra push to reach their fitness goals. Since someone is coming to you for help and guidance, as a personal trainer, it is important that your clients see you being enthusiastic and full of energy. They are looking to you for support and motivation, so if you are low energy, they may feel the same way and won’t be interested in exercising.

 

If possible, during their Upper West Side personal training session, join in on some of the exercises. Not only will you be able to show them how to do the exercises properly, you will also be able to show them the high energy you expect from them during the session. By witnessing you have such high energy and power through the session, your clients will start to believe that they too can fight their way through a session and lose weight.

 

When a client is having difficulty during a session, they may want to quit or not work as hard to achieve their goals. As an Upper West Side personal trainer, you cannot let this happen. Having high energy, using encouraging words and keeping your client motivated will make all the difference in how a session goes and whether or not your client loses the weight they to lose.

 

The Freedom of Biking

By Geo Chang, personal trainer

geo

There are plenty of ways to enjoy a warm spring afternoon, but riding a bike one of the most active ways to enjoy your leisure time. A relaxing bike ride burns more calories than an easy walk- 280 calories versus 170 calories per hour. Challenge yourself by powering up hills and increasing your efforts, but even keeping a leisurely pace is better than simply walking or staying indoors. Not only is it a fun way to cruise and feel the wind in your hair, but it’s environmentally-friendly and sure beats being sardined in a crowded subway car or stuck in a cab in traffic!
biking to workCycling also gets your legs moving and your heart pumping without pounding on your joints. Running has the potential to take its toll on the body.  Biking, however, is far lower impact and engages the muscles in the legs without as much forcing coming down on the knees.
 Not only do you get to enjoy the great outdoors, save time and money in commuting through public transportation, but it’s also a great opportunity to burn a great deal of calories without negatively taxing the joints.
bking to work womanAlways remember to strap on a helmet, obey all traffic laws, stay in your bike lane, and you are ready to get out there and enjoy the summer!
See you on the road!
Geo Chang, C.P.T.

Geo’s FITNESS TIP OF THE MONTH

 

stairs escalatorAlways Take The Stairs!

Climbing the stairs used to be an option only if the elevator wasn’t working.  More and more people are recognizing the importance of taking the stairs not only for health, but for time and energy conservation. It is a free form of exercise, no need to pay for anything or buy equipment.

Whether it’s your office building or your east village walk up, you can get a good, heart pumping workout. It’s also good for your heart- it can lower bad cholesterol as well as relieve tension and stress that have adverse effects on your heart.
In this city that never sleeps, time is of the essence. It’s sometimes much faster to take the stairs, especially during peak times when elevators take a long time to arrive to your floor.  As I always say-  Always take the stairs!

1:1 Personal Training Customized For You

LisaBy Lisa Snow, personal trainer

When I started my own business over 8 years ago, I thought most clients who chose small group training over 1-1 personal training would do so because it’s usually about half the hourly cost of 1-1.  How wrong I was!  Clients make the decision for 1-1 vs. group for a wide variety of reasons, and almost none are about money.  Here are a few of the reasons I’ve seen people make the 1-1 vs. group fitness choice.
1-1 training is completely customized.  You may have unique challenges, such as a stroke survivor with much less strength and mobility on one side of your body.  An experienced personal trainer can create a customized list of exercises to help you work around these limitations while still having fun and getting stronger.
1-1 training lets you bounce your ideas off someone else.  While trainers are not psychotherapists, the best trainers are those that strive to be good listeners.  When you tell your trainer about your kids, your boss, and how your week is going, they may have a different perspective you find useful.  Or it may just feel liberating to share your experiences with someone who is outside your circle of friends and family.
1-1 training has completely flexible scheduling.  If your calendar looks different each week, a 1-1 personal trainer might actually save you a lot of money.  Most trainers have a 24 hour cancellation policy, so if you cancel in time, you get every session you paid for.  Group classes, on the other hand, often charge a monthly rate, whether you’re there or not.  If you’re an ER surgeon who gets called in at all hours, or a sales rep who needs to travel the country for a week or two each month, working with a trainer individually is likely your best option.
With small group training, seeing is believing.  Each week, I teach a group class for women with disabilities.  While some are experienced exercisers, others are new to weights or unsure how to use newer pieces of gym equipment.  When I tell a student she really is strong enough for 8 lb dumbbells, she looks at me like I’m crazy.  But when they see the woman next to them using 10’s, a whole new world opens up.  Even a newbie who needs to use 2 lb weights today starts to believe she can do so much more in the future.  Able bodied people feel the exact same way.
In a small group class, each person adds energy to the room.  While 1-1 training often revolves around conversations between the client and trainer, group classes are all about great music and the friendships that develop as people get better together.  Just one enthusiastic student can raise the energy in a whole studio, so imagine what 3-6 people can do!
Small group classes have synergy with massage and other activities.  Many people feel they could afford a trainer or a massage therapist, but not both.  Yet for athletes, exercise recovery is just as important as training.  And for those coming back from injury, massage therapy can be a key part of regaining all the mobility they had before.  For the same price as seeing a personal trainer 2 days a week, they could go to 2 days/week of small group fitness training plus 1 day/week of massage therapy.  Others might choose to do 1 day/week of small group personal training plus another 1-2 days/week of dance or yoga classes.
Lisa Snow
ACE & NSCA Certified Personal Trainer

President

On the Mend Customized Fitness and Massage

3 Summer Workout Circuits

June 20, 2016

 

Summer is finally upon us! During this time of the year, the last thing that some of us want to be doing is running on a treadmill facing a wall inside the basement of a building when we could be enjoying a beautiful sunny day outside at the park. So why not just have the best of both worlds and enjoy that sunny day WHILE you get your body moving?

 

Go head to your favorite park, grab a friend or two and get to work!

 

What you need:
Your body
A park bench (or stairs) 
Water to stay hydrated
Motivation

 

Workout:
Circuit 1: Repeat 4 times. Rest 1 minute after 1 circuit is completed.
15 body weight squats
10 push-ups to the bench (or a step)
30 seconds of mountain climbers (with hands placed on bench or step)

 

Jamie botti step upCircuit 2: Repeat 4 times.   Rest 1 minute after 1 circuit is completed.
10 step ups (per leg) to the bench or step
12 tricep dips (with hands on bench or step)
15 burpees with jumping jacks (hands on bench or step for burpees)

 

IMG_2587

Circuit 3: repeat 4 times.  Rest 45 seconds after 1 circuit is completed.

1 minute sprint
30 second plank

 

Drink plenty of water and enjoy the rest of your day in the sun!!

 

Best,
Jamie

 

For a more detailed guide about calisthenics workouts go check out this post: http://www.manvsweight.com/calisthenics-workout

Show Concern For Training Clients Who Miss Sessions

The relationship a personal trainer has with their clients is a special one. Because they are helping this person reach their fitness goals and this person is trusting their trainer to help them, there needs to be open communication between both parties. Both have an impact on the other’s life, so it is only natural that the personal trainer genuinely care about their clients and their needs, but also that the client starts to care about the trainer and believe that they really want to help them.

 

Just as people miss work or school from time to time, they may also miss their Upper East Side personal training session. Things come up and prevent people from making it to their appointments, so it may not mean that something bad has happened if your client is not there for a session or two. However, when a client starts to miss multiple sessions and doesn’t reach out to explain what has happened or try to reschedule, trainers should start to express some concern.

 

Upper East Side personal trainers should show concern for training clients who miss sessions for the following reasons:

 

  • Something may be going on with them mentally, physically or emotionally.
  • Client may not feel you are a good fit for their needs.
  • They may no longer be able to afford personal training sessions.

 

People have gone to an Upper East Side personal trainer for a reason, most likely to change their life and improve their health, so the fact that they do not show up to their sessions could mean something huge. When a client is not being communicative and fails to show up for their sessions, this is not something that personal trainers should ignore. If possible, call or text your client and see if you can get to the bottom of things and ensure that at the very least they are still alive and well.

Exploring NYC’s Personal Training Gyms: Phyt NYC

May 26, 2016

Phyt NYC Personal Training GymPhyt NYC
139 East 57th Street, 6th Floor
New York, NY 10022
(212) 688-7498
jonas@phytnyc.com

 

If there is a center of the New York City personal training community, some may say it is somewhere in the mid-upper 50’s on the East Side.

 

Recently, I had the pleasure of catching up with Jonas Serrano, the Founder of Phyt NYC.  It had been over a year since I had seen him and there was a lot to catch up on.  Since my last visit, Phyt NYC had undergone a lot of changes to improve the experience for both independent personal trainers and their clients.  Mission accomplished.

 

Phyt NYC has always been a great space for trainers.  That’s because, quite frankly, there is plenty of open space.  Plus, you will also find all of the equipment that a personal trainer needs to put a client through a complete workout.  As part of the renovation, Jonas opened up the area even further to incorporate an area for Muay Thai training, which also doubles as a small group training area.

 

Fortunately, this did not compromise the rest of the offerings at Phyt NYC.  You will still find the full array of kettle bells, dumb bells, platforms, and other larger primary pieces of equipment.

 

Phyt NYC has also made the space more convenient.  Jonas installed male and female locker rooms, both with showers and lockers. (Yes, towels are included, too!)  In addition to the daily lockers, Phyt NYC boasts a locker rental opportunity for both trainers and clients.  So, as a personal trainer who spends a lot of time at Phyt NYC, you can “leave your office at the office.”  The cherry on top, for me, was learning that they also have a laundry service. Immediately, I thought about the client who is making every excuse not to exercise.  These amenities help a personal trainer overcome every objection.

 

For Jonas, athletics and exercise has been in the family for generations.  Jonas followed in his father’s athletic footsteps and found his passion for fitness at a very early age.  Athletics, exercise, and family certainly shine through in the culture he has built at Phyt NYC and how he maintains the facility.

 

Every personal trainer has a list of things they want in a facility that they can bring their clients.  Then they have their wish list of other criteria.  Phyt NYC checks a lot of the boxes on both lists.  If you are in the East 50’s, stop by Phyt NYC, ask for Jonas.  Tell him you read this article on NeighborhoodTrainers.  Enjoy!

 

By Glenn Dickstein
By Chris Granville
Gramercy Pilates                               Gotham Gym
Mid-City Gym                                    Thrive
X93                                                        Remorca Fitness
Hype Gym                                            Work Train Fight
Fitness Results                                     Steel Gym
Titan Fitness                                        Atomic Total Fitness
Core Fitness                                         As1Fitness

Navigating The Healthcare Maze

May 22, 2016

 

By Lisa Snow, personal trainer

I recently had a phone conversation with a man who sounded very much like most of my clients.  He had a gym in his Manhattan apartment building, lived in a neighborhood where I train lots of people, and had recently suffered a sports injury.

For the past 8 years, I’ve specialized in post-rehab fitness, so he sounded like a perfect fit.  He’d consistently worked many, many hours a week at his highly skilled desk job (way more than “full time”), yet continued to be a weekend warrior years after his son was born.  Although he did want to improve his overall fitness, his main concern was having just gotten hurt on the ball field.

He’d already been to his MD, gotten it checked out, and discovered that he might or might not need surgery in two months.  This potential client had done everything right-he’d chosen a surgeon at a top hospital, and had gone in IMMEDIATELY.
Many patients wait days or weeks to get a diagnosis, and this has a major negative impact on their outcomes.  His surgeon recommended NOT doing the operation right away, but instead doing some exercise to strengthen the muscles around the injured area.   They set an appointment to reevaluate and make a decision in two months.

As a personal trainer, I’m not able to take health insurance.  Many clients come to me AFTER they’ve been discharged from physical therapy.  Others come to me INSTEAD OF going to therapy right away.  A client’s physician may tell them, “your insurance only covers 3 months of physical therapy visits, and I want you to save them for after your operation.  Why don’t you try going to a trainer before the surgery, to strengthen the area as much as you can?”

Over the course of a 45 minute phone conversation, we discussed his health history (both illnesses and prior injuries), and his goals for the next few months.  When I asked why he hadn’t gone to physical therapy, he said his doctor didn’t mention it.  Then I asked the most important question: “Is that because your doctor doesn’t want you to go to PT until after the surgery, or because he didn’t say anything about PT either way?”  It turns out the patient hadn’t asked about PT.  The next day, he called the surgeon and got a script for PT!  I’m happy because I know he now has the accountability to show up every week and get stronger.  He’s happy because he can now save a significant amount of money by going to someone who takes insurance.  When he gets done with rehab, I’ll still be here if he needs me.

As trainers, our most important job is to help potential clients make the best health & fitness decisions possible-even if it’s not to work with us.  This man was highly educated, an experienced exerciser, and had been through physical therapy before for other injuries.  If people like him find the healthcare system a confusing maze to navigate, imagine how difficult it is for someone having their first injury!  When speaking to your MD, PT, or personal trainer, never be afraid to ask for help thinking through your options.
Lisa Snow
ACE & NSCA Certified Personal Trainer
President

On the Mend Customized Fitness and Massage

April Showers Bring May Flowers: Prepping For Outdoor Workouts

 

 

geo

Working out outdoors provides you with cleaner air, a natural source of vitamin D, and improves your mental focus and mood.  Unfortunately, spring time makes the weather a bit unpredictable.  You can either let the drizzle discourage you or you get out there and enjoy it! Even though you should avoid working out in extreme heat or cold, you can still train or run outside in the rain with some minor adjustments. Here are some tips!
1) Dress accordingly – Your clothes plays a large part in how comfortable you are during your workout. Avoid wearing cotton as it absorbs water and weighs you down.  Choose water-resistant materials or nylons that don’t take in the water.
2) Choose exercises that are appropriate– Exercises that require precise footwork should be avoided as they increase your chance of slipping or falling. If you’re running, consider reducing the speed of your pace to minimize your chances of slipping.
3) Stay visible! – Wear bright colored gear or an attached light to help drivers and others be able to see you.
4) Make a summer playlist – Nothing can improve the mood of a workout like some good tunes; pick a few of your favorite summer beats to get your mind off the cloudy weather!
Remember, cloudy days are no match for a sunny disposition!  Summer here we come!
Happy May!
Geo Chang, C.P.T.
Start making changes today!  Contact Geo!

Geo’s FITNESS TIP OF THE MONTH

Would you like to burn an extra 2,300 calories?  Burn extra calories effortless by turning off the TV or Computer for an entire week!  If you’re a typical 4-hour-a-day viewer like most Americans are, you could torch an extra 2k+ calories by turning off Netflix or HBO for a week and spend that time spinning, shopping, or walking around. Each of these activities require much more energy than staring at Season 2 of whatever series you’re currently on. 🙂