Common Exercise Mistakes

February 10th, 2012

It is not uncommon for people who exercise in or outside health clubs to not know how to use exercise equipment properly, or even safely. Whether you’re a veteran or novice at exercising, it is very important that you get the most out of your workout without injuring yourself.

Some of The Most Common Exercise Mistakes Include:

The All-or-Nothing Approach

If you don’t have all the time you’d like for your workout, a little bit can add up over time, so just do what you can. Having an unbalanced strength training program is not as effective. It is important to work your whole body as well as your core to achieve balance and health.

Not Stretching Enough

It is very important to spend a few minutes stretching the muscles you will be working out before you exercise. It is also as important to stretch for about 8-10 minutes after a workout to reduce the risk of injury and tight muscles.

Poor Technique or Form

Using an incorrect form can lead to unwanted injuries. A few examples of poor technique include: letting the knee extend beyond the toes during a lunge or squat; using momentum to lift heavy weights, and not exercising through a full range of motion. You can learn proper form by working with a certified Personal Trainer.

Not Warming Up

Besides stretching, it is also necessary to gradually warm up to prepare your body for the added demands of aerobic training. Warming up allows your body to re-route blood from your extremities to send oxygen to the muscles, and heart rate elevates to meet the need for oxygen.

Not Cooling Down

Not only does your body need to warm up, but it also needs to cool down. It is important to let your body gradually let your heart rate lower to minimize the chances of blood pooling or feeling light headed.

Inconsistent Progression

Exercising too hard and too often, or increasing intensity too quickly is a common mistake that can lead to soreness and burnout. Consistency and gradual progression is most effective and important for avoiding injury as well as for making improvements.

Incorrect Machine Set-Up

Exercise equipment is adjustable and it’s important that you set it up to fit you before you use it. If you use poorly adjusted equipment it is a set-up for injury. If you don’t know how, ask a staff person

Lifting Too Much Weight

Too much weight contributes to poor form when lifting and creates injury to other areas of your body including the muscles you are targeting. The most effective workout is one that is gradual progressive resistance training.

Not Drinking Enough Water

Drinking water replenishes all your fluid needs.

Poor Gym Etiquette

This can range from simple rudeness like lingering on machines, bad body odor, or not wiping your sweat from machines. Always be considerate of other exercisers.

Poor Goal Setting

If you begin an exercise routine with unrealistic or vague goals this can lead to dropout. The key is to establish a training goal that is specific and appropriate for your fitness and skill level.

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2 Exercises For Toned Abs

January 9th, 2012

In the United States, having a six-pack is all the rage—and the same can be said about the world! For most people, they salivate over the tight abs they see celebrities and models have in the media.  The majority of society has placed a certain sex appeal and mystique on abs that can’t be shaken—people want to see as well as have—washboard abs.

Besides just showing off your body, having toned abs is also important for professional and other serious athletes because a good set of abs is responsible for maintaining the stability in the center of their body.  Having toned abs protects your organs and your spine while providing the strength to move around large amounts of weight.  If you want to be able to move around considerable amounts of weight, you still need to have a strong central core even though you have arm and back strength.  Therefore, if you do these 2 ab exercises on a regular basis, you will be on track to having a tightened central core!

Ab Exercise #1–The Bicycle Crunch

The bicycle crunch is one of the best exercises to do for your abs, including your obliques.  Keep in mind that there is no real bicycle involved with this type of exercise.  This ab workout actually uses the weight and resistance of your own body, and if the workout is too easy you can add weights to your ankles or legs.

To do the bicycle crunch you can follow this process:

  1. While you are lying on the floor, put your hands behind your head.  (Do not lock your fingers as you don’t want to be pulling your head upward during the exercise using your arms.)
  2. Elevate your shoulder blades using your ab muscles as if you are performing a crunch.
  3. Raise your knees so that they are bent and your calf muscles are parallel to the floor, then slowly begin pedaling your legs as if you are on a bicycle.
  4. Finally, constrict your abs with each “row” by touching your knee with the opposite elbow (as you pull your knee up.)

 

During this ab workout, and/or any workout, remember to maintain your breathing–never hold your breath!  Your shoulders should be elevated at all times, and you should not be using your hands to keep them elevated!

Ab Exercise #2–Vertical Leg Raise

Doing a vertical leg raise will always be ideal for targeting your lower ab muscles, and with the variations in movement, this exercise can also work your obliques as well!

This ab exercise works best from a captain’s chair, and by following this process you will be able to start working out your abs by doing a vertical leg raise:

  1. Hold up your body by putting your elbows on the parallel pads with your back flush to the backpads.
  2. Grasp the provided hand holds and let your feet hang.
  3. Lift your knees near your chest.
  4. Pause and flex your abs then lower your legs carefully just before the starting position and begin again. (Never try to let your feet rest by dangling them.)

 

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5 Tips To Re-Start Your Exercise Routine

December 6th, 2011

So, it’s been a few months since you’ve worked out, ran, or even seen the inside of the gym that you pay monthly to get into.  After the wait, now the question you may be asking yourself is: how do you start and maintain your routine of starting out all over again?

Well, there is no need to worry because when you have established a routine, it becomes automatic. In fact, you just go to the gym—with no force at all.  However, after months or maybe a year off, it can be difficult to get started up again.

If you are having trouble getting into gym mode, here are four tips to help you get into the groove again:

Don’t Stop!

The best way to maintain is simply not to stop. Do not take extensive breaks in working out or re-starting the habit will be harder.

Work out for 30 Days

Make it an obligation to go every day (even for a half hour) for one month. This will strengthen your exercise routine. By working out steadily, you also take pressure off yourself in the first weeks back of contemplating over whether or not you should go.

Have Fun!

If you don’t have fun at the gym, gym time will be a drag. There are tons of ways you can work out, so don’t give up if you’ve determined that using dumbbells or doing pushups isn’t for you.  A lot of fitness centers will offer a variety of programs to choose from.

Stress Relief

What is it that you do when you’re under pressure? Chances are it isn’t running!  Exercise can be a great way to relieve stress, releasing endorphins that can better your mood. Also, when stress relief is related to exercise, it is easier to start working out after a period of not.

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Mind Blowing Exercise

October 28th, 2011

Exercising is not only about toning your thighs, building biceps, or keeping your belly flat, it is also the best thing you can do for your brain.

How So?

Daily exercise zaps harmful stress chemicals, boosts problem-solving skills, planning, and makes you more attentive. It also alleviates pain, both physical and mental. Exercise affects many sites within the nervous system and sets off pleasure chemicals such as serotonin and dopamine that make us feel calm, happy, and euphoric. There is nothing better than stimulating your nervous system (to function at a higher level) than through exercise.

Working out also helps keep us from ruminating by altering blood flow to areas in the brain involved in triggering us to relive stressful thoughts. In addition, a study from the University of California at San Francisco found that women who were stressed and exercised for at least forty five minutes over three days showed fewer signs of aging compared to stressed women who did not exercise. Further research also suggests that burning three hundred and fifty calories three times a week will reduce the symptoms of depression as effectively as antidepressants.  Exercising actually stimulates the growth neurons in certain regions of the brain damaged during depression!

Through exercise, brain chemicals called “growth factors” increase to help make new brain cells and new connections (between brain cells to help you learn!) In addition, engaging in complicated activities allows brain cells to grow and enhances our attention and concentration skills. German researchers found that high school students scored better on high attention tasks after doing ten minutes of a complicated fitness routine compared to ten minutes of regular activity. Those students who did not exercise scored the worst. Furthermore, self-esteem and body image is improved just by seeing fitness improvements!

The benefits of exercise are endless to your physical, emotional, mental being!

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Three Tips to Build and Maintain Muscle

September 2nd, 2011

Train Under An Hour

You should be keeping whatever program you are doing to no more than one hour.  You should also make sure that you are centering
on maintaining the force high, as opposed to making the workout drag on. There have been a numerous amount of studies on how bad things may happen to your hormonal state if you are training for over an hour. Also, when trying to gain weight, you would want to work out harder rather than longer.

Make Eating A Habit

To gain weight you need to focus on making your meals a habit rather than an afterthought. Your body is pre-programmed with your genetic disposition. Also, if you have a very fast metabolism that digests and burns calories quickly, you will need to consume more meals.

So even though you may limit yourself to the average of three meals a day (even if they may be high calorie meals) your body is going to burn through these very quickly.  You should focus on having five to six meals a day spaced two to three hours apart so that your body is
constantly being provided with something to metabolize and build muscle. Eating is one of the best ways to build muscle fast and accounts for nearly three thirds of body building achievement.

Take It Easy

Learn to relax more and try limiting any strenuous activity outside of the gym as much as possible so that when you are in the gym you have the energy to put forth to good use.  Rest is best and often one of the forgotten ways to build muscle fast in between strenuous workouts.

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Importance of Top Tier personal Training certification in becoming a fitness trainer

October 27th, 2010

Top Tier Personal Training Certification or TTPTC is a certification provided by the non-profit organization in the area of health and fitness. The certification is exclusively designed to educate, inform and advocate the safety of persons who undertake physical fitness programs in the fitness centers. At present there’s no exclusive regulation for the personal trainers who are engaged in offering personal fitness training programs. It is seen that health and body fitness training programs pose great threat to the novice exercisers in many ways. TTPTC is an exclusive certification which is primarily meant for increasing the standard of personal fitness training. It also gives the recommendations and authorized certification to the personal fitness trainers.

It is very important to note here that TW-CC A-CPT, NSCA-CSCS and ACSM-HFI certifications demand maximum number of education and other regulations in order to make any average personal trainer turn into certified personal trainer for all intents and purposes. The best thing about the certification is that NCCA accredits it. With this basic information available on TTPTC, it becomes very important here to know about the importance of TTPTC for becoming a best fitness trainer.

TTPTC ensures high standards of physical fitness and training – The high standards o f physical fitness training achieved through TTPTC allow individuals to rely in the physical fitness trainer and also the physical fitness program. TTPTC ensures assurance in the individual about fitness trainer and its exercises.

The personal fitness trainer will become a Certified Personal Trainer –TTPTC adds advantage to the personal fitness trainer by providing him with the best fitness training certification, and the individuals start relying on the fitness training exercises provided by the certified personal trainer.

TTPTC ensures Good Quality and Safe Personal Training – If you are an individual who is looking for personal fitness training, then make sure that you only opt for TTPTC physical fitness trainer. This will provide you with complete safety and moreover, you’d also enjoy good quality physical fitness training.

TTPTC ensures Professionalism in Physical Fitness Training – If you are being trained by TTPTC physical fitness trainer, then you are confident to receive completely professional fitness training program. It is quite obvious that you’d be on the upper edge altogether.

TTPTC ensures Quality in Physical fitness training – A quality based physical fitness program helps in boosting the confidence of an exerciser. Remember, quality based fitness training program can only be conducted by TTPTC physical fitness trainer and not just by anybody.

Whether you are exercising out there in the personal training schools, or you are working out there in the gym, a personal fitness trainer having personal training TTPTC certificate will give you peace of mind, as you will be in completely safe hands.

Visit http://nptifitness.com to know more about Personal Training Certification.

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Guidelines for personal fitness training program

September 9th, 2010

Personal fitness training can be a great opportunity to work with different people while helping them achieve their fitness goals and also earn a living at the same time. You can create a rewarding career if you have the right blend of certification and experience. The following guidelines will tell you how to become a personal trainer.

See if you have the right skills – You need to have a variety of skills if you want to become a personal trainer. You should like working with different kinds of people. You should be logical, patient, organized, an effective motivator and, most significantly, a good listener.

Choose a Certification – There are a variety of organizations offering different personal fitness training certification, classes, workshops and exams for getting certified in personal fitness. Choose an organization that is widely recognized and accredited and also find out how much the certification would cost you.

Select a specialty – Though it is not necessary, but in this competitive market, fitness trainers can get preference over others by getting specialty certifications. By getting a specialty certification, you can offer more and also you can usually charge a little more for your services.

Look for a Job at a Club – Call some clubs in your area and ask them if they can give you a job of a personal trainer. If they agree, you can submit your application and also visit some of the major clubs on the Internet to see what vacancies they have.

Set up your own business – You can set up your own business which requires choosing a business entity (i.e., sole proprietorship, partnership, etc.), choosing a business name, registering your company, getting liability insurance, setting up your gym (if you’re training from your own home), targeting potential clients, and marketing yourself.

Market Yourself – Once your business is set up, it’s time to advertise yourself in the market. This means making flyers, newsletters, business cards, and most importantly making a website. You can also advertise yourself by posting flyers in stores, getting friends and family members to spread the word and sending out flyers and newsletters to people you know.

Improve Your Skills and Education – You can continue your education and training if you want to keep your certification and be a good fitness trainer. There are some companies in the market who offer you continuing education courses.

Beyond Personal Training – Once you get success as an established personal fitness trainer, there are other opportunities available to you. You can start consulting, fitness writing, athletic coaching, and group fitness instruction or even open your own gym.

You don’t have to necessarily work in a gym only as a personal trainer. Personal fitness trainers work in all kinds of different areas: corporate fitness, cruises, resorts, spas, online training and more.

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