How to take your home workouts to the next level

Welcome back to this week’s edition of 2-Minute Tuesdays where we are talking about one exercise topic for two minutes and giving you three reasons why you should follow our advice.  Now this week, we’re talking to those of you who workout at home.  You’re not fans of the gym.  You don’t go to the gym.  You get it all in at home.  What things do you need to make sure to do in order to maximize your workouts at home.

 

(more…)

The Best Version Of You

It is common knowledge that exercising on a regular basis allows your body feel and function its best, but yet many people fail to incorporate exercise into their daily schedule.  Work, kids, social lives, managing a household, various interests and ambitions, and finding some time to relax all tend to take priority over physically challenging our bodies to improve our health and wellbeing.  However, this is not the case for everybody.

(more…)

Kids back in school? Get your workouts in with these tips!

Welcome back to this week’s edition of 2-Minute Tuesdays where we are talking about one exercise topic for two minutes and giving you three reasons why you should follow our advice.  Now this week, we are talking to those of you who have kids who are back in school.  Their after-school activities are increasing, and you still need to find the time to workout.  How can you do this with the increased schedule demand in the afternoon hours?

(more…)

The Minimum Exercise Necessary To Improve Health

Welcome back to this week’s edition of 2-Minute Tuesdays where we are talking about one exercise topic for two minutes and giving you three reasons why you should follow our advice.  Now this week, we are talking to those of you who are looking to do the bare minimum.  What is the least amount of exercise you should be aiming to get in each and every week in order to maintain and improve your health?

 

(more…)

Brain Health – The Importance of Exercise

It is common knowledge that exercise is necessary for a healthy body, but what about for a healthy brain?  While we would love for our skeletal muscles, joints, and heart to stay strong and functioning well as we age, making sure our brain stays sharp is of the utmost importance, too.  Can exercise help us maintain or even improve our cognitive function as we battle Father Time?  And, if so, what do various studies suggest in terms of the type of exercise to do as well as the frequency, intensity, and duration?

As a personal trainer and Muscle Activation Techniques® practitioner in Schaumburg, IL, using exercise to help my clients stay physically healthy as they age is a fundamental aspect of my business.  I am well-aware of the potency of appropriate exercise when it comes to battling chronic illnesses and improving physical function and quality of life.  However, I was not well-versed in the impact that exercise can have on cognitive function.

It is not uncommon for clients to report that they feel mentally “sharper” after beginning to exercise on a regular basis.  But what does the literature have to say about this?  Is there information to validate these seemingly subjective claims?

Fortunately for all of us, the answer is yes.  Exercise does appear to have both a positive impact on performance during cognitive tasks as well as on the physical structure of the brain itself, as determined by functional MRI.  And there is a mounting pile of research to back it up.

What is even more interesting–at least to me–is that not only are these changes in cognitive function dependent on the types of activity that are done, but the positive brain impacts are dependent on the frequency, duration, and intensity of the exercise, as well.

(more…)

On a time budget? Exercise with these three tips.

Welcome back to this week’s edition of 2-Minute Tuesdays where we are talking about one exercise topic for two minutes and giving you three reasons why you should follow our advice.  Now this week, we’re talking to those of you who are on a time budget.  Those of you who want to exercise, who need to exercise, but your schedule is super restricted.  How can you still fit exercise in with a limited time budget?

 

(more…)

Hip Ab/Adduction Machine – 3 Reasons You Need To Be Using This

Welcome back to this week’s edition of 2-MInute Tuesdays where we are talking about one exercise topic for two minutes and giving you three reasons why you should follow our advice.  Now this week, we are talking about a specific machine.  In fact, this machine is usually just thought of as “the ladies’ machine”.  But, we need to explain to the fellas why you need to be using it as well.

The machine we are talking about is the hip abduction and adduction machine.  That is the machine where you sit down and you push your legs out or you sit down and you push your legs together.

(more…)

Barbell vs. Dumbbells – Which is better?

“Which is most effective to gain mass in my arms – the rod, the barbell, or the curly?”  This question was posted on Quora.com recently.  While there are many exercise and fitness questions that I choose to skip over, I decided to answer this one because I felt it highlighted a common misunderstanding in the fitness industry.  There is a notion out there that the results you get from exercise are somehow dependent on the tool (machine, free weight, cable, band, etc.) that is used while exercising.  And, if you use one tool versus another, that you will get better results (more muscle, less fat, increased strength, improved endurance, and so forth).

(more…)

Soreness With Exercise – 3 Considerations When Feeling Sore

Welcome back to this week’s edition of 2-Minute Tuesdays where we are talking about one exercise topic for two minutes and giving you three reasons why you should follow our advice.  Now this week, we are talking to those of you who love working out to the point where you are sore.  You wake up the next day and you feel achy and you love that feeling.  Why should you work out not to the point of soreness?


(more…)