Welcome back to this edition of 2-Minute Tuesdays. This is our third video where we are talking about an exercise topic for two minutes and expanding upon it later. Today we are talking about three reasons why we suggest you move slowly when you are doing resistance training. You will Read more…
I used to stretch all the time growing up. I would stretch before I worked out. I would stretch after I worked out. I would stretch in the mornings. I would stretch in the evenings. I would stretch all the time because I wanted to improve my joint mobility and make sure that my body was prepared for my workouts. For over a decade, stretching was a staple in my workout routine.
Despite all of that stretching, I never got to the point where I felt really flexible. I would always feel stiff and achy. My muscles felt chronically tight. This persisted until I made one change to how I was doing my “stretching”. (more…)
Welcome back to 2-Minute Tuesdays! This is the second edition of our weekly show. Today we are going to be talking about the number one thing you need to be thinking about when you are resistance training. And that is …. squeezing the muscles you are working. So, if you are doing a biceps curl, you aren’t thinking about moving the dumbbells up and down. You are actually thinking about squeezing the muscles you are working, which are your biceps. As personal trainers in Schaumburg, this is a HUGE focus for us when we are working with our training clients. (more…)
Check out this awesome testimonial from Julie’s personal training client, Peggy! Peggy describes her experience working with Julie at Muscle Activation Schaumburg. She talks about the intimidation she previously felt when going to the gym and being around personal trainers, and how working with Julie was nothing like that.
Welcome to our first edition of 2-Minute Tuesdays where we bring an exercise topic to you and talk about it for two minutes every Tuesday. Today we are talking about why resistance training is a MUST. Why you MUST include it in your workout plan. Why you can’t just do cardio. Why you MUST be doing some kind of weight training.
Check out a snippet from Charlie’s most recent article on FitnessProfessionalOnline.com, titled “Why Your Clients May Not Be Able To Feel The Exercises You Are Doing With Them“!
“Have you ever had a client that just couldn’t feel the exercise where you wanted them to? Every time you would do a chest press, all they could feel were their deltoids. Or if you did deadlifts, they only felt their hamstrings, never their glutes. You tried cueing them differently or changing how they would do the exercise, but still, they just couldn’t feel the muscles you were trying to work.
Check out this wonderful testimonial from Julie’s personal training and Muscle Activation Techniques™ (MAT™) client, Dave, about his experience working with Julie at Muscle Activation Schaumburg! Dave describes the changes he has noticed over the past few months of regularly exercising with Julie, as well as his progression with strengthening the muscles of his legs and feet using MAT™. He talks about how regular daily activities became easier as his body started functioning better with MAT™ and personal training, as well as the many benefits he experienced by making sure the exercises he was doing were appropriate for his body. (more…)
Many prospective clients tell me that their body seems to be getting achier for no apparent reason. They weren’t in any accident. They don’t have any surgeries to speak of. In fact, they have been relatively healthy their entire lives and cannot pinpoint a single injury or trauma. Yet, it seems that their bodies continue to get achier with each passing year. Activities they once loved to do now take a toll on them. Playing with grandkids, chores around the house, and exercising as they once did leave them feeling beat up. And the number one scapegoat seems to be the aging process.
As a certified personal trainer and Muscle Activation Techniques™ specialist in Schaumburg, I run across these scenarios a lot with prospective clients. After they have been cleared by their medical professional for regular exercise, there are seven tips I suggest they incorporate into their exercise plans. (more…)
I remember when I started taping and wrapping my feet. I would wrap the tape so tightly that I either had to sit or, if I stood, I had to deal with the fact that my toes would be blue. This all started before the age of ten. I remember my feet hurting so badly that I told my mother that I was scared that the bottom arch of my foot was going to literally rip and snap.
I remember my mother putting each of my feet into hard plastic boots before tucking me into my youthful, flower-power pink sheets at night. I remember having to wear the ugliest and clunkiest “pronator” shoes in 3rd grade when all my friends wore pink light-up shoes. I remember hating the 1-mile run day at school because it meant that I wouldn’t be able to participate in dance class later that night. (more…)
In Part One of the Healthy Feet series, I wrote about why your feet must absolutely be able to move. Your feet are made up of 28 bones and over 50 joints, and each one of these need to be able to move in order for the joints to remain healthy. In Part Two, I wrote about why your muscles need to be strong in order to support the bones and joints of your feet. I also recommended three different exercises that you can do to help improve the strength of your feet. Now, we need to talk about why your feet must be stable in order for them to be healthy.
What?? Feet need to be both mobile AND stable?? (more…)