Welcome back to this week’s edition of 2-Minute Tuesdays where we bring you one exercise topic, talk about it for two minutes, and give you three reasons why you should follow our advice. This week we are talking about toning. Specifically, if you are looking to tone up, three tips to help you get that nice toned look.
When my personal training clients start working with me on exercise related tasks, they quickly realize that I am always preaching about moving slowly, moving with control, using as much support as possible, and lifting with significant weight. There almost always becomes a time when a client will ask, “Will we always train like this?”. This is such a legitimate question for two main reasons. 1) I don’t know of any other fitness professionals (except my colleagues from my path of study) or gyms that endorse this, and 2) people always want to know that they are doing the best thing for their body to help with their goals.
Here is my answer: We will always have a significant portion of your training be like this (slow, controlled, lots of support, and significant weight). Why? This is the Gold Standard of exercise, in my opinion. Let me tell you why. (more…)
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. This week we are bringing you three tips if you are looking to build muscle without tearing up your joints. Three tips to help you support your joints and not get wear and tear.
Exercising for quality is difficult. As a personal trainer and Muscle Activation Techniques™ practitioner in Schaumburg, this is an issue I run into on a daily basis. Exercising for quantity, on the other hand, is much easier. This tends to be the default most people fall back on when they start exercising. It is completely understandable because, as mentioned, it is far easier to exercise for quantity than it is to exercise for quality. But there is a way to change that, and it is simpler than you may think.
First, though, what is exercising for quality versus exercising for quantity? (more…)
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.
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…)
In last week’s post, I discussed why your feet need to move. To recap, your feet are made up of many bones and joints. In order for each of the joints to stay healthy, they have to be able to move. Performing exercises for the muscles of your feet can help with this.
One of the most effective ways of ensuring that your joints are able to move is to make sure your muscles are working well. Why? Because the number one purpose of muscles is to help position and control joints. In other words, muscles help your joints move, so making sure your muscles are working well will help to make sure your joints are moving well. As a certified personal trainer and Muscle Activation Techniques™ specialist in Schaumburg, this is a conversation I often have with my clients. (more…)
Leo Perez, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and competitor for Alliance Jiu-Jitsu and Evolution MMA in Schaumburg, IL, talks about his experience with Muscle Activation Techniques™ (MAT™) and the changes he has noticed after a few months of sessions. Leo discusses some of the differences in his performance, recovery, and training that Read more…
You likely understand that in order for your body to work as well as it can, you should not be eating a diet based around cookies and cupcakes. However, when it comes to exercising, you may be stuck on a metaphorical dessert-heavy diet. As a Muscle Activation Techniques™ specialist and certified personal trainer in Schaumburg, I often have to discuss with my clients the difference between exercising for health and exercising for entertainment.
While what you are currently doing for exercise may seem more fun and entertaining than it’s healthy “organic” counterpart, understand that if you only eat the foods that are highly processed, eventually you are not going to feel well. Likewise, while the high-intensity, made-for-tv-esque exercises may be appropriate for your body from time to time, if that is your only form of exercise, eventually your body is going to be needing something “healthier”. (more…)