In my last post on the four exercise necessities for building muscle, the first point I brought was that when lifting weights you should be performing repetitions until you cannot perform another one. As a personal trainer in Schaumburg, I realize this is very difficult to do, especially if you do not have a trainer, spotter, or workout partner to help you.
As a personal trainer in Schaumburg, I am seeing that the fitness field today is all about what’s HOT, NEW, and TRENDY. This stuff is attractive and appealing to the masses. The good news is it is getting people into exercise. However, did you know that there are actually scientific principles behind exercise that almost no developer behind HOT, NEW, and TRENDY fitness paths seem to consider?
As a personal trainer in Schaumburg, I see a number of papers, books, and articles written on building muscle. In fact, this is probably one of the most frequently discussed subjects within mainstream fitness.
However, a lot of these publications and discussions miss the boat on what actually needs to happen from an exercise-conditions standpoint. And honestly, it is really not as complicated as some sources make it out to be.
It is that time of year again! The kids are out of school, the grill is fired up, and your schedule is PACKED with summertime activities. So long to any idea of getting in some exercise time between now and Labor Day… But wait! You CAN still get your exercise in this summer!
“How?” you ask?
One thing I am seeing in the exercise industry is a lack of specificity. In particular, specificity when it comes to exercise design and prescription for an individual. This bleeds over into many areas – the type of exercise, the dosage of the exercise, the speed/tempo at which the exercise is performed, the tools used to perform the exercise. In fact, almost everything in the exercise industry is the complete opposite of specific. One size fits most programs; group fitness classes; semi-private training; exercise DVDs, books, and online programs; and exercise tips given to the masses are all examples of this.
Both group fitness and personal training are great things, right? But have you considered how different they are?
Growing up I was a dancer. In fact, my dance company competed a lot at competitions with other dance companies. What I loved about dance was not learning the technique, or learning the steps, or memorizing the choreography. I loved performing on stage.
And you know what? I won. All. The. Time. Best facial expressions. Best costume. Best role playing. All this, and I still often forgot the ‘real’ dance stuff. I was awful at choreography, memorization, and technique. BUT, I could perform. And that ALWAYS stole the judges’ hearts. (more…)
Throughout my life, I have held many views on exercise. Initially, I was a sports performance guy. Anything that could improve my performance from an athletics standpoint was worth doing. That was the lens I viewed exercise through. Shortly after that I started focusing on two things: size and strength. I wanted to get bigger and I wanted to get stronger. That was about it. However, now the conversation for me begins and ends with health. Read more…
The Academy of Applied Personal Training Education (AAPTE) has established its first hub (outside of its home in New York) in the Chicago-land area at Muscle Activation Schaumburg! AAPTE is a nationally accredited certification for the health and fitness professional. Did you know that almost all of the 14 accredited certification programs in the nation are home-study programs? When I got certified, I bought a book (actually I borrowed my friend’s) and took an exam. That Read more…
When you exercise, you use the muscles that are working well. In fact, we do this all the time, even when we are not exercising. We naturally default to making tasks as easy for ourselves as possible. Often times, we call this compensation. Having the ability to compensate is a good thing, especially in the short term. If you sprain your ankle, it is better to be able to walk with a limp Read more…
Do you exercise for your entertainment or for your health? As a personal trainer in Schaumburg, this is a question I often have to ask. To understand what I am talking about, picture sports. What is the goal of doing sports? Winning, beating your previous time, finishing as fast as possible, lifting the most amount of weight, and racing others. I am going to categorize these goals as ‘external goals.’ All of these ‘external goals’ Read more…
