How To Choose A Personal Trainer... A Good One.

It's been a while since I have posted a blog. So, I figured why not start off by talking about personal trainers. Yes, I am a personal trainer (NSCA-CPT)so I am around other trainers all the time. A fellow trainer recently told me, "your certification is only as good as you are." Then said he train clients well enough to make them feel like they are getting results, but not enough to "cure" them of the issue that brought them to the gym in the first place. That brings me to believe he has a "study over the weekend" internet certification. So I put him in the category of a bad trainer. I could be wrong, but hey it's my own opinion. But, you know a lot of clients don't know any better. Some will choose a personal trainer based on looks, physique, how many clients hs/she has, or by watching him or her have their client(s) do some crazy exercise that serves no purpose. Of course, you don't want to choose a fitness trainer that does not look like they are in shape or eat healthy, but that shouldn't be at the top of your list. Here are some things you should look for in a quality personal fitness trainer: 1. Certification/Education 2. Experience 3. Style of training 4. Results/Success stories 5. Trainers own lifestyle (Fitness and diet) Certification/Education- All personal fitness trainers should have some type of accredited certification and education background. Though it is not required by law, it does show that the trainer does have some kind of knowledge and they are willing to invest in their career. Now, there are quite a few certifications to choose from. The top Organizations are NSCA, ACSM, NASM, ACE and ISSA. They are accredited certifications and requires the trainers to continue studying new information in order to stay certified. Don't go for the trainers with internet certification that was received over the weekend. That's not the trainer you want! Experience- When searching for a personal trainer, you want to look for someone with some type of experience. Whether it's educational and/or hands-on, they need to have something under their belt. Picking some novice that's never trained a client, no educational background or some "Joe" that you've seen lifting heavy weights at the gym is high risk for a possible injury, espcailly when you're a rookie too. That is a recipe for disaster and a high medical bill. I saw a guy with no training skills working out with a friend of his. They were in the squat rack and the next thing I know the friend is folded up by the barbell because he was mimicking the other guy's bad squatting form with too much wieght... Hire a professional. Style of training- Every trainer has or should have a special niche. Whether it's weight loss programs, Cardio endurance or Metabolic training (my specialty), we have a style of training. If your goal is to lose 10lbs. and look lean, you should go to someone that specializes in that area and not a trainer that works better with clients looking to gain muscle size and mass. Common sense, right? So when searching for a personal trainer, make sure they fit in with the goal(s)you have set for yourself. Results/Success stories- A personal trainer talking about what he/she can do is ok. But, actions speaks so much louder. Before and after photos of clients are a great way for a trainer to show you their exercise programs give results. As the old saying goes,"a picture speaks a 1,000 words." In this case, it does. Not only does it show the total body transformation physically, but sometimes the way the client(s) feel about themselves also shows through the picture. Another is success stories or testimonies. It's a great tool for clients to write down their exeperience with the personal trainer, from the obstacles they may have faced to the end results. Trainers own lifestlye (Fitness and diet)- We are "walking billboards". When I say we, I'm talkng about personal trainers. I know I said you should lnot choose a trainer based on looks, BUT I still believe a trainer should practice what they preach. I've never understood why some people sign up with overweight lazy trainers. I see it too often. Is it because they feel like they can relate? I don't know. Personally I would never go to someone for fitness and nutrition advice when that person is not living a healthy lifestyle. It's like going to a broke person and asking for financial advice. It makes no sense. Ultimately it's your choice on the type of personal trainer you choose to hire to help you reach your fitness goals. But remember, "you get what you pay for."

Dispelling Exercise Myths: Part 1

Many people have been misinformed about the health and fitness industry over the years. With so many weight loss and muscle building gimmicks on the market it’s very difficult to know what works and what doesn’t. Well it’s time to put the myths to rest for good.

1. Myth: Cardio is all you need to do to get in shape.

Truth: Cardiovascular exercises are important to include in your weekly workout routine, but it should not be the only type exercising you perform. The next time your in the gym check out the cardio section. It will be dominated by the Cardio and Kings and Queens. While it is great for the heart and burning subcutaneous, visceral and retroperitoneal fat, too much cardio can cause skeletal and organ muscle loss, which will create a weight loss plateau. A loss of muscle tissue means your metabolism will slow down. Did you know that muscle tissue burns more calories than fat? So, the more muscle you have the more calories you burn, even when you’re not exercising. Weight lifting burns calories and fat too. It all depends on the intensity and design of the workout program. Cardio training is great, but weight training is needed as well. Mix the weight or resistance and cardio training together to make the workout more interesting. Do cardio intervals in between weight training sets.

2. Myth: Weight lifting will make you bulky and masculine.

Truth: Wrong! This is directed towards the women. It takes much more than lifting weights to make a female get bulky and/or masculine. For most women it’s extremely difficult. High levels of Testosterone hormones, genetics, high caloric intake and weight load percentage are all factors for getting bigger or bulky. So ladies, unless you meet this criteria, you don’t have anything to worry about. In fact, weight lifting is needed because other than increasing lean muscle mass and giving definition and curves to the body, it also increases bone mass density. This is very important, especially in the female population because osteoporosis (bone density loss) is common amongst women. On average, after the age of 30 a woman’s bone density starts to decrease. So don’t be afraid to pick up a barbell, dumbbell or a kettlebell the next time you‘re in the gym! “Lift hard and heavy to really stand out amongst the Cardio Queens.”

3. Myth: You can burn fat in specific areas of the body.

Truth: Spot reduction of fat is not possible. Sorry to burst your bubble, but it isn’t true. The only way you can loss fat from one targeted area is if you get it sucked out, and that’s not the best option to consider. The body will produce energy from the fat all through the body. When someone is running on the treadmill, the only major muscle group that person is using are the muscles in the legs, but fat is still being burned in the abdominal area, chest, back, and arms.

4. Myth: Carbs are bad. Bread and pasta will make you fat.

Truth: Carbohydrates are the main source of energy for the body. Before fat is used as an energy, carbs are used first. Complex carbohydrates are the type that should be apart of your daily diet. These consist of whole wheat bread and pastas, brown and/or wild rice, green leafy vegetables, sweet potatoes, fruit and etc. The simple carbohydrates such as cake, pie, white bread, candy, sodas and sugar filled juices are bad. Stay away from that stuff! So remember, complex carbs are not your enemy, they are your source of energy. Now as far as bread and pasta making you fat, well anything can make you fat. Eating a lot of vegetables and not working out will make you fat. It’s matter of watching how much you are eating.



5. Myth: If you eat less meals you will lose more weight.

Truth: This myth needs to be put to rest for good and thrown in the river! So many people think if they eat 1-2 meals a day they will lose weight. You might lose some weight initially, but the body will quickly plateau and the weight loss will stop. You are starving the body and that is never a good thing! Actually most people gain weight when they only eat a couple of times per day. It’s called Binge Eating. Our body goes into starvation mode and when you eat a lot of calories at one time, your body will hold on to all of the macronutrients and store it as fat because it doesn’t know when it will receive more food. The recommended meals per day is 5-6. That’s breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack(optional). Depending on the current weight and goals of an individual, the caloric intake for each meal will vary.

This is obviously only a few of many myths that are out there misleading people. I could probably write about hundreds of myths. But this is definitely a start to dispel them. When someone gives you advice about health and fitness, make sure you do your own research to see if it makes sense.

TRX Suspension Trainer. Is it worth the hype?

I have been working out for about 3 years now. Of course in the beginning it was off and on (more off than on). But, the longer I stuck with it, the more addicted I became. I was the type of guy that believed that the only way to build strength and muscle mass is to lift heavy weights even if it felt like your arms or legs are going to fall off. Well I went through a course to become a NSCA Certified Personal Trainer and all of those ridiculous thoughts flew out of the window. One day, the class took a field trip to a local gym. (sounds kind of weird being that I'm 28 years old and Im talking about field trips.) The head trainer at the gym showed us around the place. Pretty typical gym so I wasn't really amazed by anything. Until, he showed the class this flat yellow and black thing with two handles.

It kind of grabbed my attention because I've never seen anything like it. So the guy told us that it's called the TRX Suspension Trainer. He explained that it is a body weight exercise equipment that help build your core during every exercise. I thought that was kind of cool because a strong core is one of the main things most people lack. Without a strong core it's difficult for a person to properly perform certain exercises or even do things during their daily activities. Anyway, he told to go online to find out more information about the TRX if I was interested in learning more about it. When I returned home after class, I did just that. I became so intrigued by this exercise equipment that basically could be used anywhere I had to take a training course. I mean you can hang it from the door in your home, on the pull up bar at the gym, a tree outside, a lightpole in the city, the fence around the basketball or tennis court at the park and many more places. It's amazing! Ok, back to the training course. I had to wait for a quite a while until I could take the course because their wasn't a class anywhere near Nashville until months later. Time went on and I was still training myself with traditional weights anticipating the day I can change that.
FINALLY! A class became available in Franklin, TN on November 6th at 8am. I had to sign up ASAP!

Now the night before the training course I felt like a kids on Christmas Eve. I could not sleep! You would think I would've been tired the next day, but I was so excited! Ok, so I make it to the gym that's hosting the TRX training course and we get started shortly after I arrive. After about 10 minutes into the course I made up my mind that I was buying the TRX! On our first break I filled out the order form and turned it in. By time the course was over at 5pm, I was taking my TRX home!

See let me explain something really quick. I've never been the type that buy into the workout equipment they sale on TV. Most of that stuff is junk! So for me to be so excited about this equipment is a big deal to me.

I have been using the TRX Suspension Trainer with my clients as well as myself. It builds strength, core, endurance,flexibility, balance and power with each exercise. When have you ever heard of building core strength and balance while doing a bicep curl with dumbbells? NEVER! Well you can with the TRX! It's all body weight exercises with many variations of each exercise and different ranges of difficulty. Anything you can do with free weights or machines you can do with this! In my opinion, this is the best exercise equipment created since the invention of the dumbbells. By the way, it was created by a guy in the Navy Seals for him and fellow soldiers to use when there was on exercise equipment available but in my opinion this is much better than hit the weights in the gym. Don't think it's hard to use because it was made for the Navy Seals. Anybody can use it. from novice clients to professional athletes. New Orleans Saints QB, Drew Brees and Denver Nuggets forward, Carmello Anthony both use the TRX and so can people that haven't worked out in 5-10 years. So don't sleep on this Nashville! It could be the best thing you ever invest in to help yourself become healthier and more fit.



Click the link for more information. TRX Suspension Trainer

Get Those Abs of Steel

If you made a list of body parts that would like to improve, where would Abs lie on that list? #1 or #2? Well we all know that the mid section can be difficult to manage. I'm going to display an Ab and Oblique workout I came up with that will definitely get that chiseled mid-section.

Ab & Oblique Circuit A

Tuck Crunch 15-20 reps
Reverse Crunch 15-20 reps
Side Plank hold 30 seconds each side
Hanging Knee Raise 12-15 reps
Mountain Climbers on BOSU or Stability Ball 30 reps
Russian Twist 30 seconds
Seated Knee-Up 15-20 reps

Ab & Oblique Circuit B

Straight-Arm Weighted Stability Ball Crunch 15-20 reps
Decline Bench Crunch 15-20 reps
Standing Cable Crunch 20-30 reps
Opposite Arm-Leg Plank hold 30 seconds
Side Plank with Under Reach 30 seconds
Side Oblique Crunch 15-20 reps
Bicycle Crunch 20-25 reps
Half Burpee 15-30 seconds

Perform circuit A or B 3-4 times, resting 60 seconds at the end of the each circuit. For those that don't know what circuit training is, it's when you go through each exercise once with no rest between exercises until you reach the end of the workout. You rest for 60 seconds then start over.
Remember to drink plenty of water. You can perform ab workouts 2-3 nonconsecutive days per week. You definitely don't want to over train your muscles.

If the workout is too easy then increase the reps or add weights. If it's too hard then decrease the reps. Follow this workout routine for 4 weeks and you will start to see results.

Tenn. ranks second highest for obesity

Courtesy of WKRN Nashville

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Obesity rates are rising across the country, and Tennessee lands near the top of the list in a new report.

The "F as in Fat" report from Trust for America's Health and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation ranks the state as the second most obese in the nation, tied with Alabama.

The report shows that 31.6 percent of adults, more men than women, in Tennessee are obese.

The state is one of eight showing rates more than 30 percent in the annual report this year.

Tennessee also has the sixth highest childhood obesity rate, at 20.6 percent.

Minority groups were also ranked state by state. Tennessee had the highest rates of obesity in the country for Latinos, while the state ranked sixth among blacks.

Poverty and lack of access to health foods and safe neighborhoods were listed as top reasons for the high rates.

State health commissioner Susan Cooper says she's disappointed by not surprised and that change will not happen overnight.

A public health survey found parents' awareness of obesity is rising too, but that knowledge has not translated into results.

With 84 percent of parents believing their children are at a healthy weight, nearly a third of teens are considered overweight.

Mississippi has had the highest rate of obesity for the past six years.

Read more about the "F as in Fat" report at HealthyAmericans.org.

Burpees and Reverse Lunge with Bicep Curl

This is first of many videos to come. In this video I am demonstrating two exercises. The first exercise is called The Burpee. Weird name yes I know! But it's a great exercise that targets the chest, shoulders(anterior), triceps,abs quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes.

The second exercise is called the Reverse Lunge with Bicep Curl. This exercise targets the biceps,quadriceps, glutes, and hamstrings.
Doing multi-muscle exercises not only saves times by hitting more than one muscle group at a time but it also makes the workout a little more interesting. Enjoy!

The Oddy Body Syndrome

Ladies, what is your body's best feature? Is it your legs? Chest or your Abs? Maybe it's your butt. Whatever it is, some of you must do a lot of work to make sure it's "toned up" and looks good. Right? Well, the reason why I'm curious to know is because as a new trainer in the fitness industry I have noticed that a majority of women that either workout alone or with a friend, or hire a trainer to get them in shape only want to exercise the rectus abdominis (abs), glutes (butt) or legs. Sometimes they may want to tone up the arms but mainly the areas I just mentioned. But, what people fail to realize is if you don't work on the whole body you will have an disproportionate body, bad posture, and to put it in simple terms you will have an "oddy body." We can talk about each muscle group, but this blog will be entirely too long, so lets pick abs to discuss today since that seems to be numero uno on the females list to tighten up.

Recently, I heard a younger woman say, "I just want to lose my stomach." "I don't want to do any arms, legs, butt or back exercises, just abs." Of course as a personal trainer it's my job to create a full body workout anyway and put an emphasis on rectus abdominis and external oblique training. But there's those that still absolutely refuse to do the exercises that does not directly workout the ab area. JUST PLAIN STUBBORN! OK... maybe its because they don't have big legs, or jiggly arms so they don't feel the need to improve them. Maybe they think they'll get bulky from weights. You'll get bulky ONLY if you lift heavy weights. Your eating habit also play a big part in body size as well, but we're not going into that right now.

Let's briefly go back to the first blog I wrote about obesity. Just because your not fat does not automatically mean you are healthy. When you're not exercising your muscles on a normal basis, you're losing them. Not only that, you are also losing bone density and minerals which will cause osteoporosis which is common in the female population. One reason is due to lack of resistance training. Another reason is it could be hereditary. ALSO, there has been studies showing people that do not perform any cardio or resistance training with the lower body have a greater risk of a cardiovascular disease. Doesn't sound to good does it?! Didn't think so.

Let go back to abs momentarily. OK so you want only want workout your abs and nothing else.... POP QUIZ! What happens when you have a strong rectus abdominis wall but since you did not want to do any back exercises, your lower back is weak? ANSWER: You will have bad posture and will cause you to have back pain. Your muscles work together in more ways than you think.

There's many exercises that you can do workout multiple body parts at once. I will post some videos soon demonstrating some of them. BUT, there's one in particular that will not only work the legs (Quadriceps and Hamstrings) but it also work muscles in the glutes, lower back and you guessed it, the abs! This exercise is called the Back Squat aka " The King of Exercises." The Back Squat is one of the most basic exercises known to man. I will say it does take a little practice to get the proper technique down. Proper exercise technique is definitely important to prevent the risk of injury. Something that many people don't know is that Squats actually work the rectus abdominis more than an ab exercise does such as the crunches or sit-ups. Don't believe me? Go do some barbell squats and see how tight your abs get. Now just because it works out all of those muscle groups I just mentioned, don't think you can go do some squats for 10 reps and you're good for the week. It doesn't work like that! You still have to target each muscle individually to build up more strength. The whole point of this blog is to get you to understand that just because your goal is to tone up your legs, butt, or abs does not mean you can neglect the rest of your body or you will be "Oddy Body".

Many men have this problem too only wanting to build up the chest and biceps but their back is so weak due to lack of training the back muscles, they are walking around with the shoulders push forward and a hump in the their back. Even worse is men with large upper bodies, but they have bird legs. NOT COOL! So workout your whole body. It'll thank you later.