Did you break your arm in 4th grade?

Are you allergic to shellfish?

Did you have rheumatic fever (most people don’t even know what that is anymore but my father had it when he was a child and it shaped his whole life)

What I am trying to say is that only you have your unique set of circumstances. So a program designed for you SPECIFICALLY is going to be the best for you. Classes may be fun and they can be a great addition but they are just that — an addition. The best workout is one designed for you. It is like custom made clothing – always better.

Now a comment to people who have medical conditions. A personal trainer cannot “give you some moves” This really goes for anyone but it is CRITICAL for anyone with hypertension, arthritis, joint issues, diabetes and a host of other conditions. I have people who are in cardio surgery rehab who have asked me “for a few moves” ARE YOU SERIOUS???

Believe me I fully understand that there are financial considerations and you want to keep your training within a budget. But I cannot effectively give you any exercise without knowing you.

It is one of the reasons that my new group fitness classes is restricted to personal training clients only. I am just more comfortable with ensuring your safety and giving you an effective workout.

Yes, I would rather give you nothing at all than suggest something that may not work for you. And that is not cruel — that is SAFETY.

There are a variety of exercises that are much more effective on the look and health of the abdominals that can be added to your routine. When you work with a trainer, you may hear about “drawing in”. Some instructors talk about holding your abs in. These tactics are introduced to protect your back and to help your abs, but it is important to know how to do this properly. It is not just “sucking it in”.

One of these maneuvers is called the “drawing in” and it can make your abdominals look and perform better if you learn to master it.
According to the National Academy of Sports Medicine, the drawing in maneuver should be performed at the beginning of every set. To learn this technique, you can ask a trainer, but here are the basics from the National Academy of Sports Medicine. From your hands and knees (on all fours), pull in your abdominals while keeping your back flat. Hold for as long as you can. Once you can hold this move for 3 reps of 20 seconds each, you can move onto the plank maneuver. The plank maneuver starts in a push-up position (a real push-up, not on your knees!) From that position, you perform the same drawing in as you did on all fours. Pull in your abdominals but maintain a flat back.

Both of these exercises work deep tissue muscles in your abdominals that will help you change the look of your abs as well as keep your core balanced which will keep your abdominal area and all of the areas it supports, healthy.

Abdominal training should also include some work on a Swiss Ball for most people. The Swiss Ball protects your back so even if you have issues with your back, it is usually a good option for most people. There are a whole variety of effective exercises that you can do on the ball. One “on the ball” exercise that you may want to try is a crunch. This is a much more effective way to work your abdominals because you get a greater stretch than a standard crunch.

Do you drink soda? I don’t know how many times a day I hear from personal training clients that they don’t like the taste of diet soda. Somehow they think this justifies drinking 300-400 calories worth of sugary soda. IT DOESN”T. If you want a soda, limit yourself to ONE DIET SODA per day. You need to drink water, not soda. And sugar soda is completely off limits — it is bad for your teeth, your waistline and your health.

Do you like coffee drinks from Starbucks? ME TOO. But I have a Grande NONFAT latte and I limit it to a couple of times a month. I don’t have anything with full fat milk or added sugar or sugary flavors. Some of the chocolate chip/caramel drinks have over 800 calories — like 1/2 day worth of calories.

Do you like to eat out? Really watch your portions — obviously – but also what you eat. Appetizers in restaurants can MURDER a diet. A blooming onion has over 2000 calories and potato skins can have over 2000 calories — avoid anything that even resembles fried cheese.

Do you eat off your kids plate? WHY?? Those couple of mouthfuls of mac and cheese can be the difference between you losing anything that week or not.

Do you hit the candy bowl at work? Work treats like candy and birthday cake. AVOID. And with any cake situation, use the two bite limit. That allows you to taste and be done.

Check back soon for part 5 on weight loss from Douglasville Personal Trainer, Dave Hansey and the Personal Training Blog!

Do you REALLY want to have to start all over again?

Most people only need about 5-6 hours a week to workout. And if during the holidays you drop this down a bit, that is a lot better than blowing it off completely

BUT before you give yourself a license to do less, consider this….. Strength training of 30 mins – an hour 2 -3 times a week is at most 3 hours a week. And cardio of 45 minutes, 4 times a week is 3 hours a week. Total at the very most is 6 hours a week and there are 168 hours in a week.

THAT’S RIGHT — you only need to 6 out of 168. So hmmmmmm, is your workout really the thing in your life that you do not have time for? If you work full time, you are putting about 40-80 hours a week into your job most likely depending on your commute and profession. If you sleep 8 hours every night, you are spending 56 hours asleep.

Since most people do not work 80 hour work weeks, then I think you can see where I am going here. Spending an hour every night watching TV and winding down is a nice way to relax. Spending 3-4 hours a night in front of the TV and blowing off your workout because you are “too busy” is fooling yourself.

Do an honest analysis of how you use your time and your priorities. I think most people will find after they do this that their workout fits in easily.

Now I want to talk about another big one — RESTAURANT FOOD

While everyone loves going out to eat, you really have to be careful if you eat out on a regular basis. Restaurants have enormous portions, use large amounts of fat and sugar and are generally lacking on being a balanced meal.

Not to pick on any restaurant in particular because a lot of them are bad – but many burgers are over 1000 calories — Douglasville examples of these fat attack burgers include Burger King, Ruby Tuesdays and Five Guys to name a few. Many pasta portions from restaurants are not only 1 serving of grain — but most of the time, at least 5 and sometimes as many as 8-10 — yes, more than a day’s worth.

Even vegetables at restaurants are soaked and cooked in butter to make them attractive and tasty and salads are full of fat and extras like cheese.

So what do you do? First, determine if you are eating out as a treat, a necessity or because you are not interested in cooking. If it is a treat, then watch your portions and enjoy. If it is a necessity (like you are on a business trip etc) then make very wise choices, ask for dressings on the side, order small portions if they are available, ask for green salad instead of fries, avoid fried anything and opt for more fresh and whole foods like fruit, vegetables, chicken and fish.

Now for the category that is tough — the “I don’t wanna cook” gang. You really should look at reducing your meals in restaurants. It will make a major impact on your diet. Anyone can learn to cook if you can read so not knowing how is sorry – a lame excuse for not doing it. There are lots of recipes on my sister site, Douglasville Weight Loss, where you can get started.

If you are truly at a loss for cooking, then I suggest trying a meal service such as Dinner Afare or Dream Dinners to get your calories and portions under control. Home cooking helps you control the ingredients and content. So it is always the first choice and will make the biggest impact on your weight loss so really give it a try.

Check back in a few days for the next part in this series from the personal training blog – Portion Control

First you need to really look at your food and exercise habits. Exercise and strength training will really help but your food is a MAJOR key to losing weight.

And the biggest food issue is really not WHAT foods usually, it is HOW MUCH.

A serving of grain is really a slice of bread — but not a giant slice of bread, not a thick slice of bread, not a muffin and not a bagel. A bagel can be 5-6 servings depending on where you buy your bagels. So see where I am going here?

Portion control is extremely important. And getting a handle on exactly what you are eating is another.

I always suggest people keep a diary — at least for the first week to get an honest look at your food. Are you putting in a giant full fat latte every morning — hello!! The more stuff you add to your coffee, the more it becomes a rare treat as opposed to a daily thing. A tall non-fat latte, even a grande, has under 200 calories. But you need to keep in mind those are 200 calories that you need to take from the rest of your day. Many of the chocolate chip or caramel or mocha drinks have as many as 800 calories in them. That is a half day’s calories for many people.

So, first step — WRITE IT DOWN — do an honest analysis of your diet by writing down everything (food, drinks, gum, candy, snacks– EVERYTHING) that you put in your mouth.

Start there — I will add more details here on the Personal Training Blog about step 2 later this week.

There are a lot of group fitness class options here in Douglasville and I know it can be very tempting to try some of the more advanced ones like full contact kickboxing. But……. make sure your body is ready for that. Many people get into commitments and get an injury and then never come back because they feel they have failed. Better to start small and stick with it than to start and stop.

I personally always suggest the spinning type classes. Most of us rode a bike as kids so we are familiar with the movement and you can go fast, slow, hard, soft and make it very personal for you. It is a good cardio workout and you can progress at your own pace.

If you like something that is more of a class atmosphere, then start with one that does not have contact or weights. Classes with full contact and weights are not strength training, they are still aerobic conditioning so you will still need to strength train so start with something that gets you motivated and moving.

If you are a SENIOR CITIZEN or have a family member who is — I always suggest Silver Sneakers. It is FREE on many insurance programs and is available at many gyms around the country. Here in Georgia, if you have Blue Cross, Humana or AARP as an insurance company or supplemental insurance, there is a good chance you can get Silver Sneakers for free. So if that interests you — CHECK!! All gyms who participate throughout the country offer the same classes and programs.

Hope that gives you a bit more details on getting started with starting a fitness program!!

So here goes — the first question I had from a client was why was her teenage child not in a lot of pain and discomfort from her personal training. Was I not training her hard enough?

Well there is very dangerous misconception that working out should hurt. Which is not only wrong but dangerous. Yes, sometimes there is some muscle soreness but this should never be something that interferes with your daily life. And if it ever is, then you need to tell your trainer immediately because something is not right.

Ok, and the second was from someone wanting to get sports specific training for a 9 year old.

While I applaud their initiative at getting their child in the best shape possible to play a sport, anyone under 12 is most likely not going to get enough from personal training. Instead of focusing directly on training for this age group, focus on fun. Making something really fun — like going out and running passes with Dad might be a better prep for a first timer. Once he decides that he is really in love with football (or whatever sport it is) then you can determine a training program, and personal training, for him.

If you have any questions about personal training or the personal trainer blog — send me an e-mail by clicking the link at the top of the blog. Have a great week!
Now

There are some really amazing group fitness classes here in Douglasville. But some of them are really advanced classes – like full contact kickboxing classes — that are not for everyone. And while these might be classes you can do at some point or at some age, they may not be the class for you right now. There is a reason the injury rate in some of these high contact classes – such as full contact kickboxing – is high — it is because people are attempting to do these with no adjustments for their physical limitations.

A better plan for ANYONE — not just beginners — is to really research group fitness classes. A visit to your doctor is a must for everyone. And personally I feel a consultation with a personal trainer is well worth it. You can get your strength training workout customized for you AND you can find out what the details of every class are and decide which one is for you.

Fitness classes are fun and they can be motivating and they make a GREAT PART — yes PART not WHOLE — of your fitness routine. So do the research and find the right one for you right now.

Some states have been pushing for personal trainers to be certified….. that proposal sadly failed in Georgia. But as a response to that, IHRSA, which is the industry organization decided to look at how to determine the REALITY of when someone is a qualified personal trainer.

And board certification was born. There are only 6 certifications that are board certified. And ALL OF THESE ARE GOVERNED BY THE NCCA, which is the 3rd party chosen to monitor these certifications. So the board certification is NCCA and the actual certifications that qualify for board certification are NASM, ACE, NCSF, NFPT, NSCA and the Cooper Institute. It is YOUR MONEY — why not double check to make sure your trainer holds their certification from one of these and know that you are getting not only the best trainers but also trainers that have had to be held accountable to an industry standard and 3rd party testing.

ASK your trainer to show you their certifications if you are not sure. And compare it to the list — and gee ASK them why they do not feel the need to do the work to get one of these. No, they are not easy but like in any industry, there are TOOLS that you need.

If you would like to read the entire article from IHRSA and how Board Certified Personal Training came to be — then CLICK HERE!!

And YES, I am board certified and feel free to come by, I have my certificates out for you to look at and review ANY TIME YOU WANT