For many of our personal training clients, the one area of training that should not be overlooked or undervalued is the warm-up. When everyone feels pressed for time, the warm-up is easy to dismiss or, worse, skipped altogether--especially if a client is running late....
As we age, we lose nearly twice the amount of power as we lose strength. Every decade after 40 years old, power declines 17% and strength declines 10% so by the time you are 70 years old you would have lost over 50% of power and 30% of your strength. Yikes! This is a...
Pressing overhead properly requires adequate shoulder mobility along with proper core bracing to avoid arching in the lower back. Unfortunately for a lot of people, there is often some type of compensation when lifting the weight up causing injury or simply lackluster...
Few people care about mobility until they can't move. Getting up and down from the floor isn't much different. It's often overlooked until it becomes a problem, as you may have discovered with some of your elder clients. Fortunately through smart fitness training,...
If your clients ever press or squat with a kettlebell then teaching them how to do a kettlebell goblet clean will certainly behoove their efforts. The goblet clean is a continuation of the deadlift, where the kettlebell is lifted up to your chest. Learning the proper...
Once you have mastered the kettlebell swing it's time to add other power exercises to your repertoire. Enter the single-arm kettlebell swing. Like the kettlebell swing it’s a hinge dominant movement that engages even greater core activation. Instead of having both...
One of the best decisions that I have made as a personal trainer was to allow myself to evolve professionally and offer clients both great workouts that allow them to move and feel better. I strongly support myofascial release and corrective exercises as modalities to...
Building upper back strength and doing rowing exercises can be a challenge especially if you don’t have right equipment. Fortunately, due to the versatility of the suspension trainer, you can easily do rowing exercises such as a suspension row that suits all levels...
There’s no question that working the backside of the body is important and specifically the hamstrings. Having strong hamstrings will help prevent knee pain and injuries as well improve your posture. While Romanian deadlifts reign supreme for hamstring strength, leg...
Using a suspension trainer should be in every trainer's toolbox because of its inherent convenience, versatility, and impressive efficacy. There are endless possibilities for exercise options, limited only by creativity. The suspension tricep extension is one of the...
There are certain pieces of equipment that have been around for a long time such as ellipticals and treadmills but over the last 10 years, we've seen more creative and "functional" equipment hit the fitness scene like battling ropes. Battling ropes have emerged and...
After the age of 30, we start losing up to 10% of our strength every decade thereafter; even worse we’re losing nearly three times that amount in power. Power is our ability to exert maximum muscular contraction instantly in an explosive burst of movement. In...
The focus of the most effective training program personal trainers design should be on the movement, not the muscles. This is why you might see the bear crawl performed frequently in the best training gyms. The bear crawl, a complete bodyweight movement, packs a big...
Shelter-in-place orders have forced our clients to train away from their gym that may result in a decline in seeing results, or worse, unwanted weight gain. For most, this situation means no access to commercial-grade equipment. Clients are left scratching their heads...
There are three different types of muscular contractions: concentric (shortening of the muscle), eccentric (lengthening of the muscle) and isometric (muscle doesn't change length and the affected joint doesn't move). Let's talk about the utility of isometrics during...
The Kettlebell (KB) Windmill is a valuable exercise for shoulder stability, upper back flexibility, better movement in the hamstrings and hips (which helps with back pain). You get the best of both worlds with this exercise - it helps you move better and get you...
Exercise alone lacks the ability to change body composition and health. Study after study shows that working out by itself has little impact on body composition change: fat loss and muscle gain. So why do we focus on just working out? Part of the problem is that many...
You'll need to answer some tough questions, visualize the type of business you want to set up, put time into a business plan, consider finances, and work hard to start your own gym. Knowing where to start was the biggest challenge when opening my own training studio...