Fitness into my life

It's January and it's a new year, if you have been sticking to your resolutions then you may have noticed how busy the gym is right now. That's okay, give it another week or two and statistically speaking, the herd will thin. Until then here are some general housekeeping rules to keep in mind when you hit the gym. DO: Wipe down the equipment when you finish. This one should just be a given but I still see it daily. Even if you don't think you, "really sweated enough" the fact is that sweat contains bacteria, even when it's not a puddle. And bacteria, depending on strain can be either harmful or helpful to humans. Unfortunately, over 70% of the bacteria found on exercise equipment is potentially harmful to us, some that can make us really sick (infections, pneumonia, septicemia, etc.) while others can be resistant to antibiotics making them difficult to treat. One study found that the dumbbells on the rack contain 362 times more bacteria than the avera...

The newest trends and fads, even if you try to avoid them they are everywhere. Whether it's fashion, technology, or even the fitness industry there is always going to be someone out there pushing a product that is absolutely worthless and in some cases potentially dangerous. So what do you do?  My recommendation is to become your own advocate. Educate yourself on the popular trends you decide to follow, and with that spirit in mind, I give you ten of the worst fitness trends I’ve come across while working as a trainer over my career. #10.) Seated workouts I hate to be the bearer of bad news but you need to get off your butt if you want to see the benefits from working out. Sitting is terrible for you according to leading research and is actually being attributed to higher mortality rates and a long list of other negative effects. Don’t get me wrong, there are certain populations who may need to stay seated while they workout: the elderly, recently injured or paraplegics for exampl...

Breathe in. Breathe out.  At this moment you are doing it without even thinking about it. Now, what's funny though is the moment we need to really focus on our breathing, like during exercise, for example, is when we tend to hold our breath. Why is that? Typically someone holds their breathe when they are under stress or perceive a threat. It can also occur when we are anticipating something to happen, as the old saying goes, "Don't hold your breath!" So why does my breathing matter? Aside from the obvious affects that having a complete lack of oxygen would have on us, why does it matter how and when we breathe? I mean as long as do it at least, right? Well at the most basic cellular level the goal of inhalation or breathing in, is to oxygenate the blood in order for us to live, function and perform. While the goal of exhalation or breathing out, is to remove carbon dioxide from the body to remove waste byproduct and keep a proper balance within the system. So that ...

Why do you exercise? To lose 10 lbs? To have energy to play with your kids? To get that summer beach body? Whatever your personal reason is for working out there is one thing that is for certain. We exercise to improve our overall health. Now with that in mind. If I gave you two exercise options, both with very similar benefits, but one of these exercise may potentially injure you, which one would you choose? No brainer, right? That is what is called a "contraindicated exercise" . Contraindicated exercises are those that have the potential to be detrimental to your health or physical well-being. Some exercises are labeled as contraindicated for general populations while others are contraindicated on a case by case basis due to a number of causes and limitations. So lets break down the different types of exercise contraindications or the reasons why your trainer might not want you to perform a specific exercise. Cardiac Limitations So early in my career as a personal trainer ...

Squats. Whether you love them or hate them they are one of the most basic and primal movement patterns that humans develop early on in life. For real, the next time you're around a little kid check out how they squat when they're playing with their toys. It's perfect. A perfect squat, all the way to the ground and they can just hang out there for hours on end with no discomfort. Now ask your average adult to get into the same position and hold it. So simple even a child could do it? Well, not so much. Good form during a squat is far from child's play. It's more than just lower body strength. Hip and shoulder mobility, gluteal activation, core strength, balance and knowing how and where to position your hips all come into play when we execute a proper squat. But hey let's load up that bar and go heavy before we have all those separate elements locked down (insert eye roll here.) I like to compare mastering each of these elements to spinning plates. In the beginni...

Back pain affects a majority of our population and while back spasms and pain are something many of us have accepted as a part of life I’m here to tell you that there are steps that can be taken to prevent and fix back pain. However, if you are experiencing extreme back pain I’d recommend seeing your doctor first. Here are a few tips to deal with back pain and keep you on point. Ice it Basic stuff, apply ice for inflammation. The typical recommendation for back pain is repeated ice application to the area for the first 24-48 hours to reduce inflammation. Drink water Staying hydrated by drinking enough water daily and eating plenty of water-based fruits and veggies also keep your spinal discs hydrated preventing stiffness of the spine and potential pain. Keep moving This may seem counter-intuitive to some but hear me out. When we have back pain it may be tempting to sit still or lay down but prolonged sitting or standing only makes the problem worse by tightening hips and ...