Well, it’s coming up to the end of January, the first real road bump of our scheduled resolutions. January 1st, we got to the gym determined to hit the ground running, cycling, lifting, and kettlebelling. We throw out the cookies and bring in the kale, swear off the beer and grab some protein mixture. 2015 is going to be great! But by week three or four, you get home from work and you’re dead tired. You’ve been on your feet for eight hours, and the last thing you want to do right now is more work. Besides, you’ve been good all week! Right now, a drink would really hit the spot… Stop! Put the drink down. You’re right, you have been good all week. Now let’s make it another good week. It’s important to remember that Fitness isn’t just a physical exercise; it’s just as much a mental one! You can go to the gym every single week, but unless you’ve got the Mental Fortitude to keep yourself on track with your fitness goals, you’re just wasting gas. Mental Fortitude is a common barrier when we’re entering the fitness barrier. We set ...Read More »
As a personal trainer based in Vancouver, Washington, I work with a lot of baby boomer and senior clients. Not only do I teach them personal training tips for success, but I also learn from them. What I learn from each of my clients is what worked for that person. There are some things that are consistent among everyone who has been successful at being fit, such as working out and eating right, but there are some personal motivators that differ. David, my personal training client, has been successful in his quest for being fit and healthy. David has the motto that you need to climb the mountain one step at a time and realize that weight loss is inconsistent, but you have to stay committed. He also reminds us all that we have to learn to balance nutrition, muscle strength training, and cardio in order to be successful, as they are a package that all play off of each other. Here are some of David’s keys to success: Learn to enjoy stomach growls and almost embrace them. This is what lets you know you are actually hungry! Realize that much ...
It’s probably not a question you ask yourself often, but you know there are things you dream of that you would like to do. Perhaps it was finishing that degree, taking on a whole new career direction, or dropping 100 pounds. Whatever it may be, do you know what it is that is holding you back? I do, and for most of us, it’s you! Now before you hit the little “x” up in the corner and close this article just hear me out. Maybe what I have to say will leave you feeling like it was a waste of time, but just maybe it will make some sense to you and get you to take some action. About five years ago I took a 10-day vacation just to relax and renew. This was a great vacation that allowed me to be alone and spend time reflecting on what it was that I loved in life, who I was at my best, and what it was that I really wanted to contribute to others. During that vacation I spent quality time with my family, working out, and just sitting alone in ...
Picking up where we left off from the last two blog posts, we will look more at mobility workouts. Many people are unclear about what mobility work is and why it’s important. Whether you are a personal training client of mine in the Vancouver, Washington area, or you follow me on Facebook, there are benefits to mobility workouts that everyone needs. It is especially important for seniors and baby boomers to make mobility work part of their weekly routine. Mobility, by definition, is the ability to move. As they age, many people complain to me that it seems more difficult for them to move. They don’t have the mobility they once had. Well, that’s because they are no longer doing the things they once did. As many people age they become more sedentary. When that happens, they will begin to lose their mobility. Doing mobility work each week is not only going to keep you more mobile, but it’s going to make it easier. The best way to have mobility that is free and easy is to do the work to help your body get there and stay there. It ...
In the prior post, I discussed how you can go about getting started down the path of health and wellness. I laid out what it is that you need to start with so your exercise routine will be on the right track right from the beginning. In this one, part two, I’m going to take things a little bit further and go into the specifics of an outline for you all. Every baby boomer or senior citizen I work with comes to understand the benefits of living a healthy lifestyle and what exercise can do for you. Working out regularly can do for your body what nothing else can. There is no doctor or magic pill that is going to help you get stronger and healthier. Eating healthy and exercising regularly is the only way that you will achieve this. That goes for the clients that I work with here in personal training in the Vancouver, Washington area, as well as the many people I assist online and on Facebook. Print this outline of a workout and hang it somewhere you will see it each day, so it serves as ...
If you are not yet following me on Facebook, you should be. In addition to the personal training that I provide to those in the Vancouver, Washington area, I also answer questions from people on Facebook. Since I specialize in working with seniors and baby boomers, many of those questions come from them. You may be able to relate to the question what it all really means, anyway. Recently I posted a question on my Facebook page and I got a question in return. A baby boomer wanted to know what it all means and how to best go about reaching one’s fitness goals. Let’s start with asking the question about how much extra fat you are carrying. Most people want to melt their extra fat away with exercise, so the amount of fat they have is a big issue. Most of the time when I give an answer about how to get extra fat off of one’s body I get a blank stare in return. It may even be followed with a response such as “I knew I was missing something. Grr.” Being that I’m a nice ...
Although I’m a personal trainer in the Vancouver, Washington area, I do also frequently get asked questions. They come to me from all over the country, as well as some from close to home. One of the questions I recently got from Karen M. is one that I often get from people. Karen, like so many others, contacted me through Facebook in order to ask about how she can go about strengthening her arms and legs. She is retired now and looking for a way to build up strength. While she’s looking for a few good pointers, they can also be helpful to others who are seniors, retired, or who are baby boomers looking for a way to build up strength. First of all, let’s look at a few of the reasons why it is important to build up the strength in your arms and legs. It doesn’t matter how young or old someone is, it is important to have strong arm and leg muscles. When you build the muscles in your arms and legs you will be able to perform activities more easily, such ...
As a personal trainer in the Vancouver, Washington area, I get a lot of questions. Sometimes they come in person, while other times they come to my Facebook page. One of the questions I frequently get is how someone can increase their upper body strength so that they can do more push-ups. So let’s take a look at that now! Doing push-ups is essentially a great way to test your upper body strength. Many people, like Patty S., who recently asked the question on Facebook, found that as she was getting older she wasn’t able to do as many push-ups. Today she can only do 2-5 push-ups. In order to increase that, the upper body strength will also need to increase. Whether you have limited upper body strength as a result of recovering from an accident, like one of my baby boomer clients, or another reason, you can work on this. One client of mine went from being able to do 5-10 on a good day to being able to do 50 within 12 weeks of training. Another one of my clients, who was in the military, needed to improve ...
