Fitness Opinions

Training Metrics Worth Tracking

Fitness Opinions / By

When it comes to training metrics I like to consider a blend of lifestyle, appearance, and performance related information. Regular physical activity has a myriad of benefits that will impact many facets of your life. There are visual elements like body fat and weight loss, performance outcomes such as improvements in technique and strength, and lifestyle factors including mood and sleep.

Let me explain a few metrics that are worthy of your attention. It is likely that you’ll have a balance that is unique to you and your specific goals. Remember that any metric that you track won’t be worth anything if you don’t make the changes necessary to progress. You’ll be left sitting on a bunch of useless information that you don’t care about. read more

6 Ways To Maintain Your Fitness Over The Holidays

Fitness Opinions / By

Ahhh…Yes. The inevitable stretch run of holidays that usually starts at Halloween (if you count that as a holiday) straight through to the new year.

Although I’ll argue that this is the best time of year, it can also be rife with anxiety and concern surrounding your health.

Candy at Halloween, Mom’s renown pumpkin pie, Aunt Becky’s Christmas cookies has my waistline absolutely furious. There certainly won’t be a lack of delicious treats vying for your attention.

Via GYPHY

And, honestly, I see nothing wrong with some indulging over the holidays. It’s only natural. If you’re anything like myself, however, you might want to maintain some sembelence of fitness without having to miss out on these holiday favorites. read more

Monthly Review (November)

Fitness Opinions, Monthly Review / By

November has been another great month for training, learning, and growing. Sprinkle in Thanksgiving and the start of Hanukkah this week and I’m feeling full and grateful for the things going well in my life.

I have a nice laundry list of content to share with you from this month. Some fitness related and some completely irrelevant. I’ll let you decide which is more important.

I’ll lead with the some fitness first because, after all, this is a fitness blog.

At Home Exercise: Hack Squat

So I recently purchase these squat wedges from Prime Fitness. They are an exceptional tool for a trainer because it allows for exercise modifications. They can help me bridge the gap with clients and modify lower body movements like the squat and lunge patterns according to morphological differences. This will then help me coach to more quad dominant exercises with more forward knee travel…blah blah blah. read more

Brand New To Resistance Training? Follow These 8 Simple Rules For Beginners

Fitness Opinions, Philosophy / By

Resistance training may just be the most potent, anti-aging mechanism that we have available to us.

It helps lower risk factors for heart disease, obesity, diabetes, and even boosts cognitive performance. The known benefits are remarkable, yet plenty of the population is left in the dark unequipped with the tools to start a resistance training program.

This article is for the skeptics. Or better–the uninformed beginner who has no clue where to start. I’ll share some basic information with you that I certainly wish I found earlier in my career. read more

Try This! A Compound Set That Will Have Your Shoulders Screaming

Exercise Selection, Fitness Opinions / By

Compound sets are a great way to add extra volume into your training while simultaneously increasing work capacity.

By performing two exercises, in succession, with little to no rest period, you’re inducing further stress on the tissues to maximize muscle tension. Also worth mentioning is how pairing exercises can be extremely time efficient when the average person has 45 minutes to an hour to exercise.

Give this exercise pairing a go on your next upper body or shoulder day.

Exercise 1: Rear Delt Row

Coaching Points: read more