As a registered Fitness Leader, the popular discussion of: “What makes a good Trainer?” “How should I chose one? and “How should I evaluate the one I have?” is just as important to me as to those thinking about hiring – or replacing – a Personal Trainer.

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TIP:  Generally speaking, if your form sucks when doing a specific weight exercise in the gym – by that I mean heaving, hyper-extending, arching, tipping, swinging, working the wrong (not targeted) muscle, it usually means that you’re using too much weight. Take it down a notch and focus your effort on using proper form through the full range of motion and full length of the muscle.

Believe me – it will make a positive difference in the way your muscles respond and recover.  Plus, possibly save you from injury that could back-track your progress.

YouTube has a few great video channels devoted to proper exercise form. Then again, there is a lot of crap too – I trust you’ll be able to spot the difference.

Doug at MyTrainerSays dot com

As days start to get shorter and cooler, and schedules get back to “normal” – let me share what I read over the weekend. It is cited from a power-lifting site (i.e. the objectives are mass, mass, and more mass), thus there are some opinions that I do not share (my strikeouts).

Still, I fully agree with this simple and holistic approach to your strength-building program:

1. Focus on Strength. More strength is more muscle. More muscle is more calories burned. Focus on strength whatever your goal is. Start light and add weight systematically. You should lift more today than 1 year ago.
2. Use Free Weights. Free weights force you to stabilize the weight, allow for natural movement patterns and build functional strength. The bulk of your routine should consist of free weight barbell exercises.
3. Use Compound Exercises. Exercises that hit several body parts at the same time stress your body more. Your routine should include Squats, Deadlifts, Overhead Press, Bench Press, Pull-ups, etc.
4. Use Proper Technique. Decreases the risk of injury and allows for more weight. Bad technique is acceptable on heavy attempts, but build good habits from the start by learning proper exercise technique.
5. Eat Whole Foods. Supplements make your life easier, but whole food is better. Eat proteins, veggies & fruits with each meal. Carbs for energy. Plenty of water. Eat every 3 hours starting at breakfast.
6. Don’t Be Perfect. Junk food is ok 10% of the time and bad workouts happen to everyone. Train hard 45 weeks/year & eat healthy 90% of the time, you’ll be muscular with a healthy body fat.
7. Do It for Yourself. What people think of you doesn’t matter. You have nothing to prove to others. This is your life. Do what you need to do to be who you want to be. Dare to be different. Set trends.
8. Experiment. Don’t take anything for granted from anyone or anything, including this site. Science doesn’t matter, results do. Be open minded, read everything and find what works by experimenting.
9. Master Your Fears. You’ll be intimidated first time in the gym. You’ll stall. You’ll get injured. Don’t fear failure, learn from it. Do what pushes you out of your comfort zone. Your self-confidence will increase.
10. Believe. Listen to those who have walked the path before you. You can achieve anything you want if you copy what they do. Aim high with your goals and believe in yourself. If they can do it, you can do it.
11. Persist. How long it takes you to achieve your goals doesn’t matter, as long as you achieve them. Focus on the long-term. Never give up until you are where you want to be.
12. Keep it Simple. Forget about the details. Focus on the big picture. The most effective way to achieve your goals is often the simplest approach. Stick with what’s proven to work, don’t reinvent the wheel.

source: Stronglifts.com

As fall approaches, more individuals are considering the services of a Personal Trainer to help them stay dedicated to a fitness and health program.

There are plenty of trainers in the field (just look for certified, registered and insured trainers); all have varied areas of specialization (e.g. group fitness, 1-on-1 coaching, aquatic fitness, older persons, bodybuilding, sports-specific).

Most have a distinctive, personal appeal that should resonate with you, thus most trainers develop a unique market niche over time.

reprinted from: Exercise.lifetips.com

Finding the right Personal Trainer is like finding the right pair of pants: it takes some time, but honestly, you are really finding what you want and what fits.

Think first what your primary goal is.

If your goal is to lose weight, most personal trainers will be able to help you with that, but ask if they have any experience in that realm.

If your goal is more related to health because you have a bad back (for example), you want to find a Personal Trainer who has knowledge of postural anatomy and has done work before altering postural inconsistencies and the like with clients.

Always make sure you ask for and get what you want. At a store buying pants, you would get the pair that actually fits you, not the one that doesn’t.

If you are searching for a Personal Trainer at a gym, ask one of the counselors or owners of the gym about their Personal Trainers and they will help to give you one that fits your needs and wants.

When looking online, make sure they have testimonials about their current /previous clientele. If you are curious, ask to contact one of them. If they’re real people, it shouldn’t be an issue.

All in all, always search until you find a Personal Trainer that fits what you are looking for and who you really feel has your best interest at heart.

Doug at MyTrainerSays.com

Ever look at yourself in the mirror, or catch your reflection in a window, and think “Why do I look and feel both skinny AND fat?”.  Here’s a classic “skinny-fat” case:

- male; 5 feet 10 inches
- 165 pounds; 15% body fat
- Goal: “lose fat -gain muscle”

When guys start back to the gym, many think that they need to focus on a fat loss program first, which is usually when I hear “I’m just going to concentrate on my cardio for a couple of months to lose this jiggle“.

Most often though, that is the worst thing they could do, because their bodies do not have enough muscle mass to sustain a fat loss program without losing even more muscle. So the guy starts burning a lot of calories, dieting too much, and then ends up a smaller version of his skinny-fat body.

What should the “skinny-fat” guy be doing?

He needs to be focussed on gaining more muscle and eating a little extra carbs and proteins before and after working out.

Doug at MyTrainerSays dot com

Tip: If your focus is on building more muscle, lift weights 3-4 days per week for 45 minutes. If you need to burn fat too, do 3 full body workouts with some timed interval training using short-burst treadmill sprints. Long, slow, mind-numbing cardio doesn’t cut it.

Yes… You can use your free time searching for practical and useful fitness information on the Internet. It’s all out there.

Yes… You can (and will) read lots of fitness mis-information on the Internet – it’s rampant. And some of it is downright dangerous.

Yes… You can spend hours (as I do) sifting the good from the bad to determine what applies, then formulate a strategic fitness plan for yourself.

Yes… You can search and view YouTube videos to learn the best (& worst) way to perform each exercise in your evolving program.

Yes… You can register for one of many Fitness Seminars held each year across North America, then accompany me for an entire weekend to learn all the applications of 1 particular fitness regime.

Yes… You can join a gym, then visit it regularly – making each visit focused, disciplined, consistent, time-efficient, safe and (most importantly) progressive.

Yes… You can do all of that for yourself during the non-working, non-sleeping, non-choring hours of your week.

Or… You can afford to hire a Personal Trainer for 2-3 hours a week who can prepare all of that especially for you.

You just show up with a vision of better health and appearance.

Doug at MyTrainerSays dot com

The conventional Deadlift is a classic exercises that mimics a very common ADL (Activity of Daily Life) – namely, lifting a weighted object from the ground. Both women and men will benefit from including the Deadlift into their gym exercise routine.

Many times in a day we need to pick something up from a stationary position. It may be a very light item (like a dropped pen); it may be a heavier object (a 10 kg toddler); and sometimes it may be something much heavier (a filled BBQ propane tank).

Perfoming Deadlifts in the gym progressively builds back strength. Perfecting Deadlifts trains you to instinctively keep your lower spine rigid against a load while keeping your back in a neutral position. Both are critical to avoiding injury when lifting objects. How many times have you heard of someone who “threw out their back just picking up a sock”?

Unfortunately Deadlifts have a bad reputation, but only from those who have not learned proper technique.

This brief video shows proper Deadlift technique. (Don’t be scared off by the weight that the guy is using – simply substitute the barbell with a pair of dumbbells of a weight appropriate for you.) Watch the starting position, back alignment, knee & hip movement, and the finishing position.

Rounding your back when doing a Deadlift (or when picking up that toddler) significantly increases risk of spinal disc injury. And this is generally the reason why people have sore backs to begin with – lack of muscular strength surrounding the spine.

Try a Deadlift now – just standing where you are, using your own body weight.

Check for these common errors when doing the exercise:

Hips Too High. Use your knees: it’s not a Stiff-legged Deadlift. Beginning height is when the bar is mid-shin and your shoulder-blades are directly over the bar.
Hips Too Low. It’s not a Squat. Again, beginning height is when the bar is mid-shin and your shoulder-blades are directly over the bar.Shoulders in front of the bar.
Bending Your Back. Increases the pressure on your spine thus increasing risk of injury. Keep your chest UP at all times and look forward.
Over-Arching Your Back (hyper-extending). As bad as bending. The Deadlift ends when your hips and knees are locked. No need to arch at the top.
Rolling the Shoulders. Dangerous and inefficient. Your hip muscles move the weight, not your shoulders. Extend your knees and hips, then stop.
Shrugging at The Top. Unnecessary. If you need more trap emphasis do a set of shrugs.
Pulling with your Arms instead of “standing up”. You could tear your biceps by pulling with bent arms. Keep your arms straight, tighten your triceps and stand up with a neutral spine.

And what’s another benefit that comes from doing “Deads” regularly?

A sexy, firm ass and legs!

Doug at MyTrainerSays dot com

An oh-so-simple posture fix: When walking, quit hanging your head forward as if you’re expecting to trip over a log! Yes, scan your field of vision for obstacles, but keep your head up and Walk Tall!