A little knowledge can go a long way to improving your workout.

One of the more striking examples of this is to learn how your body moves and what muscles have to do with it. Because you know that ”making muscles” takes lifting weights, you go to the gym and you lift weights. You mimic what you see others doing, you lift what you can – perhaps in any manner that you can lift it.

As your interest builds, you do some research into what you’re actually doing at the gym.

Through that learning, you begin to understand that the PURPOSE of a skeletal muscle is to move your bones, you learn WHERE certain muscles originate on one bone then attach on another, and you see the PHYSICS behind how a muscles flexes or extends a joint.

At one point a light comes on and you realize “ARGGH!… parts of my routine have been totally futile!!”

Then you adjust your movement. Correct your alignment. Start working opposing muscles. You learn to move the weights against gravity, instead of with gravity.

Voila!  Better results… Bigger muscles. Increased strength. Pain-free joints. Better posture.

Now your’re working smarter, not longer at the gym to achieve your goals

My advice is to take some time to learn more.  This website (along with its embedded links) is a great resource for that. Browse through the categories and you’ll find lots of learning.

Testosterone has been getting a lot of press lately, and not all of it is good.

With hormone replacement therapy (HRT) increasingly prescribed to all types of men—young, old, gay, straight—who just want to maintain their strong muscles and lean midsections, a variety of medical groups have started waving red flags about the many potential pitfalls of testosterone supplementation, from permanent cessation of the body’s ability to produce testosterone on its own, to drops in the “good” cholesterol that promotes heart health.

Increasingly, leaders in the medical community have begun pushing to establish guidelines to use HRT only when it’s medically needed, not as a pharmaceutical fountain of youth.

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By mid-February, I bet that most of your thoughts about the “new year” are long passed.  Resolutions. Goals. Intentions… whatever you call them – by Valentine’s Day, they’re usually gone and forgotten.

When setting fitness goals (especially at new year), our generally optimistic nature tends to set the bar pretty high.  Then, after a month of working hard to establish new behaviour patterns and routines, it’s not uncommon to feel frustrated when goals set so easily in January, are not being achieved fast enough.

You’re working hard on your program. You’re watching what you eat. You’re surrounded by people who are encouraging and supportive. But still…

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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.

I see you!

You go to the gym, you step onto the nearest elliptical cross-trainer, you hit ‘Quick Start’ and you begin your workout. Maybe read a bit. Check out the other people around you. Bore yourself watching some lame show on the TV.

As you start to feel more comfortable, you may decide to add a level. Or not. Then you get bored and decide enough is enough after 15 minutes.

People! There is so much more to gain out of your training experience. I have written about this before: Time isn’t the issue, it’s all about Intensity.

A short, high intensity workout offers greater fat-control benefits than a long, steady routine.

Short routines with minimal resting time give you a high power workout that is NOT boring and, most importantly, does NOT leave you disappointingly short on fat-loss and anti-ageing results.

Doug at MyTrainerSays dot com

Ask a kid how old is “old”, you’ll hear “my parents are old“.  Ask a young adult how old is “old”, you’ll hear “my grandfather is old“. Ask a grandfather how old is “old”, you’ll hear “that guy down the street is old“.

The oft-reported challenge of an ageing population to pension plans and health care systems doesn’t compare to the extraordinary challenge that ageing presents to an unfit individual.

Actually, each person can be described by 4 different “ages”:

1. Chronological age. “I am 55 years old.”

2. Functional age. “Compared to the average, my functional ability is similar to an individual 10 years younger.”

3. Psychological age. “I have a state of mind and mental ability that compares with a 40 year old”.

4. Social age. “I behave in a manner similar to a slightly younger individual.”

Of course, as we age there are DOZENS of structural and functional changes that we go through.   And although “Anti-aging” is a term tossed around a lot, some things work and some things are simply hype. By now however you should have no trouble naming the 2 Superheros Working Against Ageing.

Nutrition and Exercise.

If you want to learn more about Ageing and how a personalized exercise program can target areas where you may be ageing faster than you want to – drop me a line.

Doug
MyTRAINER says…

Lately, I have had more inquiries about “male menopause”… more correctly called “Andropause“… and yes, exercise DOES help to slow its development. 

Read more about it…

There are several uniformly accepted male behaviors that can have a noticeable impact on the effects and the progression of andropause symptoms.

Two basic, but trusted principles are:

1. Exercising:

Andropause symptoms directly correlate with depression. Exercising will improve your mood and make you feel better by increasing endorphins. Consider these suggestions: go for a run, lift weights, play a sport, take a swim.

2. Eating well:

Eating well can have also have a positive impact on your energy and mood. Try to incorporate Omega-3 fats (flax, salmon), folic acid (oatmeal, dark green veggies) and B12 (eggs, lean beef), and Vitamin D (dairy or supplements) into your diet, which have been shown to decrease depression.

Doug @ MyTrainerSays com

I have always been an advocate of self-responsibility. I learned early in life to be self-reliant and to not depend on (vs. seek support from) others to dig me out of the dirt. Maintaining such a perspective reaps an extra reward as well – the right to unabashed celebration of personal & professional achievement!!

While working as your Fitness Trainer I’m sure you agree that the physical limit of my influence is within the facility. There I will guide you, teach you, support you, push you, test you. Your personalized Fitness program is just that – “personalized” for you.

Once outside the gym however, the responsibility for your fitness progress transfers to YOU – and hopefully my influence extends outside the gym as well.

Getting proper rest (important for recovery), scheduling workouts to maximize their effectiveness (no gaps), maintaining a healthy lifestyle (adding physical activity into daily routine) and, most important, ensuring proper nutrition (eating right, eating light, eating often).

I promise to do the very best with my part of the equation. Yours is to expend the effort and honour the commitment, from which you will earn the right to unabashed celebration of YOUR success.

It’s called shared Responsibility – and it’s what I like best about this business.

Doug