Don’t be another gym horror story…

As a college student set to graduate next month, I can tell you all about the “Freshmen 15″ (or worse) and the health horrors you encounter over the course of college. With the never-ending piles of fried food in the dining hall and steady flow of beer on the weekends, paired with a full schedule that doesn’t leave much down time- and really, who wants to spend it at the gym? – it’s easy to let a few pounds creep on.

Senior year hit and I realized it was time to shape up my life, including my body. Who wants to hit adulthood with a gut? You face the fact you’re going to go home after college and see high school friends, and you don’t want to be the one they whisper about, “Wow she really gained weight…” After a trip down memory lane and a glance through a photo album from prom, I knew it was time to hit the gym.

So, I joined a local gym, or “health club” if you want to get technical. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a total slob, I was a semi-regular at my college’s gym. The fact I’m now paying to belong to a gym is extra motivation, and knowing I can work out unbothered by frat guys and “meatheads” is worth it. I’ve always hated running, like run a quarter mile and convince myself I pulled a muscle and jump on the elliptical kind of hatred. But, I was making big changes, and decided to make running my goal.

It’s been a few months, and would you believe it I’m up to running about five miles a day. I love the new muscles in my legs, but not as much as I love knowing I could probably outrun someone if I were followed or in danger. It’s also great knowing that I’m improving my cardiovascular health, as heart disease runs in my family. This sudden empowerment motivated me to do more, and get a personal trainer.

My gym offers a free personal training session a month included in my membership fees, so I saw the front desk and set up an appointment based around my availability. They told me, “ok you have an appointment with Ted next Tuesday at 10.” I didn’t know what else to ask so just showed up for my appointment the following week. What a mistake. I didn’t know anything about the trainer, and he didn’t know anything about me. Not only that, when I went for my appointment they told me they had to switch, and I didn’t have Ted, I now had Kyle. Kyle was apparently confused, and kept calling me the wrong name. He didn’t ask me what I wanted to target, instead we rushed into an upper body work out. Maybe he had spoken to the other girl who’s name he kept calling me, because he referred to a phone call we had- only I had never spoken to him. He went on to tell me about his family, his girlfriend, his kids, asked me how old I was and commented that he was almost twice as old as I was. He told me I had a nice smile and if I were his daughter he wouldn’t let me out of the house. He briefly told me about the exercises I was doing. He DIDN’T ask me about my health history, my normal routine, or what my goals were. I felt like because one set was “easy” for me, he would quadruple the weight and my arms turned to jello. I’ve worked with a trainer before, and he always said he wanted to challenge me and not kill me, so I would feel it but still want to keep training. I didn’t get that feeling from this guy, at all. I wanted him to give me advice on what to target, show me a routine that I could do on my own, and not talk about his kids. I didn’t know what I was getting into.

If I had used Fittron, I wouldn’t have encountered any of those problems. With Fittron I could have searched for a personal trainer in my area, and saw their pictures, bio, certifications, and referrals. I could have spoken to them before the session so my goals would be clear and I would know who they were. I could have read articles they posted on Fittron’s Pro Page, and I could have been confident that they are serious professionals who know what they’re doing. I don’t have tons of money to throw around, I am a poor college student after all- so I could’ve posted on Fittron’s solicitation board stating, “Young adult seeking PT for fitness advice in Central NJ. Will pay 60 for session.” The professionals could’ve came to me. That’s a lot of “could haves,” and instead I ended up disappointed and unable to lift my arms to shampoo my hair for a week. To top it off, using Fittron is FREE. So let’s add dumb to the the list of disappointed and in pain.

Don’t end up the next the next fitness horror story like me. Take advantage of all the great features Fittron has to offer. You have nothing to lose and a great body and trainer to gain.

http://fittron.com

The Hardest Part is Eating Right!

The hardest part of training the body for every client I work with on a daily basis is what and how to eat on a regular basis. I get more questions on this topic, see more puzzled faces, find more hidden secrets about what they are really doing from every good intentioned person on this topic. It is a puzzle for most people. The what, the how, the when and the nagging argument if the choices made were the right ones.

Most of us are actively in pursuit of the loss of a few pounds, the cinch of the waistline and the tightening of those legs and glutes. My clients work hard in their hours with me – on the floor in Pilates, in the gym or the park Strength Training, on the treadmill or the track running circles for miles of Cardio calorie burn. Consistency in the area of activity is key. But if you come home and chow down on the wrong foods because you “don’t have time,” “don’t know what to eat,” “get tired of the same old thing,” then you have probably given into failing the true lesson of living a fit and healthy lifestyle.

It is not about how much weight you can press, push or pull. It is not about how many reps you put into a set. It is not about how many perfect rollups or Teasers you can make happen. If you take the time and energy to spend hours a week sweating to burn the calories, you may as well take the time and energy to feed the muscle you are trying to shape, tone and build.

The work is the same for everybody. Fitness consultants, yoga or Pilates teachers, athletes, coaches and you! You need energy to fuel a good workout and you need to honestly and effectively replenish the fuel with the right food after the workout.

Here is an example of Summer Time eating that I have been using regularly to stay on point and ready to deliver all my energy for the next client session – while still maintaining my body in its shape and form.

My morning starts at 5:00am when I get up and make a great strong (french expresso roast) cup of coffee. I never seem to finish the oversized cup, but I keep making a large one anyway! I generally have 4-5 slices of Louis Rich Turkey Bacon (I don’t eat pork and the turkey is a leaner protein source).

Whether summer, winter, spring or fall, I always have a large bowl of Quaker Oats oatmeal; add teaspoon of Olivio olive oil for the good fat it provides and a half-teaspoon of maple syrup. I am out the door for a 6:00am client session.

Today I taught a 9:00am Pilates class of 12 men and women, following the two early morning client sessions. My breakfast held me until the end of the hour. But by 10:00am, on most days, I am hungry again! Before I start my own workout, I drank a whole container of a Muscle Milk Ready-to-Drink shake. I needed the extra fuel at that point, to support my 1.5 hour gym workout; cardio for 45 minutes, using the treadmill (15 minutes), recumbent bike (10 minutes), vertical bike (10 minutes), elliptical (10 minutes). Then a combo upper/lower body routine consisting of balance (single-leg) squats, deadlifts, cable abduction/adduction followed by frontal/lateral planks to pushups using the Bosu Trainer, followed by abdominals.

By 11:30, I left the gym and was famished. Now here is the good part. I got home at 12:00pm and I don’t want to sound at all like Martha Stewart (she is surely not my style) but the last thing I wanted to do was wait a long time in preparation of a meal. Just like you, I needed it to be quick, simple and easy!

Easy Healthy Meal – For Lunch or Dinner

So, I pulled out a bag of frozen vegetables (medley of broccolli, cauliflower, carrots, summer squash) poured a little olive oil (splurged on flavor by using White Truffle, Extra Virgin – so deliciously decadent!) in my wok, sliced up one clove of garlic and sauteed it with the veggies till the edges were brown. Added a little water to fully steam them. Simultaneously, I warmed a chicken breast (from the day before) in the microwave and by 12:20, I was eating the lunch of great protein and colorful vegetables and decided to blog about it as encouragement for you!

Any healthy protein (fish, chicken, beef or legumes) combined with brightly colored complex carbs (vegetables and low-sugar fruits) are the recommended ingredients to fuel your body and your workouts for the summer, winter, spring and fall.

The same quick preparation of veggies with a piece of salmon, halibut or even a grilled steak would be a great meal in the evening.

Hope this helps as another way to close the loop in the fitness puzzle for you.

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Online Fitness Tips and Videos

The internet is saturated with information; some good, and some bad. You need to take some time sorting through different content so you can be sure what you’re reading is actually worthwhile. Finding online fitness help is no different. There are a bevy of sites that offer nutritional advice, training help, meal plans, and other tips for healthy living. But not all of them are very good.

Often times these sites are rather complicated. Sometimes you have to create a user profile and some of the posters are just that; users, and not professionals. Many sites have done their best to copy the social networking craze that is sweeping the nation, and allow everyday web visitors to join their site and produce content. While this might be beneficial for users looking to meet up with and support other individuals, it doesn’t do much for you if you’re looking for advice from a professional. You don’t get advice on your financial portfolio from a social networking site, do you? And if you do, we’re not so sure that’s the best way to go about it. You should be getting professional advice from a certified financial expert. At Fittron, we felt you should be getting the same type of advice for your health.

Fittron.com is a directory of fitness professionals. We allow our professionals to upload videos, articles, nutritional tips and more. Only registered Fittron professionals can do this. All our professionals are certified and most are leaders in their field. We challenge you to find a roster of more qualified professionals anywhere online. But don’t waste your time looking; you won’t find a site that even compares.

There are no user profiles on Fittron. We’re not a social networking site, we’re not a fitness encouragement site, we provide you access to the top professionals in the country. Recognizing the forum that they are a part of, our professionals post articles and videos that you need to be viewing. They offer everything from recipes, to instructional videos, to targeted advice for working different body parts. All posts are linked back to the profile page. No longer should you have to read articles from “jackedguy21” and wonder what credentials “jackedguy” really has. By clicking on our professional’s profile link, you will be taken to their profile where you can view their bio, certifications, specializations, and much more. Now you can see just who is behind the information that you’re reading.

Our information is easily accessible. Just click on the yellow sunburst tab on our main page and read articles and videos that we’ve featured. You won’t have to sort through endless content, and there is no username and password required. It’s just simple, transparent advice from experts.

Simplicity backed with credibility is the best formula for success. Our information is certified. Just click on the author’s profile for verification. Come to Fittron.com and get the advice and fitness help that you’ve been looking for.

http://fittron.com/pro_page