Entries Tagged 'Personal Trainer' ↓

Q. Why is it important to know your heart rate when exercising?
A. Monitoring heart rate during exercise provides an excellent measurement of intensity. Intensity, or how hard you are working, is an important factor in determining if you will improve your fitness level. Heart rate training takes the guesswork out of how hard you should be working to achieve the results you want. That’s why cardiovascular exercise equipment, such as treadmills or stationery cycles, have heart rate sensors, which are an easy way to monitor heart rate. Consult with a fitness/health professional to assure that you are exercising at the appropriate exercise intensity.
Sean Toomer, MEd
Life Fitness Academy Continue reading →

Imagine taking your trusty old three-speed–or your rugged new mountain bike–onto the open road for an exhilarating 40-minute ride. It’s a beautiful day . . . there’s a gentle breeze . . . and before you know it, you’re back home, tired but refreshed from a workout that seemed more like fun than work.

The simple pleasure of riding a bicycle is so appealing that this traditional pastime has been revived as a hot new way to exercise indoors–where weather, traffic, terrain and plain old lack of motivation are less likely to foil your good intentions.

Indoor cycling classes are popping up in gyms and studios around the world. If you haven’t witnessed the real thing, no doubt you’ve seen the advertisements: groups of exercisers huddled over stationary bikes, looking determined and even a little euphoric as they listen intently to an instructor and pedal their hearts out. Have you ever wondered about joining them? Continue reading →

Are you getting bored with your strength training program, or not getting the same results you did when you started? It’s easy to fall into a weight training rut, doing the same old routine of favorite exercises day in, day out. Unfortunately, too much “same old, same old” can be the enemy of effective physical conditioning. The key to successful training lies in varying the training stimuli, says William J. Kraemer, PhD, professor of applied physiology at the Pennsylvania State University’s Laboratory for Sports Medicine.

The most effective way to add variety to your workouts is through periodization, which means making systematic changes to your training at regular intervals. Periodizing your strength workouts can help you avoid plateaus; prevent injury; and make greater gains in strength, power, muscular size and endurance, and athletic performance. Continue reading →

Again and again, research has shown that women who maintain a regular, moderate strength training program enjoy a long list of health advantages. Some women still fear that weight training might bulk them up in unfeminine ways; however, as women of all ages realize the benefits of resistance training, negative attitudes about women in the weight room are rapidly fading, according to renowned strength training researcher William J. Kraemer, PhD, of Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana.

Weight training expert and researcher Wayne Westcott, PhD, from the South Shore YMCA in Quincy, Massachusetts, gives 10 important reasons why women need to take strength training seriously: Continue reading →

Gyms, fitness studios, health clubs and wellness centers around the world are adding yoga classes to their schedules, but how do you find the right class for you? Yoga styles today range from very gentle and meditative to vigorous and technically demanding, says Mara Carrico, the San Diego, California, based author of Yoga Journal’s Yoga Basics–The Essential Beginner’s Guide to Yoga for a Lifetime of Health and Fitness. Selecting a class that fits your goals, physical condition and fitness level is very important. Carrico offers these 10 tips for finding a safe, effective yoga class to include in your workout: Continue reading →