So how many of you include squatting in your workouts at the gym? If you are not, you are missing out on the most important of all lifts that will get you stronger. I won't go into the details of the squat here but will go over some of the benefits.
They won't make you shrink or stunt your growth as an old colleague of mine used to believe. They are not bad for your lower back nor are they bad for your knees.
I think they are the most important lift you can have in any routine. They tax the whole cardiovascular system and hit every single part of your legs if done properly. Squatting also has a great benefit for upper body and 'core' strength as well. Your entire body has to be synched up to lower yourself to parellel and bring yourself back up to the starting position. Just keeping your body upright with the bar resting on your traps or the front of your shoulders is engaging your upper body without even moving up or down.
Even doing bodyweight squats for the beginner is beneficial. Try doing 50 at once and see how your whole body feels when done, not just your legs. If you do this, let me point out some quick things before you go and put yourself in danger. You are doing this at your own risk without me there, so I take no responsibility of you getting hurt.
*Keep your chest up/shoulders pinched together in the back, cross your arms in front of you across your chest or you can make it even more challenging while putting your arms above your head.
*Your feet should be pointing forward or very slightly outward if you are naturally duckfooted like me and out wider than your shoulders.
*On the down part of the squat, don't let your knees go beyond your toes. Don't let your knees cave inward toward the imaginary middle line underneath you. Make sure your heels stay on the ground, you can do this by lifting your toes off the ground which will plant your heels down.
*The final position of the downphase is having your upper legs parellel to the ground.
*Explode up after reaching parellel in a controlled manner keeping your upper body in the same strong position as it was on the downphase.
*Remember to breathe in on the way down and brathe out on the way up.
Do 50 of these and report back to me how you feel.
Here is a quick video of 2 example front squats with 135 #s. Notice my upper leg getting parellel to the floor and not having my knees go beyond my toes or lifting my heels off the ground.
Sorry, you'll have to turn your head a little to watch.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Women and 'bulking' up
I have heard several times that women are afraid to lift weights because of the fear of putting on muscle and getting 'bulky'. This is simply not true and there are several reasons as to why this is not the case. Of which I will go over the biggest of those reasons here and explain that muscle growth actually is a great aid in losing weight.
The first and most important reason that women will not get huuuuge lifting weights is based on the simple fact that a womens' chemical makeup is different than her male counterparts. Men have higher levels of testosterone and lower levels of estrogen. Testosterone is one of the most important elements of putting on muscle and bulking up. Since women have higher levels of estrogen and lower levels of testosterone, the propensity for a woman to get rather large muscles is very unlikely without some sort of an aid that boosts their testosterone, namely a steroid.
Sure, you see the old Eastern bloc women athletes and how big they are and have probably read that their workout regime consisted of volume training with serious weights. If you have not read about that, do a google search. But what you don't know and could probably guess is that most of them 'probably' were on some sort of anabolic stimulant raising their testosterone levels to those that have not been seen since neanderthal times. What about those women bodybuilders who look so big? Well, that depends on your perception. Firstly, they are so toned and lean that just a little oil and the tanning booth adds some perceptive size. And it could also be there were 'blessed' with higher levels of testosterone.
Where does this leave you? If you were a client of mine, I would assure you that getting huge, no matter how much weight you throw around in the gym, just is not very possible without the help of some outside stimulants as mentioned earlier. There are soooo many benefits of lifting weights for a female. We all want the results of our training to include being healthy and looking good. Lifting weights will help you lose fat which makes your muscles appear to be bigger, but in actuality, they are more defined and lean which equals looking fantastic. Plus, the more muscle we have increases our metabolism turning our bodies into fat burning machines even at rest.
So, the next time you may be hesitant going into the weight room, don't be! Head into that weight room with your head held high and your goals set and ready to be met, just using the cardio equipment is not enough.
Good Luck.
The first and most important reason that women will not get huuuuge lifting weights is based on the simple fact that a womens' chemical makeup is different than her male counterparts. Men have higher levels of testosterone and lower levels of estrogen. Testosterone is one of the most important elements of putting on muscle and bulking up. Since women have higher levels of estrogen and lower levels of testosterone, the propensity for a woman to get rather large muscles is very unlikely without some sort of an aid that boosts their testosterone, namely a steroid.
Sure, you see the old Eastern bloc women athletes and how big they are and have probably read that their workout regime consisted of volume training with serious weights. If you have not read about that, do a google search. But what you don't know and could probably guess is that most of them 'probably' were on some sort of anabolic stimulant raising their testosterone levels to those that have not been seen since neanderthal times. What about those women bodybuilders who look so big? Well, that depends on your perception. Firstly, they are so toned and lean that just a little oil and the tanning booth adds some perceptive size. And it could also be there were 'blessed' with higher levels of testosterone.
Where does this leave you? If you were a client of mine, I would assure you that getting huge, no matter how much weight you throw around in the gym, just is not very possible without the help of some outside stimulants as mentioned earlier. There are soooo many benefits of lifting weights for a female. We all want the results of our training to include being healthy and looking good. Lifting weights will help you lose fat which makes your muscles appear to be bigger, but in actuality, they are more defined and lean which equals looking fantastic. Plus, the more muscle we have increases our metabolism turning our bodies into fat burning machines even at rest.
So, the next time you may be hesitant going into the weight room, don't be! Head into that weight room with your head held high and your goals set and ready to be met, just using the cardio equipment is not enough.
Good Luck.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Welcome to my blog!
Hi there,
My name is Erik Tremblay. I have been certified as a personal trainer through the American Council on Exercise since March 2008. After working in the business world for 10 years, it was time for a change. I decided to help people reach their fitness goals ranging from weight loss to preparing for sports.
I struggled with weight my whole life having gone up and down on the scales. Having been through this, I can understand what you are going through. If you only want to lose 10-15 pounds or over 50 pounds, we can get it done with some hard work.
My business is primarily 'on location'. What does that mean? It means that I travel to the location of your choice for your workout. Please note that I can not travel to your gym unless you clear it with the gym owner first and you pay any guest fees that have not been waived by the gym.
Our workouts will be fast paced for an hour. They will consist of agility work, speed work, conditioning work, and weight work. I will bring some equipment with me to our workouts and/or we will use equipment you have at your disposal that pertain to that days' particular routine.
In terms of nutrition, I keep it pretty simple. I am not there with you 24 hours a day and don't want to see you waste our efforts from working out. I would like to see a journal on occasion to make any needed adjustments. Another part of my nutrition philosophy is to 'eat clean'. Eating clean means that if something expires in a couple days, it is probably pretty good for you. Also, the outside perimeter of your local grocery store is the place to shop for your food.
As far as my training rates go, they range from $50-$65 per session depending on your goals and the time it takes for us to reach them. If you want to bring in a friend or two to work out with us, the price per person will decrease. Further rate information will be provided after your FREE initial consultation/assessment. I have a very generous referral program that we will discuss.
The purpose of this blog is to relay information about health and fitness and answer any questions that you may have about health and fitness. Please feel free to post and ask questions.
My name is Erik Tremblay. I have been certified as a personal trainer through the American Council on Exercise since March 2008. After working in the business world for 10 years, it was time for a change. I decided to help people reach their fitness goals ranging from weight loss to preparing for sports.
I struggled with weight my whole life having gone up and down on the scales. Having been through this, I can understand what you are going through. If you only want to lose 10-15 pounds or over 50 pounds, we can get it done with some hard work.
My business is primarily 'on location'. What does that mean? It means that I travel to the location of your choice for your workout. Please note that I can not travel to your gym unless you clear it with the gym owner first and you pay any guest fees that have not been waived by the gym.
Our workouts will be fast paced for an hour. They will consist of agility work, speed work, conditioning work, and weight work. I will bring some equipment with me to our workouts and/or we will use equipment you have at your disposal that pertain to that days' particular routine.
In terms of nutrition, I keep it pretty simple. I am not there with you 24 hours a day and don't want to see you waste our efforts from working out. I would like to see a journal on occasion to make any needed adjustments. Another part of my nutrition philosophy is to 'eat clean'. Eating clean means that if something expires in a couple days, it is probably pretty good for you. Also, the outside perimeter of your local grocery store is the place to shop for your food.
As far as my training rates go, they range from $50-$65 per session depending on your goals and the time it takes for us to reach them. If you want to bring in a friend or two to work out with us, the price per person will decrease. Further rate information will be provided after your FREE initial consultation/assessment. I have a very generous referral program that we will discuss.
The purpose of this blog is to relay information about health and fitness and answer any questions that you may have about health and fitness. Please feel free to post and ask questions.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
