fitness

Why Fitness is Important

In today’s fast-paced world, finding time for fitness can seem challenging, but the benefits it offers make it an indispensable part of a healthy lifestyle. Engaging in regular physical activity is not only essential for maintaining a healthy weight but also plays a critical role in enhancing various aspects of overall health. From cardiovascular improvements to muscle growth and injury prevention, fitness provides a comprehensive range of advantages that contribute to a stronger, more resilient body. Let’s explore how incorporating regular exercise into your routine can positively impact your health in several key areas.

Lowering Blood Pressure

One of the key benefits of regular exercise is its ability to lower blood pressure. Engaging in physical activity strengthens the heart, enabling it to pump blood more efficiently and reducing the strain on arteries. This improvement in cardiovascular function is complemented by increased elasticity of blood vessels, which lowers resistance and stabilizes blood pressure levels. Exercise also aids in weight management, reduces stress by lowering cortisol levels and boosting mood-enhancing endorphins, and enhances insulin sensitivity, further supporting healthy blood pressure. Additionally, it promotes the production of nitric oxide, which relaxes blood vessels and improves circulation.

Burning Fat

Beyond cardiovascular benefits, fitness is crucial for burning fat. Physical activity ramps up the body’s energy expenditure and metabolic rate, leading to the burning of stored fat for fuel. Activities such as cardio, strength training, and high-intensity interval training boost metabolism and promote the afterburn effect, where the body continues to burn calories post-exercise. Building muscle through strength training also increases resting metabolic rate, as muscle tissue requires more energy to maintain than fat, contributing to more effective fat loss and long-term weight management.

Gaining Muscle

Muscle gain is another significant benefit of regular exercise. Targeted resistance and strength training create micro-tears in muscle fibers, which the body repairs by rebuilding these fibers thicker and stronger. This process not only increases muscle mass but also enhances overall strength and physical performance. Strength training further supports a higher metabolic rate, ensuring adequate nutrient and energy supply to muscles for optimal growth. Consistent fitness routines, combined with proper nutrition and rest, are essential for muscle development and achieving a well-defined physique.

Improving Stability and Injury Prevention

Moreover, fitness enhances stability and helps prevent injuries. Core-strengthening exercises, such as planks and bridges, build the muscles around the abdomen, lower back, and pelvis, essential for maintaining stability and proper posture. Balance exercises and functional movements train the body to engage stabilizing muscles, improving coordination and proprioception. This increased awareness and control reduces the risk of falls and injuries, making daily activities and physical tasks more manageable and safe. By incorporating strength, balance, and coordination exercises into your routine, you lay a solid foundation for overall stability and injury prevention.

In summary, fitness is integral to maintaining a healthy blood pressure, burning fat, gaining muscle, and improving stability, all of which contribute to a more vibrant and resilient lifestyle.

Click here to get started on your fitness journey today!

How I developed my fitness program

Hey everyone! I haven't posted a blog in a while so I figured I’d update everyone on what’s been going on at Fitness By Design!

I’ve been busier than I’ve ever been for the past couple years and it’s all thanks to my amazing clients!

Through this 2-3 years I’ve developed a new program that has essentially streamlined clients muscle strengthening and weight loss.

Working with 100’s of clients has led me to find valuable consistencies. These consistencies helped me design my most efficient program to date!

I really look forward to helping more clients with this program (which can be tailored to individuals needs).

Also, if you have questions or are interested in starting your fitness journey, please feel free to contact me through my Contact Page

Thank you to all my clients!

Find your passion

We are what we think about. The brain is always moving and needs something to chew on. If we have nothing positive in our life for our brains to chew on it will chew on whatever it can get it’s teeth on. This generally leads to chewing on miss guided marketing (Instagram and Facebook feeding us what we are “supposed to care about”) that causes us to constantly think we’re not good enough because we don’t have certain things others do. Once we let our brain chew randomly we realize we aren’t where we wanted to be. We’re not aligned with what’s true to us. This then makes us panicked and causes us to feel lost. Consequently more negative thoughts flood the brains feeding troth and the sequence repeats itself.

I believe people are anxious and depressed because they haven’t found there passion. They haven’t found something productive for there brain to chew on. 

One of my goals is to help people find there passion wether it be Fitness or something else. If I can do this, I believe I can design a new sequence for people to live there life by. This sequence will be a never ending positivity reinforcement loop. This will help people build and live a happy productive life.

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Breaking the ice, Just get started!

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Been planning on working out and just never get around to it?

Do you constantly make attempts to set up a gym membership, get a trainer, or do a home workout?

And you constantly say Tomorrow? Or after this weekend… or after the holidays...

And deep down you know you won’t get around to it until it’s a big problem?

Here’s what i have to say.

Just get started.

6 months from now you’ll wish you started today.

Time will pass no matter what.

So why not exercise today.

Like right now? Before or after you go to work depending on when you read this.

Don’t you wish you worked out yesterday?

Think about this...

Today’s work ethic will determines tomorrow's yesterday.

So break ice and get started!

There’s no doubt in my that you will be happy you got things out of the way and genuinely feel that you are taking steps towards a positive, healthy lifestyle.

Alright guys, I hope this information helped! If it did please give this a LIKE and SHARE it you your page, so your friends and family feel motivated to break the ice and get started on their fitness journey! :)

 

Dieting on a budget

It’s a common misconception that eating healthy is expensive.

People blame their weight gain on cost and on not knowing what to eat.

They end up buying fast food or frozen dinners thinking it’s the cheapest option.

People will pay 5 dollars a day on coffee and let’s just say 5 dollars on lunch and dinner.

That’s $15 a day.

Or $105 a week.

What they don’t realize is that if they went to the store and bought,

Eggs, oatmeal, and milk for breakfast

And Chicken, rice, and broccoli for lunch and dinner, maybe switch the meat and vegetable every week.

They wouldn't be spending more than $40 a week.

And they would lose weight and feel healthier.

And if they meal prep for the whole week they could save yourself a couple hours a day when they’d usually be cooking.

Alright guys! I hope this information helped. If it did, please leave a LIKE and SHARE it to your page so your friends and family can save money while eating healthy!

Why Fitness By Design over a corporate gym?

Why Fitness By Design over a corporate gym?

When most people realize they need to workout, they usually go to a corporate gym and get a $20 a month membership

They feel great about taking this step, but soon realize these types of gyms are packed with people and there is no equipment to use.

Then they will go on the only cardio machine open and walk for an hour.

They will do this for a month and then stop because they don’t see the results they want.

At Fitness By Design Personal Training you will have a personally designed program and me as a personal trainer to walk you through the exercises.

You will always have the proper equipment to use for whatever we’re working on that day.

So that same hour/month waisted at a corporate gym. Can be a life changing experience with Fitness by Design Personal Training.

I hope this information helped! If it did, please leave a LIKE and SHARE it to your page so your friends and family can see the benefits of Fitness By Design Personal training over a corporate gym! :)

Patience

Patience is a big part of working out.

It’s so common for people to start a workout routine super motivated.

And then quit a week or month later.

They quit because they see little to no results.

They are discouraged because they think that, if they haven’t reached their goal after a week or month of going to the gym, then they might as well give up.

But it takes time and patience.

Say you put on weight at some point in your life.

It may have taken 2 years to put on the weight. Or maybe even 6 months.

You can’t expect 1 month of exercise to reverse 2 years of weight gain.

So the initial workout spark might be there.

But you have to stay patient and continue working towards your health and fitness goals if you want to succeed.

Alright guys hope the information helped, if it did, please leave a LIKE and SHARE it to your page so your friends and family can remember to stay patient while they work towards their health and fitness goals! :)

No time to workout?

No time to workout?

People claim they don’t have any time to workout.

They get up with just enough time to make it to there 9-5 job and then they go home eat dinner and then watch their favorite show for the rest of the night.

Then comes friday, they go out with there friends, sleep in saturday and then do the same saturday night and sunday morning.

Eventually 5-10 years pass of doing the same thing and they slowly start to gain weight, and they’re tired all the time.

Which could have all been avoided if they made health and fitness a part of their daily routine!

So for those people who say they don’t have time here’s what you can do.

Instead of waking up at 8am to get ready for 9am, wake up at 5am.

Eat some breakfast, drink some coffee, and get to the gym for an hour before work.

Don’t want to get up early? When you get out of work at 5pm eat a quick snack, head to the gym and get an hour workout in.

If you’re feeling extra daring, do a 30min workout during your lunch break at work.

Even if you sacrifice 2 days during the work week and get up early or go after work, You can workout 2 more times over the weekend and that’s 4 days a week.

Now if you don’t know how to efficiently workout in an hour, hire a personal trainer to motivate you and to make sure you’re staying committed and going to the gym.

Even if you hire a trainer for a couple months, you can learn and adopt fitness into your weekly routine.

I hope this information helped, if it did please LIKE this post and SHARE it to your page so your friends and family realize they do have enough time to go to the gym! :)

Why fitness is important!

Some people assume that working out and going to the gym is only for people who are trying to look good, play sports, or be a bodybuilder.

Obviously this is how you can achieve these types of things.

But in reality, it’s also for people who want to live a long, healthy life.

And if we’re making assumptions, I’d assume you’re a person who’d like to live a long, healthy life.

While in your 20s and 30’s you may be thinking: “Well, I look and feel decent” and that you can just maintain this.

And, I know it may be disappointing to hear this, but as we age our metabolism slows down, our muscles become weaker, and our bone density starts to decrease.

This can lead to weight gain and all the diseases that come from obesity.

Weaker muscles will eventually make it harder to lift simple objects, balance and walk.

And, if you’re having trouble balancing and walking, you may fall on your hip, which if you haven’t been building bone density could break.

I realize this may be years away for some people, in their 20’s and 30’s, or it may be an issue right now.

But if you don’t start investing some amount of time building up your body through fitness it will more than likely become a problem or get worse in the future.

I hope you enjoyed this information. If you felt that it helped go ahead and give it a like and share it to your page so your friends and family can be motivated to live a long and healthy life as well :)

The importance of stretching

You’ve likely heard that it is important to stretch. So, before a workout you stretch for what seems like a sufficient amount of time by performing two or three random leg stretches for anywhere between 3 to 14.5 seconds and then start your workout.

Well, to ensure the maximum benefit of your stretching it might be worthwhile for me to share more on the “why” you need to stretch and strengthen appropriate muscles to keep yourself moving properly and in balance.

Here we go...

Stretching is for everyone. Why? Because repetitive movements create tight muscles. Whether you are a conditioned athlete, or an accountant, you need to stretch. When a conditioned athlete is bench pressing, he is tightening his chest muscles. When an accountant is typing on his/her computer all day, shoulders rolled forward, he/she is tightening their chest/trapezius muscles. Both of which can ultimately lead to upper cross syndrome.

You know that little old man or lady with a hunchback? They’re an example of someone with an extreme case of upper cross syndrome.

Why is upper cross syndrome harmful?

Upper cross syndrome can cause:

  • Shoulder impingement
  • Rotator cuff tears
  • Inflammation of bursa (fluid filled sack that counters friction in the shoulder joint)
  • Arthritis in the shoulder joint

So, if you’re already exercising, it can lead to shoulder injury. If you haven’t started exercising, once you realize you’re developing diseases due to obesity, or simply living a sedentary lifestyle, you may very well be stopped in your tracks by a shoulder issue.

You can avoid this through proper stretching.

What should you stretch?

Chest muscles: Place your elbow on a door frame, slightly above 90 degrees and externally rotate your shoulder (open chest). Hold for 30 seconds. Repeat with the opposite shoulder.

Trapezius muscle: Interlock your fingers behind your back, palm to palm. Now slightly tilt your head to one side and pull the arm opposite the side your head is tilted down. Hold for 30 seconds. Repeat in the opposite direction.

What should you strengthen?

  • Rhomboids (the muscles between shoulder blades)

  • Low/mid trapezius (the muscles that lower the shoulder blades)

  • Rear delts (the muscles on the back of your shoulders)

Now, back to the conditioned athlete and the accountant. Shoulders aren’t the only thing to worry about. Lifting improperly will usually lead to tight hips and quads, as will sitting at a desk all day with your hip flexors in a shortened position. Both can lead to lower cross syndrome.

Have you seen someone walking around with their butt out and lower back arched? That’s an extreme case of lower cross syndrome.

Why is lower cross syndrome harmful?

Lower cross syndrome can cause

  • Lower back problems

  • Excessive quad use, and resulting knee pain

  • Arthritis of the knees and hips

As stated in the section on upper cross syndrome, if you are a conditioned athlete working hard and not stretching it can cause you to strain your back, knees or hips. If you’re an accountant sitting at your desk all day, when you finally decide to workout you may feel lower back, or knee pain.

So what should you stretch?

Hip flexors: Place one knee on the ground and keep the other at a 90 degree angle. Now flex the glute (your butt) on the same side as the knee that is down. Also make sure your core is tight and you’re not arching your back. Hold for 30 seconds. Repeat with the opposite leg.

Quads: While standing, bend at the knee and grab your leg behind you. Try flexing your hamstring and glute on the leg you’re stretching while keeping your core tight. Hold for 30 seconds. Repeat with the opposite leg.

What should you strengthen?

  • Glutes

  • Core (Torso/abdominal muscles)

  • Posterior chain (the muscles on the backside of your body, neck to heal, responsible for proper stability and hip extension during a bend in lift)

Now that you know some specific reasons to stretch, go ahead and give these exercises a try!

And, if you’d like to learn exercises for strengthening the opposing muscles listed, come on in for a free / complimentary workout and I will show you the right ones for you! :)

And that’s, fitness by design

What To Look For In A Personal Trainer

Performing as a fitness professional for a number of years, with dozens of clients, I’ve witnessed some questionable practices by gyms and personal trainers. To be fair, I have also met a lot of great trainers. However, when considering a personal trainer, it can be tricky to identify the great from the under-qualified.

Here are some criteria to look for in selecting a qualified personal trainer.

Does the trainer you’re about to give your hard-earned money to, look like they workout?

Does your potential trainer preach that he/she can get you into the shape of your life while rocking a beer gut, hunched shoulders and clearly demonstrates a lack of energy?

One thing you might ask yourself is: “If this trainer has all the answers to get me into the shape of my life, why do they look like they just rolled out of bed, ate a donut and handed me a pen to sign-up for their obviously flawed fitness program?”

Criteria: Make sure your potential trainer walks the walk and is a living, breathing example of what their fitness program can do for you.

What degrees, certifications and life experience does your potential trainer posses?

Here is a common scenario...First, you will meet with a bubbly fitness manager (a.k.a. Salesperson) with AMAZING credentials who will psych you up to sign a contract for their FLAWLESS fitness program. Afterwards, they will hand you off to some average Joe or Josephine, who has a cereal box personal training certification. The bubbly fitness manager is now off to close on their next sales lead and sign up the next prospect.

Next, when that cereal box certified trainer is losing his/her clients, he/she will quit, leaving YOU with the task of trying to find another trainer within that facility, with little to no help from the bubbly fitness manager (I mean Salesperson).

Criteria: Avoid the bait and switch by making sure the person with the credentials is the one who will be training you. Don’t waist your time and money on a trainer who hasn’t earned a degree in some sort of exercise science, sports medicine or exercise physiology program of study, on top of their certification.

Does the trainer assess your current fitness level?

The first time you meet with your personal trainer they should bring you through some sort of movement screening and basic questionnaire to see how you move, if you’re prone to injury or have any health-related considerations they should be aware of.

They should then work with you to manage any imbalances and make sure you’re moving correctly without pain or discomfort before they begin to advance you.

I’ve heard clients telling their trainer: “This hurts my knees.”, and the trainer responds, and I quote, “mhmm just keep going.”

Criteria: Make sure the trainer performs a fitness assessment and fine tunes your program when needed and is responsive to any indications of pain and discomfort.

Does your potential trainer have a one-size fits all training program?

Yes, it makes sense in the initial stages of a fitness program to perform similar routines, so the trainer can get a sense of where to progress or regress a client in certain areas. But, in the case above, if the client’s knees hurt while stepping forward, in a lunge motion, the trainer should have their trainee step backwards, instead, so they can properly load their glute and remove the shear force on their knee.

Criteria: Make sure your potential trainer doesn’t have a one-size fits all program.

Does the personal trainer have client references and testimonials?

Sure, a trainer can have the look, credentials, an assessment process and flexible training programs. But, can they connect you with reference clients who you can speak with and/or provide positive testimonials sharing how they've helped numerous people achieve their fitness goals?

Criteria: Make sure your potential trainer has clientele (like you) who can share positive feedback about their training experience, such as what you'll find on my testimonials page.

In closing…

To avoid potential waists of time and money, and achieve your fitness goals, consider hiring a highly qualified independent personal trainer. Why? They are likely more experienced, thorough in their approach and able to help you meet your fitness goals while avoiding injury.

In addition to being with you every step of the way, they are more cost effective. That is, the fees to engage an independent personal trainer don’t include the overhead costs you will incur with a personal trainer operating within a membership gym environment.

Who doesn’t want to save money for a better experience?

I hope this post helps you confidently maneuver the fitness industry to find a personal trainer who fits your needs and who will be with you every step of the way towards achieving your fitness goals!

And that’s Fitness By Design