San Antonio Personal Training

12/1/2009

When you turn on your T.V. today pay attention to the number of advertisements you see for products that are marketed as products that will "get you in better shape."

What does that mean?  Your fitness goals may be different than mine.

I can tell you that nearly all of my clients have unique goals.  Some want to gain weight and muscle, some want to drop body fat after a pregnancy and still others are looking to compete in high school athletics.  Very few of my clients have the exact same goals.  For that reason all of them have a different training program that I put them through.

If you are working out on your own, make sure that you don't just subscribe to a workout program or product because a friend told you it helped them get in shape.  Your goals may be different and it is certainly the case that your body will react to exercise differently than theirs will.

 Make sure you train for your goals.  If you are looking to lose body fat then watch your eating habits.  Eat lower amounts of carbohydrates and watch your portion sizes.  Make sure you are lifting some weights to add muscle to your frame to help burn extra calories, while doing lots of cardio to help you burn extra calories.  At the same time, make sure you eat more protein to help you maintain the muscle you have put on.

If you are trying to gain muscle mass and weight, your workout and diet program should be significantly different.  You are going to want to eat more and especially higher amounts of protein.  You will want to lift a lot of weight, 3-5 sets of each exercise with lower number of reps (3-8reps).  You will want to do only enough cardio to keep your lungs and heart working efficiently, but not so much that you burn a high number of calories.

Don't buy into the marketing hype fitness programs throw in your face.  There is no one size fits all solution to help everyone get in shape.  You must create or find a program that fits you and your goals!

If you are reading this and have any questions about what kind of program you should be following, please don't hesitate to call me or shoot me an e-mail.  I will be happy to answer your questions.

Make it a great day San Antonio!

Nicholas Wood

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(210)415-5934

www.sampt.com

Effects of Static Stretching on Energy Cost and Running Endurance Performance.
Wilson JM, Hornbuckle LM, Kim JS, Ugrinowitch C, Lee SR, Zoundos MC, Sommer B, Panton LB.
J Strength Cond Res. 2009 Nov 13. [Epub ahead of print]

Stretching before anaerobic events has resulted in declines in performance; however, the immediate effects of stretching on endurance performance have not been investigated. This study investigated the effects of static stretching on energy cost and endurance performance in trained male runners. Ten trained male distance runners aged 25 +/- 7 years with an average VO2max of 63.8 +/- 2.8 ml/kg/min were recruited. Participants reported to the laboratory on 3 separate days. On day 1, anthropometrics and VO2max were measured. On days 2 and 3, participants performed a 60-minute treadmill run randomly under stretching or non-stretching conditions separated by at least 1 week. Stretching consisted of 16 minutes of static stretching using 5 exercises for the major lower body muscle groups, whereas non-stretching consisted of 16 minutes of quiet sitting. The run consisted of a 30-minute 65% VO2max preload followed by a 30-minute performance run where participants ran as far as possible without viewing distance or speed. Total calories expended were determined for the 30-minute preload run, whereas performance was measured as distance covered in the performance run. Performance was significantly greater in the nonstretching (6.0 +/- 1.1 km) vs. the stretching (5.8 +/- 1.0 km) condition (p < 0.05), with significantly greater energy expenditure during the stretching compared with the nonstretching condition (425 +/- 50 vs. 405 +/- 50 kcals). Our findings suggest that stretching before an endurance event may lower endurance performance and increase the energy cost of running.

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Basically, this is saying that if you do static stretches before you exercise then your performance will suffer.  So, you should do a dynamic warm-up before you exercise and leave it at that!

 Make it a great day San Antonio!

Nicholas Wood

This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

(210)415-5934

www.sampt.com

Lately, the big topic on any political radio or tv show is the health care debate.  The purpose of this article is not to beat you up over this topic, so rest easy.

What I did want to tell you about however is some of the neat tools your current health insurance provider might have for you.

I did not know about this until the other day, but when we were renewing our health coverage with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas our insurance broker pointed out a website that BCBS has that helps people create and follow their health and wellness program.  As a member of BCBS you can log onto this website and they have a messaging system where you can ask questions to a Nurse, Dietitian, Personal Trainer and a Life Coach.  This website has recipes for healthy meals and a tracking system to help you track your nutrition and exercise progress.

I don’t know if other health insurance providers have similar programs, but I would imagine they do.  It is a great way for you to stay on track and continue to progress toward a healthier, better looking future.

Make it a great day San Antonio!

Nicholas Wood

This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

(210)415-5934

www.sampt.com

10/14/2009

In November we are making some big changes to our fitness boot camp!  We will still be having great workouts, but instead of just doing our normal running and lifting we will be planning our workouts around different sport activities.  Think football, basketball, wrestling, boxing and ultimate frisbee!!! 

We will be moving around to a few different locations near our Thousand Oaks studio location throughout the month, so be sure to pay attention to the schedule we post here.

Get excited because November will be more fun than you have had in a long time when exercising and you will still get the same great results that you normally get from MPT's Fitness Boot Camps!

Make it a great day San Anotnio!

Nicholas Wood

This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

(210)415-5934

www.sampt.com