LIFE FITNESS

THE PURPOSE OF THIS PAGE IS TO PASS ALONG USEFUL INFORMATION AND TIPS ON HOW TO ACHIEVE AND MAINTAIN A GOOD LEVEL OF PHYSICAL FITNESS. PHYSICAL FITNESS IS VITAL TO GOOD HEALTH AND A HIGH QUALITY OF LIFE AND CAN BE ACHIEVED AND MAINTAINED WITH A CONSISTENT EFFORT. THE EFFORT YOU PUT FORTH WILL DICTATE THE LEVEL OF FITNESS THAT YOU ATTAIN. NO ONE CAN DO THIS FOR YOU, BUT YOU ALSO REAP ALL THE REWARDS AND ONLY HAVE YOURSELF TO THANK.

WHAT IS A WORKOUT?

A workout is 25 percent perspiration and 75 percent determination.  Stated another way, it is one part physical exertion and three parts self-discipline.  Doing it is easy once you get started.

A workout makes you better today than you were yesterday.  It strengthens the body, relaxes the mind, and toughens the spirit.  When you work out regularly, your problems diminish and your confidence grows.

A workout is a personal triumph over laziness and procrastination.  It is the badge of a winner-the mark of an organized, goal-oriented person who has taken charge of his destiny.

A workout is a wise use of time and an investment in excellence.  It is a way of preparing for life’s challenges and proving to yourself that you have what it takes to do what is necessary.

A workout is a key that helps unlock the door to opportunity and success.  Hidden within each of us is an extraordinary force.  Physical and mental fitness are the triggers that can release it.

A workout is a form of rebirth.  When you finish a good workout, you don’t simply feel better,

YOU FEEL BETTER ABOUT YOURSELF!     By: George Allen

Mentors - Find mentors. They'll teach you a lot and save you a lot of time, frustration, and possibly even money. Say "thank you." Be a mentor yourself and help out an up-and-coming lifter. Someone helped you out when you were first getting started. Think of it as your responsibility to the future of the iron game and fitness industry.--Eric Cressey

Finding a mentor goes with any type of activity in which you choose.

Here we go....

• THE FIRST THING IS TO MAKE SURE YOU ARE HEALTHY AND READY FOR AN EXERCISE PROGRAM - BOTH MENTALLY AND PHYSICALLY. GET A PHYSICAL AND MAKE SURE YOUR DOCTOR AGREES THAT YOU ARE GOOD TO GO! IF THERE ARE PROBLEMS WITH YOUR HEALTH, HAVE YOUR DOCTOR NOTE ANY RESTRICTIONS, AND HEED YOUR DOCTOR'S ADVICE.
  

• AIM FOR AT LEAST 30 MINUTES OF SOME TYPE(S) OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY PER DAY FOR AT LEAST 3 DAYS PER WEEK. THE ACTIVITIES CAN BE DONE ALL AT ONCE, OR BROKEN-UP INTO SESSIONS. THE MAIN OBJECTIVE IS TO DO SOMETHING PHYSICAL FOR A TOTAL OF AT LEAST 30 MINUTES. THREE WALKS OF TEN MINUTES EACH, FOR EXAMPLE, CAN BE ACHIEVED BY MOST ANYONE. IF THIRTY MINUTES IS TOO MUCH, AIM FOR TEN OR FIFTEEN MINUTES PER DAY AND ADD A MINUTE OR TWO EACH WEEK UNTIL YOU ACHIEVE YOUR GOAL TIME.
  

• IF FAT LOSS IS A GOAL, TRY TO BUILD YOUR ACTIVITY LEVEL TO SIXTY MINUTES PER DAY FOR AT LEAST SIX DAYS PER WEEK.
  

• BE CAUTIOUS. UNLESS YOU ARE TRAINING FOR AN ENDURANCE EVENT, TRAIN FOR NO MORE THAN 60 MINUTES PER DAY DUE TO THE LAW OF DIMINISHING RETURNS. IN A NUTSHELL, THIS MEANS THAT EXERCISE SESSIONS THAT LAST MORE THAN THIRTY, AND ESPECIALLY MORE THAN SIXTY MINUTES, ARE NOT MUCH MORE BENEFICIAL, BUT CAN BE HARMFUL BY LEADING TO INJURY AND/OR BURNOUT.
  

• IF POSSIBLE, INCLUDE WEIGHT TRAINING OR RESISTANCE EXERCISE OF SOME FORM IN YOUR REGIMEN. 2-3 DAYS OF STRENGTH TRAINING PER WEEK ON NONCONSECUTIVE DAYS WILL MAKE YOU FEEL AND LOOK BETTER. IT BUILDS STRENGTH, BOOSTS METABOLISM (YOU BURN MORE CALORIES!), CAN IMPROVE OR MAINTAIN BONE DENSITY, HELPS MAINTAIN OR BUILD MUSCLE TISSUE, AND THE LIST GOES ON....
  

• YOU MUST ADHERE TO THE LAW OF PROGRESSION. YOU MUST CHALLENGE YOURSELF BY DOING MORE OF SOME ASPECT OF YOUR TRAINING REGIMEN FROM WORKOUT TO WORKOUT IF YOU ARE TO PROGRESS.
  

• Weight Training has proven to be effective in performance improvement in people well into the 90 years of age range. Performance Improvement can mean a sport or simply moving about in your daily routine.
  

•        Workout Plans - Fitness Planning - Fitness Workout Plan      No matter what it is that you are setting out to accomplish in life, whether it be career goals, starting a new business, learning a new skill, or even getting in shape, it is always a good idea to come up with a workout plan. Studies show that 93% of people who write down their goals, thus creating a plan, accomplish them. That being the case, you are almost guaranteed success in reaching your goals simply by starting out with a written plan as to how you will accomplish them.                              Formulating a workout plan also allows you to determine your progress in measurable fashion. This will help to keep you accountable and to do the things you have committed yourself to do. As a result, you'll be less likely to throw in the towel and return to your less productive ways. Your plan will also become the basis for rewarding yourself when you accomplish the milestones that you set in your workout plan.                     
  

• Be diligent about recording your workout plan, and recording the results of each workout. You will find that it provides great incentive for you to be able to look back and see the progress that you made during the course of your workout routine. If you are following a particular diet during the course of your fitness routine, recording your results should also include tracking your dieting progress.   Many people who advocate formulating a workout plan recommend that you set both long-term and short-term goals. Personally, I have never been an advocate for becoming entrenched in setting long-term goals. My personal experiences in that long-term goal setting leads to procrastination because it programs you to believe that you have plenty of time to get started towards working on that long-term goal. I prefer to look at goal planning, without reference to it being that long-term, and setting in the day-to-day activities in which I will engage to accomplish the goal. In other words, if I were to set a goal of losing 30 lbs. within the next 12 months, instead of focusing on losing 30 lbs. over the course of that year, my focus would be placed more on what I'm going to do today, tomorrow, and the next day, and every day thereafter to accomplish that goal. It is those short-term goals, my day-to-day activities, that become important, and not where I will be 12 months from now. If you set and work on your day-to-day goals, your long-term goals will take care of themselves.            Whatever goal you set, it helps to make sure that you "get specific with yourself". It's not enough to simply say I want to be in shape. You need to specify and define what that means for you. A better way to express that would be: I want to be able to run a mile in under five minutes by January 1. Or I want to decrease my body fat composition by 10% before December 1. Now, these goals may or may not be realistic, depending on how much time you are allowing yourself to accomplish them, but they are specific, and that makes it more likely that you will visualize and actualize the steps necessary to accomplish them.  Don't allow the failure to accomplish a goal demoralize you. Accomplishing goals is great, but failure to achieve your ultimate goal is not grounds for declaring yourself a failure. In fact, the feedback we get when we failed to accomplish our goals can sometimes be just as important, if not more important than the successes that we can report. Use any unaccomplished milestones as an opportunity to recommit yourself to a new set of goals. Use your experience and work to achieve all of your goals as the basis to accurately set new goals. Don't be afraid to shoot for the moon, even if you miss you'll end up amongst the stars.  Be sure to consult a fitness professional to assist you with formulating a fitness plan. Even if you don't plan on working with a personal trainer, a consultation with one experienced in fitness planning can be the best investment you'll make short of your personal commitment to follow through on your workout plan. Many health clubs offer a fitness assessment and planning session as a free service for their members. Be sure to take a bandage of such a service if it is available where you workout.
  

•   And, one more thing. Be sure to make pursuit of your fitness goals a priority. The best is to make working out a habit. Habits, whether they be good or bad, are very hard to break. Condition yourself to pursue this good habit, it will become part of your lifestyle, allowing you to enjoy a higher quality of life in all that you do. Success in life generally, and specifically in connection with pursuing your fitness goals, is simply a function of substituting good habits for bad ones. If you can do that successfully, not only will you achieve your fitness goals, but you will have no trouble accomplishing any other goal that you set in life that's worth pursuing.  
  

If you ladies want more encouragement and advice about weight training, go to www.stumptuous.com. This young lady has a great web-site!! And free information!

NIine Movements for Every Healthy Body

Must Haves for Your Training Routine

by Scott Agee

     These exercises  are a series of movements that should be included in some way in everyone's training. According to Lou Schuler and Alwyn Cosgrove in their book The New Rules of Lifting, these exercises cover all the bases. For general strength and fitness, these exercises can't be beaten. They will also help balance any program. You don't have to do each movement every training session, but each movement should be worked into your weekly routine. If you are not including them in your training, maybe you should give them a try.

You should have these movements or a variation of each in your program:

1) The Squat - Squat variations include: Power, Olympic, Front, Back, Overhead, Zercher, etc. - take your pick

2) The Deadlift - Variations include: Rack Pulls, Sumo, Deficit, Thick-Bar, Zercher, One-Handed, etc.

3) The Horizontal Push - Regular Bench Press, Flat DB Press, Power Bench Press, Push-Ups, etc.

4)The Vertical Push - Military Presses, Power Press, Push Press, Arnold Presses, Cuban Presses, etc.

5)The Horizontal Pull - Seated Cable Rows, BB or DB Bent Rows, Face Pulls, Reverse Push-Ups, etc.

6)The Vertical Pull - Chins, Pull-Ups, Lat Pulls, Bike Rows, etc.

7) The Twist - This motion can be upper or lower body, as in: Russian Twists, Wood Chops, Wipers, etc.

8) The Lunge - Unilateral (single-limb) training is great, try: Walking or Stationary Lunges, Split Squats, Bulgarian Squats, Step-Ups, etc.

9) Walking/Running - If you are not walking or running, you probably should be. Of course walking or running can be done anywhere, but for the gym you could include Farmer's Walks, Figure-Eights, Over-Head DB Walks, etc.

Now, how do you put these together for a routine?

• Pair the antagonistic movements - Bench Press with Seated Rows
  

• You can do them in a circuit fashion - one followed by the next and do rounds.
  

• Or do each movement (sets and reps) until completed
  

There are other methods, but these are enough to get started.

Sets and Reps

• Week 1 - Do one set of 8 - 12 Reps with a weight that is somewhat difficult
  

• Week 2 - Two sets of 8 - 12 Reps with a bit more weight if possible
  

• Week 3 - Three sets of 8 - 12 Reps with a weight that is light enough to get at least 8 Reps on Set 1 and heavy enough that 12 Reps on Set 3 is difficult or not possible
  

• Increase the weight once you are able to do 12 Reps with good form on all 3 sets
  

• Another suggestion is to do Upper Body Training and Lower Body Training on different days because of time restraints once you are doing several sets.
  

This is a good way to get started, restarted, or introduce a new movement to your current program. Sets and Reps aren't set in stone and should be varied from time to time to reduce stagnation and boredom. After a few weeks or a couple of months, you could switch from 3 Sets of 8 - 12 Reps to 5 Sets of 3 - 6 Reps or 2 Sets of 15 - 20 Reps.

Don't stop researching and learning, there are many methods and great programs. There are also many misleading or downright false gimmicks and claims.

There are also a few truths that apply to all programs. The Principles of Foundation, Progressive Overload, Reversibility, Specificity, Variability, and Individual Response can be followed to insure a fun, productive, and safe routine.

Hard work often isn't enough. A routine that isn't enjoyable, that lacks direction, doesn't suit your individual needs and gives you minimal results will eventually be abandoned. Your health and fitness will suffer accordingly.

If Personal Training or Coaching is desirable, you are encouraged and welcome to make an appointment. With different programs and options available, we will do our best to fulfill your needs.

DON'T BE AFRAID, AND DON'T DELAY ANY LONGER. LET'S GET STARTED RIGHT NOW.