Sticking to the Routine

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Sticking to a routine isn’t always easy. In fact, it’s hardly ever easy unless the routine doesn’t require us to do much work. For instance, if I lived in Barbados, I think I could gladly start up the routine of getting up every day to chill in beach chair under some palm trees. Or better yet, in a hammock between two palms. That wouldn’t be too hard. I’d have to get up to go to the cooler every now and then, but hey…you have to throw exercise in there somewhere right?

But alas, life isn’t about doing much of nothing at the beach or while on vacation. It’s about (or at least it should be) being dedicated, setting goals, and striving for success. In order to that, it’s vital that we have some sort of schedule and/or routine that effectively gets us where we want to go. Setting a schedule and sticking to a routine is something that helps us in just about every aspect of life. Studies show that those who make short and long term goals as a part of those routines are more successful in life. If you don’t believe me, then just look it up. It’s just a fact.

Of course, when it comes to our health and wellness, the same scenario applies. However, most people would agree that this is one area of life in which routines are hardest to set. We are all busy and we all have so much going on. Usually, when you add up all of your responsibilities, be it work, family, pets, school, or other extracurricular commitments, there isn’t much time in the day to spend on you. I know many people who have tried to start a fitness plan so that they can get in better shape or lose weight, only to fall off of the track within a few months. A common reason is that “I just can’t find the time to exercise and eat right,” or “I’m just not seeing the results that I want.” Of course, 100% of the time, the second excuse is a direct effect of the first excuse.

Well with that said, I decided to do a quick search on a few tips that can help us stick with our workout schedule. Although it requires a lot of effort on our part, the rewards are definitely worth it in the end. Here are a few highlights from a recent article as well as the link if you want to check the article out in more depth. I’ve also included a second link, which references a USA Today article on tips for effective weight loss.

Enjoy!

Tips to help you stick to your exercise routine.

Step 1

Set multiple small goals instead of large or unrealistic goals. Work in stages to achieve your goals and work from a place of positive reinforcement, rather than feeling frustrated and giving up.

Step 2

Pay for a gym membership, personal trainer or exercise class. Making a financial commitment can help you stay motivated.

Step 3

Carve out time from your busy schedule to hit the gym or go for a brisk walk. Write it down in your planner and treat it like any other important appointment and get down to the business of getting fit.

For additional steps, click HERE

For some neat tips on effective weight loss, click HERE

Hammock Chilln' - Good Beach Routine

Beach Burpees - Better Routine

Jamie Ives, MA, CSCS

Jamie has several years of experience in the fitness industry, working with clients of various ages, ability levels, and health conditions. He enjoys using his knowledge as well as his experience in exercise prescription and program design to help each of his clients reach their individual wellness goals and improve their quality of life. For more information about Empower Personal Training, please call (919) 401-8024

Trainer Feud 2011

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What exercise should you do every day? Name an animal that is easy to imitate? Which trainer is most likely to lose it?

These were just a few the questions that our trainers had to answer yesterday during our first ever Empower Personal Training Trainer Feud. This challenge, created by our very own Caroline Crocker and Tom Stafford, was a fun ice breaker during our most recent staff meeting. It was modeled after the long running game show hit, Family Feud. If you’ve never seen that show before, then shame on you. It’s awesome. Either way, let me tell you how it all went down.

For the last few weeks, we’ve been polling our clients, having them give us their answers to some pretty interesting questions. For example, what is the vegetable that people hate the most? (brussle sprouts of course!) After we got all of the answers in, we tabulated the results and were ready to play. During the meeting we divided into two teams, and one person from each team went up to “face off” againstanotherin answering one of the questions. The trainer who rang in first and got the question right (needing to provide a response which was in the top 5 of the client provided answers) went back in line and their team tried to provide the remaining top 4 answers. If a team got 3 guesses wrong, or 3 strikes, then the opposing team had an opportunity to steal the round.

Hopefully, that wasn’t too confusing. I’ve defintely confused myself, and my head hurts. Anyway, I think you should just watch the clip. Here are some highlights fromlast week’sgame. Enjoy!

Trainer Feud 2011

Survey Says!...

?Jamie Ives, MA, CSCS

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Vacation Workouts

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Hey gang,

You know, summer is here and that means one thing: SUMMER VACATION! Pack up your swimming suit and sun screen and don’t forget your workout clothes because Empower has an easy, no-stress plan to keep you focused on your health and fitness program…even as you bask in the sun and sip on cold adult beverages. Check out the workouts below for a couple of ideas for things that you can do while you’re away. For convenience, I’ve included one beach themed routine and one mountain theme. Stop by the studio or ask an Empower trainer for some additional workouts. We have a bunch of them.

Surf and Turf Beach Challenge

Put your water bottle about 20 to 30 feet away from the waves. This is your starting and transition point.

1. Now “Hit the Surf!” (run out into the waves to the point that half of your torso is submerged.)

2. Run back out to your water bottle and do 30 mountain climbers

3. Hit the Surf

4. 20 pushups

5. Hit the Surf

6. 30 lateral bounds

7. Hit the Surf

8. 20 lunges

9. Hit the Surf

10. 15 Burpees

Try to complete 2-3 rounds as fast as you can and then finish with 5-10 minutes of cooldown and stretching.

King/Queen of the Mountain – Trail Challenge

Warm up by hiking for 5-10 minutes

Follow the train and try to keep moving the whole time, resting as little as is necessary.

1. Run or hike for 5 minutes at a brisk pace

2. Take your back pack and lift it over your head. Now hike or run for 5 minutes.

3. Lunge along the train for 3-5 minutes

4. Try to repeat this cycle for 2-3 rounds

5-10 minutes of cool down and stretching

Jamie Ives, MA, CSCS

Jamie has several years of experience in the fitness industry, working with clients of various ages, ability levels, and health conditions. He enjoys using his knowledge as well as his experience in exercise prescription and program design to help each of his clients reach their individual wellness goals and improve their quality of life. For more information about Empower Personal Training, please call (919) 401-8024

Trainer Development

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At Empower, we have all kinds of “fun” equipment that we use to train our wonderful clients. At any given time, you may come in and see someone using Dynamax balls, sand bags, ropes, sleds, TRX straps, free weights, medicine balls, etc… The list really goes on and on. Now that its nice and warm outside, you may even see us taking people outside to have a go at the agility ladder.

Each month, usually on the third Thursday, all of the trainers will get together for a Team meeting. This, of course, consists of some housekeeping items, some discussion about upcoming events and programs, and some talk about what we can do to keep Empower the best place to train in the triangle. At the end of each meeting, we always have a trainer development session, where a trainer will either demo some pretty cool exercises or lead a discussion in an important health and wellness topic. This past Thursday, we all practiced some new exercises on the aforementioned agility ladder. Trainer Aaron Hornstra led the group through some of his favorite drills. Check out the video below to see some of your trainers in action.

Who said we couldn’t have a little fun?

Jamie Ives

http://www.youtube.com/user/becomepowerful#p/a/u/0/Fkm8ytNC9N8

Train the Trainer Bootcamp 2011

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This past Saturday May 7th, 2011, Empower Personal Training held it’s 3rd annual Train the Trainer event. Clients had a great time “beating up” on their trainers for all of the burpees, pushups, lunges, squats, etc… that they have had to do this year.

Hopefully, we’ll soon be able to bring you some nice footage of that part of the morning’s activities. However, in the mean time check out some clips from this year’s pre TTT bootcamp. Paul and Tom took the group through a bootcamp that had us doing everything from jumping and flipping tires to racing with greased watermelons. Crazy right? Well, why not check it out.

Train the Trainer