Personal Trainers versus Cross Fit classes

by Writer on January 5, 2012

I’m always looking to save a buck, but on the other hand I consider exercise an investment in my SELF, so I’m OK with doing more than just spending money on a gym membership or evne staying at home and using a home exercise gym.

One of the drawbacks ot training by yourself is falling into a routine.  We as humans like stability and comfort, but it doesn’t really do us much good when we’re trying to lose weight or enlarge muscles, muscle groups, or tone thing sup or down.

Personal trainers and cross fit trainers will both tell you that Routine Is The Enemy Of Progress.

When working out, you have to shock your system, your body, in order to see results.  That’s part of the reason why calorie shifting works, to a certain degree….  Calorie shifting is a diet that’s meant to help you lose weight by shocking your metabolism, or in better words, to trick your body into making the metabolism work harder, by making it work differently.

Suffice to say that, knowledgeable trainers know that shocking your system is what leads to results.

Now…here was my question to my personal trainer the other day,

“If cross fit and your personal training philosophies are both the same, in essence, with that philosophy at its base being that routine is the enemy, then why do I need a personal trainer?  Why can’t I just go to a cross fit class, and let them guide me through the workouts and push me towards my goals?”

Some of her answers were technical and had to do with how cross fit classes like to perform exercises with a longer, fuller rang eof motion, whereas she likes to owrk muscle groups using a shorter rang eo fmotion.

For example, the squat exercise….cross fit will have you doing deeper movements until your butt is touching your calves, almost.. whereas she likes to work the muscle groups in a more focused fashion by only having me do squats until my legs are parallel to the ground.

The philosophy is the same, routine is the enemy and to work different muscle groups in every workout, but here’s the REAL difference between using personal trainers, which cost more, and doing cross fit classes…

Personalized attention

Cross fit classes emphasize a fuller range of motion, and there’s usually one trainer per group of 10 or more people.

Persoanl training is a one on one relationship, and if your trainer is a good one they’ll be watching your form closely, at all times.

My trainer knows how to do workouts, she’s a pro with a gradute degree in nutrition and something else, I forget… and she went to a cross fit class and injured her hip!

Now tell me, how is it that osmeone who definitely knows how to do ALL exercises properly could still get injured during a guided, instructor led exercie regimen?

And that my friends is the difference between cross fit workouts and perosnal trianing.

With personal training you get more attention given to you so your form is perfect, and that injuries are avoided.

Get a personal trainer, sped the extra dollars if you can afford it, it’s your health so why try to cut corners?

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Exercises To Improve Posture For Men & Women

by Writer on January 3, 2012

Poor posture is a common problem all across this country and across the world. People spend so much time typing that they often develop back injuries far before their time. Doing jst a few exercises to improve posture a day might not seem like that much, but it really will make a difference. Improving your posture means maintaining it one day at a time. You might be surprised by how quickly you will feel the health benefits of having a comfortable, strong back.

One of the best exercises to improve your posture is to do crunches. A lot of the research suggests that our posture is linked to the strength of our core muscles. A strong core leads to a healthy back, and that leads to better overall health as we get older. Strengthening the stomach muscles is one way to improve your posture.

Of course, you should do some other exercises to improve posture that target the back muscles as well. If you only target your stomach muscles, you’ll have an imbalance in the muscles that support your posture. One of my favorite posture exercises is to use a balance ball and lay forward on it so that it is in the middle of my stomach. My knees are flat on the floor and my hands extend forward in front of me. I then repeatedly let my self down and pull back up using my back muscles. This has a similar effect to doing crunches, except that it works the back instead of the front.

Another great exercise to improve posture is leg lifts. There are probably dozens of different leg lift exercises, but you should be sure the ones you do balance each other out. I usually use two of them. In one, I lay on my back and raise my legs in the air repeatedly. In the other, I stand on all fours and kick my legs out behind me one at a time. These exercises are always helpful in relieving back pain and stress.

Finally, there are exercises to improve posture that specifically target the back. One of my favorites is the cat/cow stretch. Basically, you stand on your hands and knees and alternately flex and arch your back. You do this slowly in harmony with the breath for several minutes. It is amazing how quickly it will provide relief from chronic back pain. It can make you feel better almost instantly sometimes.

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