By Shelley FrostUpdated Jul 22, 2019 Reviewed by Aubrey Bailey, PT, DPT, CF-L1 There are a few things that may initially turn off people from hiring a personal trainer, like cost or the daunting image of them pushing clients to near collapse. The benefits, however, of using a personal trainer should be considered carefully, because they’re plentiful. There are personal trainers to suit every personality and fitness type, be that aggressive “tough love” motivation or gentler, nurturing support. A personal trainer’s goal is to help her clients achieve specific fitness goals effectively, efficiently, and without injury. Understanding the potential benefits of a personal trainer can help you decide if the financial investment is worthwhile. 1. Define Fitness Goals A personal trainer helps you define individual fitness goals and creates a roadmap to get there. She takes into account your current fitness level and discusses what you ultimately want to achieve. A professional will help you focus...Read more

Global obesity just reached an unthinkable milestone. The latest: A study published in The Lancet suggests more than 1B people, or one-eighth of the world’s population, are obese. Obesity has doubled in adults and quadrupled in children (aged 5 to 19) since 1990. Polynesia, the Caribbean, and the MENA region have the fastest-growing rates for kids. 43% of all adults are at least considered overweight. Rising Tide Authors attributed industrialized food and waning physical activity to the sharpest gains. But it’s nothing new in the US. Cash-rich but health-poor, America’s obesity rates increased from 15% of the population in the ’70s to over 40% today. Double standard. Obesity costs the US $172B annually to treat. Understated, the crisis is redlining — with the already-healthy spending more on “fixes” than ever, all while outcomes worsen. The US spent $425B on recreational physical activity (sports, fitness, and mindful movement) in 2022, per GWI. The North American market for health-labeled...Read more

Just put in lots of effort and do it regularly By Jennifer Heimlich 18 February 2024 When you see the biggest guy in the gym pull up to the weight room, you might assume he’ll be reaching for the heaviest weights. You’ve gotta pump massive iron to build massive muscles, right? Well, not really. “There’s a lot of lore around this routine or that routine, and a lot of it comes from former Soviet bloc country training regimens where most people were taking steroids,” says Stuart Phillips, PhD, a kinesiology professor and research director at McMaster University. Some of it also comes from a misunderstood study from 1946: While rehabilitating soldiers from World War II, army physician Thomas DeLorme argued that heavy resistance training was better at building muscle than, say, repetitive activities like walking or biking, and for decades, many took that to mean only heavy weights were helpful, says Dr. Phillips. Yet the more scientists look into...Read more

Here are my 5 personal fitness rules. Stick with them at least 90% of the time to keep your body healthy and hot. Fitness Rule #1: Don’t Eat Just To Eat There is no place in your healthy lifestyle for mindless snacking. I’m talking about a tub of popcorn at the movies or a bag of chips in front of the TV. All the calories ingested from mindless snacking have to end up somewhere…and that somewhere is around your waist or on your thighs. Snacks are fine when you are aware of how much you’re eating in order to balance it with the rest of your meals for the day. Fitness Rule #2: Stand (And Walk) When Possible Have you heard the saying sitting is the new smoking? The idea is that a lifetime of sitting all-day-every-day is as harmful to your body as smoking. Think for a moment about...Read more

WEIGHT LOSS, DETOX & EXERCISE PLAN By Shane Massey – Certified Personal Trainer Weight Loss Principles 101 – You must have a caloric deficit to lose weight. Meaning, you have to burn more calories than you consume.  If you have a 3500 calorie deficit over a 7 day period, you will lose one pound.  That is a 500 calorie deficit everyday for 1 week.  If you have a bigger deficit then you will lose more weight.  Therefore, counting calories and tracking your food intake is the #1 requirement you need to do on a daily basis to achieve success. The smart way to lose body fat is to maintain a deficit through both diet & exercise.  Trying to lose body fat with diet only and not exercising is not optimal.  You want to burn the body fat off while maintaining or increasing your muscle mass. I like to use the...Read more