4 Points for a Unfriendly Fitness Schedule

After all these years of training, I have realised there are training principles we have to abide by which must be followed to bring successful results to my clients.

Sometimes life does get in the way and we cant have a perfect schedule of training and diet. So here are things I have found that have worked with me and my clients.

1) Mini Training sessions:- If the 30 minutes or one hour program does not suit you then find a training pattern that does. I found that 'mini' trainings throughout the day work well. What does this mean? Do shorter, stimulating exercises throughout the day. This undoubtedly will lead to more work meaning more muscles to work and more energy expenditure.

2) Diet Strategies: I usually am not one to go with a 'eat this, dont eat this' approach. However what I do suggest and strongly advocate is finding the right diet strategy. Sometimes we have to re-evaluate our diets to suit our lifestyle. For example, if a client has a job where they are more actively involved, they would need more energy. If there are clients who have a more mentally activity and less physical movement, I definitely wouldnt recommend eating excessive calorie dense foods.

3) Exercise Selection: If we are with mini training sessions, the right exercises are vital. It does not make sense to say 'Walk for 5 minutes up and down the corridor' when you have 20 kgs to lose in a hurry. That might get a blood circulation going but its not going to be enough to crank up enough energy to challenge the body and muscle of any kind. We need exercises that

• Will challenge your entire body in about 10 - 15 reps.
• Thats doable in about 5-7 minutes.
• Thats safe movement and will limit fatigue.

4) Use events of the day: Find things in your daily routine and use those to your advantage. Taking a common example of walking - it is often suggested that if you can walk somewhere walk. Like take the stairs instead of the elevator. However if its for a distance, think about keeping a smaller backpack with you that you can load up with some heavier weight. If you strap that on and walk you now have an additional weight and your simple walk suddenly became more intense.

Of course these points are so simple we don't really think it will help until we actually do them. So here is my recommendation - Start. After this deal with the details as they present themselves.

This is based on High Frequency Training but also taking into consideration the lifestyle of a client. If the client is working heavily at a desk job, works nights and also has family commitments, I know they are going to struggle sticking to a 30 minute training plan.

I have practiced this myself and found they work. I have also tried them on my clients and they have been having good results. These points can crash nearly any reason that you have for not being able to have an exercise plan and a diet strategy going for you. 

PIlates - My take!!

I finally got my certification in Teachers training for Pilates to which I am really happy about and thankful about.

Pilates has quite a mixed response in the fitness industry. One group swears by its benefits while the other shoots it down. If there is one thing I have learnt in my life its go back to the source, where things began or by the person who created it. 

So what is my take away about Pilates since I have always been involved with lifting weights and strength training?

An important point to remember is Joseph Pilates himself referred to this practice as 'Controlology' which had been practiced for years before Pilates as a training system ever came up.

1) Pilates is not a sissy fad - In the fitness industry people want the latest fad to shed weight quick and look good. Unfortunately Pilates is just made and marketed that way like most other things in the fitness world. It was around for quite a while.

2) Pilates is good for strengthening you from the inside out - Pilates helps you reach to activate vital core muscles that you probably didn't even know you had. Yet its these muscles that are the powerhouse of the musculoskeletal system.

3) Mind Muscle connection - Pilates requires a lot of mind muscle connection with also being able to hear instruction at the same time. You are working vital muscles which you cant see but are very important for your musculoskeletal system.

4) Pilates is a form of strength training- There is a lot of isometric contraction in Pilates. Isometric contractions are known and researched to cause upto 50% more strength in the body. As a matter of fact some of the strongest and best physiques came out of isometric training. 2 names that immediately comes up are 'The Mighty Atom' and Charles Atlas.

5) Pilates is probably one of the best programs for Rehab - Please read that again carefully. I didnt say it was the best. I said it was probably one of the best. How do I know this? I heard about it. Joe Pilates was a sickly child with quite a few illnesses at 4 years old. 10 years later at 14  he was modelling for anatomy charts. After three days of 8-10 hours of training as a healthy and fit trainer I was feeling much better around my joints and certain muscle groups and 12 hours from finishing that trainng session I put a client of mine on Pilates immediately. This client was in for rehab and training with me for four months and her comment was

Wow. My movement is so much better and there is less pain!!'

That session was a session of strength training and 30 minutes only!

Oh and of course Joe Pilates rehabbed an entire section of WWII soldiers using his principles.

6) Pilates CAN be a stand alone but might not necessarily be the complete training that you need - Pilates might cover only one part of your fitness needs. Joseph Pilates himself was involved with a host of other training methodologies.

7) Since Pilates is essentially principles it can blend in and be applied to a lot more other disciplines essentially.

Pilates was quite an interesting learning for me. I definitely recommend at least 4 sessions to learn the principles. The principles are definitely something I will incorporate in all trainings of mine and that I teach.

Got any questions? Comments? I would like to hear your views.

  

Another lesson learnt from another client - Discipline and Honesty

The other day a client of mine asked me after a session, 'Do you also train?' Now, while that might seem like 'DUH', it got me thinking. Sometimes clients questions can take us off guard and also keep us in check. It has been quite a busy month for me and my training frequency has reduced but I made time to train at least twice a week for 15 minutes. I was so glad I managed to do that.

Imagine if I had to tell the client, 'No, actually I have not been training recently because I was really busy?' Instead of building them up I would have given the message that its ok to avoid training if there was a 'so and so' reason. 

'Oh c'mon, you didn't need to tell them.' That might be true. That also means it would have backfired on my character. No one would have known except me but in all honesty that would have weakened my resolve and authority as a trainer to ask them to do something or make a suggestion. These clients look up to us for maintaining their health but I also believe as personal trainers there is an element which goes deeper. It is setting an example and standard.

Stay honest and true to yourself. You will be able to handle 'curve balls' that suddenly get thrown at you from your client. As a trainer your own personal disciplines are necessary to be an authority and make an impact while training. Also, when you do that you come from a position of authority to be able to tell your clients what to do.

Discipline and honesty helps you through any aspect of life. As trainers I think this is especially true and important as we also set the example of being role models. It also helps to practice what you preach. If you need to stay on track find someone you can trust and stay accountable to so you can keep sharp. My wife keeps me accountable with something as little as a posture deviation. It gets irritating sometimes but I know its for my good and getting me sharper and stronger in character and skill to do what I have to do.

Practice living being true to what you stand for. Might be a bit difficult at the beginning but if you are consistent it will become a part of your life.

If this post has encouraged you send it out to someone else who you think needs it. If you need any help with Lifestyle Coaching or fitness, send me a message.

Medical Pros meet the Fitness Pros

There is a huge gap that I have noticed with health and fitness. There are a lot more healthcare professionals and doctors who are not taking advantage of the fitness industry. Some doctors also still refuse exercise programs to certain patients citing that their cases are too chronic. Yet there are numerous cases which show proper nutrition and exercise have actually got people back on their feet and in good health in spite of being bed ridden. Doctors might suggest physiotherapy but the problem with most medical physiotherapy today is it only goes to a certain level and stops and then the client just keeps on and on with a physio program that does nothing much for them after the initial first few sessions.

Its strange to me because the body has this one principle - If it is moving and kept active in the right way it will get stronger and medical professionals know that. If you are a medical prrofessional reading this are are genuinely concerned about your patients please consider looking for a professional fitness professional and working with them in designing your patients recovery plan.

So here are my suggestions as a fitness professional to medical professionals.

1) Look for partnerships: If doctors and professional fitness trainers partner together there is the best of experience coming in together. The doctors experience and knowledge coming in along with the trainers knowledge of exercise and or nutrition will definitely help the patient recover faster. If need be come in with a nutritionist and physio. The point to note here is primarily 'THE HEALTH AND LIFE OF THE PATIENT.
If you are not willing to do that for your patient why on earth are you a medical pro and spent those many years in medical school? After all a patient who is getting healthier is less of a burden for you.

2) Find out exactly what teaming up with fitness professionals can do for you:- Nearly all of the time, if you find a professional trainer your results as a doctor or medical professional can be enhanced. You will have an exchange of ideas and experience which could help you in other cases. You also will have a great team to work with if the trainer knows a really good nutritionist.

From a business perspective you can build your network and have a win win situation gaining more clients.

3) Which areas can you help the patient in? If you are unsure about exercise patterns for rehab of a patient, thats when you need a fitness professional to step in. A good fitness professional will work along with you in devising an appropriate exercise plan. If there are restrictions that you advise there will be ways to maintain those restrictions but also have an effective program.

From a pre-hab point of view you can always suggest patients to be more preventive and get into a fitness program or lose bodyfat weight safely telling them the advantages of staying fit and healthy and losing bodyfat weight.

In all its a win-win-win situation. The patient knows they are in the best care possible and chances of recovery are greater. You are exchanging ideas and learning and increasing your network and networth. The trainer increases thier network and networth while adding value to the patients life.

If you are looking for a professional fitness trainer to help or to partner with to help your clients with rehab or preventive lifestyle you can contact  me here.

6 training tips I learnt.

Over my years as a fitness professional, I have come to realise one thing.....there is no 'one size fits all' in the fitness field. The principles and the laws are the same but every person can't be trained the same way. There are just too many different goals, preferences, personality types, body types, etc.

I have also come to realise that peoples preferences change.

For eg. If we are training children and watch them as they grow we notice a progression. When they are much younger, they like running around, doing the animal walks and crawls, hanging off things, jumping. As they start to grow the variety of what they do starts to get more focused. They start to head off into sports most of the time. By the time they are reaching high school and college they are looking at training into athletics or already establishing hobbies. At that point they would focus more on skills needed for the sport rather than animal crawls and hanging off trees. If they are bar athletes thats fine and they might still continue hanging off things but otherwise some things are being dropped off and certain skills are being focused on for their interests are just what they want to do.

Not only are their activities changing, their eating habits are changing. Their lifestyle is changing.

The same way it is with every individual who comes up to a trainer or a fitness expert. These are also things the fitness trainer must realise. Just because the trainer wanted 6 pack abs and did 2500 crunches per day (though that is not the way to get them), doesn't mean that all the peole who come to him/her should do that.

Here are a few rules according to me that a trainer/coach should keep in mind while training.

1) Every person is different and unique - This is the primary information you have to keep in mind. Only then can you coach effectively. If you have 20 people and all 20 people are doing exactly the same thing or rather being forced to do the same thing without understanding what they need at that time and moment  you are not a PERSONAL trainer.

DO NOT DO THIS!!

2)Stick to basics. - Coming back to basics is always a good bet. You can repeat it as many times as you want with different rep/ set schemes, training system patterns, etc. on exercises. With nutrition, things don't have to be complicated. Just follow basics.

3) Variety - Once the appropriate system has been found, just add a little bit of variety every now and then. This gives a break from the regular training pattern and forces the body to adapt. e.g. - Squats - Back squats, front squats, sumo squats, hack squats, pistol squats, etc.....

4) Motivate - Learn how to motivate your clients. Find out what makes them tick. A motivational strong point for one might not be the same for another. For example - One client might just need a reminder of their goal and deadline but another would need the trainer to actually go out there and help them finish off a set with them encouraging them.

5) Cue them: Give them points on how to correct their movement. Eg: If someone if lifting a weight, you can tell them, 'Lift as fast as possible, hold for a second at the top of the contraction and lower slowly.'

6) Remember people change: What might have worked in the first month in terms of motivation might not work in the thrird month. Most of the time as people get stronger and show positive results there is a change in their attitude and psycology.

These 6 points will definitely help you relate to your clients better. It also builds the platform to where the client and you are understanding each other better where the client looks up to you as the professional and you understand the ways to help the client reach their goals.

Why I respect Aerobics and Zumba

I personally am not too interested in aerobics or zumba. I really don't do trainings with them. However, time to time I do workouts with them just to check where I stand with speed, co-ordination and mobility and also to keep the basic skills sharp when training clients for warmups or cardio.

 I know there are more 'macho' ways to check this but I remember when I first did aerobics in my ISSA training. I was struggling to keep up. I was so proud of the fact that I could lift weights and knew the techniques and theory really well and here I was struggling to move, struggling to keep up with the tempo, struggling to breathe - I was humbled by the so called 'Ladies Exercises'. It is pretty ironic when you see a bunch of guys who throw weights around come in with a swagger and then 7 minutes later blunder and stumble all over themselves!

From a trainer and student point of view I came back with a new respect for aerobics and zumba. It does challenge the cardio vascular capacity and puts into light personal co-ordination and balance. For me, I was stiff and struggling.

Today, I still would not use them in my own training sessions. However, I would not come back saying that they are a waste of time. I think they have their own place in conditioning. I also think where it gets annoying to me is when the big box 'fitness centers' use them as latest fad workouts and the in thing to get people without any absolute consideration to see their members get their health and fitness levels better.

I am of the opinion that aerobics and zumba with serious weight training sessions will produce great results for fat loss, muscle building and overall general health and fitness. Oh yeah and if you are someone who loves too dance you are going to have a lot of fun!! My only advice is please find a good trainer in aerobics or zumba and make sure they also throw in and advise strength training sessions.

If you are looking for a good Personal Trainer and Zumba Instructor in Bangalore, India please click on the link below.

http://kavyashankar.zumba.com/

Top 13 Reasons to Hire a Personal Trainer

The reason you need a professional health and fitness trainer is to keep you healthy and fit. That does seem obvious but most people don't get it. You go to a mechanic to have your car or bike taken care of. You go to a restaurant to get a good meal. So why would you try and manage it on your own with something as important as your health and fitness if you don't know what to do?

Here are 13 of the most common reasons people hire a Personal Trainer

• Lose Fat
• Muscle Gain
• Strength Gain
• Weight Management
• Improve Health
• Exercise Adherence
• Improve Lifestyle
• Improve Diet
• Improve Self Image
• Psycological Needs
• Cardio Vascular Health
• Social Needs
• Motivation

If you need help with any of these areas please feel free to contact me

Fitness Trainers - Do we know what we are?

I have been thinking a lot about this question. As fitness trainers, do we know what we are and what service we bring?

It seems there is a big disconnect for us most of the time. People just think we are the guys down at the gym or we just teach a bunch of exercises as a time pass and its not really a profession.

To all fitness professionals, I just want to remind you that our job is not to make people look pretty only! It is to see to their health. Exercise is medicine.

I agree losing fat is a very much a point that serves everyone in regards to looking better and in terms of health. However, we are not only the 'gym' people. In my opinion we are the early line of defense against lifestyle related issues and a lot more other things including, posture, joint mobility, flexibility, cardio vascular strength, breathing, stress management. With that on the cards, can you imagine the number of lives we would be turning around?

The truth is sometimes the medical profession can't find and diagnose the problems that we can. How do I know this? As a trainer I have come across people in my career where for years they have been suffering with a 'medical condition' and in as little as two weeks people have got relief.............permanantly!! (You can check out some of the testimonials in my Real Stories page)

The medical profession also needs a lot of help with professional rehab. I remember someone telling me, 'There is no greater satisfaction and relief for a doctor to know their patient is doing well.'  (Again I know this as I was handling a case where I was actually with a trainee when we had the doctors appointment. We could actually see and sense the relief of the doctor to know there were no issues with her patient. I helped out the client and de-stressed the doctor!!!!)

People getting in shape for weddings is a big thing. How about preparing the young mothers-to-be for the actual strength and energy they need for pregnancy and the time of pregnancy?

The corporate world in their desk jobs, and the CEO's and businessmen needing the right exercise programs and nutritional guidance to fit their on the go lifestyle. Sometimes they need more rest than exercise.

I could go on and on with examples, but it is all going to happen with fitness trainers knowing what they can do, who they are in this industry and then spearheading the paradigm shift. It is only then you can commit to your clients whole heartedly and understand that it is not a luxury for a few people, but a life changing experience and lives that we are committed to changing.

Please feel free to share your thoughts. If you know anyone who can benefit from this article please share it

12 reasons I have a blog

Today, I was just thinking about why I have a blog

I have a blog because

1) I have got things to say about a topic I am passionate about.

2) I believe my talent can help someone somewhere in the world.

3) It would be selfish of me if I had the knowledge that someone NEEDS right NOW and it wasn't accessible to them.

4) A blog is a journal that helps me track my thoughts, express my heart, keep me accountable.

5) Gives me an online presence to the world

6) Opens an opportunity for others across the globe to connect with me through the comments block.

7) As I share my knowledge I learn about myself, my craft. It sharpens my edge. 

8) It teaches me more and more about social networking, blogging and the the potential of the internet.

9) My data is safer here than in social networking sites.

10) My blog is my office. 

11) My blog gives me a potential to earn money.

12) It gives me capacity to think freely.

Back to training

After a week, it feels great to get back into training. I went in for a 25 minute bodyweight training session. Although I wasn't too happy with the intensity, I was happy that I made a comeback after one week.

One thing I did have going for me was the undereating phase of my nutrition in the previous week. I managed to stick to that religiously. Then I ended the week with about a 8 Km walk. It was a breath of fresh air to get out into the sunshine, take a walk ALONE, clear my head and also push a mental toughness build up. I had to go on that walk because my bike was out at the service station and I had to go pick it up before a certain time. So I used the walk as a training session as well. There were times on that walk I wanted to just get a lift from someone but I challenged myself to finish it. I made it on time, got my bike and came back home. It felt good. I had won something deeper. It was not spectacular but I know I got somewhere with it.

Some of you might have a question about why the 'fitness pro' didn't train for a whole week. Well, I'm a human being, not a machine. 

Here is what went down in my previous week.

1) At times I was just plain lazy. I had the opportunity to crank out at least 30 push ups but I did not do it.

2) Life goes on: With my 4 week old daughter at home, I'm getting used to new demands and schedules.

Things do happen but embrace it and move on. I had to accept the fact that I was lazy at times.I also had to accept the fact that schedules were demanding. I could have solved the issue of one of them by just getting off my rear end but did not. What is important is that I made a comeback. To those of you struggling to get back on track with anything I can say this - start as quickly as possible. It does not matter how long it takes to get back to full flow but start and stay consistent.

All the best.

Motivation for Nutrition