Shoulder Pressing 101: What You Need To Know – Crystal Lake Personal Trainer
May 16th, 2013

If you’re about to embark on your workout program, one exercise that you need to be sure you don’t leave off the to-do list for your upper body sessions is the shoulder press.

The shoulder press is the most ideal upper body compound movement to perform because it’s going to primarily target the shoulders without any chest muscle activation.

While the bench press and the incline press are also good for hitting the shoulders, the problem is that since the chest is such a large group of muscles, it’s going to take much emphasis off the shoulders entirely.

With the shoulder press, it’s just the shoulders only that will be driving up the weight.  Even better, the shoulder press is going to help to target all heads of the shoulder muscle, so will dramatically help with adding more muscle definition and tone.

The nice thing about well-developed shoulders is that they will help to create the illusion of a slimmer waist, so this will serve as a great benefit for many people.

This said, let’s go over a few key points that I tell my Crystal Lake personal training clients with regards to shoulder pressing.

Keep Your Abs Tight

First things first, make sure that you keep your abs tight as you go about the lift. This is going to help you keep your spinal column in better alignment, making sure that you never let your lower back sway.

As soon as you do that, you’ll be at a high risk for low back pain due to the fact there is so much tension coming down through the lower back with the weight overhead.

Thinking of squeezing the abs and glutes will be perfect for combating this.

Avoid Hyperextension

Next, also make sure that you avoid hyperextending your elbows. This is another fast way to cause severe pain rather quickly.

If you’re hyperextending your elbows, you’ll be placing excessive pressure on the elbow ligaments and tendons because all that weight force will be coming directly down onto the elbow joint.

To avoid this, as you press up through the movement, think of keeping the elbows bent ever so slightly.

Even though it feels as though they’re bent, in reality they’ll actually be straight, so this will help you avoid hyperextension.

Use The Full Range Of Motion

Finally, last but not least, make sure that you use the full range of motion. One big mistake that some people make is only lowering the weight down partway rather than coming down so that the weight is just about at their shoulders.

If you do this, you are definitely setting yourself up for fewer results than you could be seeing. It would be like doing a dumbbell curl but only coming up part-way through the movement.

So there you have the key points to keep in mind as you go about doing your shoulder press. Remember these and you can make sure that you get the results you’re after.

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Cary Personal Trainer Gives Quick And Easy Tips to Reduce Stress
April 25th, 2013

Feeling stressed out all the time? Stress has a more significant influence on your overall health and well-being than most people realize so it’s not something to let yourself take lightly.  Obviously working out with at your local Cary Gym or working with your Personal Trainer can help reduce stress significantly.  But if working out isn’t an option in the present moment below are some tips that can really help.

If you aren’t taking measures to combat stress quickly, it will build and build and can eventually manifest itself in both physical as well as psychological conditions.

Fortunately, you can beat stress without too much extra effort on your part.

Let’s look at a few simple tricks that you can use to reduce stress easily and get back on with your day.

Belly Breath

The first thing that you can do to help combat stress is to belly breath. This will help to loosen up the body and increase the amount of oxygen coming in, which can then make you feel more focused, concentrated, and calm.

Something as simple as breathing can have a huge influence on how you feel overall, so can instantly help put your mind at ease.

Tense And Relax Your Muscles

Another way to help calm stress is to practice tensing and relaxing your muscles.  Simply contract a muscle, hold it there for 30 seconds or so, and then relax.

Do this throughout the entire body and see if you don’t feel less stressed afterwards.

Often stress will start to build and produce physical tension throughout the body, so doing this is an excellent way to reduce the chances that you end up feeling physical pain because of your stress levels.

Use The ‘Worst Case Scenario’ Thought Process

Another quick tip to try out is to use the ‘worst case scenario’ thought process. With this one, rather than looking at all the things that are going wrong for you at that exact moment, think about how the situation could be worse – because in most situations, it could be.

This will immediately help put things into perspective and make it that much easier for you to stay positive during times of hardship.

Listen To Music

Finally, the last great tip to consider making use of to help combat stress is to listen to some music. Crank up your favorite music and see if this doesn’t have you feeling more relaxed and less stressed shortly afterwards.

Listening to music is a great way to release pent up tension and aggression if you choose the right songs. Sing along if you like – as silly as it sounds, often it will help.

So there you have a few quick and simple ways to combat stress. Next time stress creeps into the picture for you, make sure that you give one of these a try.

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Crystal Lake Personal Trainer talks Quick Tips For Eating Healthy At Chinese Restaurants
April 11th, 2013

Eating out is something that many people love doing, yet not something that tends to foster a healthy body weight and small waistline. If you’re not careful, it’s incredibly easy to take in hundreds of calories more than you should at a meal eaten out, which can then cause some serious weight gain over time.   In fact, most of my Crystal Lake personal training clients are shocked to learn that most meals when eating out have close if not over 1000 calories in them.

So, If you want to eat healthy when dining out, you have to think carefully. The following tips are going to help you when you’re serving up Chinese food.

Since Chinese is definitely a favorite among many of my personal training and fitness clients, but can also really increase your total calorie intake quickly, you need to fully understand the menu.

Let’s have a look at what you should know.

Choose Brown Rice Over White Sticky Rice

The first thing to do when serving up Chinese is request that you have brown rice rather than white sticky rice. While not all restaurants will offer this, some will and it will definitely improve your nutritional intake at that meal.

Brown rice is higher in fiber, digests more slowly in the body, and will be far more satisfying longer term.

White sticky rice on the other hand spikes blood sugar levels, so really is just not your best option.

Opt For Chicken Over Beef Dishes

Also make sure that you avoid beef and opt for chicken instead. The cuts of beef used in these dishes are typically not your leanest of varieties, so this will not help to foster a healthy body composition.

Chicken however, provided it’s breast meat and isn’t breaded, will be the much lighter way to go.  Plus, it’s also higher in protein, which is important when you’re eating in a restaurant that tends to prioritize rice over all other foods.

Go for Steamed Rather Than Fried

When given the choice, or you can even request this yourself depending on what the meal is that you’re choosing, always go for steamed rather than fried.

Deep fried chicken balls, shrimp, or egg rolls are all going to be loaded with saturated fat and calories and will not make part of a healthy diet plan.

Steamed vegetables are the much better choice here.

Request Soy Sauce Rather Than Sweet And Sour

Finally, the last thing to be aware of is the sauces that you choose. Many dishes come with sweet and sour sauce or even in some cases, duck sauce, which is high in calories due to the high sugar content.

Instead, opt for soy sauce or even hoisin sauce. Both of these are lighter and won’t contain nearly the same level of calories as the former options.

So keep these quick tips in mind when dining Chinese. As long as you are sure to choose your dishes properly, you can stick to a fairly healthy diet and enjoy your meal.

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Crystal Lake Personal Trainer discusses Problems Associated With Artificial Sweeteners
March 27th, 2013

If you’re someone who’s watching your weight and are constantly using artificial sweeteners to help you keep your calorie intake down thinking you’re doing the right thing since you know consuming sugar is not a wise option, you may want to rethink this approach.

Using artificial sweeteners, while they are calorie free, can present a whole new set of issues that you should be quite concerned about.

Like I tell my Crystal Lake Personal Training clients, While using them here and there on occasion isn’t anything to get too overly worked up over, if you’re using them on a very regular basis, you could be setting yourself up for more problems than you realize.

Let’s have a look at a few of the main issues that are associated with regular artificial sweetener use.

Headaches

The first issue that can come about when you’re using artificial sweeteners is the development of headaches. While some people are a lot more prone to this than others and it does tend to vary slightly based on the type of sweetener you’re using, one thing is for certain and that is that if you overdo it on the sweeteners, you may feel the need to pop some Tylenol fall more often than you should.

Those who are often suffering from migraines will want to be extra careful about this as well.

Digestive Problems

Moving along, the second thing to think about is digestive issues. Those who are currently experiencing digestive problems, either stomach pain or issues with bowel movements, may want to consider that the sweeteners they’re eating could be what’s causing this effect.

Digestive problems are quite a common side effect of artificial sweeteners, which does make sense because you are putting something not-natural in your body.

Bladder Irritation

Moving along, bladder irritation is another issue that you may find you start to experience when using artificial sweeteners.

If you’ve been using them for quite some time and find that you ‘always have to go’, lay off for a week or two and see if this makes a difference.

Some people will find that these sweeteners will make it seem as though they have to go when really they don’t.

Cravings

Finally, last but not least, artificial sweeteners can bring about strong food cravings as well.  The sweet taste they provide can cause you to crave more sweet tasting foods, so by cutting these out of your diet, you may actually be able to stay the course better on your plan and make your Crystal Lake personal fitness trainer happy.

So there you have a few important points to keep in mind about artificial sweetener use. It does tend to be quite a personal preference as some people believe that these cause far more harm than others, so do some background reading yourself so you can form your own beliefs. Just note that there are risks associated with their use.

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Crystal Lake Personal Trainer looks at Optimal Fruit Choices For Your Fat Loss Diet
March 6th, 2013

Looking to lose fat quickly and have a mean sweet tooth you need to satisfy? If so, fruit can be the perfect way to do so.

Many people are quick to think that they must be cutting fruit out of their diet plan completely, but this simply is not the case.  In fact most of my Crystal Lake Personal Training perform better with some fruit in their nutrition plan.

As long as you are sure to balance out how much fruit you’re eating so that your total calorie needs still are where they need to be, you can definitely include fruit as part of your regular eating plan and still see great results from your personal training program

The trick is to make sure that you are choosing the healthiest fruits available so that you can get the best nutrition for your calorie consumption and don’t overdue how often you eat fruit.  For most of my Cary and Crystal lake personal training clients I recommend one serving of fruit per day.

Let’s look at which are the most optimal fruit choices to consider.

Raspberries

Topping the list of perfect fruit choices are raspberries. The reason that these are so wonderful for fat loss reasons is because not only are they one of the lowest sugar containing fruits, but they also offer up a great deal of dietary fiber.

Those who are consuming higher fiber diets are definitely going to notice that they have a much easier time controlling their hunger level, so this can really work to your advantage.

Plus, raspberries have only about 64 calories per cup, so are generally an easy add to any diet plan.

Apples

The second of the top fruit choices to be including on your diet plan is the apple.  Apples are great because they come in so many different varieties, so it’s hard not to find one that you enjoy.

Apples are also very high in pectin content, which is a certain type of fiber that is especially filling for those on lower calorie diets.

Having an apple a few hours before a main meal can help to keep the munchies at bay and ensure that you don’t take in more calories than you should be.

Furthermore, apples are also great for those who crave crunchy foods, so this can help you stick with your diet better overall as well.

Try them raw or even baked with a bit of cinnamon.

Blueberries

Finally, the last fruit to consider including in your diet plan are blueberries. Blueberries are nutrient superpowers and contain a very strong dose of antioxidants, so will help to ward off free radical damage in the body and keep you feeling as healthy as possible.

Blueberries do contain some fiber and a small dose of sugar, but with the added fiber, the response on your blood glucose level will be minimal.

Top a bowl of bran cereal with blueberries or consider adding some into a bowl of yogurt.

So don’t shun fruit – just be smart with your choices. Choose any one of these three options and you’ll keep your nutritional intake where it needs to be and still see the fat loss progress you’re after.

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Crystal Lake Personal Trainer on Nutrient Pairing – Just How Important Is It?
February 20th, 2013

If you’ve been doing some reading on the various components of a fat loss diet, one thing that you may have heard talked about before is nutrient paring.  If your anything like most of my Cary and Crystal Lake Personal Training clients there is a good chance you may be consuming too many carbs by themselves.

With that said,  pairing different types of foods that you’re eating together in your diet can make a big difference. For instance, are you eating proteins with carbs and fats or just proteins and fats on their own? Or, perhaps it’s just a protein and carb based diet for you.

Whatever the case, it’s important that you learn a few quick facts that you should know about nutrient paring so that you can learn the importance of this.

Let’s go over what you should know.

The Hunger Factor

The very first thing that you’ll want to think about is how the various food combinations are going to influence your hunger level. For example, if you are eating carb-only meals without any fats or proteins present, you’re going to find that you are hungry very quickly afterwards.

You need to have the additional macronutrient in that meal to derive good satiety from it. Carbohydrates alone actually tend to boost hunger more than anything, so if you’re having carb only meals – a plate of pasta for example, you’re asking for higher hunger than you otherwise would experience.

The Blood Glucose Factor

Second, also think about the blood glucose factor. This refers to how these meals are going to influence your blood sugar levels. Again, this is where protein is important.

When you eat protein with your meal, especially if it contains carbs, it will slow down the release of those carbs into your body, so you sustain better control over your blood sugar levels.

This isn’t quite so severe if the other macronutrient is dietary fat since dietary fat has no influence on hunger levels, but the carb-only meal is deadly in terms of keeping good blood sugar control.

The Energy Factor

Finally, the last issue to touch upon is the energy factor. Always remember that you do still need to maintain good calorie balance throughout the course of the day and if your meals are containing a huge dose of both proteins and fats, this leaves little room for carbs.

Carbs however, are what will supply you the most energy throughout the day, so they should not be overlooked.

By making meals that consist of an even balance of proteins, carbs, and fats, you can ensure that your energy levels stay where they need to be.

So keep these quick points in mind. For best results, aim for balanced meals that contain protein at each meal and then contain either carbs or fats along with that, having carb and protein meals early in the day and protein and fat meals later on.

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Crystal lake Personal Trainer talks Lighter Grilling Techniques
February 7th, 2013

As the weather heats up in Crystal lake, one thing that you might be doing more of now with your meal planning is making use of your grill.  Okay, the weather really isn’t heating up yet… but If you still use your grill like I do (even in February) here are some things to consider.

Grilling can be an excellent way to prepare your meals and when done wisely, will definitely lighten up the fare.

But, if you aren’t grilling wisely, you could be in for far more calories than you bargained for.  Keep these things in mind and your Crystal Lake Personal Trainer will be giving you some Kudos on your nutrition.

Okay so, Let’s go over a few of the key things to remember as you get busy grilling  so that you can be sure to do so keeping your diet in mind at all times.

Go Easy On Condiments

The very first thing that you should be doing to make grilling healthier is making sure that you watch how many condiments you’re using. Add too many condiments and this will quickly take your mean and put it into calorie overdrive.

Ketchup, barbeque sauce, or any other types of marinades are often loaded with sugar and the calories will add up.

If you use just one tablespoon it’s typically not that bad, but start using three or four and it’s adding a significant amount of calories to that meal.

Choose Red Meat Wisely

Second, also be mindful when barbequing red meat.  Choose leaner cuts of steak, or better yet opt for venison or bison. Both of these are the leanest forms of red meat you can buy, so will be far more diet-friendly.

Avoid burgers, hot dogs, ribs, and fattier cuts of steak if you want to keep your calorie count down.

Use Whole Grain Buns

On the carb side of things, make sure that you aren’t utilizing white buns. White buns will cause your blood sugar levels to spike, and could lead to a crash, making you go in for seconds.

Opt for whole wheat buns, or better yet, consider going bun-less.

Serve your main protein source up with a cob of corn or a grilled sweet potato instead. Those will be a far healthier source of carbs.

Don’t Neglect Spices

Make sure that you are also making good use of spices as you go about your diet plan. Spices are terrific for boosting flavor and many also offer their own health benefits.

By using more spices, you can reduce the need for condiments altogether, so this can also help to improve the nutrition of your meal significantly.

Don’t Neglect Veggies

Finally, make sure that you aren’t neglecting vegetables either. Vegetables work excellent on the grill and will help to boost the nutrition as well as fiber content of your meal in a hurry.

Grilled zucchini, peppers, cherry tomatoes, and onions will all taste great.

So keep these grilling tips in mind and you can be sure to eat healthy as the weather heats up.

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Important Self-Checks For Dealing With Low Back Pain By A Crystal Lake Personal Trainer
January 30th, 2013

Lower back pain got you down?  If you’ve been going about your workouts and experiencing far more pain than you’d like to be feeling, it’s time to take a good hard look at what could be causing this pain in the first place so that you can then take steps to correct it and get yourself back on track to feeling good at all times.

So what are some of the primary reasons that you may experience lower back pain?

What should you be looking for?

Let’s go over a few of the main things to take note of to see if they may in fact be influencing how you feel on a day to day basis with your body.

Your Posture

The very first thing that you’re going to want to take a closer look at is your posture.  I like to assess all of my Crystal Lake Personal Training Clients posture right off the bat.   If you’re not using good posture as you go about your day, or when you are exercising at your local Crystal Lake Gym this is going to cause more stress build-up on the lower back vertebrae and eventually lead to lower back pain.

Not to mention that those who aren’t using proper posture throughout the day are also going to be far more likely to notice a hunched over appearance, which can cause them to look heavier than they really are.

If you want to look slimmer instantly, stand up straight – it will make a difference.

Your Sleep Habits

Moving along, also take a good look at your sleep habits. If you’re not sleeping well – using a pillow that’s far too high or using one that is not going to be supportive of your back, this can lead to excess strain and pressure on the lower back as well.

Both of these issues will definitely influence how you then feel during the day, so are important to take a good look at.

You spend so much time each night sleeping, you need to make sure that the bed you’ve invested in is a good one.

Your Form On Pressing Movements

Finally, the last thing that you want to take a good look at is your form on bench pressing movements. If you’re experiencing poor form as you go about the exercises, this is definitely going to increase your likelihood of developing poor posture as well.

Check yourself on movements such as the shoulder press as well as the bench press. If there is any form of sway back going on with either of those, take immediate action to firm up the stomach and straighten up the spinal column. Doing so will immediately get you into proper position, reducing the risk of lower back pain.

So there you have the primary areas to keep in mind when looking for what could potentially be causing your lower back pain. If you keep these in mind and are sure to perform a good core workout on a regular basis so that you are gaining strength in the core region, you should have no problem keeping back pain out of the picture.

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Crystal Lake Personal Trainer shares Important Points To Remember When Using Diet Applications
January 23rd, 2013

To help make your fat loss journey that much easier, one thing that you might consider utilizing is a diet application.  In fact, my Crystal Lake Personal Training Clients who use these applications typically see much faster results.

Diet applications come for both your cell phone as well as online and can take the guesswork out of weight loss when utilized correctly.

If you’re someone who strongly dislikes counting calories, then the good news is that these applications will definitely be for you.

By using them, you can see faster fat loss results all without having to devote quite a bit of time out of your day to tallying up your meals.

But, when using these applications, there are a few important things that you must keep in mind.

Let’s have a look at what these are so that you can make sure you understand how to use them correctly.

Track Serving Sizes Properly

The very first thing that you absolutely must be sure you’re doing correctly is tracking your serving sizes. Some people make the mistake of listing what they are eating with the application but don’t account for the correct serving size.

If you eat one cup of brown rice, make sure you list it as one cup. If you eat two cups, don’t list it as one cup. You would be amazed at how many people make this fatal error when using the applications.

While they will tell you the nutritional information of the foods you’re eating, if you aren’t getting the service size right, you’re essentially rendering these applications useless.

Track Your Food As You Eat It

Second, also make sure that you track your food as you eat it. It’s important that you don’t wait until the end of the day to list out all the foods that you’ve eaten in whatever application you’re using.

If you do this, there is a much greater chance that you’ll forget certain items and that may sway your overall daily totals.

Take five minutes before or after each meal you eat and write down precisely what it is that you’re eating.

Doing so will also allow you to ‘preventative eat’, that is if you see that you have consumed quite a few calories that day already, you can choose lower calorie meals later on throughout the day to sustain better balance.

Don’t Always Listen To Their Calorie Recommendations

Finally, last but not least, don’t always utilize their calorie recommendations. Many of these applications will give recommendations for how many calories you should eat, but often times these recommendations are incorrect.

Instead, use your own calculation and base your intake around that.  And remember to always adjust this based around the real life results that you’re getting.

So there you have some of the most important points to know about using a calorie management application. They’re definitely beneficial when used correctly, so give them some consideration.

If you don’t already have an application that you like using many of my Crystal lake Personal Training clients really like MyFitnessPal.com – It is very user friendly and has a large data base of food and restaurants.

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Crystal Lake Personal Trainer – Tips To Recover From A Cheat Meal
January 3rd, 2013

If you plan out your diet well, there’s no reason why you can’t add a cheat meal into the diet from time to time. Cheat meals can be a great way to indulge and satisfy some food cravings you are experiencing and as long as you are making sure that you account for them, they won’t set you back in progress.  Many of my Crystal Lake Personal training clients find having an occasional planned cheat meal helps them stay on track.

When cheat meals come unplanned however, that’s when you may run into some problems. Especially if these unplanned cheat meals begin coming on a little too frequently, that’s when weight loss set-backs are almost inevitable.

Fortunately, if you do slip and have a cheat meal, there are a few things that you can do to recover quickly from it.  Many of my own crystal lake training clients use the same strategies below to really minimize the negative effect.

Let’s have a brief look at what you need to know.

Have A Protein And Vegetable Day

The very first thing that you should do if you encounter a setback is to have a high protein and vegetable day the next day. This will help to make up for the high influx of carbs that likely came in, helping you sustain a proper calorie balance between the two days.

Remember that one day of overeating isn’t going to cause weight gain. It’s day on end of overeating that will. Keep things in balance and you will be okay.

Resist The Urge To Do Cardio Overload

Also resist the urge to do cardio overload.  Many people will go this route and perform hours and hours of cardio training. This is only going to seriously stress the body out and will cause additional cortisol to flood your system.

Cortisol has the tendency to cause the body to store excess body fat, therefore having this present with the higher calorie intake you took in the day before isn’t going to be an ideal situation.

Focus On Moving Forward

Finally, last but not least, put the set-back behind you. This is where many people go wrong – they feel like since they made one error, they’ve really blown it and are now on route to gaining back all the weight that they had lost once again.

Instead, focus on what you’re going to do in the future to help prevent that same set-back from occurring. Was it a situation that set you off into an overeating frenzy?

Was it stress? Perhaps you need to work on your coping methods better?

Whatever the case, pinpoint why you suffered from the cheat set-back in the first place and then deal with it in a productive manner. This way, you can reduce your chances of cheating again.

So there you have some important tips to keep in mind if you want to recovery well from a cheat meal. While a cheat meal may cause some frustration, if you push past it productively, it doesn’t have to do you too much harm.

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