5 Surprising Things To Know About Your Workouts

Think you know fitness?  Our top physiologists' and health coaches' findings may surprise you!

#5.  Weight loss doesn't always mean fat loss.

This understanding is of paramount importance because people sometimes do more harm than good with their exercise.  A common scenario is to lose muscle tissue through cardiovascular and resistance/strength exercise (believe it or not, this happens to many!)  With weight coming down, people continue their efforts because they assume that they are losing fat, but what's really happening is that muscle tissue is being used for energy, and metabolism is being reduced instead of increased.

#4.  Training the same muscles on consecutive days hurts your fitness!

Much like the scenario described in #5, this scenario involves muscle tissue actually regressing (as opposed to progressing) with exercise.  Your muscles grow during their recovery period, which should generally be about 48 hours.  Without this period of time, muscles and metabolism usually cannot improve - even after the best-crafted fitness sessions.






#3.  Abdominal exercises won't show off your abdominals!

It's important to understand that conditioning a muscle group doesn't contribute greatly to burning bodyfat unless you line up several factors.  Even in the best scenarios, training a muscle group (such as the abdominals) won't specifically burn your bodyfat that is stored around those muscles. So, you'll achieve nice musculature, but you won't be able to see that musculature unless extra steps are taken to burn the fat that hides it. This same lesson goes for muscles of the butt, thighs, and arms:  Train the muscles because it's the healthy thing to do, but be sure your caloric balance is such that the excess fat gets lose on its own accord.

#2.  Arm & leg circumference measurements are misleading.

While they certainly have their place, checking circumference measurements of the arms and thighs can provide confusing results.  Here is why:  When you're conditioning your muscles, they generally get somewhat larger at some point in your program (even if you're not exercising at high capacities), thereby contributing to a larger circumference. Fat loss, of course, contributes to a lesser circumference.  While our professionals use circumference measurements for some equations relating to fitness science, it's helpful to know that some of the fat you lose in your arms or legs may be replaced with muscle, making your progress seem smaller than it really is!

#1.  Running is not recommended for fat loss.

While avid runners enjoy the benefits of conditioning their hearts and minimizing their body fat stores, they also run many risks - often negatively affecting their bones and joints unnecessarily.   While running has its advantages, there are other forms of cardiovascular exercise that are just as effective with far fewer risks of injury.  It's also safer in the long-term to perform cardiovascular exercise in varying planes of movement - some rotational and some lateral, in addition to the straight-forward motion of running. Additionally, most clients find exercises like rowing, swimming, or elliptical exercise to be more enjoyable due to the lack of impact.

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Finding Fitness Motivation!

We've all been there:  You want something, but don't necessarily feel up to putting in the work or making the sacrifices necessary to achieve it.


Fitness and preventive health require more than occasional discipline.  They require consistency and a feeling of inspiration to accomplish each exercise session and make those important daily decisions for steps forward instead of backward.

Perfect Personal Trainer Aaron Dunn explains, "First, you need to want the outcome more than you want the inertia," explains Aaron.  "If you're more passionate about that extra hour of work than you are the hour of exercise, you'll miss your workout.  You have to really want your goal and have a way to remember that each day."

Client Services Director and ACE Health Coach Val Fiott elaborates, "One helpful tool is to keep a photo readily available of when you were at your desired fitness level.  Or, if you haven't yet gotten there at any point in the past, have a photo available of a celebrity or friend or someone who reminds you of just how fit and healthy you really want to be."

Patrick Liddle, long-time Perfect Personal Trainer and life coach, suggests making a list of pros and cons.  "When you begin your wellness program, actually write out all the reasons to exercise, to eat right, to go to bed at your bedtime, etc.  Then list all the reasons not to.  When you look back at that list each day, you'll see that the reasons to keep to your program outweigh the reasons not to.  It's a wake-up call in your own words."

"I think our clients sometimes forget what it is they are fighting for," explains Val Fiott.  "Your PPT program isn't just there to help you look better and have greater sex appeal, but to improve your memory, to keep you out of the hospital, and to keep your muscles and joints working without fail into old age.  Why let your body's mechanics slowly fall apart when they don't fully have to?  Our programs, when followed in each discipline, keep our clients energetic, relatively pain-free and strong throughout the aging process.  Those are huge reasons to stay the course!"

Are you not yet benefitting from a personalized PPT health and wellness program?  Request your free consultation and in-home fitness screening at http://perfectpersonaltraining.com, or request to meet with a nutritionist, massage therapist, Yoga instructor, or behavioral health coach for an initial meeting.  Our advanced services provide incredible fitness & wellness results relying on science, practicality and caution.

 

 

How Healthy Is Your Nutrition?

"I eat healthy."

It's a common quote from many Americans with great intentions.  But, how do you know if your nutritive decisions are really what your body needs each day, and not working against you?

Our team want you to be your healthiest!  The nutritionists and health coaches at Perfect Personal Training have come up with the five most important questions to ask yourself when determining the health value of your dietary decisions:

1.  Are you consuming appropriate proteins?  Every body needs protein throughout the day, and everyone's needs are unique based on body weight, body composition, activities, medical concerns and other factors.  Most Americans consume either far too much or far too little protein, creating problems for their metabolism, strength, energy levels, and body composition (fat to muscle ratio).

2.  Are you eating organic?  Organic foods are always important for better health and reduced exposure to toxins.  They are especially important when the type of food you're eating does not contain some sort of shell or outer layer that is not eaten.  For example, if you're buying bananas or nuts, it's helpful to buy organic.  But it's even more critical when you're buying something like milk, which you consume directly and with no outer barrier.

3.  Is your fat intake appropriate for your weight?  For decades, people generally selected low-fat foods in the hopes that this would reduce their own body's fat stores.  This strategy was good for some and bad for others.  Over the past two decades, the tide has turned to minimize carbohydrate intake and emphasize healthy fats, sometimes leading to overconsumption.  While it is healthy to consume the right kinds of dietary fat with each meal or snack, getting the right amount is equally important.

4.  Are you consuming anti-inflammatory foods?  Let's face it:  Inflammation is well within us.  Our bodies produce inflammatory responses to help protect us, but the end result also elevates our risks for diseases such as cancer, stroke and heart attack.  An anti-inflammatory diet and lifestyle go a long way in reducing systemic inflammation and keeping us healthier and living longer, more productive lives.

5.  Are you consuming the right amounts of fruits and vegetables?  Studies continue to show that most are just not getting the recommended number of servings per day of these important foods.  Depending upon your age, gender and activity level, you likely need between four and seven servings per day to truly give your body what it needs for "brain food", energy levels, heart health, joint health, and much more.

Have you not yet begun your own personalized fitness and wellness journey?  You don't need a home gym or a fitness center to get top-notch fitness and wellness leadership from PPT.  Visit us at http://perfectpersonaltraining.com/signup.php to learn more and request your free consultation.  Our team of degreed, top-certified professionals are unparalleled in their expertise and look forward to helping you!

(877)698-3648 : Perfect Personal Training, LLC

3 Big Reasons You're Not Losing Fat

Bodyfat loss isn't nearly as mysterious as we often think it is.

99 times out of 100, those who "can't lose weight" aren't suffering from serious medical or hormonal issues that are serving as obstacles. Rather, they don't have the right exercise prescription and meal planning taking place.

The team of fitness science experts and health coaches at Perfect Personal Training are working around the clock to deliver you the most cutting-edge weight management tools and strategies for safer, smoother fat loss and wellness.  Below are the THREE MOST COMMON REASONS that our research shows for arrested weight loss:

#1.  Your exercise's "FITT" principles aren't ideal:  FITT stands for the frequency, intensity, time and type of your exercise selections.  When you're performing cardio exercise, its FITT principles need to be ideal.  The same goes for strength training, stretching, etc.  Without these key specifics, your body has very little reason to shed the excess pounds.  "Hard work", on its own, just won't do the trick for long.
#2.  Your protein and fat needs aren't aligning with your bodyweight and exercise levels.  While many Americans report eating the right quantity of total proteins and fats each day, it is rare that these are well-timed and combined properly.  For example, you may accurately determine that your body needs 400 calories from protein per day to grow muscle and build a healthy metabolism.  But, if those calories come predominantly from just one or two meals, then you're missing out on a great opportunity to burn more bodyfat and take better care of those valuable muscles!

#3.  And, your exercise program needs to involve a truly fat-burning plan of action, with heart-rate spikes, varying intervals and different training strategies when appropriate for your fitness and progression.  While many people gravitate toward the exercises that they enjoy and simply focus on general higher-intensity work, there are many more variables to consider when putting together a fitness strategy for safe but rapid fat loss.  Not yet a PPT client?  Be sure to request your free in-home consultation and fitness screening with a Perfect Personal Trainer by visiting http://perfectpersonaltraining.com/signup.php.  Are you already a client but not quite where you wish to be?  Reach out to Client Services Director Val Fiott at (877)698-3648 ext 7018, and he'll be happy to help insure your success in your PPT program.

Have a Safe and Healthy New Week!

Top 5 Ways To Avoid Injuries

Exercise is the most important way to prevent injuries in your day-to-day. When performed properly and with a progressive plan, you'll strengthen joints, bones and muscles to perform better and adapt to different environments and stressors. You'll even preserve your metabolism and mobility well into your golden years.

However, not all exercise plans are created (nor implemented) safely, and some exercise itself can cause injury if the right decisions aren't being made. Below are our top five ways to avoid painful & costly injuries both in and out of the exercise room:

#5:  Warm up properly.  Aside from avoiding EKG abnormalities, a smooth and gradual warmup prior to exercise will go a long way in preventing muscle and joint injuries such as sprains, strains and tears.  Gradually bring your heart rate and breathing rate up from a resting level to an exercise level (a Perfect Personal Trainer will help you determine) over 5-15 minutes (depending upon your medical history) using all of your major muscles.  Move from small ranges of motion to larger ones, and from light movements to more intense.

  #4: Select the right shoes.  It's important to spread impact throughout the foot, as opposed to localizing it into one place. Equally important is the idea of changing shoes about every 300-500 miles, even if you're not a runner. Even when you're not exercising, your footwear has a lot to do with your joint health, especially throughout the legs and spine. 

"You should look for a running shoe that isn't too high in the heel, or try a walking shoe, cross trainer or tennis shoe," suggests Price. By helping spread the impact to the whole foot, you'll prevent problems like plantar fasciitis, achilles tendonitis, anterior compartment syndrome (a compression in the front of the ankle), lateral compression syndrome (a compression at the side of the ankle) and bunions. - See more at: http://www.mensfitness.com/training/five-most-common-gym-injuries#sthash.ATju7hSK.dpuf

"You should look for a running shoe that isn't too high in the heel, or try a walking shoe, cross trainer or tennis shoe," suggests Price. By helping spread the impact to the whole foot, you'll prevent problems like plantar fasciitis, achilles tendonitis, anterior compartment syndrome (a compression in the front of the ankle), lateral compression syndrome (a compression at the side of the ankle) and bunions. - See more at: http://www.mensfitness.com/training/five-most-common-gym-injuries#sthash.ATju7hSK.dpuf

#3:  Relax your neck.  When exercising your upper body, keep your focus on the muscles you are conditioning, as opposed to the muscles in and surrounding your neck.  A loose, relaxed neck area is critical during shoulder exercises such as overhead press, lateral raise, or scaptions, and is also important during push-ups, rowing, and similar exercises for the upper body.  Be mindful of where your focus and stress are kept to prevent agonizing neck problems and poor biomechanics.

.#2:  Prevent back trauma.  Back injuries, in general, are triggered easily but are just as preventable:  Having
a solid, progressive, and well-planned core-exercise program will strengthen your spine (both the vertebrae and the muscles themselves) and reduce the risk of overuse or imbalance.  Squatting, stair-climbing, lunging, and other exercises that sometimes create problems for the low back are far less likely to do so if your core training is appropriate, and changes with your changing lifestyle.  Be sure to stretch daily and keep your daily movements sound as well, even when not exercising.

#1:  Minimize impact.  Exercise should be far from painful, and pushing through painful movements won't only be detrimental to your body - it'll probably slow your fitness progress down due to reduced ability.  Play it smart and reduce risk for arthritis and stress fractures by minimizing or avoiding impact activities.  Consider trading in running for low-impact exercises, replacing jumping jacks with walking jacks, and lessening the pounding created in boxing and kicking exercises.  You can keep you pulse rate in the appropriate zone even without the high impact (just as a Perfect Personal Trainer to help you).  Safer, smoother movements will generally minimize unhealthy stressors and prevent bone fractures as well as joint damage.

The information herein is general, and different recommendations will apply to different aspects of your health & fitness conditioning throughout varying phases of your program.  

Contact PPT today with questions or concerns about your own progressive fitness & wellness plan!

(877)698-3648 perfectpersonaltraining.com

Five Simple Tests For Long-Term Wellness

Fitness testing is the pinnacle of every Perfect Personal Training program:  It warns us of impending health problems that you might not feel or see, and lets us compare to what's normal for long-term health.

Below are just five of the many clinical fitness tests which help us to identify risks and implement the necessary changes:

Body Composition:  Gaining weight and losing weight never really tells the story of what's happening with your actual fat mass.  Body composition (or body fat testing) does! 

Decades of research tell us where your body fat percentage should be for long-term cardiorespiratory health, and this test is an excellent predictor of health outcomes.




Pushup Test:  This test is more important than it may seem, as it provides indicators of muscle imbalances, core weakness, standing balance deficits, and joint problems in the shoulders, wrists and elbows.  Those with poor scores on the pushup test are more likely to lose upper body mobility throughout the years, and are more prone to shoulder and back pain.



Apley's BackScratch Test:  This is a flexibility test administered to determine several factors associated with shoulder health and stability, as well as scapular placement and movement.  If your shoulders and scapulae aren't quite working properly, then this test will provide insight as to corrective measures so you don't lose mobiliy or comfort as you age.

Step-Tests & Walking-Tests: While there are many different versions of each Step-test and Walking-test, the goal is always the same:  Determine risk of cardiovascular disease by assessing the comparative strength of the heart and lungs.  By comparing these results to statistically-sound data, we're able to predict your liklihood for disorders relating to heart disease.

Passive Straight-Leg Raise:  Hip and knee problems can often be attributed to problematic muscles surrounding them.  This test assesses the flexibility of the hamstring muscles (back of upper thigh) and allows us to compare to healthy norms based on the muscles' performances.  Poor scores generally lead to back pain, reduced gait, balance issues and other movement disorders if left untreated by your PPT professional.


See how you score on these tests and many others!  Visit http://perfectpersonaltraining.com/signup.php to request your free consultation & health/risk assessment with a Perfect Personal Trainer.

5 Easy Changes For Better Health

Between career, family and other daily responsibilities, making the change to healthier living often eludes most Americans. 

While an hour of cardiovascular exercise each day may be an understandably difficult task, some of the lifestyle changes that are rather simple and easy to administer are also falling by the wayside for many.  

Perfect Personal Trainers Aaron Dunn, Val Fiott & Chris Little put together this list of easy adjustments for a longer, healthier life:

#5:  Drink Green Tea:  "This is a really easy one," explains Little, PPT nutritionist and athletic trainer.  "Just a few cups a day have demonstrated heart health, reduced systemic inflammation and better hydration. You don't have to drink it hot either! Make a big pot and put it in the fridge for the rest of the week for convenience."

#4:  Use Phone Time For Exercise:  "I love this lifestyle change because it doesn't take up any additional time," says Fiott, longtime PPT operations & client services director and health coach.  "When you're on the phone, you have every reason to stretch, walk, or even perform light core exercises, squats, or side-steps.  It's a great way to boost metabolism and keep your muscles and mind sharp without taking extra time out of your busy day."

 #3:  Cut Desserts In Half:  You can still have the dessert!  Just mitigate the damage by cutting it in half and chewing your food slowly.  You'll still enjoy having the taste in your mouth, but with half the excess calories, half the excess sugar and only half the systemic inflammation. It's a fair compromise between health and indulgence and a step in the right direction.

#2:  Use TV Time For Core Exercise:  "Most Americans don't have the strong, supportive core function needed for injury prevention and improved performance," explains Dunn, certified fitness trainer and scheduling manager with PPT.  "In the time it takes to watch a half-hour program, you can also get an exceptional core workout without any fitness equipment. It won't take away from your viewing pleasure or work up too much of a sweat, either!"

and, the number 1 way to enhance health with a simple lifestyle change:

#1:  Improve Your Sleep:  Our biggest recommendation for effective lifestyle change is to ensure that your sleep quality & quantity are optimal.  More & more studies are linking this to improved health, longer life & greater capacity for exercise. This means reaching at least seven hours each night of deep, restful sleep with no light, TV, or other distractions. Preferably, you're sleeping on your back and supplementing with 2-3 grams of melatonin about two hours before going to sleep.  Other natural sleep aids include herbs such as chamomile, Valerian extract, passion flower & hops.  We strongly recommend that you avoid unnatural sleep drugs entirely & discontinue caffeine intake after 4:00pm.

These are just a few examples!  Meet with a top PPT health & wellness coach at your home, by phone, or over Skype or email.  Together, we'll set goals & create substantial lifestyle change for healthier living, weight management & improved fitness.  

Request your free consultation at http://perfectpersonaltraining.com!