Getting Fit – PT 3

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Welcome back!

If you’ve read this far, you’re well on your way to obtaining your fitness goals.

Here comes the hard part, the training. You will need exercise in order to achieve your fitness potential as well as to ensure a long healthy life.
There are a few things you must consider when starting… Your overall health (previous injuries etc..) your current fitness level and how much time you can commit. These will all impact the type and style of training you undertake.
Create a checklist and include frequency (times per week you can train) as well as duration (how much time per session).

A personal reccomedation is to start slow and build up. Everybody wants to be fit yesterday, but you won’t do it inside a week.

Now you will need a location. There are some great gyms out there but if you’re uncomfortable or can’t afford them, you can also buy some excellent workout dvd’s that you can use at home.

Once you have figured all these variables out, we can start designing your program.

Check back soon for the 4th part of this fitness blog series.

– Yours in health,

Karl Viger

Getting Fit – PT 2

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Alright in PT 1 you hopefully understood the importance of having a journal. Now let’s take a look at your lifestyle.

We all hear at one point or another in our lives that our metabolisms slow as we age. Well, they do to a small extent since we are no longer growing and developing as adults… But here’s the kicker: We’re all responsible for that slow-down. Wonder why?

Let’s take a general look at all our lives compared to when we were younger.

When you’re young, you’re out playing with your friends until your parents call you in for dinner, then you’re back out until it starts getting dark. The activities you performed were very physical: sports, games in parks and your only mode of transportation was either your own two legs or a bicycle.

Let’s fast forward to now. If you’re like most people, you have a job where you sit down most of the time, you either drive a car or take the bus so either way you’re always sitting. When you get home mentally exhausted from your day, do you go out and play for a few hours until dark? No, you plunk yourself in front of the tv, game console or computer.

See the connection? The less you move, the less you burn.

Here’s another interesting concept:
Everybody is commenting on youth obesity these days. We can get into proper nutrition and open that can of worms at a later date… But what are their daily activities like? Look in the parks these days… They’re empty. Most kids these days are glued to a game console or computer monitor. I’ve had the opportunity to work with minors and I was shocked at the state of their bodies, both in terms of body composition and mechanics.

Alright, getting a little side tracked here.

Bottom line: Get active, all the little things add up!

See you soon for PT 3

– Yours in health,

Karl Viger

Getting Fit – PT1

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Alright, you’re tired of feeling this way, broken every mirror you’ve walked in front of and accused every store of making your specific pant size smaller than it was before. It’s time for a change, you know it… but where to start? I’m going to help you. This is the first post in a series that will guide you on your journey to your fitness goals.

First thing is first, you need to recognize your habits and current lifestyle in order to strategize an approach that will get you on the right track.

I’m going to give you a powerful tool that I use with my clients. It’s called a journal. Sounds silly right? Well guess what…. It works. If you can be dedicated enough to be consistent on a daily basis for at least two weeks, then you have what it takes to get into shape.

What you’re going to record is the following:

– Time you woke up

– Time you ate breakfast include general details, (no measurements)

– The time and general description of every other meal that you’ve eaten for the day

-Time you went to bed

– Rinse and repeat for the entire week

Check back soon for part 2

– Yours in health,

Karl Viger

High intensity cardio & abs

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Nothing like pushing the heart and lungs to the max and trying not to up chuck! Looking at some more Jacobs ladder today and incline sprint intervals along with a tasty assortment of core crushing exercises to keep me groaning while I laugh, sneeze and cough.

Full body functional

After almost a week off and tons of Halloween candies, it’s time to get back on the horse. What better way to get back into the swing of things than going full body and functional.
Reasons being:

  • Gas and Said principles
  • More major joints, more muscle
  • Increased impact on metabolism
  • Reduced risk of injury
  • What do I have planned? Well I’m looking at plyo pushups, chin-ups, box jumps, jumping jacks, burpees, ball slams, battle ropes and much much more.

    Loading your gunz

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    Arm training is a favorite among males and should be for females as well. Want bigger arms? How about more toned arms? It’s all about the angles of application and proper biomechanics. Try gently extending your wrists when performing a Bicep or Tricep exercise.
    Use a working load that you can control and keep those elbows fixed. Nothing more un-sexy than watching a dude destroy his lower back while he tries to awkwardly train his biceps with swinging and arching.

    Friends don’t let friends skip leg day!

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    You hit the gym 3-5 times a week and you’re feeling good about your progress. Girls are starting to notice you more at the grocery store and your grandmother keeps telling you how massive you are. That’s great and all but are you always walking around in a pair of loose track pants or super long shorts? Don’t forget to pump those legs friend, nothing worse than seeing a super huge guy with tiny stilts for legs. (I’m not addressing women here since you gals never neglect the lower half ) To have truly Herculean legs, you need to keep a few things in mind.

  • train them as often as your upper half
  • make sure to hit them from every angle
  • make sure you’re using proper biomechanics to maximize development
  • Check back soon as I get into the nitty gritty of biomechanics and proper leg training.

    Yours in health,

    Karl

    Put yer Back into it

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    Getting a decent back work out in is all in the scapular protraction/retraction. To isolate the back, keep those elbows following your rib cage, allow your shoulders to travel and keep your wrists extended. Don’t use your lower back to gain momentum in your movements. Last but not least, train like a beast! 😉

    It’s Monday again

    That means time to torture some clients with some custom, hands on personal training! I get excited when I look at my calendar and see who’s booked for the day. I already have a clear picture of what we will be doing to continue to progress.
    I also really love my job and seeing the sweat and looks of concentration from my clients are just a small bonus!

    Rest day

    Some times it’s good to take a break from the gym. Over training can be just as detrimental as under-training. You can still remain active, which is what I did…. Get out and enjoy the world that we all exist in. Signs of over-training or that you need a break are:

  • chronic fatigue
  • elevated heart rate
  • reduced performance in the gym
  • Don’t lose your gains or burn yourself out, take a break when you need it!