When the basketball off season is in full swing and I have been asked numerous times, "how do I increase my vertical?" Most aspiring basketball players think about flying through the air "Like Mike". As fitness professionals these people come to us for help in achieving that dream. They see the value of having professional training to get them off the ground quicker and higher than their opponent.
READ MORE
How physical activity and diet change our personal training clients’ bodies is indeed top of mind in our industry. Low fat, low carbohydrate, high protein,…
READ MORE
The human body is a dynamic machine. We have been designed and created to move,react, create force, withstand being pulled, twisted, and undergo various stressors. However, when the human body exceeds a certain threshold, something gives way. This being connective tissue, ligaments, tendons and muscles. Making one thing inevitable, breakdown or injury. One important contractile element that places an essential role in withstanding stressors and provides static and dynamic support is called fascia.
READ MORE
In pursuit of the perfect body, many people focus on things like workout routines and supplements, however, many fail to consider another vital component of training-recovery. Remember that training is the stimulus to which the body adapts, but sufficient rest is essential to allow time for the adaptations to take place.
READ MORE
Runner’s “high” is so-called because of the euphoria associated with the release of feel-good chemicals in the brain, of which endorphins are one category. From…
READ MORE
While we are all familiar with aerobic activity, defined in the early 1970s by Dr. Kenneth Cooper as activity during which the cardiorespiratory system provides enough oxygen for muscular effort, most of us associate anaerobic activity with that very hard effort we do during intervals. The fact is that each non-sequential muscular effort, such as turning your head, entails some measure of energy production in the absence of oxygen, qualifying it as anaerobic.
READ MORE
As the fitness industry grows in popularity and importance, it is of the utmost importance that we as fitness professionals continue to develop a growing knowledge of the exercise sciences to communicate effectively with the established health professions and sciences on “common ground”. The following article, while at times technical, provides an integral part of that knowledge base necessary to facilitate such communication.
READ MORE
After spending countless hours in the gym lifting weights and doing aerobics, how will you know when you’re physically fit? Many of your personal training clients will tell you they just want to get fit. Therefore, it is important to know just what constitutes a general state of physical fitness.
READ MORE
As a competent and effective personal trainer, who is equipped with the knowledge necessary to be considered a fitness “expert”, you need to know the basis of human movement. That is, how knowing the different muscle fibers and how they work.
READ MORE
When embarking on a new exercise program, there are many factors to keep in mind. One must decide on the frequency of workouts, their duration, and most importantly, their intensity. For more seasoned athletes, these factors are often broken down into much more specific areas; one such area is the consideration of VO2 max.
READ MORE
Weight loss to improve cardiovascular health is a high priority of the American Heart Association because approximately 34 percent of the population is overweight.
The most basic and fundamental law that governs whether you gain weight or lose weight is the first law of thermodynamics, which states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be transformed from one type to another. For our purposes here, the most common unit of energy measure is the calorie.
For those of us who are winter sports enthusiasts, the onset of colder weather signals the beginning of snow-related fun. Yet for others, the shorter days and colder temperatures trigger a cascade of symptoms that are anything but pleasant. Feelings of depression, anxiety, and moodiness are symptoms commonly associated with what scientists have termed Seasonal Affective Disorder, or quite aptly, SAD.
READ MORE