Hard Work

If this doesn't get your blood flowing I dont know what will.
This video is not about fitness But it has everything to do with fitness. Health and Fitness is about working hard, staying committed. Most people dont like to exercise or say its way to hard to stay on track. I hear to tell you, that's just the way it is. There is no simple answer or magic pill. if you want to live a better life then you need to exercise.
I'm not saying this because I'm a Personal Trainer. I'm saying this because I truly believe it.
As humans we are meant to move. We need to struggle a bit.

enjoy the video

Workout of the Week!

Thomas Edison once said "There is no substitute for hard work." With Edison in mind, and Labor Day weekend coming to an end,  who's ready to get back into their workout routine? As I sated last week, the team here is training for the "Domus Niner" on  Sunday, September 29, and can't wait to show what we're made of (anyone who wants to join the team is welcome!). Our second workout in preparation for this event is listed below:


Set 1:
(a) Barbell Forward Lunge  (20 reps. each side)
(b) 5 Pushups immediately followed with 25 Mountainclimbers (Repeat step 3 times)
(c) Bosu-ball Side Plank Lifts (15 reps. each side)
(d) Jump In/Out Squats (30 reps)
(e) Repeat Set Once

Set 2:
(a) 30 Second treadmill push
(b) Jump rope (1 minute)
(c) Stair master (level 15 for 1 minute)
(d) Skaters (45 seconds)

Set 3:
(a) Gorilla Runs (down and back)
(b) Bench Dumbbell Chest Press (15 reps.)
(c) Bench Reverse Abs (40 reps.)
(d) Bosu-ball Jump Squat (30 reps.)
(e) Underhand Lat. Pull Down (15 reps.)
(f) Repeat Set Once 

Set 4:
(a) Bike (level 11, with RPM above 90, for 3 minutes)
(b) X-trainer (level 11, rotating 20 second sprint and 10 second walk for 3 minutes)

Set 5:
(a) TRX Triceps (15 reps.)
(b) Barbell Bicep Curl (15 reps)
(c) Dumbbell Lateral Raise (15 reps)
(e) Repeat Set Once

Feel free to call or post any questions/comments you may have about the workout or the gym itself!

Training for the Domus Niner

Domus is a non-for-profit foundation that focuses on bringing life skills, essential to living a successful life, to underprivileged children and their families. On Sunday September 29, 2013, they are hosting an event at Cove Island Park (in Stamford) called the "Niner". Domus advertises the "Niner" as "A challenging athletic competition that’s more interesting than a triathlon but not as dangerous as the Tough Mudder or that crazy race done at midnight in chest-deep cold water." All of the proceeds will go to helping these children and families achieve success. To learn more about Domus please visit their website here. To learn more about the "Niner" visit their website here.

Now you may be asking yourself: why am I reading about Domus and the "Niner"? Here at Elevate, we are going to form a team (clients and trainers alike) and compete in order to, one, help the kids and their families, and, two, show we can kick some ass. It's going to be tough but that's why we have already started training. Todays workout was as follows:

Warm-Up
49 Burpees

139 Lunges
3.5 Minute Plank
50 Hand-Release Push-Ups
1 Mile Run

5 Pull Ups (2x)
15 Weighted Squat (2x)
15 Bent Over Row (2x)
50 Straight Leg Bicycle Kicks (2x)
15 Side Planks (each side and 2x)
0.5 Mile Run

25 Bench Hop-On's (2x)
15 Deadlifts (2x)
30 Seconds of Battle Ropes (2x)
15 Rope Tricep Extensions (2x)

Get Ripped Workout 7/17/2013

My name is Harrison Root and I recently graduated from Ithaca College with a BS in Exercise Science. I  started working at Elevate Fitness in the beginning of July, and as a bonus, I am allowed to participate in any of our nine new group personal training classes. So far I have only experienced Third Shift Lift (Monday & Wednesday @ 6:30 pm with Bonnie) and Get Ripped (Monday & Thursday 8 am), but I intend to try each one. The workout this morning (Get Ripped) was designed to have the client utilize a weighted exercise, and then immediately afterwords perform a body weighted exercise (in order to properly stimulate all muscle groups). It proceeded as follows:

Set 1
Bench Press - 15 rep                            Each set is to be done 3 times.
Push Up - 25 rep

Set 2
Lat Pull Down - 15 rep
Pull Up or TRX Row- 10 rep / 5 rep

Set 3
Weighted (DB) Squat - 25 rep
Lunges with Foot in TRX - 15 rep each leg

Set 4
DB Bicep Curls - 15 rep
TRX Bicep Curls - 20 rep

Set 5
Crunches with Rope - 30 rep
Crunches on Floor - 50 rep

CARDIO
Bike 1 mile in under 3 minutes
Row 25 calories in under 1 minute 30 seconds

 I know myself, as well as the other members of the class, were feeling the burn. I highly recommend joining next Monday (7/22) at 8 am with Gary if you want to gain some muscle mass. In addition to Get Ripped we have an entire new Group Personal Training Class Schedule that is available on our website. The first class is free so there's no reason not to try it out!

Harrison

Productivity

1. Meditate or practice stillness

I read that the average person has 70,000 thought every day.

That could make anyone go crazy. Between the radio, TV, internet, email and work place there are distracting thought and noises everywhere.

Meditation or just being still, is a great way to help filter these thought and just relax. Try it for 20 or 30 minutes.

At first it’s not relaxing at all. In fact when you start this process you are going to be thinking about everything and anything.  When I first started, my brain seemed like it was on operation over load and I figured that the meditation stuff was just not for me. But I just kept on doing it. The more often you do it the more effective/easier it will become. This stuff really works.  When you first start you may say “Gary is full of it because this just sucks”…stick with it.

Mediation is like personal training to be focused. 

2. Know your priorities

We’ve talked about this one before. Is exercise a priority in your life or is being “crazy busy” your priority? (I just don’t have enough time to exercise). Here is what I do. At the start of the day I write down my 3-5 priorities for that day and I make sure they get done before I go to bed at night. Easy? No way! But well worth it. I challenge you to do the same.

What is MOST important to you? Is watching TV important or is 20 minutes of exercise important. Is checking Facebook important or is  playing with the kids important.

3. Avoid Multi-tasking

Studies are now showing that when you multi task the quality of what you’re doing drops. Why? Because you’re not focused!!! Don’t exercise and talk on the phone, don’t be that guy or girl. Don’t read a book and check your email. On average we check our email 37 times every hour. Don’t talk with your spouse/partner and be doing something else. The brain can really only focus on one thing at a time. When you multi task your full presence is not there.

4. Take breaks

The body and brain need to rest. If you’re focusing on something for an hour and completely immersed in it, take a 5 minute break. Get up walk around and do 10 pushups. When you get back to what you were doing you’ll be a lot more focused.

5. Move

We all need to exercise!!!! We are creatures that were meant to move. We were not made to sit at a desk all day. Listen, I know there are times when we have to sit for long hours because we’re in meeting or in the car, but you NEED to get up and move around after a while. Sitting for long periods of time will make you stiff; give you knee and back pain. And oh by the way you will become unproductive. Movement is needed.

20 minute workout

Plateau

A fitness plateau is defined as a stage in an exercise or weight program where additional progress cannot be made, such as increase in endurance or strength, performance times or loss of weight. The million dollar question in the past few years is “how do I get past my Plateau”? This is a very frustrating time in a client’s training regimen as you may feel like you’re working so hard but not getting the results you have been used to. So why waste your time anymore? The plateau is very simple. We reach this point in all aspects of our lives not just in training. We reach it in work, marriage, friendships, you name it and the more you do something the same way, look out for the plateau! Everyone knows what I’m going to say next. In order to break through this time period you have to switch things up. Or as the magazines like to call it “muscle confusion”. If you do the same thing over and over again your body is going to get used to it and the workouts will not have the same effect as they did at the start. This is not ground breaking stuff. Not only will you not see the result you want but you are more likely to get injured. The change could be as simple as training at a different time. You don’t have to start a whole new program. Anyone will tell you that if you train at Elevate Fitness no two workouts are the same. Why is that? Because we want to be proactive with this whole plateau thing. I know first-hand how frustrating this could be. Let’s make sure we do everything we can to prevent this from happening. If you have any other questions about this please contact me at info@elevatefitnesspt.com