Personal Training/Corrective Exercise

The left video contains most of the errors that people tend to do while using the stair master machine: 1Holding on-moving less bodyweight with each step while neglecting the aspect of balancing=fewer calories burned 2Slouching over-practicing poor postural habits 3Stepping sideways-decreases caloric burn because you have to lower intensity 4Kickbacks-excessively arching of the LB, have to lower intensity.... I can understand why people commit 1 and 2, if you didn’t know better, but stepping sideways and doing kickbacks on the stair master (SM) is preposterous and futile because you burn less calories due to lowering the intensity, and the kickbacks on the SM will not give you a bigger butt. The stair master simulates going up the stairs in real life-do you do any of the aforesaid things while walking up the stairs!? The second video is the appropriate way to use the SM: 1Ensure good posture and alignment-remain upright 2Activate those abs 3Press with the heel on each step to activate those hamstrings and glutes (you can see me doing this in the right video). On a side note-cardio is NOT necessary to lose weight and is just a tool to further increase your caloric expenditure(excluding the benefits of cardio). Weight training trumps cardio and is a way more effective to lose weight and tone while improving body composition. Tag someone that uses the stair master like this and can find this useful! Comment with any questions. See more

If you’re a cardio bunny you’re spinning your wheels and I suggest you retire from it and start weight lifting, here’s why: Performing cardio for the purpose of losing weight and burning calories is not conducive for achieving that fit and lean body that you desire. There are far more effective ways to lose fat rather than aimlessly spending a good amount of your time on a cardio machine. Cardio is NOT necessary to lose weight, period! You can do cardio all you want but if yo...u’re consuming more calories than you burn you will not lose weight. Regarding weight loss, cardio should be used as a tool to induce a caloric deficit, aid in creating a larger caloric deficit if your weight loss has stalled, or to eat more calories. Being a cardio queen and doing endless amounts of cardio can maybe aid in making you skinny but you’ll be skinny fat! You’ll rarely see a cardio bunny with a shaped booty and lean/fit physique; but you’ll definitely encounter someone who does that engages in weight lifting. And to the women that are daunted by the thought of lifting weights because it’ll make them bulky-this is a huge myth! It is physiologically impossible for women to become bulky when weightlifting; they don’t produce enough testosterone! Weight training and focusing on compound exercises like squats and deadlifts, will yield a fitter body, booty, make you stronger (physically and mentally), and increase your metabolism more than cardio ever will! Aside from the host of health benefits that cardio yields-it is INFERIOR to resistance training. Weight training > cardio FTW! Tag someone that’s a cardio bunny that will find this helpful! Comment with any questions. See more

Muscles adaptively shorten to the positions they are placed in for too long. Think about those that constantly wear high heels: the calves become tight and the ankles become immobile resulting in flat feet and ankle instability. Now let’s talk in depth about one of the most commonly tight muscles, the hip flexors: the hip flexors have a tendency of becoming tight from constantly being in a flexed or seated position, which causes them to adapt to this shortened position and be...come tight. What happens then? The pelvis will begin to realign and tilt forward due to the shortened hip flexors pulling on the pelvis, and the ass will then stick out excessively. A vicious cycle then ensues: 1 Lumbar spine (low back) instability- lower back pain/tightness and hip pain. 2 Glutes essentially shut down and don’t function properly-compromises lumbar, knee, and ankle stability. 3 Abs and deep core stabilizers become weak-lower back pain 4 Body’s center of mass shifts forward-knee pain, shin splints, plantar fasciitis etc. 5Hamstring tightness-hamstrings always feel tight Do you see how critical posture is and how it can lead to debilitating pain!? So many people complain of pain but fail to address the underlying cause by seeking a quick fix such as pain killers, getting adjustments, or a massage, but it’s more than that. Correcting these postural dysfunctions by reestablishing muscular balance is what’s going to alleviate the pain! Tag someone with postural dysfunctions and pain that can find this useful! Comment with any questions. See more

Planks: Arching the low back and sagging at the stomach is one of the most common errors I witness in those performing planks. The plank is an anti-extension exercise, meaning you are bracing the abs hard in order to resist an arch or hyperextension in the lower back; arching the LB defeats the purpose of the exercise and will do more harm than good. Some of the functions of the core is to: 1promote good posture 2increase stability in the low back 3prevent a beer bell...y or distention of the stomach. If you experience any lower back pain, poor posture, or have a beer belly it is likely that your abs are weak. If you find standard planks too difficult you can regress it by simply dropping the knees to the ground. Execution: 1Elbows underneath shoulders 2Neutral neck 3Contract the abs 4Contract the butt cheeks 5Your body should should resemble a plank of wood-straight line from head to toes. If you’re feeling this in the lower back you are either arching and/or the abs have fatigued. Trembling in the midsection is a good indication that you are performing this exercise correctly. Comment with any questions, tag someone that can find this helpful! See more

Ever heard this before? Well it’s true! No one ever got fat from eating a cookie and no one ever got skinny from eating salad. Heck, you can gain weight from eating salad (would take a hell of a lot of salad) and lose weight by eating a cookie. There are no good or magic foods that cause weight loss, nor are there bad foods that cause weight gain. I remember when I used to believe the notion that there are good and bad foods and that eating a slice of pizza or ice cream r...esulted in me cheating on my diet, which I then thought would jeopardize my physique goals and health. When I abstained from eating the foods I desired it inevitably led to me craving these bad foods and subsequently binging. Can you eat a donut or two and still lose weight? Yes! Will you gain weight? Not if those donuts did not surpass your energy needs for the day, which means you are still at maintenance or in a deficit. I’m not promoting or advocating for you to eat a dozen donuts because at the end of the day you want your diet to be mainly comprised of nutrient dense foods. The moral is that dieting does not need to be difficult, you don’t have to restrict yourself from certain foods nor do you have to suffer to lose weight. If you find yourself being a victim of either of those then you need to reevaluate your diet. I can assure you that eating foods you desire, in moderation, will result in you adhering to your eating plan or diet for the long term. Getting rid of this mindset is key for long term sustainability and a healthy relationship with food! Tag someone that can find this helpful! Comment with any questions. See more