How much should you workout on vacation?

For many people, summer is the great destroyer of routines.  The kids are out of school and many people take vacation – all of which makes it hard to stay focused on fitness.

August is the busiest month for vacation, making this a time when personal trainers hear one question more often than ever from clients: do I have to work out on my vacation?

Like most fitness issues, there is not a single correct answer to this question. Instead, the answer depends on each individual.

Here are three questions that I use to help my clients answer this question:

1. Was looking good on vacation one of the primary reasons you have been working out? If this is the case, then take some time to enjoy your hard work and don’t push yourself to stay on your regimen. Use the time spent on vacation as a resting period for your body so you can return to the gym recharged.
2. What are your fitness goals and how does your vacation fit into that timeline? For example, if you are training for a marathon that takes place a few weeks after you return from vacation, it is probably not the best idea to forego working out entirely while you are away. However, if you have been trying to simply improve your strength and endurance overall, taking a week off will not be a major impediment toward your cumulative progress.
3. Does exercise benefit you in other ways? For me, exercise is something that helps me relax. A long run eliminates the stress of my day in a way that nothing else does. If you enjoy working out or find that it helps you with anxiety or stress, then working out on vacation makes sense.

Evaluating your trainer with honesty

There are many things that separate a good personal trainer from a mediocre or average one. It can be hard to define the qualities that make a trainer great, so these questions are the second part of a two-part discussion of what to look for when deciding on a trainer.

Here are some questions you can ask yourself to decide how good your trainer really is:

-          Do you receive adequate attention from your trainer? A good trainer does not spend your sessions talking to other people at the gym or checking out members of the opposite sex. You should have all of their attention for the duration of your session together, or you should look for a new trainer.

-          How knowledgeable is your trainer? When you ask questions about a workout, can they explain the purpose of each exercise?  Can he or she help you with pains or other issues? Quoting from an article is not the same as being knowledgeable – make sure your trainer truly knows what he or she is doing.

-          What is on your trainer’s website? Is it an “I love me” wall or do you see relevant information about certifications and qualifications? The way a person represents themselves online says a lot about them – do they post pictures of themselves drinking or half-naked? A trainer should be conscious of their professionalism, both in the gym and online.

-          How long has your trainer been in the fitness business? While there is no magic number of years that make a trainer fully qualified, experience does matter for trainers. The longer they have worked with clients, the better they are at handling different needs, goals, and personalities, and the more effective they will be at helping you.

Take these answers to heart

These questions are a great place to start when deciding on a trainer. Remember, you’re spending your time and your money on training services, so don’t settle for mediocre when you don’t have to.

Don’t overlook these important questions

If you have committed the time and effort to maintaining a healthy lifestyle through eating right and exercise, don’t short change yourself by making a poor choice when it comes to picking a personal trainer. This may seem relatively simple, but the reality is that there are many people out there who call themselves trainers but do not know what they are doing or are not effective.

Here are some questions to consider that will help you determine if you are working out with someone great or if you should start looking for someone new:

-          How often does your trainer correct your form? One of the most important things a trainer does is to ensure that you are doing exercises properly, not only so you will see results more quickly but also to avoid injuries. Your trainer should be correcting your form constantly, during every exercise.

-          Does your trainer push you during training sessions? A good trainer pushes you to give extra effort – whether it’s five more reps or one more mile. You should feel like you had an excellent workout after each session.

-          Does your trainer work to motivate you? The right trainer will encourage you in a way that makes you excited and driven to reach your fitness goals. A good trainer coaches you so that you are able to do more than you would do on your own.

-          Does your trainer hold you accountable as a student? When you fail to stick to your diet or work out between sessions, your trainer should hold you accountable. Do you discuss goals, timelines, and plans with your students? A good fitness trainer should help you set goals and hold you to them.

Don’t be afraid to move on

Finding the right trainer is very important to helping you stay positive, motivated and healthy on your life journey.  So don’t settle for the first one you meet because you don’t want to hurt their feelings.  Trainers are professionals, and no 2 are alike – so don’t be afraid to move on if you think there may be a better trainer out there for you.

Got workout excuses? We’ve heard them all!

Everyone has a reason why they can’t workout. I hear them all – my job is too hectic, my schedule is too erratic, the gym is inconvenient, you name it, I have heard it.

Some of these excuses are a valid reason to change your approach to working out, but almost none of them are a good enough reason to stop! In fact, one excuse I have heard from one of my older clients is actually a reason to workout more rather than less – that the aches and pains of aging are making it hard to be physically active.

Why the excuses aren’t valid

One of the greatest benefits of a consistent workout routine and regular exercise as you age is that it improves your physical wellbeing. Regular workouts help you physically as they eliminate a great deal of the soreness, joint issues, and loss of flexibility that come as part of an inactive lifestyle and aging.

You will have more energy and feel better when you maintain a workout regiment, no matter how old or young you are.

I know that when I take time off from the gym, I can feel the effects both physically and mentally. I start to hear a clicking noise in my shoulder and knees and I feel weaker overall. I am more prone to making poor choices when I eat and I feel a little “blah” because I do not have the exercise endorphins lifting my mood and giving me energy.

As a busy person, I know that I don’t have time to be slower mentally or physically. With regular exercise and a healthier diet, I stay sharp. Whether you are 22 or 72, this basic principle applies to you, too.

What you see is not usually what you get

Everyone who has turned on their television or radio has been exposed to an advertisement promising a better body or significant weight loss with minimal to no effort.

Maybe it is a pill, a diet, or piece of workout equipment, but whatever it is; it promises results beyond your wildest dreams. Ten pounds in ten days or perfect abdominal muscles in only 10 minutes, three times a day – who wouldn’t prefer to get a great body this way instead of putting the time and effort into working out and eating right?

The truth about informercials and TV gimmicks

The truth is, everyone would prefer to do things the fast and easy way, but there is no “quick fix” when it comes to fitness and overall health. No pill, liquid diet, or single piece of equipment is going to create the changes you want.

The only thing that will produce the body you want and result in better overall health is a consistent workout regimen and a healthy, balanced diet. There are many different options out there for a personal fitness program, but the most effective workouts combine cardio with resistant training so that you are improving endurance while building muscle.

I tell my clients that working out should be considered basic maintenance for your body. You take the car to have oil changes and you update the software on your computer so that they will work optimally, so it only follows that you will have to make regular efforts to keep your body working too.

Your body is one thing that you cannot replace, so putting time and effort into it is making a lasting investment in your most valuable asset.

It may seem silly or even arbitrary when a personal trainer or the instructor of a class asks you to count out loud while you’re exercising. Or maybe, with all of the other effort you are putting in, mentally and physically, you never even thought about the fact that you were counting.

However, encouraging you to count is something your trainer or instructor does to ensure that you are doing two very important things: breathing and focusing.

Don’t laugh – breathing is important!

It is extremely important to remember to breathe during a workout. If you hold your breath or become short of breath while exercising, you may pass out or feel nauseated. Not only will this take away from the effectiveness of a given workout, it can even be dangerous!

When you count out loud during a certain exercise, you are exhaling as you say each number, allowing your trainer or instructor to ensure not only that you are actually breathing but that you are exhaling at the appropriate point of the exercise.

Better focus = better results

Another advantage to counting while exercising is that it maintains your focus. Some people like to “zone out” during their workout, but this often results in poor form or other errors that take away from the quality of your workout.

As you announce each number, your attention is completely on the task at hand. This focus will result in better repetitions and the best results from the time and energy you put into your workout.

So next time your trainer asks you to count, don’t roll your eyes! Or, at least if you do roll them, do so knowing that counting out loud is helping you get fit and stay healthy.

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More fitness myths that do more harm than good

In previous posts, we have reviewed some popular fitness myths regarding working out and nutrition, but these are not the full extent of the myths floating around regarding nutrition.

Other prevalent fitness myths that are counterproductive for those trying to truly improve their health and fitness include the following:

-  Weight and resistance training will create bulky muscles. People often link weight training in their minds to weight lifters, the bulky men and women who perform in contests on television. However, to get that large and build that level of muscle mass requires an incredible amount of time and effort. Weight lifters usually work with weights anywhere from 8 to 12 times each week. Normal weight and resistance training is usually done only 3 times per week, which results in a longer, leaner, more toned appearance rather than a bulging one.

- If you want to reduce the amount of fat on the back of your arms, do a lot of triceps exercises. Or, you might have heard people saying that they are doing 300 crunches to get rid of their stomach fat. Unfortunately, your body does not work this way. When you lose weight, the fat is reduced throughout your body rather than at any single spot.

- Running is bad for your knees. The pain in your knees that you blame on running can be explained by any number of things – old shoes, a poor running surface, or poor form. With simple adjustments, you can correct your running habits to reduce or eliminate the pain in your knees, allowing you to run well into your old age.

If you have any questions about the fitness myths being discussed here, please contact one of the personal trainers at Custom Fitness Concepts who will be happy to answer your questions about your specific situation.

Understanding the link between nutrition and fitness

Diet and nutrition are an important part of becoming more fit and losing weight, if that is part of your health and fitness goals. Whether you need to lose weight or just improve your overall health, smart nutrition is essential if you want to live a longer, healthier life.

There are some concepts out there regarding nutrition, diet, and exercise that do more harm than good when they are followed. Get these ideas out of your head and you will be that much closer to the body you want:

Myth #1:  If you exercise, you can eat whatever you want.

Although most people understand that this can never be entirely true, more of the clients we see than you might think truly do believe that working out gives them the freedom to make poor nutritional choices.

The idea that the time you put in at the gym or with a personal trainer can offset terrible choices at the dinner table or when out with friends just does not make sense when you look at it practically. A person who weighs 150 pounds burns only 360 calories during 30 minutes of running at a speed of 6 miles per hour.

It may feel like an incredible amount of effort, but that amount of running will barely burn off the calories in a single pina colada. So think carefully about what you choose to eat so that the effort you put in when you work out pays off, or else you will see little results for a great deal of effort.

Myth #2: Your metabolism slows down once you turn thirty.

Studies indicate that metabolisms slow down because of a loss of muscle mass. Working out and weight training is proven to increase muscle mass, meaning that your metabolism does not have to slow down simply because you are getting older.

Work smarter not necessarily harder

One of the first steps to improving your health and fitness is to dispel common misconceptions about fitness and exercise programs. These myths are speed bumps along the path to your long term success because they can lead you to do things that are counter productive to losing weight, getting stronger, and improving your overall health.

Myth #1 – More is better when it comes to working out

It seems like it could be true. Doing more will produce greater results, right? When it comes to working out, this is not true in every case. For your body, quality is more important than quantity. One hundreds reps of the mediocre quality are pointless if they are not challenging your muscles or if they are done in poor form.

If you only have 15 minutes to work on your arms one day, don’t try to rush through your 30 minute routine. Take your time and do half of the exercises properly rather than doing all of them in poor form.

Myth #2 – Warm-ups are optional

While this is something that is debated in the fitness community, whether or not warming up is absolutely necessary, anecdotal evidence from clients and trainers indicates that warming up before beginning an intense workout helps to lubricate the joints and stretch the muscles. This results in fewer injuries or strained muscles, allowing you to reap the benefits of working out without experiencing unnecessary pain and suffering.

Don’t skip warming up and stretching because you think that more minutes on the treadmill will help you get in shape faster. If you injure yourself, you won’t be unable to work out for weeks or months, meaning your will be behind instead of ahead on your path to a healthier, stronger you.