How do you know when your muscles are fatigued?

The last rep of any set should be very difficult – Remember that the point of resistance training is to OVERLOAD the muscles. Muscles will only get stronger if they need to due to progressive training. But make sure you are advanced in your training program and are well prepared for overloading by being engaged in a on going exercise program. Participants at a Beginner and Intermediate level or those who had longer breaks in their program are advised to first consult a fitness specialist before engaging in intense overloading of the muscle.

Learn other ways to overload your muscles with effective and fun workouts.

By Phil Nicolaou, Philadelphia Certified Personal Trainer.

Blend your foods

Blend your foods – Blending your foods means making sure that if you are eating a food item that does contain carbohydrates, make sure that you incorporate a good low fat protein along with it. Eating a low carb tortilla wrap, that the first ingredient is whole wheat flour, unrefined and adding lean chicken breast as part of your filling in the wrap, maybe with some thinly shredded romaine lettuce and other veggies.

Don’t get caught up in the quick fix!

Fitness Tip: Don’t Get Caught Up in The Quick Fix – There is no such thing as a quick fix and you’re fooling yourself if you think there is. Good things come to those who wait and any health and fitness goals are going to take effort and commitment on your part.

Eat from the Earth is best!

From the Earth is Best – Eat as few processed foods as possible. Aim for complex carbohydrates and natural simple sugars.

Record and review your wokouts for success!

Record and Review – If you don’t keep track of your workouts and improvements, how will you know if you’re making progress? Whether it’s fat loss, building muscle tissue, or just feeling better; keeping a log helps and motivates you to get there. When you see where you were, and where you are, you realize you’re making progress! Our Fitness & Nutrition Tracking program is free, easy to use and will help you reach your fitness goals!

Being a Philadelphia Personal trainer it is important to log each workout.  Log reps, rest, tempo and the workout sequence. As much detail as possible.  After all when the time comes to change the workout you will know what to do. Based on an assessment and the workout details. Its critical to your clients success!

Anyone can sit there and count reps , but if you are good at program design, you need to assess, design, implement..repeat..

Slow down as the sun goes down

Slow down as the sun goes down – What do I mean by this? Well just as important as it is to eat a great breakfast to start the day, it is also as equally important to reduce your food consumption as the day goes on. So plan to eat a good solid breakfast, a good lunch, and reduce your meal portions at dinner time. Remember as you get closer to bedtime your body starts to wind down and you will not have the same opportunity at night to burn those consumed meal calories as you did earlier in the day. So eat more early and back down as you reach sun down

Give it a rest

Fitness Tip: Give it a Rest – even when sick. Exercise puts a temporary stress on the body and immune system, which may prolong your illness. It may be OK to work out when sick (depending on the severity) but a day or two of rest is usually just what the doctor ordered. A short break won’t have a negative affect on your overall goals.

Stretching is important

Stretching is highly recommended – either before or after your workout but can really be done at any time. Corrective stretching is done before exercise but after a warm-up to lengthen chronically short muscles and help your body remain aligned properly. Relaxation stretching is done after exercise to lengthen muscles and help them return to their pre-workout length. Both types are good, should be done regularly when muscles are warm and should feel comfortable and painless.

Don’t Over Indulge!

Don’t over indulge – Life is about balance and when you do anything in excess, your body pays the price. So when it comes to drinking alcohol, you need to be wise about your decision making process. Think of the effects of too much alcohol in your current and future fitness and health.
a. Can Damage your liver
b. Shuts your metabolism so you can’t burn food energy
c. Impairs your decision making process – especially with healthy food decisions
d. Adds tons of liquid NO quality Calories to your daily diet: Sugar & Fat

Eat Slow !

Eat Slowly – If you read about the French Paradox, which discusses why the French eat a lot of fatty foods, but are a leaner society than that of the United States. They take their meals very seriously and it is one of the most important times of the day. You will get multiple benefits from this tip. Eating Slow will help your body absorb the food at the right level allowing you to fill up much quicker as it will not provide a tendency for you to OVEREAT!!! The other awesome benefit is that you can spend more time with your family so that you can share the important things in life with each other!!!

Eating slowly also helps people that feel that they have willpower issues. The truth is that when you eat slow and notice texture, taste and smell, you are less likely to over eat. What ends up happening is that the brain recieves a signal stating that its full after about 20 minutes.