The Diversity of a Personal Trainer's Work Environment

One of the great aspects of being a personal trainer is the variety in not only the people you get to work with, but also the settings you get to work within. Personal trainers are no longer just restricted to a gym setting. There is actually a wide variety of locations/settings trainers can work in these days. Generally personal trainers have the following as options for work location:

– Private Health Clubs

– Commercial Health Clubs

– Medically-Based Fitness Facilities

– Community Wellness Centers

– Personal Training Studios

– Physical Therapy Clinics

– Retirement/Senior Centers

– YMCAs/JCCs

– College/University Centers

– Recreational Settings

– Corporate Fitness Centers

– In-Home Training

Each of the above provides a trainer with various perks and benefits. As example, with Commercial Health Clubs you will probably be able to make a decent yearly salary as Commercial Health Clubs (especially franchises like Bally’s) market heavily. This is a plus for you as it helps to bring in a regular amount of potential clients. However the downside is you may feel at times like the company is more about the bottom dollar as opposed to the client and/or trainer.

Another example is Non-Profits such as YMCAs (Young Men’s Christian Association) and JCCs (Jewish Community Centers), which tend to be the opposite. You may find the pay is not comparable to Commercial Health Clubs, but they at times provide better benefits. In addition, the camaraderie is far more evident with non-profits. For some, working in the community for a real cause can be more fulfilling than receiving a big paycheck.

Another option for personal trainers that is somewhat of a balance between commercial health clubs and non-profits is In-Home Training. In home training is great as it provides complete job flexibility (as those who train in-home tend to be their own bosses), the money you collect per session is one hundred percent yours (as opposed to working for a facility and they take 40-60% of the session fee), and you can provide a great service that many people would love to participate in (as many do not go to fitness facilities due to feeling uncomfortable, lack of time, etc).

Overall personal training as a profession has a lot of perks. People can do it full time and make a great living. It is also flexible for those who need it. An example of this would be stay at home parents. By being a trainer, a stay at home mom/dad would be able to earn a small income on the side while still being able to take care of their children (if the gym they are employed at has day care). Finally it provides variety. You will be able to work in the setting of your choice with the type people you want to train. In the end, personal training is a great profession to get into. You will more than likely find exactly what you want and will as a result wake up everyday looking forward to work.

The Importance of Golf Workouts

I’m sure by now you’ve heard most of the professional players; both men and women actively participate in golf workouts. It’s no secret. But why then do most amateur golfers ignore this? Is it because it seems like work? Or, does the thought of actually breaking a sweat get you tired already?

Either way…the proof is in the bag. The number one player in the world, Vijay Singh, does his golf workouts all the way through Sunday of each tournament. Does it look like it’s hurting his game? I don’t think so. Back in 1997, a young, very athletic golfer came on the professional scene and blew everyone away. I think you know who I’m talking about.

Tiger took golf to another level. A real eye-opener for the veteran players who were hitting the 19th hole after every round…and the last thought on their mind was “exercise”. What a wake-up call to be totally dominated by a player who was only 20 years old at the time.

How about the year Annika Sorenstam shot a 59 and totally dominated the LPGA? Do you know what she attributes it to? Golf workouts! She hired a trainer and got serious about her fitness. And look what happened? She hasn’t looked back since. She just recently came out with an instruction book and devoted a chapter to golf workouts.

To my recollection, that’s the first women’s instruction book to include golf workouts. Working out to playing better golf isn’t just for the guys; Annika has proved that. Now more LPGA players are working out to try and catch her, just like the guys did with Tiger.

How about the senior tour? Now players are realizing they can still make good money, even after they’ve turned 50 and can’t really compete with the young guys anymore. With the money at stake, they too are all working out. This group of players both amateur and pro is the biggest demographic that needs it the most.

With age comes a decline in both flexibility and strength. When the body declines, the swing goes right along with it. The result is a big loss in yardage, more mishits, and ballooning scores. The end result…frustration! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve played with and received phone calls from older golfers who are just about ready to quit the game.

They are SO frustrated at this rapid decline, that golf’s not fun anymore. But there is hope. The answer? Get your body moving just a little better. How? By participating in golf workouts that focus on golf-specific strength AND flexibility. It’s amazing to see golfers in this age bracket dramatically improve their driving distance, accuracy and scores.

You don’t have to accept that with age, your body declines. No way! You’ve got to fight it all the way! I’m dead serious. The ones who do, are the ones who are enjoying the game again and taking all the money in their foursome.

What is a golf workout anyways? Is there such a thing? You bet there is. The golf swing is an awkward movement that puts a tremendous amount of stress on the body. To prevent injury and improve swing speed and distance requires your body to be both strong and flexible specific to the swing.

I could spend dozens of pages describing what this entails, but for the sake of this concise article, let’s keep it simple.

The golf swing is a rotational movement, with your body in golf posture. Slight flex of the knees and a bending forward at the hips. Since the golf swing is primarily rotational, wouldn’t it make sense to focus on rotational strength and flexibility? That is improving your turning ability related to range of motion and speed.

So anything involving twisting with resistance such as a medicine ball, a dumbbell, or even a weighted club would work. You need to have a resistance to take your body beyond where it normally goes.

For instance, if you took a club and placed it behind your neck, got in your golf posture and rotated back and forth; do you think that by itself would improve your range of motion or power?

No, you need to add resistance to accomplish this. Take a weighted club and make golf swings. Now you’ll be making a bigger turn AND improving your power. Same thing with a medicine ball. Make turns back and through holding a 4 to 6 pound ball and you’ll see a BIG improvement.

In fact, most of your abdominal work should be rotational. Doing straight crunches won’t improve your driving distance. Doing rotational movements with added weight will. This is where I could go on and on, but I won’t overload you.

I hope I’ve convinced you to take a real serious look at what all the other successful professional players are doing to stay at the top of their game. Doing golf workouts can and will dramatically change your game forever. Now get out there and get it started. No procrastinating. Do it right now!

How To Start Running – A Basic Plan

There are many answers to the question how to start running, but here is perhaps one of the easiest and most basic approaches to get you started.

The key point to remember is to start slowly with a continued progression and build up in both the amount of time you can run for and the speed that you can run at. The old saying ‘don’t run before you can walk’ is certainly true here.

I always say if you start off running by going all out right from the start, then how are you going to be able to progress. All exercise has to get more challenging as you go along to be effective, but it should always begin from a comfortable starting point, not from a maximum all out effort.

If you begin at the limit of your abilities, you only have one way to go – backwards. However if you start from way below your maximum, you can coax and encourage your fitness to improve as your body gets used the action of running and the increased exertion levels.

So with all that said here’s your basic starting point. If you’d like to learn more about how to start running, then you should take a look here – running for beginners.

Select a circular route that will take you around 30 minutes to walk comfortably in its entirety.

Begin your session by walking leisurely for about 5 minutes. Ideally this should be on flat terrain and feel comfortable to do.

Next, do a selection of running specific stretches, you can find out more about which stretches you should do before and after running and exactly how to do them in ‘How to Start Running’ – a complete program based on running for beginners. These stretches will only take you approximately 2-3 minutes and will help to lengthen the muscle fibres and loosen up the joints a little.

OPTION #1

To start the main section of your workout, you’re going to begin walking again, but this time with a purpose. Striding out, using your arms and working much harder than before. Imagine you’re in a rush to get somewhere. The next stage is to have a go at running.

If you’re very much out of shape, then you’ll need to just run for a few moments without any structure at all. I would suggest simply using short bursts of very slow running followed by a gentle walk until your breathing and heart rate has lowered and you feel capable of going again.

Repeat this process throughout the entire session.

OPTION #2

If you’re able to run, albeit very slowly for a minute or so without stopping, then use this second approach. For this you’ll run for one minute and then walk for 5 minutes. When you revert back to walking again, begin very slowly to get your breathe back and allow the muscles to recover, before building up your speed to walking briskly by the end of the 5 minutes.

If you feel that you can’t manage a full minute, then try just a 30 second spell of running instead.

The next time you go out, repeat your first session exactly. On your next training session after that, use the same route again but this time try to increase the time you run for by another 30 seconds. So in session 3 you’re running for 1 minute 30 seconds and walking for 4 minutes 30 seconds.

Again repeat this session the next time you train and then on session 5 increase your run by another 30 seconds and reduce your walk by the same. This means you’ll be running for 2 minutes and walking for 4 minutes.

Continue using this same principle until you can run the entire session, then you can start to increase the distance you run for or the speed you run at, depending on your running goal.

After your workout remember to stretch off again using the stretches as shown in ‘How to Start Running’

If you’d like to find out more about how to start running and discover more training techniques you can use to help you to become a good runner and improve your fitness levels quickly, you can find out more here – running for beginners.

A Short Guide To Istanbul Pilates

Istanbul comprises of 13 million people and it is well known for its sports and recreational activities. The people of Istanbul are sports enthusiasts and it is true that there are various stadiums and sports field available which enhances the image of Istanbul pilates. It is to be said that there are 18 golf courses in Istanbul and every course is around 45 minutes away from city center. It is a beautiful country and most people are involved in several types of sports activities there. You will be amazed to know that there are around 18 teams only from Istanbul playing in National Premiere League which include Fenerbahce, Besiktas, Buyuksehir Belediye and Galatasaray.
Basketball is another famous Istanbul sports but the article is not all about entire sports. Its all about a special sport which is very famous in Istanbul. It is actually a slimming therapy and for this pilates studios are established in different parts of country. In fact, Taksim is well known for these types of therapy sessions and interestingly it is spread into almost all parts of country. Taksim pilates are well known in Istanbul. The are different types of pilates studios available in Taksim and most of these studios are available in the center of city.
It is a well being program and most people of Istanbul take part in these types of activities. Taksim is a beautiful city located in Istanbul and there are several pilates groups available for the well being of people. It is always recommended to the people that they should do thorough research on the subject before joining any Istanbul pilates. If you have keen interest in these types of recreational activities, then you must visit Istanbul at least once in a lifetime. It is to be said that there are thousands of visitors come every year to enjoy Istanbul pilates.
When it comes to opting for best studio, it is good to do complete research online. It is the only way to find out the best studio for this activity. Taksim is a city is Istanbul and it is well known in all over the world due to the nice nature of their people. The people there provide best hospitality for the visitors and thus it is always to be a good tourist place. Numerous pilates studios are available in Taksim and if you want to visit Taksim pilates, the best season is from May to late October. In this season, the business of pilates studio is on high.
Apart from all, one can get the opportunity to experience Taksim pilates from one of the best instructors. They provide complete training to the interested people and assure their well being. Istanbul pilates are the best place to do these types of exercises if you really want to make the body tight and completely fit. One can find the world class cardio equipments for complete fitness. So, in the end it can be said that one can experience the world class facilities at any of the Istanbul pilates and surely it will be a lifetime memory for you.

Muscle Gaining Nutrition

Simply exercising without the right approach to how you eat and build energy is no way to go. Taking in the right types of foods and liquids, how often to eat them, and when to eat them is a bit of a nutritional science.

After a little experimenting and adjusting it gets much easier, and can give you the real world strength and energy that you need to make actual progress with your fitness.

In terms of carbohydrates, you can calculate how much you should be consuming based off of your weight. There’s a simple recommended formula for this, that even a lot of athletes use, but this is for people with big muscle building dreams.

3.6 grams of carbs per muscle. So if you were to weigh 170, this would come out to about 612 grams a day, but again – like much of the other advice in this article, this is for people who are serious about their fitness.

Carbs by the way become glycogen, which is your best friend when the going gets tough.
Protein is also very important. If you are in a weight range of 130 to 150 pounds, about 105 grams is ideal, and if you weigh 165 pounds or more, 130 or so grams is good.

Protein builds muscle tissue, and promotes necessary hormones for muscle growth. It also strengthens the bones and just about any other thing that we as people care about.

Its also important to note that people are leaning more towards just the protein side of things, and leaving carbs out of the picture entirely.

Too much protein is overkill, and not having a good balance of carbs to along with it can lead to the wrong kind of weight gain.

Balance is bliss.

Even for the person who is not interested in exercise, they should still be drinking close to 8 glasses of water a day, but if you are serious about building muscle, you need to top it off a little.

Its always recommended that you down a glass or two with a couple hours of working out.

You should also keep a glass or bottle by your side, and consume water throughout exercise. I personally like to drink a little in between exercises, but also I know not to chug, because this can lead to feeling seriously sick.

Always replinish your body after words with more water, and juices throughout the day are extremely hydrating, and can give you a good intake of good calories.

Natural sugars are extremely beneficial.

Seriously consider having just a fruit meal, and make it so that its within two hours of working out.

A salad meal is also very filling, and can be topped off with low fat additions.

Eating several meals a day, with snack meals in between leads to lots of energy without having to pack on the fat.

Crackers, and low fat cheeses are another example, or even just a light bagel, and maybe even a smoothie.

This will control your appetite. Its like reading a book. You might be able to take in more chapter by chapter instead of trying to read the whole thing in just one sitting.

Consider making your last meal before hitting the hay a carb based meal. This will store up energy while you sleep, and it will carry over to the next day as surplus.

You can also have a light snack right before bed time, because carbs don’t tend to stick around for long, leaving most people hungry.