PERSONAL TRAINING & FITNESS (310) 994-4385

Read about basic fitness terms and workout principles and how to build routines the smart way. You will also find information on proper diet habits which is key in achieving goals.

Maximize Your Workouts:

MOTIVATION - Your length of your workouts play a big role in your motivation level during, as well as getting you to actually work out. Adjusting the duration time of your workouts to meet your goals, as well as keeping your motivation level high takes... reducing or limiting your long and extended workouts. Single, excessive workouts can reduce desire, enthusiasm and slow progression. Keeping your training sessions short maintains motivation and energy. Individuals who train for long periods of time soon become fatigued, then see their intensity level and results fall off quickly.

INTENSITY - Your intensity level during your workout is a deciding factor to your immediate and long term results. The rate at which you push yourself during your workout (your intensity level) will determine the time it takes to reach your desired goal. Start by... keeping your mind on your workouts and taking shorter rest periods between sets. This will force you to increase your intensity level and soon prefer the faster pace. You can't successfully complete a 30- or 60-minute workout while having a 10-minute, between-sets, water-fountain discussion with a friend.

MUSCLE GROWTH  - The intensity of a new training program or your workouts in general, is another big factor in reaching your desired results. Altering your current or new workout in ways that will be most beneficial to you is what you are looking for, such as... shocking your muscles for further growth since muscles will adapt over time. You should constantly add changes to your workout; use dumbbells in lieu of barbells, free weights in lieu of machines, and changes in heavy / light days and rest time between sets.

SPEED - Don't confuse intensity with speed, they are not the same in any means. Your speed of your reps and workout will determine whether or not you will meet your goals in the time frame you are looking for. Reaching your optimum level of fitness comes from... slow, concentrated repetitions throughout your workouts. Lifting too quickly may prevent strength development and risk injury by placing high levels of stress on the muscle and connective tissues. It may also bring momentum and cheating into your workout. Take 1-2 seconds to contract and 2-3 seconds to return in a rep.

RANGE OF MOTION - Your range of motion is your movement from start to finish in any exercise. This motion varies for each exercise and is necessary to be performed correctly. An overall note on your range of motion (ROM) for any and all exercises would be to... complete each exercise movement throughout the entire range of motion and not stopping the movement short or fully completing it, helps optimize muscle development while also fully stretching antagonist muscles. Your start-to-finish must be just that without over or hyper-extending the muscles.

FATIGUE - Fatigue is a crucial point in your workout that you want to reach. Reaching fatigue is exactly what you are looking to do, although there are two different types of fatigue, one that you are striving for, and the other that you are wanting to avoid, they are... neural and muscle fatigue. "Neural" fatigue is when your mindset is not fully concentrated on your workout. Your mind sends a signal down your spine through your nervous system, to your motor neurons and then off to your muscles. That signal tells your muscle that it's burnt out and finished working out. Your muscle could actually have done more, although your mind gave up on it. "Muscle" fatigue is when your actual muscle fatigues from getting full contractions as the binding of muscle fibers from the build-up of calcium around the fibers occur. That bind is released by your body's natural supply of ATP (adenosine triphosphate), which is limited in your muscle cells. When your natural supply runs out and the bind can not be released, then your muscles are fatigued from"muscle" fatigue. Your ATP supply can be replaced by creatine phosphate (ATP-CP). This is most effective during short duration, high intensity exercises such as sprinting or weight lifting.

RESISTANCE OR CARDIO - The question of which is better for you, for what you are trying to achieve, cardio or resistance training is one of the number one questions in fitness. For those who need to lose a few pounds of body-fat, then... extra cardiovascular work is needed. Exercising hard and fast will get your heart rate going at a level that will not only help burn body-fat, but will also improve your aerobic fitness level and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Resistance training will also raise your heart rate if performed at high intensity, which can sometimes burn more calories than from cardio.

CARDIO - The time frame of your cardio workout is another long sought after question. Your body burns fat most efficiently when at its maximum heart rate. The length of your cardio workout also decides whether you're burning fat or hard earned muscle, muscle that keeps your body firm instead of flabby. Limit your cardio workouts to... just 20 to 30 minutes of HIGH intensity aerobic work, with your pulse falling between your maximum and target heart. If you exercise at a level that has your heart rate between 60 and 90 percent of your maximum heart rate, you're in the training range that induces cardiovascular system improvements, anything less is a waste of time, anything more at HIGH intensity can cause muscle burnage.

Eating & Drinking:

PROPER HYDRATION - Almost everyone has heard about the importance of proper hydration- yet still many athletes refuse or forget to drink during or prior to their workouts. The rule of thumb is: drink more than usual several hours before workouts and during workouts, even if you don't feel thirsty. If you are thirsty during a workout, your body is already dehydrated. This is especially true in cold weather. 

FIGURE OUT WHAT WORKS FOR YOU.  Every person has a different digestive system and different needs when it comes to nutrition and exercise. Experiment until you find the right balance of eating and exercise. Some people can get up and exercise without eating at all while others need a full breakfast to get going. There's no one right way to do it!

FOOD INTAKE, BEFORE & AFTER - Even if you are trying to loose weight - you need to provide your body with energy in order to function properly. Don't forget - we're not only capitalizing from the calorie burning effect of the workout itself, we're also building a stronger and leaner body that has a faster metabolism 24/7 - even on off days. Interval training has shown to increase the body's metabolism on off days as well - and I usually work with this "nature's trick" to achieve results. Eat 1 to 2 hours before the workout - fruits or low sugar energy bars are ideal. Since you want glycogen in your muscles - carbohydrates are ideal and okay. Yes they are! Save the protein for after the workout - that's when it is needed most, in order to repair muscle tissue that has been challenged. Bring a protein bar (or almonds for example) along with a banana and eat it right after. You'll feel better the next day and muscles grow faster. Again - if yu pushed yourself hard enough, there is no reason to fearweight gain. Remember, it's your body, and you're in it for the long haul!

more information on eating before and after working out.

Other:

GET PLENTY OF REST. That means sleeping for at least 8 hours a night (or whatever your body requires) as well as giving yourself recovery days during the week. Working out too much can cause fatigue and possibly, overtraining symptoms.

COLD WEATHER ISSUES - A few words on the cold season and occasional temp drops, which are not uncommon near the ocean - no matter what time of teh year. First: get over it ! When it's cold it's cold, even in California. But as long as temperatures are above freezing  workouts can be done safely without taxing the respiratory system. While I don't recommend aerobic training around or below 35F, temperatures in the upper 40 ies and 50ies are safe. You won't get sick if you prepare right. Why? Cold temperatures by themselves won't get you sick, they merely lower the immune system's ability to fight off viral intruders - so the key is to stay warm - especially before and after the workout when your heart rate is low or drops. Proper gear is key and since heat escapes the fastest from your head - wear a hat, or beanie. in addition to a light jacket (which you can always take off). Don't show up with a light t-shirt  and jump back in the car when you're done - even if you don't feel cold.