Personal Training

TV programs and newspaper articles published today frequently emphasize the benefits of getting off the couch and going for a walk to achieve heart benefits. While walking or exercising at the gym without working up a sweat might make you feel better, it will rarely help in achieving the weight loss, fitness and toning results that most are searching for.

Interval Training

Short bursts of intense intervals will give you the desired results in less time. It is important to choose exercises that get the heart rate up and make you feel slightly uncomfortable for a short period of time to achieve maximum weight loss and muscle tone.

Barry Seneri
practicing interval training on the treadmill

Kick Up the Training Intensity

The idea is NOT to go to the gym and run on a treadmill as fast as you can for as long as you can. Rather, you should choose some cardiovascular-based exercises or mix in some running intervals to get your heart rate into the uncomfortable zone every few exercises. If you are able to carry on a normal conversation throughout your entire workout, you need to add some intensity! Aim for exercises that use large muscle groups and more than one muscle group to burn even more calories in a shorter amount of time. All of the added sweat and heavy breathing from kicking up the intensity will get you the results you’ve been searching for.

Intense Interval Cardio Training

Interval Cardio Training is style of cardiovascular exercise in which the intensity varies for the duration of the session. ‘Intensity’ is defined by the individual’s perceived level of exertion. You can think of your intensity as a number that coincides with your effort on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the hardest. The scale can go something like this:

1- Extremely Easy - the amount of energy it takes to get up from a chair

5- Moderate Effort - activity that you can do for 30+ minutes

7- Challenging - you can do the activity, but it is difficult to sustain

8- Difficult - the activity demands some focus, and it’s getting hard to hang in

9- Very Difficult - the activity takes all of your focus, and you pray it’s over soon

10- Nearly Impossible (But Not Quite!)- you’re thinking of a happy place, which is just about anywhere compared to where you currently are…you can’t possibly push any harder

Simple. Right? You can apply this ‘perceived level of exertion’ to any activity. Take a look at the following sample workouts:

Warm up at YOUR Level 5 Intensity for 3 to 5 minutes before all of these workouts.

1. Go to Level 9 for 1 minute, then back down to Level 5 for 1 minute.
   Repeat 3 to 5 Times.
2. Start at Level 6 for 1 minute. Go to Level 7 for 1 minute. Go to Level 8 for 1 minute. Then, go to Level 9 for 1 minute.
   Repeat 3 to 5 Times.
3. Start at Level 7 for 30 seconds. Go to Level 9 for 30 seconds. Go to Level 10 for 30 seconds. Walk for 1 minute. Repeat 3 to 5 Times.

For those who think training to failure is a good thing, answer this question: ‘In what sport is it advantageous to train to failure?’ Think about it – are you going to hit tennis balls until your body fails to swing the racket, or are you going to stop practicing when you start to lose your form and effectiveness? It’s common practice to stop training when you lose effectiveness in all sports. Furthermore, who wants to train with the mindset of ‘training to failure’? Most people would never dream of ‘training to failure’ in other areas of life. So, why do people use this erroneous philosophy in the gym?

Is Proper Form
missing in your workout?

Proper Form or Failure?

When strength training, many people want to ‘burn out’ every set or at least one set every workout. Some use the argument that you don’t break down your muscle enough when you stop before burning out. It’s ludicrous to think that your form will stay perfect when you reach the point of failure. Trust me, I’ve seen thousands of people do it, and it ain’t pretty. Many people often injure themselves by training this way. At the very least, you actually weaken your tendon and connective tissue strength and stability over time. This defeats the very purpose of ‘strength training.’ I can attest to this first hand.

Training to Failure and Injury

When I was in high school, I trained very hard in the weight room to perform better on the playing field. However, I trained by the notion that it was always good to train to failure. I often compromised the quality of the movement for quantity of repetitions. Over the course of 2 years, my strength dropped and my shoulders began to weaken by training this way. I could actually feel the weakness. I eventually had a complete dislocation of my right shoulder while playing football. Even though the actual injury occurred on the football field, I caused the shoulder weakness and stability problems from improper training, which led to the injury.

Work on Flawless Technique when Exercising

Thus, my advice is to focus on flawless technique when exercising or strength training, and put the weight down or stop the exercise when you are no longer able to maintain perfect form. If you don’t know what perfect form is, educate yourself or seek the help of a qualified personal trainer or strength specialist. Injuries stink, but most are preventable.

If you were to hop in a boat without a map or GPS in the middle of an ocean, where do you think you would end up? Who knows? You could literally end up anywhere in the world!

Goals help us take positive control of our lives!

There are a lot of folks that just let life happen to them. They wander aimlessly around, and never seem to accomplish much of anything. They think that if they are lucky, success will find them. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Goals bring a clear direction to your daily thoughts and actions, giving you the focus to stay on course to the desired destination. Writing your goals down will also help energize you with the determination to get you there. You won’t be as easily distracted by lower priorities and will be able to overcome obstacles much easier.

Write down your goals to ensure they become reality!

It is recommended to write goals in many areas of life (spiritual, health, financial, relationships, etc.). Stretch yourself by writing 3 challenging, but achievable goals for ’09. Post these goals on your bathroom mirror, in your office, in your car, or wherever you will be constantly reminded.

Tell others about your goals!

In addition to writing and posting your goals, it is also beneficial to share your goals with one or more people that you know can keep you accountable. Speaking your goals to others literally ties you to your goals with your tongue. This is a powerful way to ensure hitting your goals. If you tell others about them, then they’ll be expecting you to achieve them, which in turn will help bring them to reality. Furthermore, it’ll give others a chance to help you meet your goals.

Our Transformation team will keep you accountable for your health, nutrition and fitness goals!

If you choose to write health goals, our team at Transformation, LLC in Raleigh will agree to be your accountability partner for 2009. Simply fill in your health goals at FILL IN GOALS. And with your permission, one of our team members will check in with you once a month on your progress.

If you seriously want POSITIVE CHANGE and set your goals – Prepare Yourself for amazing results!