Try low impact swiss ball jumping jacks for those that can't handle high impact exercises. These are excellent for modifying jumping jacks to fit your low impact needs.
Monday, April 16, 2012
Trainer J's ARMageddon Workout - Arms | Core | Chest
Start enhancing arm, core and chest strength with this quick intense upper body workout.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
RUN | Trainer J's Mathematical Approach to Running for Beginners
Hello fit world!
Welcome back to the Fit Lab. Today's blog post is entitled RUN so of course I will be discussing how to become a runner. As with any fitness exercise, the body is designed to adapt to the stresses that you apply to it. Having said that, running is no different than any other exercise or skill that you would like to become better at doing. All it takes is a little repetition and commitment.
So let's get right to it. Most running programs automatically put you on a particular time interval or distance interval. This approach can work but depending on your level of fitness, this time or distance interval may prove to be too challenging or not challenging enough leaving you no choice but to alter the program that has already been constructed for you. I will help you alleviate the need to do this in my running program by giving you a baseline for your program to fit your fitness level.
Here's what I want you to do. I will use simple math equations to help you get running. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to comment.
Fitness Level Adder: (F)
Beginner / Intermediate: 30 seconds
Week 1 and Week 2
Warmup 5-10 minutes then stretch
Determine your baseline
- Start your treadmill at comfortable jogging speed.
- Cover treadmill with towel so that you can't see the time.
- Jog for as long as you can physically can, then uncover and record the time from the treadmill.
- Divide the treadmill time by 2.
- This time will be your baseline jog time which I will call (B) so if you were able to only jog for 6 minutes, your B = 3 minutes. Round to the closest whole minute.
3. Determine your Goal Jog Time which in this case I will call (G): G = B + F
- Take your baseline jog time B and add the Fitness level Adder from above.
- Taking B from the example above would give you 3 minutes + 30 seconds = 3 minutes 30 seconds.
- Your Goal Jog Time (G) is now 3.5 minute intervals.
- Your walk interval time will be equal to half of your G rounded to the nearest whole number. So in this case, your walk interval time would be 3.5/2 = 1.75. Rounded to the nearest whole number, your walk interval will now be 2 minutes.
4. Start using your calculated interval program
From the example:- Goal Jog Time = 3.5 minutes
- Walk Interval Time = 2 minutes
5. Interval Program Schedule
- Alternate jogging and walking using your calculated interval times 20-30 minutes every other day for the first 2 weeks.
- After the first 2 weeks, increase your exercise time by 1 day each week until you are utilizing your program 7 days a week.
- For the more aggressive runner, after your first 2 weeks, you can complete your program every day or as many days that your body will allow without too much soreness.
Note: For those who progress faster than others, add an extra 30 seconds
to your calculated Goal Jog Time (G) if you find that it becomes too
easy before your two weeks are up. Keep your walk interval the same.
This approach is my personal progressive mathematical approach for all who wish to become a runner or increase your current running level. Unlike other programs, it is strictly based on your personal capability. I encourage you all to push yourselves and be consistent every 2 weeks until you have reached your goal for either run distance or run time.
Remember to keep plenty of water handy so that you remain hydrated. Always warm up then stretch your muscles before you get started. Now go put on your running shoes and get started!
Try it out and share!
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Quantifying your workout
Hello and welcome to the Fit Lab! In this vlog post, I talk about getting in the habit of quantifying your workouts so that you too can achieve the results that you have been so patiently waiting for. Doing so, will help you see the big picture behind your weight loss in addition to helping you predict where you should be in your progress over time.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Why Trainer J doesn't take medicine
Hello all, so why does Trainer J not take medicine? Before I get into that, I just want to point out that I am in no way telling any of you to stop taking your medication. I am simply stating my opinions about the use of medicine as it relates to your typical illnesses and diseases. I will try to keep it somewhat brief but this is something that I truly believe in based on personal experimentation which makes it hard just to say a few words about the topic.
Let's think for a second. The body is designed to naturally heal itself. When was the last time you had a cut that never healed and just continued to bleed every day? Or had a fractured bone that never fused back together? Or had a cold that just never went away? Chances are never, unless there was another underlying medical condition present. The point I'm trying to make is that most of our bodies are well equipped to take on the daily healthy challenges of life as long as it has all the ammo that it needs to do so. We don't expect our soldiers to go to war without the proper technology, guns, training etc. needed to defend our great country. If we did, I probably wouldn't be writing this blog post inside Barnes and Noble right now.
Think of your body as your great country that is being attacked daily by the enemy of life. It is up to you and you only to provide it with the nutrients, exercise, hydration, and positive emotional support to successfully defend your immune system day in and day out. So when you fail to do so, your body starts to lose the battle against life which develops into illness and sometimes even disease if you continue with that particular lifestyle.
It's very simple, if your body lacks something it will tell you. Lack of water influences headaches and other symptoms while lack of calcium could lead to osteoporosis. Yes these are two different extremes but still avoidable if we live healthier lifestyles. And most of you know this but still continue to live the sedentary lifestyle filled with processed food consumption along with other unhealthy habits. Then you wonder why you're constantly catching colds, the flu, and having headaches every week etc. It's because your body is sending out smoke signals every day for help but you continue to ignore them. You never even give your body a chance to defend itself. Meanwhile, in your opinion, the only thing left to do is go see the doctor just so that he or she can tell you to start eating right while giving you a prescription to temporarily put your symptoms at bay. When the truth of the matter is, if you focus on the root of the problem (poor diet and a unhealthy lifestyle), you could eliminate most if not all of your symptoms all together.
But in general, society is too lazy and would prefer to take medication just to continue down that road of unhealthy living because the medicine is taking up the slack. Almost every disease is reversible with clean eating, positive emotional and nutrient support to help revive the body's immune system so that it can fight off the unwanted bacteria. If anything, take the medication and then change your lifestyle around so that you can gradually ween yourself off the medicine at some point. Yes it's my opinion but I just don't believe that no one should have to take a pill for the rest of their life. Yes some medicine is definitely needed don't get me wrong. Perhaps when the illness has done so much damage to the body, a life filled with medicine may be plausible but in most cases when the damage hasn't been done, I beg to differ. Live healthier, eat cleaner,and become more positive emotionally. All I'm saying is give your body a fighting chance to prove itself in battle. It may just be all the medicine you need!
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Blood Pressure Chart: Are you at risk???
Good afternoon all,
It's a New Year and a lot of you will embark on New Beginnings while some will stick with Old Endings. Nonetheless, I felt the need to point out the importance of knowing your blood pressure before you start any exercise program. As a health and wellness professional, my number one goal is first safety then results. If your trainer does not ask you about your blood pressure before you begin a fitness program, then I suggest you find a new trainer ASAP. Be sure to check the chart yourself so that you can at least be aware of your blood pressure range to ensure your safety.
As we all know, your blood pressure rises during strenuous activity. Because of this, it is very important that you know where your blood pressure stacks up . If your blood pressure is already high (above 140/90), then you need to speak to your doctor to get cleared before starting a workout program. There could be hidden medical conditions that you are not aware of so it's best to let a doctor examine you and hopefully get you on track to lowering your blood pressure to the normal range (at or below 140/90).
On the other side of the spectrum, you don't want your blood pressure to be too low (below 90 over 60) because then your body may not be delivering enough oxygen and nutrients to vital organs such as your brain, heart, or kidneys etc. This can lead to symptoms such as dizzy spells, feeling weak, or even faint. As always, if you experience any of these symptoms, have your medical physician examine you.
Happy New Year!
References:
http://www.medicinenet.com/low_blood_pressure/article.htm
http://www.vaughns-1-pagers.com/medicine/blood-pressure.14.pdf
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