The inspiration for this post came from a discussion I had yesterday with an acquaintance about the gym. Basically it shows how important it is to know what exactly you are doing in the gym rather than just doing a specific routine as that is what you have seen others do or think that is what you need to do.
One of the most important things anyone serious about exercising needs to do is write a journal! Whether you only write a few lines or a whole essay writing a workout journal is quite possibly one of the best things you can do.
Goal setting is a highly important aspect of personal training and fitness in general. Without having set goals your training can become aimless and progress can stagnate. Having goals works hand in hand with the principle of specificity, which states that we get better at what we train for.
Ultimately, only you know what you want to achieve. If you go to a personal trainer, it is not the business of personal trainer's to dictate your goals. Rather the aim for a personal trainer is to help you achieve what you want.
Following on from the why's and the benefits of balance training detailed in my post Balance your way to fitness, it is important to focus on how to implement balance training into your routine.
A seriously overlooked aspect of health and fitness is balance. We all know about needing to improve our cardiovascular health, our strength, as well our flexibility, especially for when we get older, but balance is just as important.
A fundamental element of exercise is the amount of time you keep your muscle under tension during each repetition. It can have a dramatic effect on what adaptations you seek to achieve. In this post I aim to help show you how to manipulate this acute variable to your advantage.
A common misunderstanding in the fitness world is the terms bodyweight and calisthenics. Some personal trainer's even advertise themselves as specialising in both. If you come across such a trainer I'd suggest finding another one who knows what they are talking about and has experience of the terms they use so carelessly.