Top 5 Reasons Why We Plateau in Our Training

I have assembled a list of reasons why you may not be seeing results from your training.  Each reader of this article has different lifestyle habits so some of these points may apply more than others.  In no particular order let’s begin with:

1. Variation

Hop on!  Up that intensity - Image taken by yours truly

Don't do the same workout over and over again.  This is a very ineffective way to train the body.  Don’t get me wrong, you’re better off spending some time in the gym then no time at all, but the body adapts very quickly, and exercises that were hard in the beginning quickly become less challenging if they aren’t varied. 

Exercises, repetitions, number of sets, rest periods, speed of movement, equipment used are all variables that can be altered.  I wouldn't spend more then 6 weeks on the same routine.

2. Progression

Don't do the same exercises with the same weight over and over again.  Lifting the same 5-kilogram weight for 2 months will surely become easier, not to mention boring.  If you can lift a 5-kilogram weight 20 times you can lift an 8-kilogram weight 10 times.  This would be a simple weight progression.  Over loading the muscles causes them to adapt and become stronger.  You cannot continue to challenge the same muscle with the same weight for long.

3. Diet/Eating Habits

Avoid fast food and processed foods.  Regardless of your training goals you need to eat a healthy diet.  Some people do well eating a majority of carbohydrates in their diet, some people do better eating a higher proportion of protein.  As you expend more energy your body will automatically crave more calories to meet its needs.  And if you reduce your calories consumed i.e. dieting your body will become more lethargic as a response to conserve those fewer calories. 

If you are not at your goal weight and not seeing any progress then look at the protein/carbohydrate/fat ratios and the foods you are eating and make a change.

4. The Workout Itself

Stop walking on the treadmill.  Everyday when I head into the gym I see a majority of people just cruising away on cardio equipment.  I’m not sure where people got the message that walking or biking at a comfortable place was going to do much for their fitness.  Again, don’t get me wrong, time spent walking and biking is better for you then time spend lounging on the couch and eating.  

If you want to increase your fitness you are going to need to work a lot harder then that.

People workout for months,  often with trainers, and don't track a thing.  There are a host of variables that are easily tracked: weight lifted, performance tests, body measurements, and body weight to mention a few and these show whether or not you are making progress.  I met a lady yesterday who worked with a trainer for 6 months last year to lose weight and she said she never stepped on the scale once with him. ???
The simplest step of all is selecting a goal.  Write down that goal and mention it to other people.  Get yourself accountable for that goal.  My personal goal is to run around Safa Park in 10 minutes and 38 seconds or better this winter.

5. Stress

One of the most important points for us living here in Dubai, stressful lifestyles can hinder our efforts to lose weight, and even promote fat accumulation in the visceral/gut area of our bodies.  When we are faced with long term elevated stress levels our adrenal glands produce more of the hormone cortisol.  Cortisol effects both our fat storage and our appetites.  For a more comprehensive overview check out these two links. HERE and HERE.  Exercise is physical stress on the body, don't pile more stress on yourself if you are already experiencing high stress.  Try some relaxing activities like yoga, meditation, Tai Chi and Chi Gong.

Drop me and email at christrainer@fitness02.com if you have any questions or comments or would like information on starting a fitness routine for yourself.

2 Years 20 Kilos: How I Changed My Life

This is a Guest Post
by Nazli Mahmoud




How I changed My life

As a single or married person you can almost do anything with your life with or without partner, but then when you become a parent or most specific a Mother, you are no longer what you were before, at least for the first few years, from the changes you find in your body and your life style, you are a new person.  Finding a new “You” and accepting all these changes for some is easy for some other is not.

Having two kids for me who had always been an active person was overwhelming, and the most difficult part of it seeing myself as an overweight person, always tired and feeling down most of the time.

After the second delivery I decided to go back to the gym and start seriously put my self back in track, I started with group classes 2, 3 times a week but then I decided to go for a personal trainer and let somebody who knows the job help me. I was not in a rush to lose the weight down so doing exercise started to put me in mood, I could do an hour workout and continue my housework and taking care of the kids, month after month I could see myself losing more weight which was giving me more confidence to go around. The great thing about having a PT was to help me keep the routine and encouraging me not to give up, and to be honest sometimes working out alone in the gym is boring!

2 Years, 20 Kilos

Adding to that I started doing spinning and Yoga, which was balancing my workout routine.  On the nutritional side, I cut on junk food and sodas, eating healthier, but I never dieted. It took me two years to lose 20 Kg and reach my pre-pregnancy weight, the shape that I was proud of myself and became a happier mom again.

Bootcamps

I started doing bootcamp from last year, at the beginning just to try the different mood from indoor exercises and also much tougher in nature. I can say it’s very addictive! After moving this year to Dubai, I got to know Fitness O2, and joined them first with booty bootcamp, which was right for me at the time to get use to the humidity and hot summer in Dubai! Now I am enjoying the Renegade, which is also great. The trainers are energetic, giving you motivation not to quit, and then there are lots of positive energies around, and everybody is doing his/her best to challenge and get fitter. By the end of the session I feel so great and charged that I can run around Safa park one more lap!

I’ve reached to the point that I cannot live without my daily work out. No matter if you are slim or fat exercise should be part of your life, not just for the time being but for a long healthy and happy life.

Picture via LocalFitness.com.au licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license

Grandma's Herbal Home Remedies

My grandmother, who was a certified midwife in the Arab world in the 1930's to 1970's, didn’t believe in treating our colds and tummy aches and other minor illnesses with medical prescription drugs. Instead she used kitchen herbs to help remove the problem. Of course as a kid I didn't really take into her boiling camomile flowers into tea to help me relax and sleep or sooth my aching tummy, or the same with thyme for my coughs, and other herbs such as sage and basil...etc

As I grew older and was in the age of rebelling I shied away from listening to her and sought the opinions of Medial Doctors telling her they know better, well all I can say is I was terribly wrong. The saying the older the wiser was extremely justified in the case of my grandmother who gave birth to so many and healed many more, and prove me wrong of course :). Which got me interested in finding out why she used the specific herbs she did for curing a certain problem and not the other.

1. Camomile

I would like to share with you a few of what I have learned over the years. Let's start with Camomile, which ancient Egyptians believed it to cure acute fevers and dedicated to their Gods. Made into tea is used to relax the nerves and help induce sleep for the insomniacs, as well as stomach nerves in cases of indigestion. In addition it helps relieve from cramps associated with menstrual problems, pains associated with arthritis, and aches and pains from colds.

2. Cinnamon

Cinnamon powder and sticks is commonly used in our arabic dishes to add scent and flavor to our food. Used as tea after boiling the sticks, helps sooth digestion problems such as vomiting and nausea, is used as a folk remedy for colds. It too has a relieving effect in the uterus and has been used to stimulate the appetites of anorexics.

3. Garden Sage

Salvia Officinalis also known as Garden Sage, was used by ancient Egyptians as a fertility drug. As tea or infusion is used for throat infections that's how my grandmother used it, also boosts liver function, aids with female sterility and menopausal problems, and is used for anxiety and depression.

4. Thyme

Last of my choice for today is Thyme, the name traced to Thymus the Greek name for “courage”. Very tasty with white cheese or grilled chicken, is used for bronchial problems, laryngitis and diarrhea. Due to its antiseptic properties can also be used as a mouthwash, skin cleanser, anti-fungal for athlete's foot. In paste form can be used for skin inflammations and sores.

These are just four, out of a long list of herbs and plants you can find in your kitchen that can help cure a common cold, headaches, fatigue and many many more. Such as Basil, sugar beet, licorice, ginseng or even garlic. Your turn: please share with me your "grandma's recipe" in the comments below, I'd love to know more about them.

picture via Kurt Stüber [1] under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

How to Prepare for Your First 5Km Run

By Gio JL
(Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Genericlicense)

Being an avid runner since being a kid, I thought that my first blog post with Fitness O2 would be about running, and specifically about preparing for the many 5 km run events here in Dubai.

5 km a perfect distance to start with as a beginner, there no age limit and no experience required, its BASIC RUNNING.

And for those of you who fear it, well … running is not complicated. Start very easy, enjoy it, and then you can set a GOAL (see our head trainer, Zena’s post on setting S.M.A.R.T. goals for yourself).  You will improve with very little equipment.  All you need is a good pair of running shoes with good absorption to support your body weight over the distance you need to train.  The right shoes help to avoid injury from the beginning (but remember there was an Olympic Champion who ran bare foot; Zola Budd, nothing is impossible, you can check her out on Wikipedia here) a singlet and shorts, and in case you live in a hot country like the UAE you will need a cap and sunglasses. A full medical check up is highly recommended to find out how healthy you are, and if you want to check your body and all the muscles, find a test center where you can go for the “INBODY MACHINE TEST“ which will define all the weak muscles and parts of the body that you will have to re-enforce.

You should start with a good guide, a coach, a group of friends, or a running club, and running clubs abound here, I am part of one here, join them for their easy weekend run and start with the beginners.  Do only what your body can do, feel the pace and breath all along the run.  Take it as a fun time and remember the time it took to run the distance so you can track your improvement.

To improve the time you will need one to two extra sessions weekly, plus the one with the group, that makes 3 sessions per week of running all together. 

You can run in a gym on a treadmill, but you should first test how quick you can run on the treadmill.  To do this hold 30 seconds at the quickest pace possible and then your regular 5km pace will be half of your quick pace.  At the beach you can run bare foot where the sea and the sand meet each other, that’s the area where the sand is smooth.  

In a park, the best place will be on the grass surface and bare foot (Running bare foot on grass increases your speed!).  You need to warm up with 15 minutes easy jogging to get all the muscles ready to workout then you can do 30 seconds quick and 30 seconds very slow for 3 minutes (30 second quick, 30 second slow x 6.)  Recover by drinking water and walking a little for 3 minutes, then work through two more sets of the same thing.  This means you will warm up for 15 minutes and do 18 minutes of interval training.  For recovery you can cool down with 20 minutes easy jogging + then stretch all the muscles that you have pushed in the workout.

You can sit down and try to touch your feet or your toes.  Take your time and stretch all your muscles properly because 10 to 15% of performance of a runner comes from proper stretching and recovery.

There are so many other topic examples pertaining to running e.g.:

• Food & Drink (when and how much to eat or drink)
• Sleep (how many hours per night)
• Massage & Recovery  (How often should I have a massage?) 
• Why these shoes and not those ones? (Do you know about Arch Analyzer, Flat, Medium or High) 
• Which day or times are best to train

Which topic would you like to see covered in my next post? If you have any more questions on any other points that I haven’t gone through in this post, please do not hesitate to leave a comment below.  I will be more than happy to answer.

Is Bootcamp the Right Program for Me?

...this is a common question I get from people who send us inquiries through Fitness O2's website or call us.

Here in Dubai, bootcamps are a very popular form of exercise. You go to each and every park, beach side and there you’ll see and hear a trainer shouting “Come on, 10 more push-ups! Move it, move it!.”

Some people prefer to work-out in a gym, some prefer to be in a group. Some want to train indoors, in a private place and some want to train outdoors.

But if you are open to the following, then bootcamp might be the right program for you:

1. You Prefer to Work Out in a Group: You are a Social Being 

In bootcamps, you interact with new people. You partner up for suicide push-ups and basically create new friendships amongst fellow boot campers. Suddenly, you have new friends and camaraderie is formed. You have each other’s back and you feel nice that you’re not alone feeling the burn.

2. You Like the Outdoors and Get Bored at the Gym

Sometimes, being in the gym and having the same routine bores the hell out of us. So we want to catch some ray of sunshine and a breath of fresh air, (Note: during summer months, most bootcamps are held indoors because of the extreme heat) and you like the thought of exercising outdoors.

3. You Need Help or Support to Kickstart Your Health Routine

If you are the type of person who needs to a person to guide you through each and every plank, squats, dips and to encourage you all the way and to ensure that you have proper form to prevent injury.

4. You Want to Drop Excess Weight and are on a Deadline 

You are getting married in a couple of months or you want to look stunning for your vacation to Hawaii (take me with you, be happy to tag along :)). Propelling your physical activity from zilch to boot camping 3x a week—combined with sensible eating, YOU WILL GET RESULTS.

5. You Need a Structured Schedule to Motivate You 

If running on your own or a plan to hit the gym doesn’t inspire you enough, then the boot camp’s recurring schedule is just what you need. On top of that, the guilt will get you going, as you have spent money and your fellow bootcampers will ask you where you've been if you missed a session.

The next question is: WHAT IF I’M NOT FIT ENOUGH WITH THE REST OF THE GROUP?

Bootcamps are designed for all fitness levels. Everyone can take part and have fun together. However, if you are new to boot camping, you haven’t had any form of exercise in a long time and just starting in your fitness level, then I recommend you join the Beginner’s Bootcamp.

Beginners will start with easier workouts and progress slowly. At Fitness O2, there are no drill instructors and they will not punish you or try to make you sore just for our own egos. Your results, safety and satisfaction are what matters to us.

But if you are already fit, wants fast-paced workout and are accustomed to high intensity exercises, then you can go ahead with our Standard "Renegade" Bootcamp. 


For any comments, suggestions or if you have any ideas in mind; please feel free to leave a comment below.

Photo Credit: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Stephanie Tigner, since this is a work of the US Federal Government, this picture is a public domain.

7 Tips To Kick-Start Your Workout!

Photo by U.S. Air Force Photo/Staff Sgt Araceli Alarcon, in the public domain

Did you know that exercise is one of the best ways to loose weight and get healthier? Muscles burn calories more than fat and you build muscles while exercising, the more muscles you have the more fat you will burn!

And did you know that your body releases Endorphins into the body when you exercise? That makes you feel great!

As you are getting ready to kick start your workout routine? Wait! Before you start! Did you set your goals? Have you planned your workout? Where will you train? At home or at the gym? Cardiovascular workout or resistance training?

Read the 7 tips below to get you more than ready to start!

1. Set S.M.A.R.T. fitness goals, and make sure you discuss them with your Personal Trainer, if you are planning to work with one

-Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timed.  Goals are extremely important, repeated time and again by top trainers worldwide, think of your workout as a business plan, like you set goals and targets for your business, so should you set goals and targets for your fitness level.

2. Find the time to exercise, lunch breaks, early mornings or get a treadmill for home

3. Find a training buddy. Get a friend of yours to train with you, this will motivate you both to reach your goals and push each other in case one of you gets lazy,

4. Warm up, warm up, warm up! It keeps injuries away and gets your body ready for exercise, 7 to 10 minutes of light intensity, walking with high knees, slow shuffles (walking side ways), slow jumping jacks or walking with leg curls would be a great warm up, of course it depends on your level of fitness and the weather. For warmer weather, you might need less time to warm up.

5. Plan your training schedule according to your availability and your goals. Hang a training calendar on your fridge, tick each day once you have finished it, and make sure you see that whenever you open your fridge!

6. Time management, spend less time at the gym, have a plan, focus on your training not socializing, add cardio exercises between the resistance sets and use circuit training.

7. Remember that healthy diet plays a big role, diet and exercise complete each other and both together get you closer to your dream weight.

So where are you starting? " it is health that is real wealth not pieces of gold and sliver" Gandhi.  And remember, all it takes is to start, here is a motivational quotes video we compiled earlier that may help you start! 

Your turn: please share with me your ideas on motivation, how do YOU motivate yourself?

The Dubai Jogger: A Tested Training Guide

Let's Review 

In the last blog post on running in Dubai found here: Running in Safa Park I suggested a few tips on how to setup a training program for a 5km or 10km running event. I also said that now (September) is the best time to begin running because the weather is beginning to cool off and the running season here in Dubai is about to begin. In the links shared below you can find the running fixtures calendar and sign up website and a useful summary of the running clubs here in Dubai and what they can offer. Please check those out.

I have chosen to discuss running not only because I am a runner myself, but because
it is one of the most effective ways to get in shape, and the most accessible sport activity requiring almost no investment financially or of time.

The Training Week

Let’s look at two different training weeks, the first one for a 5km runner with a goal of 30 minutes and secondly for a 10km runner with a goal of 1 hour 10 minutes. These are achievable times for beginners with a bit of training under their belt.

Remember from the last post I said 1 training day each week is run at race pace, 1 day is faster and 1 day is slower. You can measure your pace on a treadmill, at Safa park with the markers or with a specialized wrist watch.

Example 1: 5km runner with a goal of 30 minutes = 6 minutes/km pace
Day 1 – 5 x 400m intervals 2 minutes each = 5 minute/km pace 3-5 minutes rest between each interval
Day 2 – 30 minute run easy pace i.e. a pace that you can keep up a conversation.
Day 3 – 3 x 7 minute runs at 6 minute/km pace 5 minutes walking rest between intervals.

Example 2: 10km runner with a goal of 1 hour 10 minutes – 7 min/km pace. For the fourth workout work on your weakest link either speed or endurance.
Day 1 – 4 x 800m 4:50 each = 6 minutes/km pace 3-5 minutes rest
Day 2 – 45 minutes long run at an easy pace. (a pace which you can keep up a conversation)
Day 3 – 4 x 10 minutes at race pace 7 minutes/km 5 minutes walking rest between intervals.
Day 4 - long run or speed session

Slowly build up the running distance and pace each week. You may have to start with walk/run training before you can run non stop for even 10 minutes.

Need Some Motivation?

If you are looking for motivation find a running partner or group, join an exercise class, or find a trainer. Also, the season premier of the TV show "The Biggest Loser" is September 20th, that's where I find my motivation.

Links
 
http://www.premiermarathons.com/ - Calendar and signup for running fixtures in the UAE
http://www.dubai-road-runners.com/weeklynews.html - a great summary of running clubs in Dubai posted by Graham Rafferty of the Dubai Road Runners

The contributor of this photo is Daivd Hawgood. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Link to photo: http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/313070

Stay Gorgeous While Sweating During A Workout!

“Thank you for calling Fitness O2, Cynthia speaking...”—Yes, I am the voice behind the cheerful greeting when you call Fitness O2. But I am not just your friendly office manager; I am also a freelance make-up artist. I’d like to share my knowledge to all the ladies out there who’d like to stay gorgeous even while working out.

Remember circa 1980’s when wearing a make-up during exercise is a big NO-NO?! Well, not anymore. Although some would still prefer it’s still safer to go “bare faced” when you workout, here are some helpful tips to adopt the right routine to looking gorgeous while working out:

We don’t want to look like all cakey and powdery, don’t we?  Laura Mercier Mineral Make-up is a must-have. From experience, it’s perfect in evening out skin tone especially when you get blotchy during exercise. It’s oil free, non-comedogenic and is water-resistant. So you don’t have to worry because it won’t clog your pores. (available in DebenhamsMall of the Emirates)

Make sure that your mascara is water-proof. I recommend Urban Decay Cannon Ball Water-Proof Mascara. It volumizes, lengthens and separate your lashes without smudging and it’s absolutely water-proof so you don’t get runny mascara while sweating! I’ve tried and tested this under the Dubai heat, so go try it out as well. (available in Urban Decay@ Sephora, Mall of the Emirates)

Go easy on your cheeks. Use a lip & cheek stain instead for a natural “blush”. I highly recommend BenefitTM Benetint, rose-tinted cheek & lip stain. It’s water-proof and it gives you a natural rosy pink shade. It looks so natural, people will even tell you how blooming you are with those sweet rosy cheeks!  (available in Benefit@ Sephora, Dubai Mall).

Last and most importantly, after working out, ensure that you give your face a good cleansing. Rinse with cold water to constrict the dilated capillaries that have expanded during exercise. And as always, rehydrate with plenty of water to keep your skin looking at its best!  Do you have any ideas of your own about this post, please share them with me in the comments.

Picture via Esra.

Motivational Quotes from Famous Athletes

After our post on Michael Jordan's quote, we thought of putting together a nice video of other famous athletes' quotes (Jim Courier, Jesse James, Carl Lewis, and others), some are motivational, some touch our deepest sense of humanity, all awe inspiring, enjoy the video below and please share it if you like it:

Credits: the pictures and soundtrack are all licensed, special thanks to Alex Beroza for the nice soundtrack, released under the Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license.  The rest of the credits for the pictures can be found here.

What We Can Learn from Michael Jordan

I was just surfing a few websites when I stumbled on a quote by the famous ex-NBA player, Michael Jordan.  An athlete whose world reputation reached unimaginable levels at one point of time, voted Most Valuable Player of the NBA many times, took best defensive player award once, won the dunk championship around 1986... in simple terms, a WINNER as you and I can best imagine probably.

The quote is this:

I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life... 

"And... is that it?" you will ask.  No that's not it, but reading the above part is almost discouraging, until you read how MJ concluded his quote:

... And that is why I succeed!

I thought this was such a powerful statement coming from a person who we thought is infallible, yet his statement kind of humanizes him a bit in the eyes of people like us, and makes us realize that the difference between mediocrity and greatness has a lot to do with attitude and how you see failure.  As a gentleman called Johnny once said "Keep Walking"... I say: "Start Walking", and decide to get healthier, fitter, get fitter for your wife, for your husband, for your kids, for your colleagues, your team mates... get healthier for you!

Here is the quote in its entirety for you to read one more time:

I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life.  And that is why I succeed!

Please share your motivation story with us in the comments below, we'd love to hear them.

Picture via  Steve Lipofsky under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unportedlicense.

How to Overcome Boredom in Fitness

For many people, boredom and lack of motivation is the biggest challenge to start their fitness journey, if you hope to make lasting changes to your physique and fitness level, one thing that you must be doing is looking at the many ways you can combat boredom. Many people have a high level of excitement when they first begin their workout program, but a few weeks later this excitement starts to wear thin.

If you aren’t taking steps to overcome boredom in your routine, you may just find yourself falling off the bandwagon before you know it. Let’s give you a few good ideas to get started.

1. Social Group Exercise Classes

The first great idea to get past workout boredom is to consider one of the group classes that are now available. Whether it’s a bootcamp, kickboxing, yoga, or pilates, there are a number of different ways to get in shape while being social at the same time.
This adds a whole new element of interest into your workout program and will definitely help you enjoy the activity more.

2. Book A Session With A Trainer

Another quick way to beat boredom is to book a session with a personal trainer. If you’re doing the same workout over and over again, it only makes sense that you’re likely to become bored. A trainer can help you change up your routine so you not only prevent a progress plateau, but maintain excitement to do each workout you have scheduled.

3. Set Daily Workout Goals

One key mistake some people make is never setting daily workout goals.  Sure, you have your long-term goal that you’re working toward, but to give each workout more meaning, set a daily workout goal as well. Perhaps you want to complete 20 push-ups in a row or you want to run a mile in under 10 minutes – whatever the goal, set it before you step foot in the gym. This is a great way to stay motivated and improve your progress at the same time.

4. Understand When Rest Is In Order

Finally, last but not least, recognize the difference between boredom and fatigue. In some cases, you may not want to hit the gym because your body just needs rest, so learn to recognize this. Remember to have at least one day off each week so that you always feel refreshed going into each session. So don’t let boredom beat you any longer – do you have any other tips? please share them with us in the comments!

The Mental Side of Training: A Trainer's View

I am writing this blog post to motivate as much as I am to educate. I consider motivating people to be my primary responsibility as a personal trainer. A trainer teaches people how to exercise properly, helps people to recover, work around and prevent injuries and gives the client a reason to be at the gym at 6:30am Mondays and Wednesdays, or whatever time. A really good trainer though is able to build up internal motivation in a client, which enables the client to make other positive lifestyle changes on there own, workout on their own time, eat smarter etc... Not by choosing appropriate exercises or conducting workouts, but by changing the person’s mindset and mentally pushing them to take more control of their life.

Positive Thinking

“When you think you can or you think you can’t, that’s when your right.”

I heard this quote about 10 years ago and I still like the message. If you think you can’t walk up 15 flights of stairs everyday rather then taking the elevator because you think it’s too much effort, or your not fit enough, then chances are your not going to try. If on the other hand you set a reasonably attainable goal and set your mind to it, then think positively towards achieving that goal you are much more likely at least to give it a try. Goal setting is very important, but to reach that goal takes hard work, a lot of positive thinking and a strong mindset along the way. And that is what a personal trainer can help you with.

During the Workout

As a trainer my job is motivating people. Everyday I conduct workouts and have clients look at me like “I can’t possible finish this exercise” and usually all it takes from me is a “come on, you can do it, get moving” and the person completes the exercise just fine. It just took one simple sentence from my mouth to push a person to complete a task just moments ago they were ready to give up on.

I’m happy to do that, I like my job and it’s how I make a living. The goal, however, is for that little bit of external motivation from me to be transferred into internal motivation coming from inside the exerciser. So next time, instead of negative thoughts stopping you from completing the task, your positive mindset automatically kicks in and gives you the motivation to finish the set.

In the future when I’m not there, that positive thought will come form inside you (not from me) and spur you on. As this motivation grows trainer and client can push the workouts to new levels and see more results.

That’s one of the big differences between people who workout and people who don’t, people who achieve and people who don’t. It’s not easy by any means.

The Message - An Oldie but a Goodie

Positive thoughts good, negative thoughts bad. This is what a good trainer brings to the table. Get in touch with me though email or leave me a comment or a question below christrainer@fitness02.com

Original picture was taken by Wade M, Username: Wadem licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.


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