Working out as a student

Being a full time student and full time worker, makes it very hard to find free time.  A routine forms from going to school to work, or vise versa.  That’s how my life has been since I was a sophomore in high school.  I would go from school to work, and repeat. Working out was one thing I was able to squeeze into my workout.  Back then it would be in the middle of my day right after school, right before work. Now It has turned into a early morning work out at 6am.

Sacrifices have to be made in order to be able to do the things you want. In my case I sacrifice one hour of sleep in order to get my work out.  Which is well worth, because right after my work out I feel ready for the day. If I don’t work out I even feel more tired. There has been studies that working out before a test, will boost your test scores.

Waking up and finding time for an hour work out got harder and harder, as I got into the upper level management class. I knew time management was one of my weakness, and if I wanted to work out then I needed to work on it.  Which I did, now I have been able to manage my clients, school and an hour and half work out every day. Ontop of that I have been able to get 6-8 hours of sleep daily.

Here is a great post by Michael Morelli on how important sleep is.  How sleep affects your fat loss. 

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You don’t need a specific day to start working out, you just need to start. Now go out there and get your FIT on.  If you have read my previous post go do it! Warming up and stretching Please feel free to share and comment, but please be respectful as I will be to you.  You can also follow me at @jmartinez1017

Your friendly neighborhood trainer

Warming up and Stretching

A lot of people neglect two things when exercising, that’s warming up and stretching.  People don’t realize the importance of doing either. Those two important things will change your ability to exercise entirely.  It will also, minimize your risk of injury while performing these exercises.

When you warm before exercising it will lower your risk of injury, because all of your muscles are not warm in order to perform your exercise at its full potential.  By warming up you are sending a message to your body to prepare for the exercises about to come.  By doing jumping jacks or running before you lift weights will help get your blood flowing and your heart rate up.  The amount you of warm you need to perform to your full potential, will be determined based on the intensity or the physical demand of your work out.  On my next post, I will blog a detailed warm up for four different lifting days.

Stretch, stretch, stretch.   Stretching is important before and after training.  Stretching after warming up helps to prepare your muscles as well for the exercises. You should be stretching the muscles group you plan on exercising that day.  During the exercises your muscles contract, and by stretching you are getting your muscles back to the normal length. If you consistently stretch and work on your flexibility, you will be able to perform your exercises more efficiently.

I suggest doing yoga one or twice a week. Here is a blog from Mind Body Green, called Why Meditation can be more powerful when done is a group.  This could be very helpful to those who neglect stretching, but if your held accountable then maybe that could change.

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You don’t need a specific day to start working out, you just need to start. Now go out there and get your FIT on.  If you have read my previous post go do it! Keep it professional. Please feel free to share and comment, but please be respectful as I will be to you.  You can also follow me at @jmartinez1017

Your friendly neighborhood trainer

Keep it professional

In my last post I talked about Personal trainers building a relationship with their clients.  It is very important because personal training is very personal, and takes  a lot of courage to for someone to hire a trainer. I know this may come as common sense to a lot of people, but keeping a good relationship while being PROFESSIONAL is often an issue.

Personal Training is very personal like I’ve said before, and sometimes it can build a relationship that is not professional anymore.  I have had clients cancel their sessions with me because their significant other is uncomfortable with them training with a male.  As a trainer, your job is to help them attain their goals, through exercise. Boosting their self esteem with compliments comes along with it.  Everyone loves compliments, when you’re consistently becoming complimented, people can gain feelings of attraction for you.  They enjoy the attention. That is why is very important to be careful with what you say. You don’t want to put yourself in an uncomfortable situation.

If you don’t keep it professional, you may end up making them feel uncomfortable, having an affair, or the relationship ends badly.  If the word spreads that you are doing those things, it will ruin your career.  No one will be able to trust you, and that is why you need to keep it professional!

On a positive note, here is an article by Michael Morelli on hiring a coach to help with your fat loss goals.  Its called “Could a coach be the key to reaching your fat loss goals”

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You don’t need a specific day to start working out, you just need to start. Now go out there and get your FIT on.  If you have read my previous post go do it! PERSONAL training Please feel free to share and comment, but please be respectful as I will be to you.  You can also follow me at @jmartinez1017

Your friendly neighborhood trainer

PERSONAL Training

If you decide to hire a personal trainer, make sure he or she is a great one! You don’t want to chose a personal trainer solely based on appearance. Sometimes even credentials aren’t even enough. You want to chose someone that is healthy internally and externally.  If someone can’t take care of themselves, what makes you think they can take care of you.  Make sure they are NATIONALLY certified, and they design work out plans catered to you.

Trainers who struggle with success, are  usually lacking the understanding of the personal part of training.  You need to be able to connect with your clients, make them feel like they can trust you. There is a lot of risk when it comes to exercising, and you want them to feel safe while being trained. Personal Training is personal, you are spending a full hour, 1-5 days a week with them. You need to build that trust with them in order to have a successful relationship.

Building a strong relationship with your clients will only help your business grow.  They will want to spread the word about their awesome trainer, and that is how you get new clients. Not only that but its a great way to network. Spending time with these clients you get to know what they do and who they are.  Maybe you get a client who owns a huge business, that may want to make an investment in you opening your own gym.

Here is a great post about building relationships through validation. Its by Michael Morelli and its called 10X you relationships through validation

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You don’t need a specific day to start working out, you just need to start. Now go out there and get your FIT on.  If you have read my previous post go do it! Shock your body Please feel free to share and comment, but please be respectful as I will be to you.  You can also follow me at @jmartinez1017

 

Shock your body!

I told you last post that I would go into further detail about shocking your body. Here I am. Shocking your body is very important when you want to reach your goals.  Your body starts to learn how to maintain enough energy in order to sustain a work out. You need to constantly change your routine up every 4-6 weeks in order prevent your body from plateauing.

I like to use Zumba as an example. Many people who join Zumba, get great results at first. They notice weight loss while having a blast doing it.  After 2-3 months their body stops changing, because they are doing the same thing. Your body stores the right out of energy or calories for you to sustain these work outs, as before you body had no idea what was going on. In order to change that you need to add aerobic exercises, like strength training.

Strength training and doing Zumba would be a great way to shock your body.  Switching off your work out days between anaerobic and aerobic exercises will shock your body. Your body will begin changing again, because of the shock and the muscle you begin to gain. The more muscle  you have, the less fat you can store.

Here is a great blog that pertains to mine. It talks about the 5 things that could be standing in the way of your fitness goals

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You don’t need a specific day to start working out, you just need to start. Now go out there and get your FIT on.  If you have read my previous post go do it! 2 is better than 1 Please feel free to share and comment, but please be respectful as I will be to you.  You can also follow me at @jmartinez1017

2 is better than 1

If you can afford a personal trainer, get one. We are professionals at coaching people how to exercise properly. People can come to us for accountability and consistency.  When you know that you have someone waiting for you at the gym, it provides an urgency to need to be there.  Until you can count on yourself to get to the gym, then hire a trainer until you can.

I know the cost of a personal trainer can get very expensive, but there is another option.  If you seek accountability choose a friend that will be willing to work out with you, and hold each other accountable. Push each other to go consistently and feed off one another’s dedication.  The reason why consistency is so important is because that is how you gain results.

Results come from doing both anaerobic and aerobic exercises.  The idea is to shock your body by training it to handle the exercises you are doing.  That is why after the first week and second week, exercising becomes easier.  Your body starts learning, and that is also the same reason why you need to change your routine every 4-6 weeks.  Your body starts to get used to and then its time to shock again. I ll go further into detail on my next post, so stick around!

Anna Victoria blogs about how spot reduction is a myth, and she goes into detail on how to lose unwanted fat through a balance between anaerobic exercise and aerobic exercise. Also known as cardiovascular exercising and strength training.  Read, Read, Read. Spot reduction and losing unwanted body fat. 

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You don’t need a specific day to start working out, you just need to start. Now go out there and get your FIT on.  If you have read my previous post go do it! How often should I work out: Please feel free to share and comment, but please be respectful as I will be to you.  You can also follow me at @jmartinez1017

Your friendly neighborhood Trainer

How often should I work out?

How often should I work out?  As a trainer that is common question that I am asked, and I always tell them every one is different.  It’ll depend on your current fitness level, experience, and dedication.  Part of your fitness journey is discovering your bodies capabilities, and knowing when to push yourself out of the comfort zone.

Figuring out how many days you need to work out is simple.  Start off with X amount of days you think is attainable.  For example 3 days a week, is a great starting point for all fitness levels. Start there and then decide whether your body could handle adding another day.  Then continue that process until you have discovered what works for you.  The common mistake people make when they get back into the gym is choosing X amount of days to work out that is unattainable at the moment. They underestimate exercising, and after a couple 4 days straight they are hurting so bad that they decide to fall off.  Small goals lead to big goals!

IF you are  experienced in the gym and still want to know how often you should exercise, you need to figure out what your goals are and style of training.  If you plan on coming in 4-5 times  a week, I think you could isolate muscle groups. Meaning each day you will focus on one muscle group and then change it the next day. Another option is working out 3-4 times a week, while doing full body exercises.  Hitting multiple muscle groups in one day.

Kayla Itsines talks about whether or not you should train sore muscles. This is a great tip, no matter what your fitness level is. Here is the blog. Should I train with sore muscles

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You don’t need a specific day to start working out, you just need to start. Now go out there and get your FIT on.  If you have read my previous post go do it! CrossFit: Please feel free to share and comment, but please be respectful as I will be to you.  You can also follow me at @jmartinez1017

Your friendly neighborhood Trainer

CrossFIT

CrossFit is the new trending style of exercising, that consists of a lot powerful movements.  Like I have said in previous posts, I believe that any type of exercising is great as long as your doing something to better your physical health. As long as your exercising with great form, than do whatever is best for you.

Here is my opinion on Crossfit.  I think it is a great way to get in shape, its fun, intense, and very demanding of your body. Those Crossfit athletes on TV are amazing. They are in great shape and doing movements that require a lot of strength and great form.  On the other hand, I think regular Joes like you and me or at higher risk if we do CrossFit.  CrossFit concentrates heavily on high reps. When people focus on that instead of their form, that is when an injury occur.  Even those people very experienced are at a high risk, one bad move and you can severely injure yourself.  I’m not saying EVERYONE will lose form during a high rep exercise, but a lot will and a lot do.  I

CrossFIT is still very new to a lot of people, I am curious to see what the long term affects are on someones body in 10 years. It is that new. I believe if you have the right trainer, you have the capability of safely performing Crossfit. Here is an article on experience required for Crossfit Trainers.  Experience Required 

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You don’t need a specific day to start working out, you just need to start. Now go out there and get your FIT on.  If you have read my previous post go do it! Quality over Quantity Please feel free to share and comment, but please be respectful as I will be to you.  You can also follow me at @jmartinez1017

Quality over quantity

I am a firm believer of quality over quantity, in almost every situation in life. Especially fitness. While you are exercising the number one thing you should be focusing on is form. You will receive all the benefits by doing the exercising properly, and will reduce the risk of injury.  It will benefit you in the long run, if you start with proper form right from the beginning.

Its best to start with proper form in the beginning because habits are hard to break.  The moment you teach your body and mind to perform a certain exercise, it will stay that way unless you take the time to change it. Many people get injured from working out and then it sometimes scares people away for good. That kind of result will be very hard on your body and mind, and it will be difficult to start back up again.

If you do reach that point, I HIGHLY recommend getting a trainer. They will boost your morale and get you back in shape.  The key is to not reach that point, get started with exercises that  you can do and feel confident about doing. The internet today is very convenient in regards to literally anything.  If you google or youtube specific exercises and routines, there will hundreds if not thousands of links to help guide you.

Here is a blog by  Body Rock, that is called Maximize Every Work Out with these tips I highly recommend checking it out, there is a lot of good tips.

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You don’t need a specific day to start working out, you just need to start. Now go out there and get your FIT on.  If you have read my previous post go do it! “People who say they can and people who say they can’t are both usually right”  Please feel free to share and comment, but please be respectful as I will be to you.  You can also follow me at @jmartinez1017

“People who say they can and people who say they can’t are both usually right”

Through my fitness career I have trained many people with different body shapes and fitness levels. In my eyes I see every client the same way. I see all my clients as people who want to better themselves physically and mentally.  The one difference I do see between my clients are the ones who say the can and the ones who say they can’t.

The people who say they can are the ones who try at any challenge given to them. The ones who say they can’t are the ones who don’t try at all.  If you don’t try you’ll never know your full capability.  Trying is the difference between those who succeed and those who don’t. For all of you reading this, if you are scared to try don’t be. Be scared of not trying, instead of the opposite.

My client, Trish Lods has been working with me for two years and continues to surprise me every work out. I have to constantly come up with new work outs because everything she tries, she excels at.  She excels, because she tries and that is what has helped her reach her goals. That is the key, and if she can’t do something well right away, she just keeps trying. That kind of mentally is whats going to make you a winner.

Emma Fierber and Alana Kakoyiannis did an interview on CEO of Spanx, Sara Blakely.  Sara Blakely discusses how she was raised to to talk about failure at the dinner table, and how it taught her to try new things.  The article is called, “Learning to celebrate failure at a young age led to this billinaire’s success”. 

Now, Go out there and get your FIT on. Please feel free to share and comment your opinions and suggestions, please be respectful as I will be to you. Here is my third post if you missed it! Mistakes, everybody makes them. 

Your Friendly Neighborhood Trainer