The Best Way to Get Your Best Body

You shell out money for a gym membership, but pushing weight by yourself may not be the best way to pack on muscle and shed that winter belly. New research from the University of California, Los Angeles, found that exercising with a personal trainer can increase your strength, cardiovascular fitness, and lean body mass more effectively than flying solo at a health club.

For the study, 34 healthy men at the same Equinox gym exercised at least three days a week for 12 weeks. Half of the men worked out alone, following their own program, and the other half worked out with a personal trainer. At the end of the 12 weeks, men working with a trainer chest pressed 42 percent more weight and leg pressed 35 percent more than they had at the beginning. The self-trained guys increased their chest press 19 percent and their leg press 23 percent. 

Also, when asked to run on a treadmill until exhaustion, men in the personal trainer group saw their cardiovascular performance improve by 7 percent from the study's start. The solo group saw no gain. The personal trainers also helped their patrons increase lean body mass—which helps you look toned and strong—by 2.8 pounds, while the solo group stayed stagnant.

It wasn’t that the self-trained guys spent their time at the snack bar. They actually worked out 22 minutes more each week than the trainer-assisted guys. So why didn’t their workouts pay off as much? When you’re observed by a professional, it makes you work harder and smarter, says study author Thomas Storer, Ph.D. Plus, a trainer will pick up on small—but important—cues as you exercise and tailor workout routines to fit your needs. They can help you break through plateaus, stay injury-free, and challenge your muscles in new ways, says Storer.

While hiring a personal trainer can increase your gains, not just any trainer will do. You need to pick an effective trainer—otherwise you’ll waste your time and money for an injury.

Get fit faster. Hire a personal trainer.

A groundbreaking new study from UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine reveals that personal trainers can have a dramatic impact on fitness levels. Here’s how self-directed exercisers compared to those coached by personal trainers:

•  Increased their lean body mass by 3.3 pounds, while self-trained group saw no change.
•  Increased muscle strength by 42% vs. 19% in self-trained group.
•  Increased muscle power by 10% vs. 0.1% in self-trained group.
• Increased VO2 Max by 6% vs. a 3% decrease in self-trained group.

I have two jobs: freelance writer specializing in health and Pilates instructor. Pilates is taught on the mat in group classes and as a private, personal training

experience.  If you want to get the greatest return on your investment in time.  Do it one-on-one. If you want to avoid injuries, get inspired, and realize more of your own potential – hire an fitness expert to help you. Of course, you want someone that’s well qualified because sadly, a personal training and Pilates certification can be earned in a weekend. So look beyond certification acronyms. True pros earn the equivalent of a master’s degree and continue to earn education credits to maintain their credentials.

They should have some people skills as well as educational background. Don’t be shy, ask about their experience and their background. They too, should ask you some key questions.  To learn more about what to look for, what to ask, and what they should ask you click here

Anyone can bark out orders. I recently read about someone who felt ill, stupid and embarrassed after a session. Um, just no.  A professional will design a program that fits your needs, challenges you and also inspires you to believe in yourself.

When I first started in the fitness business more than 10 years ago, someone said to me, “personal trainers are just babysitters for people who don’t know how to work out.”

Oh yeah?  Tell that to professional athletes and Olympic champions who rely on their trainers for inspiration, motivation, and fitness know-how. And now those who have invested their hard earned cash into personal trainers can rest assured – with well qualified trainers – you will see better results.

Ways To Incorporate Activity Into Schools

• Promote collaboration between physical education and classroom teachers. For example, physical education teachers might provide ideas for "fitness breaks" to classroom teachers, where 5-minute aerobic activities could be used to break up the school day. 
   
• Provide extracurricular physical activity programs. Interested teachers and parents might be encouraged to establish developmentally appropriate clubs and/or intramural activities of a competitive and noncompetitive nature. Walking clubs, in-line skating, jumping rope, water aerobics, and intramural swim teams provide a few examples. 
   
• Coordinate physical activities with community agencies. Schools might allow use of school facilities by community agencies that sponsor physical activity programs, facilitate training programs for volunteer youth coaches, invite community groups to an "activity fair" for students in the school gymnasium, or provide a listing of community physical activity resources to students. 
   
• Encourage and enable parental involvement in physical activity. Parental activity level is very important in promoting activity among children. Schools can help encourage activity in parents by sending home activity homework that parents and children do together, recruiting parent volunteers for physical education classes, and sponsoring parent-child activity programs at school. 
   
• Provide physical and social environments that encourage and enable physical activity. For example, schools might allow access to facilities before and after school hours and during vacation periods, encourage teachers to provide time for unstructured physical activity during recess and during physical education class, and help school personnel to serve as active role models by enabling and encouraging their own participation in physical activity.

Why Is Physical Activity Important?

There is no debate about the value of physical exertion--regular physical activity has significant health benefits, and even modest increases in energy expenditure can have health-enhancing effects, including:

Reduction in chronic disease risk--hypertension, type 2 diabetes, high blood lipids, cardiovascular disease, and obesity. Even among children and adolescents, physical activity can prevent or delay the development of hypertension and can reduce blood pressure in those young people who already have hypertension (Physical Activity, 1996);

• Lowered risk of colon cancer;
• Increase in bone density;
• Reduction of anxiety, improvement in body image and mood;
• Development of physical fitness;
• Promotion of weight control through caloric expenditure. This benefit is of particular importance to children, who are experiencing the same epidemic of overweight as adults.

Butt & Leg Workout