My first years as personal trainer were a definite eye opener to more functional and applied training methods; methods that made more ‘sense’ then ‘nonsense’. Structural balance is one assessment and approach that you can not afford to not include in your training methods. Making judgments based on visual analysis, just walking around the gym; I can clearly see what people enjoy training more of and what they enjoy training the least. The term ‘chicken legs’ can definitely be applied to about 70% of the people in my gym. An obsession with training upper body parts with no consideration for lower body muscles is a sure fire way to develop structural balance issues. Issues such as lower back pain, knee and ankle issues, poor power development for sports and everyday performance, the list can go even further! So, I highly recommend to everyone they start to consider engaging in lower body training to reap the rewards of full body development and strong lean legs!

Why is training the lower body is of paramount importance to overall performance and structural health?  Read on to see my top 3 reasons. These reasons don’t just apply to bodybuilders and strength coaches; they apply to everyone!

1. Strengthen the Posterior Chain

The posterior chain are a line of muscles comprised of the calves, hamstrings, glutes, and erector spinae (muscles located in your lower back that pull you into an upright position from hip flexion). These 4 muscles work synergistically in a chain reaction to pull your hips and pelvis into an upright position safely, in a powerful manner. Athletes that participate in sports involving explosive jumping, such as basketball, need to be equipped with a strong posterior chain, as do Olympic lifting and power squatting athletes. How do these apply to everyday functional movements? Well, whenever you bend your hips and knees to pick up something off the ground, you partially wind up the posterior chain and if they are not strong enough, coupled with a functioning core, you will be at high risk of a back strain or worse, an injury! Have you ever heard of someone that picks up something of the floor and completely wipes out there lower back? Well it’s most likely that the posterior chain was not ready to be loaded and was too weak.

For more information, I highly recommend consulting your exercise or strength coach and getting your posterior chain conditioned; this will prevent any situation involving a grumpy lower back every time you pick something up off the floor!

2. Healthier Knees

Know anyone who complains of some sort of knee pain? Well, most likely they have underdeveloped quadriceps muscles. The Quad muscles (the big muscles in your thighs) are responsible for safe and effective knee extension. What most people are unaware off is the quads, especially the VMO (teardrop muscle located in the bottom inside part of your thigh close to the knee) handles optimal knee tracking anytime you’re doing physical activity that involves the knee. Poor knee tracking, which can be defined as the ability for the knee joint and its passive structures to follow an optimal line while under load, is one of the most common reasons for knee pain. If we get lazy and never train our big thigh muscles, we put the foundation of our knees at risk and eventually chronic knee pain will arise. My best advice, GET IN THE GYM AND START SQUATING!

3. More Fat Burning Potential During Workouts.

The amount of people I see in the gym doing some sort of superset or circuit training that doesn’t involve any muscles of the lower body is just shocking! By simply adding some sort of squatting or lunging into your circuit, you will cause blood to shunt down to the lower body and your heart rate and metabolism will shoot through the roof! If fat burning and body composition is your game, then training the lower body is a must! Remember, the quads and the glutes are the strongest and biggest muscles in your body. By training them you will elevate metabolic and nervous system output and the greater your fat burning potential will be!

Keeping a consistent training resume can be hard sometimes for us go-getters and success orientated people. Besides finding the time to squeeze in that daily workout we need; performance and motivation can also be a key element that’s lacking. Let’s face it, we’re only human, we can get tired, overwhelmed and just simply want to crash after the day’s many tasks.

Icy winter days do not make sticking any easier. Being the driven person I am, I find a solution to any roadblock! These following performance pearls have worked a treat for me when I need to stay on top of my training goals in these cold winter times. I urge you to give them a go!

 1.) Train in the AM not the PM!

Besides spiking the metabolism, increasing morning energy and putting you in a powerful and positive frame of mind; training in the AM has freed up my time later on in the day for me to be able to get all my most important tasks done. Usually by 5pm the body has already switched on the wind down systems and is slowly getting ready for rest and recovery. Most people, if they’re going to train in the late hours of the pm resort to taking unhealthy stimulants and overuse of caffeine. By deciding to take action and driving yourself out of the comfort of your bed to get moving, you will see just how effective AM training can be to your mental and physical performance, body composition, and overall outlook on the day!

2.) Eat the right breakfast – ie. The Meat and Nut Breakfast

All my readers should know by now the paramount importance of eating the right breakfast. I will say it once again; the first thing you put in your mouth in the morning will dictate overall mental and physical performance throughout the whole day. Eating Weetbix and toast, or Pop-Tarts with a banana will send your blood sugar levels crashing faster then you can ever imagine; leaving you feeling dull, tired and unmotivated to do any sort of physical activity. Instead, for an effective wake up call, provide your body with protein and healthy fats to increase brain activity through enhanced neurotransmitter activity. Protein and fats will also ensure your blood sugar levels rise slowly for sustained performance levels. Fitness Forever Tip: Add in some berries or an apple as well for good carbs!

3.) Take caffeine pre workout

One thing you should know about me is that I am NOT anti caffeine! In fact, it is one of the most effective performance gems, if you use it properly. If you don’t have a caffeine supplement handy, take a straight black coffee. Caffeine stimulates the sympathetic nervous system, which is the part of the nervous system responsible for physical and mental activity. Caffeine pre workout will heighten overall performance and keep you on top of all your lifting and fat loss workouts. Consuming a black coffee or a caffeine supplement on an empty stomach will ensure you get the most out of your caffeine.       

Let’s face it; we all go through a plateau when dropping body fat. To get super lean and really reach our full potential for burning maximal body fat, our training stimulus has be varied greatly. I’m also a big believer in keeping things simple. If you’re finding it hard to get past a sticking point in your fat loss goals, implement the following 3 training methods. But remember nutrition comes first. So if your diet is still not up to par, address that first!     

Focus on lactic acid not strength.

People who are on a fat loss protocol still seem to make the mistake of lifting weights to heavy for their own good. If your creating maximal muscle fatigue at 6 reps or less, you’re focusing predominantly on the nervous system. To create a more powerful fat burning response, your target rep range should be 12+, even hitting reps of up to 50. By engaging in reps of 12+ the body is more dominant in producing lactic acid. Lactic acid shifts you blood P.H balance to being more acidic. In return the following metabolic processes begin

-When your body is in an acidic state, the pituitary gland releases more growth hormone. Growth hormone is responsible building more muscle, and burning more fat.

-The more lactic acid your produce in the body, the heart has to work harder to buffer the lactic acid out of your body’s natural elimination systems. By the heart working harder, the metabolism works harder. Therefore creating more of a long term fat burning response

Finish your workouts with sprints

If I could prescribe a single training protocol to burn body fat quickly, it would be sprint (interval) training. Nothing creates more of a maximal metabolic exertion and calorie burning effect than sprint training. Finishing a good weight training session with 6-8 rounds of sprints on the treadmill will take your Fat burning effect to the next level. Here is how it works.

By doing weight training first, you deplete your muscle cells of glycogen; from there you prime your body’s fat burning response. Then by jumping on the treadmill and hitting up rounds of sprints, your body goes into hyper exception, sending free fatty acids into the mightochondria (cell furnace where energy gets burned) to use as energy.

Here is a simple interval training protocol.

On the treadmill

30 seconds 90% exertion, 30 seconds rest (jump to the side of the treadmill, careful not to fall off)

6-8 rounds

Train legs 3x a week

I like to prescribe this training protocol to any client who desperately needs to break through a fat loss plateau. It’s very painful, and at times might make you feel quizy, but it works wonders for anyone who desperately needs to kickstart there fat burning cycle.

Out of all the muscles in the body, your leg muscles, specifically your quadriceps (thighs) and your glutes (bum) are largest muscles, and can generate the most power. They can create the strongest hormonal response and fat burning response in the body.

Focus on low reps, heavy load at the start of the week to tap into your higher threshold muscle fibers. Functional hypertrophy in the middle of the week, and then high reps at the end of the week. You will probably need a wheel chair to transport you around after your first week of training. But hey, as they say, no pain, no game.

For anyone who is unfamiliar with specific training plans for the lower body I suggest consulting with an experienced strength and fitness coach. Or send me and email at fitnessforeveraus@gmail.com for a free sample of a 3x a week training protocol.

People are influential, whether in a positive or negative manner. Who you surround yourself with plays a big role in your actions you make everyday. When it comes time to knuckle down and hit the gym, a simple training partner can effect how hard you train, what kind of training you do, and can hold you back from making substantial gains and progress whatever your fitness goals are.

Here are examples of different personality types who will effect you in different ways, and trust me, i have encountered each one in my training days.

the gossip queen-whether a male or female, lets face it, we all love to talk about the latest scandal, drama, or news about someone we know. The gossip queens are the people who come to the gym not to train, but to have someone to talk to and socialize with. These people tend to feel like leaches, always having a story to tell, and are more in the gym for a social outing then to train hard. Save socializing and gossip for saturday night at the club, or over a friendly cup of coffee, when where in the gym its time to train people!
How will it effect you-Always distracted, you will find yourself doing 12 sets of talking then 12 sets of squats. I advise leaving these people for social events.

The negative leach-These people i find are the most annoying. The negative leach is someone who simply drains every ounce of positive energy you have in your system. Always complaining about something, never seems to have goals and directions, and makes you sad while training. Im not saying that you should not be a good friend, but if your dead set about getting results with your body, the gym is your sanctuary, and your sanctuary should be full of positive energy and focus. Someone else should not make you feel like krap and drag you down to their pithole.
How will it effect you-Always distracted, and will suck all your stamina and focus, make you negative and moody while training.

The internet amateur-These people i find are a big comedy in the gym. These are the typical people who get their health and fitness information from magazines like mens health, and other websites that have no clue about physical training and health. They always feel like they know everything, and they’re always telling you what to do in terms of exercises. But most of the time, they’re always injured, never getting results, and doing exercises with ridicules technique, and at times make you want to call an ambulance on standby because you think they’re going split their lower back in two. The internet amateurs will not get you to where you want to be, infact might give you an injury along the way. Stay away from these people as much as possible.
How will it effect you-instead of moving forward with your goals, you will move backwards. Injuries, over training, lack of results and looking like a fool in the gym are all staples for having what i call an internet amateur as a training partner.

The type of partner you want to engage in training with should posses the following qualities.
-Is of a positive nature and upbeat.
-Someone who pushes you to train harder and do more repetitions.
-Does not act like he/she knows everything about training.
-Someone who owns an ipod and does not continuously drills story’s and gossip into your ears
-Has set goals and has direction for their own training.
-Someone who does not get their workouts from mens health magazine.
-Does not ask you to join then at the local pizza joint or fast-food restaurant post workout.
-Does not have a body fat% above 30
-Someone who simply has a passion for training and getting results!!

So before i leave you, just remember, you are what you eat! you are what you think! and you are who you hang around with!

Part of being a health and fitness coach is to be constantly educating myself with the newest information on training, nutrition, and lifestyle. I set a precise goal to read at least 100 pages a week of a book of my choice. Usually I rotate from reading 1 book about training and nutrition, to 1 book about money and finance, to 1 book about lifestyle and self improvement.

One of my most recent books I have read is by the man himself Donald Trump, titled “think big and kick ass”. I would rate this book 10 out of 10 and it’s a must read for anyone looking to create long term success in business and life. But one chapter in the book struck me the most. The personal advice from this chapter quoted “develop positive stamina”. And I related it to performance in the gym.

Negative and positive emotions not only govern our everyday actions, but they can be the prime catalyst to how well we perform in the gym. Supplements, good nutrition, and good nights sleep all play a part in how well we do in the gym, but a lot of people tend to neglect mental clarity, a good attitude, and positive, powerful thinking as a strong motivator for training hard and reaching your goals.

In my experience as a lifestyle and fitness coach, you can have the right people around you, eat healthy, and pay the right personal trainers, but with out a good POSITIVE attitude towards your training and fitness, you will not create long term success, Whether if you desire fat loss, or muscle gain, develop positive stamina in your every day life and in the gym and things will happen for you!

Here are some ways you can help build up positive stamina in your everyday lifestyle and before you hit the gym so you can have a fantastic and powerful workout.

-Always make sure you have your ipod for the gym. Having the right music can stimulate serotonin (your happy neurotransmitter) and dopamine (your neurotransmitter responsible for motivation). Together activating these two chemicals in the brain will surely give you a lift to train hard in the gym. But make sure it’s your favorite music.

-Before you start training read a favorite quote from someone you admire. For example two of my top quotes I like to read before I hit a hard session are “where there’s a will, there’s a way” and “do what others don’t to have what other cant”. Reading a favorite quote can surely give you an inspirational and positive lift so you can tackle that workout with intensity.

-Surround yourself with positive people before and during the gym. There has been study’s that show that who you surround yourself with, your friends, family, and the people who you work with, have a powerful influence on what you do in life, and the actions you make. For example before you go to the gym, your with people who you work with who just complain about the negatives in life, tell you how krap their relationship is with their partner, and that they feel like eating ice cream and McDonalds after work and that you should join them. Well these people will definitely not put you in the right frame of mind for exercise action. These people will tend to drain your energy and focus that is much needed to get your bum into the gym after work. Instead make sure your friends are positive and happy people who have training and fitness goals just like you. You will feed of each others positive energy and create a better environment for your workout.

-Invest in a positive and experienced personal trainer. Like I said people are influential. And someone to push you towards your goals with the right positive energy is a big help on the emotional system. If you have a personal trainer who likes to talk about negative matters and creates sloppy and down mood for you at the gym then I suggest you get rid of him and find someone else.

So those were some actions you can implement into your lifestyle to help develop positive stamina. If you’re interested in self improvement books I recommend the following, “the 7 habits of highly effective people by Stephen R. Covey. “The winning attitude by John C. Maxwell”. And “think big and kick ass by Donald Trump”. These books are a fantastic read and will surely help you build on your journey towards positive stamina.

The treadmill, not only is it a one of the most used machines in our gym facilities today; it is an iconic symbol of the basic exercise resume. You see it in most ads on TV, and your usual cardioholic spends more time on the treadmill then they do with their girlfriend or boyfriend. But I want to share my views on what really goes in inside the body when we decide to smash out a cardio session on the treadmill, or bike, or rower, or any cardio machine there is.

Our body’s have an amazing mechanism called the “fight or flight” reaction. This occurs when the body experiences some sort of threat or stress reaction. From there we release stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenalin. Whether if someone puts a gun to your head and asks you for your wallet, or your wife tells you she wants a divorce, your body doesn’t differ any sort of stress. Stress is stress to the body.

Know during physical exercise, such as going for a jog on a treadmill, after your heart rate has been continuously up for a certain amount of time, your body feels its under threat because the heart has been repeatedly pumping blood without any standard rest. This will cause a stress reaction and the adrenal glands will stimulate cortisol. From here high levels of cortisol in the blood stream are responsible for
-break down of lean muscle tissue (hence why cardioholics have barely any muscle)
-suppressing the immune system
-unwanted fat storage in the belly button area (hence why cardioholics have a beer gut no matter how much running they do)
-adrenal fatigue
-heart disease
-lowering androgens (testosterone)
-insomnia

Hopefully this will make you think twice before you decide to go for a long distance run on the treadmill, or any other cardio machine for the matter. However treadmills have one reason for good use, sprint training! Or HIIT (high intensity interval training) If your looking for a workout that will leave you feeling like a cripple with no legs try sprint training on the treadmill. Not only will it incinerate fat, but it will avoid your body getting much of a high stress reaction unlike long jogs or runs. You see sprint training or HIIT training is anaerobic, not aerobic. This means you focus more on explosive bouts of exercise for a much shorter period of time, yet at maximal power, which will follow with a rest, then another explosive bout. For example instead of jogging for 30 minutes at one pace on the treadmill you sprint at your own maximal speed for 40 seconds to a minute, and then rest for a minute, after you rest for a minute you sprint as fast as you can again at maximal speed, you can do this for a certain number of rounds. Ranging from 5 to 12 rounds. But trust me, you will be slammed very quickly. Beginners I advise you to start with 30 seconds at maximal speed and rest for a minute. For the advanced runner you can sprint at maximal effort for a minute then rest for a minute.

So next time your on the treadmill don’t fall into the trap of what my friend says is “the chubby aerobics instructor syndrome” and try some real training that works!! Such as sprint training and you will reap the rewards of a lean body in no time.