April 26, 2024

Fast Fitness: Get Results from your Exercise by Gen Levrant

December 1, 2013 By Leave a Comment

No time this holiday season? Here’s what you can do for exercise in TEN MINUTES!

Check out this YouTube Video for a demonstration of the workout. (Always consult a physician before beginning a workout. Perform exercises at your own risk.)

Even though, for most of us the Holiday Season means a well-deserved couple weeks break, exercising may STILL end up taking a back seat.

What with that extra free time soon getting filled with seeing relatives, organising trips, entertaining little ones, watching TV, buying and cooking large quantities of food (not to mention eating it and drinking more than usual) before we know it, we’re back to work starting the New Year with some newly acquired holiday flab.

Thousands of gyms and health clubs DEPEND on this behaviour so come January, we jump on the New Year resolution “get fit lose weight” bandwagon cliché, more often than not broken in a matter of weeks.

So how can we avoid being a New Year cliché for another year running? Luckily the solution is pretty simple: look at your calendar and PLAN your time.

The “most wonderful time of the year” can, unfortunately for many also be the most stressful. Planning reduces the chance of getting “caught out.” Yes, sometimes unexpected things happen, which means we need to be flexible with changes, but knowing roughly what to expect each day affords a luxury that can reduce a great deal of stress.

The other most effective stress-buster? Yep, short bursts of intense exercise. Not only will this make you feel amazing, but it’ll allow the fog in your head to clear, giving you greater ability to stay centred if things end up being more stressful than you were expecting.

Gen Levrant is an Advanced Personal Trainer and weight-loss specialist. She runs a private functional training studio in Southampton UK helping people get safe and permanent results. For more info, email gen@fasterpt.com. Follow her on Twitter @PTGen or via Facebook.

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3 Tricks to a Time Efficient Workout by Gen Levrant

October 21, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Not having enough time has become one of the biggest excuses, for not being able to fit in a workout. As a trainer, one of my jobs in recent years has been helping my clients manage their time and work/life balance better so they see it actually IS possible to fit in quick effective workouts! And we all know the endless positive side effects of these…Yet on the other hand, so many who DO find the time end up not actually making the most

Whether you have a personal trainer or not, what are the workouts you do on your own like? Are they as time efficient as they could be?

Here are 3 ways to guarantee a time efficient and effective workout:

1. Schedule your workouts. Look at your weekly routine to decide the most realistic time with the least chance of distraction or disturbance. Once you have determined this, treat your workouts as essential meetings with someone whom you cannot afford to cancel. If you value your health, mind and wellbeing then you will have no trouble viewing and scheduling them this way!

2. Set a timer. Say to yourself for this period of 20, 30 or 40 minutes, I am going to train with no distractions. Then set an alarm. If you are using your phone or iPad, put them in flight mode. If you have young children, perhaps try this during nap or school time.

3. Change the variables. Meaning your rest time, number of reps/sets, exercises or order – every workout you do should be slightly different. In doing so, you’ll trick your body into working harder as it will not have a chance to get used to what you are doing!

If you attend a gym or health club, think how many people you see dawdling, reading magazines, chatting to their friends…or perhaps not even setting foot in the gym and going straight to the coffee lounge!

Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to socialise but we all want results from our workouts, right? So if you have a tight schedule, try these tips to always have time for a workout! Happy training and have fun!

Gen Levrant is an Advanced Personal Trainer and weight-loss specialist. She runs a private functional training studio in Southampton UK helping people to get safe and permanent results. For further info on how Gen can help you email her via gen@fasterpt.com or visit http://www.fasterpt.com/personal-trainer-southampton. Follow her on Twitter @PTGen, and find her on Facebook

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3 Must-Try Workouts! By Jessi Kneeland

September 26, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The weather’s cooling down, but that doesn’t mean your workout schedule should.

Here are 3 workout trends not to miss this fall.

Crossfit
Following Reebok’s purchase of the Crossfit brand, Crossfit has been steadily gaining visibility and popularity across the US, and it’s only going to get stronger. It appeals to people who want to try extremely challenging workouts in a competitive but supportive environment. It’s very intense, and not everyone will know their own limits, so please don’t try it if you’re new to working out. But if you’ve been exercising for awhile and are looking for a tough challenge and a community of fitness-lovers to push you, Crossfit might be your solution.

Adult Ballet Class
The popularity of ballet-based fitness classes like FlyBarre and The Barre Method has led people right back to the source. Beginner adult ballet classes are exploding so quickly that many studios have had to add extra classes to accommodate. Ballet strengthens and lengthens the body, improves posture, and works on rhythm, balance, and grace. It may not be the most efficient way to burn fat, but it’s fun and it lets you relive childhood fantasies of being a ballet dancer, so why not add a weekly class to your fall fitness lineup?

Destination Bootcamps
This last year has seen a huge increase in “fitness vacations,” and you shouldn’t expect the trend to slow down this fall. Unlike most vacations (where you eat everything in sight and fall off the fitness wagon) you’re practically guaranteed to return from these trips feeling fitter, less stressed, and more motivated. If you’re looking for a beach bootcamp, Holly Rilinger Fitness’s November trip to the West Indies (http://www.hollyrilinger.com/training-camp/destination-training-camp.html) includes outdoor training, yoga, and lots of time to relax and explore the beautiful location. If rugged choose-your-own-adventures are more your style, Red Mountain Resort in St. George, Utah (http://www.redmountainresort.com/) offers custom classes in fitness, nutrition, and stress management, as well as outdoor workouts and adventures.

Jessi Kneeland is a NYC based NASM certified personal trainer. She does most of her training out of Peak Performance (rated of the top 10 gyms in the US by Men’s Health!) and has a reputation for getting both working women and models into tip-top shape. She believes fitness is the key to confidence, and runs her blog Empowering Fitness at http://jessikneeland.wordpress.com/ in the hopes of helping everyone to become more body-positive. You can follow her on twitter at @jessikneeland or drop her an email at jlk399@gmail.com

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