Sync Fitness

General Fitness

What I hate about exercise

I know, I’m a personal trainer, I should love exercise, everyday, all the time, in all forms. It’s part of the job, right? Let me give you a sneak preview into the conversation in my head many mornings as I head out to run:
“If I skip this workout, I can catch up on emails or clean the house or do laundry or catch up on filing or make overdue doctor/dental appointments or go grocery shopping or read a good book or watch TV or write a new blog post or pay bills or take a nap. I know if I skip this workout I’ll just get sooooo much more done today, because I’ll save all that sweat time. Maybe I should take today off and run and lift tomorrow to make up for it. Maybe I am overly tired and shouldn’t push myself. . . SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP . . . If I get this workout under my belt the rest of my day will be better. I’ll be happy instead of cranky. I’ll be focused instead of anxious. I’ll be a better trainer, a better wife, a better person. Dammit, I guess I’m going running.”
Yup, that pretty much sums up the conversation I have with myself over and over again as I get ready to workout. What’s funny is I think all this as I put on my workout clothes and lace up my shoes and search for the dog’s leash. So, I have instilled the habit and routine of non-negotiable exercise 6 days a week, yet I negotiate in my head moment after moment until the sweating begins. Read the rest of this entry…

Please don’t laugh at me!


So, a few weeks ago I started waking up with a achy back and right hip. Check out this video to see what was likely the cause of my pain. BUT, please don’t laugh. I have the biggest feet of any female I know – my running shoes are a size 11. So, I can barely fit them in the camera lens. Ok, my secret is out.

You’ll see in the video how my shoes have completely broken down based on my stride. Your shoes may wear quite differently. So look closely at the bottom of your shoes for sign of wear. Inspect both shoes closely, as one shoe may wear a lot more than the other (as in my case).

If you are in Seattle and find you’re in need of new shoes, let me recommend Super JocknJill by Greenlake. They are really helpful in determining what shoe is best for you. Not all running shoes are good for every foot. PLEASE get the ones that are best for you. Any good running shoe store will watch you walk/run in shoes and be able to tell you the most appropriate shoe for you. Don’t buy shoes from a place that cannot do this! With as many steps as you take on your average run, your shoes are an essential investment. They can make or break you, literally. Happy running friends!

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) Workout: Treadmill Style

Do you want to burn calories like crazy??

You may have heard the new craze in cardio – HIIT. It stands for High Intensity Interval Training and everyone is talking about it. The idea behind HIIT is that you can do a shorter cardio workout with brief high intensity intervals and burn more calories that in a longer, steady state cardio session. With HIIT workouts, the after burn is crazy. After burn is the calories you burn following your workout while your body is still recovering from the workout. With steady state cardio, your heart rate and oxygen consumption returns to normal range more quickly than with HIIT, therefore minimizing the after burn effect. With HIIT, your heart rate and metabolism remain elevated/stimulated for a longer period of time (24-48 hours in some cases!!) This is because the high intensity bouts make you really push the limits of your anaerobic threshold – that feeling when you’re DYING for a little oxygen. After a HIIT session you consume significantly more oxygen to return your body to it’s pre-exercise physiological state. This is called EPOC (Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption.) EPOC is where it’s at!!! If you can increase your EPOC (your oxygen consumption post workout) it’s like you’re still working out when you’re not! Read the rest of this entry…

Sync Fitness AbTastic Core Workout

Check out this ab workout from Boot Camp on Tuesday. Good times workin’ on the 6 pack! Do this core workout on your own every other day to bring on your own 6 pack!

Lift HEAVY ladies!

A client just emailed this article to Sync Fitness. It addresses the question I get regularly as a personal trainer, especially from my women weight lifters, “Will lifting heavy make me bulk up?” Check out the research. Lift HEAVY to burn more calories, stimulate your metabolism, lose fat and lose weight. Plus, muscles are sexy!

No Equipment Home Workout / Travel Workout / Home Boot Camp Workout

This is posted in two parts because YouTube won’t allow posts more than 10 minutes. Part I and Part II are intended to be done back to back WITHOUT rest!
PART I:

PART II:

This is posted in two parts because YouTube won’t allow posts more than 10 minutes. Part I and Part II are intended to be done back to back without rest.

I am posting this workout for two reasons:

1. My clients want a good workout they can perform at home with no equipment while I’m on vacation next week.

2.  I want a travel workout I can do without equipment while I am vacationing.

So, here you go!  This workout is similar to what many of my clients experience at Sync Fitness Boot Camp in Wallingford.  It’s some serious cardio and some great strength training as well.  This workout runs through 13 exercises without rest.  I recommend you PERFORM THREE ROUNDS of this workout, TIMING EACH ROUND.  Try to beat yourself with each round – you can do it!!  Try to limit your rest and REST ONLY BETWEEN ROUNDS, not between exercises.  Are you ready?!  Here’s the workout:

WARMUP:  Warm up of your choice.  Should last 3-5 minutes and be light to medium in intensity.  Some ideas are a light jog in your neighborhood, run stairs in your house, jump rope, jumping jacks.

WORKOUT:  Here’s the good stuff!

1. Forward / Reverse Lunges x 10 per side

2. Burpees (with or without Push Ups) x 15

3. Slow Bicycles x 20

4. 180 Jump Squats x 10

5. Inchworms with Push Ups x 10

6. Cobra x (5x:05)

7. Alternating Jump Lunges x 20

8. Staggered Push Ups x 10 per side

9. Leapfrog Squats x 10

10. Jump Squats x 10 (DO NOT REST BETWEEN LEAPFROG SQUATS AND JUMP SQUATS!)

11. Hand to Elbow Plank x 10

12. Jacknives x 15 per side

13. Airplanes x (5x:05)

COOL DOWN: You can do a cardio cool down, same as your warm up and then some stretching.  Don’t forget the stretching – it’s important!

The posted video goes through one round completely.  Use the video as much or as little as you need to.  Once you’ve got the moves down, feel free to mute my chatter and pump up your favorite tunes.  Happy sweating!

Why 2010 is YOUR year to take up exercise. . .

Last week The Wall Street Journal published a great article entitled “The Hidden Benefits of Exercise.”  Click here to see the full article.  We all know there are multiple amazing benefits of regular exercise.  But does that make us get out and break a sweat often enough?  My favorite quote from this article is: “Exercise can be used like a vaccine to prevent disease and a medication to treat disease,” says Dr. Sallis. “If there were a drug with the same benefits as exercise, it would instantly be the standard of care.”  AMEN, Dr. Sallis!!

Here are some other highlights from the article:

**  Regular exercise (brisk walking 5 days a week for 30-45 minutes) increases the function of your immune system by increasing natural killer cells that kill bacteria and viruses. Additionally, regular exercise can increase your body’s response to flu vaccines.

**  One study on the effects of exercise on the use of sick days showed that participants who walked briskly 5 days a week for 45 minutes used 25-50% fewer sick days.

**  There are over 60 studies showing a 20-30% reduced chance of breast cancer in women who exercise regularly.

**  A JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) study of 3,000 women with cancer found that those who walked 3-5 days a week decreased their chances of dying by 50%.

**  The most recent studies on exercise and aging are showing exercise decreases the signs of aging on a cellular level.

If that’s not enough reason to break a sweat I don’t know what is.  EXERCISE IS A POWERFUL DRUG!  YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO EMPOWER YOUR HEALTH AND YOUR FUTURE EVERYDAY!

If you can’t get yourself going on an exercise program, let Sync Fitness help you.  We’ve been serving the Seattle area since 2003.  That means we’ve prevented innumerable colds, cancers, heart attacks, viruses and sick days.

Living Room Workout!

The streets of Seattle were particularly nasty this morning, so I didn’t want to run.  Instead I thought I would offer my personal training services to myself in my very own living room.  Decided I should share the fun with you all.  Here is my early morning workout.  Got the blood flowing and sweat pooling.  I dare you to try it over the weekend.

**Do three rounds.  Rest 1:00 between rounds.  NO REST DURING ROUNDS.**

**Time each round, trying to go faster each time.**

Overhead Squats (5-15 lb DBs in each hand) x 12

Mountain Climbers x 50

1 Leg Row (5-20 lb DBs in each hand) x 12 per side

Reverse Flyes (5-10 lb DBs in each hand) x 12

Skaters with Floor Touch (5-10 lb DB) x 20

Burpees x 10

Stationary Lunges (aka split squat) with Overhead Press (5-15 lb DBs in each hand) x 12 per side

Jump Squats x 20

V Sit & Twist (10 lb DB)

Happy sweating my friends!

Crunches vs. Sit Ups: Finding Your Six Pack Abs

A Facebook friend recently asked Sync Fitness:

“Does it REALLY matter if someone does crunches instead of sit-ups? Are 50 crunches better than 100 sit-ups? What’s the real deal from the resident fitness guru?”

Here is my reply:

In terms of strengthening your abs without compromising your back, crunches are better. Sit ups are good as long as you they don’t bother your back. BUT – if you’re looking to flatten your abs it’s more a matter of losing body fat. You can crunch till the cows come home and still carry belly weight. Flat abs are generally attributed to excellent nutrition, low body fat and lots of lean muscle mass. I know that’s not a fun answer.

Also, know that a lot of those people you know who have awesome abs also have awesome genetics. Some people are lucky enough to inherit bodies that don’t carry as much around the middle.  That doesn’t mean flat abs can’t be had if you weren’t born with them. But you may have to work a little harder if your belly is the place where you tend to carry your body fat.

Being very diligent about what you put in your mouth and how much you sweat it out can hugely impact your six pack.  I have to brag for just a moment here . . . I have a client who is preparing for her wedding in Seattle in a month.  She has done an amazing job of watching her diet and exercising very consistently over the past few months.  She came into The Fitness Lab for her personal training session last week and asked me, “Can I show you my six pack?”  She has worked really hard and as a result you can see these beautiful lines carving out the abdominal muscles on her belly.

Food that will help you lose belly weight: lean protein, veggies and water – TONS of this and little to nothing of anything else.  Like I said, it ain’t easy!  But nothing tastes as good as a six pack feels!

Is Boot Camp For Me?

How do you know if Boot Camp is for you?  Boot Camp with Sync Fitness is designed to accommodate all fitness levels.  That said, if you’ve never exercised before, you may want to get in a few one-on-one personal training sessions prior to Boot Camp to get a feel of what you’re in for.  We’ve worked with people in Boot Camp who are very new to exercise and found that it can be such a fun rewarding experience.  When you’re new to exercise you can only get better, faster and stronger.  So the progress comes in leaps and bounds (literally!) and it feels amazing.  

Sync Fitness strives to meet the needs of all participants.  So, on any day at Boot Camp you’ll see different people doing similar exercises in different ways, depending on their abilities.  That’s the great part.  If you’re ready to rock – we’ll take you there.  If you need to hold back a little, we’ll give you some modifications to help you out.

If you have any joint injuries, you should inquire with Sync Fitness before signing up for Boot Camp.  For example, if you have a recent knee injury and can’t do any running, squatting or lunging, Boot Camp may not be the best way for you to exercise.  If you’re not sure if you’re injury will limit you in Boot Camp, contact us and we’ll help you figure it out.

Hope to see you all soon at Boot Camp 2009: Spring Edition!

 

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