Archive for the ‘Personal Fitness Training’ Category

Please join us at Mobile Fitness Personal Training, for our 4th Annual Holiday Party, Thursday December 1st from 5:00-8:00pm.

Today I am challenging Portland, ME residents looking to improve their health and fitness in 2011, to make lifestyle changes they can live with for the long haul.

As eyes look forward into the new year, many active adults are hoping that this year will be the one that catapults them into better health. But, new exercisers and gym members often overlook a key element when making their plans and resolutions.

New Year’s resolutions often fail, not due to the fact people aren’t sincere in their desire for change, but because they lack specific goals with a plan of action. Mobile Fitness Personal Training helps keep people accountable to their goals and provides a path for success, safely and effectively. What it takes is a strategy people can commit to, usually small changes that are permanent.

Here I offer some strategies to help new gym members improve their chance for success.

· Don’t procrastinate. Waiting until life gets easier or you have more time is the surest way to fail. Start by incorporating exercise into daily life. For example, stand on one leg while chopping vegetables, stretch while watching television, or do one set of pushups on the arm of the sofa while walking across the house. Little bits of movement add up and make a difference over the long run. If you think workouts need to be 60 minutes long and at least 3 days per week, you likely won’t be able to consistently carve out large chunks of time and you’ll have failed before you ever get started.

· Acknowledge that you will slip and forgive yourself. There are always obstacles in any path. Forgive yourself and keep the long range goal in the forefront of your mind. Keep moving forward, even if only with small steps.

· Get support. People who achieve success have a network of support. Workout with friends or a personal trainer who can keep you motivated and accountable.

Jeff Eckhouse, Owner
Mobile Fitness Personal Training

Raffle ended in December 2010 – thank you to everyone who participated!! (Please think of us again next year)

Buy a $10 Raffle ticket at the Mobile Fitness Studio located on 49 Dartmouth St, Portland, ME for a chance to win $600 in personal training.  All proceeds go to WinterKids, St. Mary’s Food Pantry, Wayside Soup Kitchen, and the Biodiversity Research Institute. Please write checks to the charity you choose to support.

All of us are caretakers in some capacity and most of us put the needs of others before we consider taking care of ourselves. Young children, ailing parents, commitments to spouses…

Time is limited and responsibilities are endless, but don’t forget to take time for your own emotional health and physical well being. Regular exercise that elevates your heart rate and challenges your muscles has been proven to be one of the most effective ways to manage your stress, anxiety, and lack of energy and can actually improve your ability to care for others.

Where to begin?

Anywhere, as long as it’s fun and attainable. In most cases, failure to sustain a regularly scheduled fitness routine seems to have more to do with a lack of interest in exercise than with a busy schedule. Hire a personal trainer or find a friend to meet with at a regularly scheduled time so you can have a social interaction and be accountable to someone else for your fitness program. To be successful, set a realistic short-term goal and achieve it, perhaps just adding 5 minutes to your daily walk.

Success breeds success, and you only need to increase your activity level by small amounts to begin the process. Life changes don’t happen overnight, so take baby steps that can you can live with, forever.

For more information about personal training in Portland, Maine go to http://mobilefitnessmaine.com

Written by Jeff Eckhouse

BS Exercise Science, NASM certified personal trainer

Owner of Mobile Fitness Personal Training

A personal fitness trainer or coach can be an invaluable way to embark on a new fitness regime or to spice up your existing exercise plan. James Brooks from Mint Condition explores the many benefits.

Time saving – booking a personal trainer saves you time. Instead of wasting hours in the gym, running, cycling with no specific goal a trainer will ensure you use your valuable ‘spare’ time optimally, carefully planning and implementing a fitness plan specific to your needs and wants.

Fitness testing – any good fitness training company like Mint Condition will insist upon a thorough fitness evaluation. This will set the benchmark for your fitness plan and will screen you for any concerns that may need further investigation by a doctor or other medical professional, potentially saving you from injury or worse.

Planning – careful planning is the key to any fitness programme. Whether your goal is sports specific or not a plan is imperative. Your trainer will develop short, medium and long term goals and will utilize some kind of ‘periodisation protocol’ to gradually improve your fitness without over-training or burnout.

Motivation – a great personal trainer will motivate you to achieve those goals once thought impossible. Some think of a personal trainer as a fitness psychologist, understanding your every weakness and strength and pushing you directly and indirectly to an improved level of fitness and well-being.

Never miss an appointment – the very nature of a fitness trainer means that you are booked in to a diary. Therefore, its hard to miss and appointment without changing or canceling. Canceling could incur a charge, and you are also letting down your trainer. We are all very used to our days being scheduled; why not schedule your fitness too.

Pay only for what you get – with a traditional gym you pay a relatively small amount of money every month to use (or not) the facility. If you use the gym every week you will get great value for money. However, the gym industry knows that you are very unlikely to use the gym every week, if at all! They commit you to an annual contract and hope never to see you. That were a personal trainer is different, you pay only for what you get. Surely it’s far better to pay for something that you are using?

Access to the latest exercise science – personal fitness trainers are continually updating their knowledge base through attending courses, reading journals and by being members of the relevant industry body. With a good trainer they will constantly ensure your programme is optimised to the latest science and research giving you the best results available.

Goals – goals are the most important part of any fitness programme. They are the reason you first pick up the phone to a gym or personal fitness trainer. Your fitness trainer will help you fine-tune these goals and clarify the possible and impossible. Giving you realistic fitness, weight-loss goals for example helps both you and your trainer see progress throughout your programme.

Training partner – your trainer will become an essential training partner for you. Although most exercises will be completed without your trainer they will be with you all the way. Working as closely as possible to optimise your body position and movement patterns throughout your workout. They are also a shoulder to cry on when things don’t go to plan, and someone to congratulate you on your success too.

Safety – a safe workout is essential. A personal trainer has a professional responsibility to ensure your workout is carried out in a safe manner. From firstly evaluating your fitness and screening for any medical problems through to making sure you are wearing suitable footwear and are lifting correctly at all times. They will act as your guardian throughout your time working out in the gym. They will also by qualified in CPR and first aid should anything untoward happen.

Reprinted with permission:

About the Author: Training and fitness routines are a very personal thing and reading the advice of James Brooks will help before you select a personal trainer or a company to use for a new personal training programme.

Source: www.isnare.com

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