1. MAKE SURE they have up to date registration and insurance. Ask to see their certifications which should be a certificate IV in personal training or a University degree, all trainers should have insurance and be registered with Fitness Australia.

2. Ask them what plan they have for you to achieve your goals; They should have a nutrition plan and an exercise program for you to follow, your personal trainer should have a step by step plan to ensure you reach your goals.

3. Ask them how much experience they have in the industry and ask for testimonials
from past clients, any good personal training company will have case studies of past clients with before and after pictures.

4. Ask for a free trial session. You don’t have to choose the first trainer you find, book 2-3 trial sessions with different trainers and find one you feel comfortable with.

6. The trainer should be in good shape themselves, if they can’t motivate themselves then they’ll be unlikely to motivate you.

7. How much attention and motivation do they give you in your trial session? A pet peeve of mine is trainers talking on the phone while their clients are working out, if this happens – turn and run.

Train Hard

Dan Clay
Personal Trainers Sydney

                          

It seems many employers are jumping on the bandwagon that says good employee health means good employee performance.

And it makes perfect sense.

Employees that are fit and healthy have a greater impact on a company’s profit margin as they have a higher moral and increased productivity. They take fewer sick days, maximizing their performance and lower companies health care costs.

Considering that 75% of illnesses are caused through lifestyle related choices, it’s a better option to care for employees every step of the way rather than waiting for employees to become sick.

In the Western world the health care system is backwards, it’s reactive rather than proactive.

Unfortunately not enough time and money is spent on keeping people fit, healthy and out of the doctor’s office.

We wait for people to get sick, give them a few pills to mask their symptoms, then get them out of the doctor’s office a.s.a.p.

So what can a company or business owner do to assist staff with their health?

A small business owner can arrange for a fitness expert, nutritionist and other healthcare professionals to come into their business to conduct a “lunch and learn”.

Employees benefit from such seminars through learning how to bring daily physical activity into the workplace and how to fit short effective workouts into a lunch break, which is crucial for a sedentary workforce.

Companies can also run “Biggest Loser Contests” with prizes for the winner such as gift vouchers or cash and offer employees incentives for giving up smoking as well as discounts on health insurance.

Expert nutritionists help employees to create a well balanced and healthy eating plan which guarantees increased energy levels and productivity through out the day. The essential nutrients are vital to every body’s well being and prevent a number of illnesses.

Both a well balanced diet and an effective exercise program are crucial for a society that is becoming increasingly obese.

Not only will a strategic health care plan positively affect your businesses bottom line, it will send a message to your employees that you care and take their health care issues seriously.

If you have any questions regarding our corporate fitness programs please feel free to contact me at enquiry@personaltrainersydney.com

Train Hard!

Dan Clay
Personal Trainer Sydney
Dangerously Fit Personal Training

                          

If so use these guidelines as a blueprint for your strength training program.

There’s a lot of misunderstanding as to how beginners should begin their strength training program.

For some reason most people begin strength training using machines then progress on to free weights when they have ‘mastered’ machine weights. There is no need to ‘master machines’ because they take no learning – anyone can push a fixed weight up and down.

The reason we start beginners with a break in program is to prepare your stabilizing muscles for free weights. Your body needs to learn how to control, stabilize and then move your own body before lifting external weights.

Always train with your bodyweight first, (i.e. push up’s, bodyweight squats) before adding any type of external weight! (The only exception to this rule is if you have poor strength to bodyweight ratio).

A beginner will increase strength much faster than a seasoned lifter, use total body workouts or upper/lower body splits (training the upper lower body on separate days) There is no need to “blitz” individual muscles using bodybuilding routines (unless you’re a bodybuilder training 6 days a week and using a concoction of performance enhancing drugs).

Always perform large multi-joint exercises, which are exercise’s that use multiple muscles at one time.

Begin your strength training program with a ‘break in program’ using high reps (12-15) to prepare the muscles and tendons for the following programs which will increase in intensity. A beginner usually does not need to use any more than 2 sets per exercise, there’s no need to do anymore as your body has made very few adaptation’s to exercise.

Train movement patterns instead of body-parts and incorporate functional exercises into your strength training routine where you;

Push
Pull
Twist
Bend
Lunge
Squat

Don’t try to lift too heavy too soon and give your body at least 48 hrs recovery between workouts to let your body recover and adapt to the load your placing it under. Make sure you eat a meal high in carbohydrates 3 hours before your workout and be sure to consume a mixture of both carbs and protein within 15mins of finishing your workout. Eat a well balanced diet with plenty of fruits, veg’s and wholefoods and get plenty of rest.

If you have any questions please feel free to post them below.

Train Hard!

Dan Clay
Dangerously Fit
Personal Trainer Sydney

                          

If you missed part 1 you can view it here… Fat Loss Tips

If you have any questions please feel free to comment below.

Fitness tip # 6 – Calorie deficit. Through proper diet and regular exercise create a calorie deficit. This simply means burning more calories than you’re consuming. Keep a journal and get a calorie counter, you can record your diet for free at www.fitday.com. How are you supposed to know how many calories you’re putting into your body if you’re not keeping track of what you’re eating and drinking? By creating a calorie deficit you’ll be using energy from your energy stores (body fat). The trick is not to create a calorie deficit that’s too high or your body will think its starving and will begin too slow your metabolism down, your focus should be on losing fat, not necessarily weight. A too high calorie deficit can also cause a reduction in lean muscle mass making it harder for you to lose weight.

Fitness tip # 7 – Weight training. Muscle is the only tissue that is metabolically expensive. Therefore increasing muscle mass will elevate your metabolism at rest, you’ll burn more calories sitting behind your desk and whilst you’re asleep, you will also burn a considerable more amount of energy whilst you’re exercising through greater energy demand from the increase in lean muscle. Perform exercises that will give you the biggest return, compound exercises such as deadlifts, squats, pushing and pulling exercises and use a variety of combination lifts and circuits. Use drop sets and superset’s and keep the rest period in between exercises to a minimum.

Fitness tip # 8 – Consume more protein. Eating protein will keep you fuller for longer, meaning you’ll consume less overall calories in a day. Eating protein also makes your digestive system work twice as hard as eating carbohydrates and fat, so by eating more protein you’ll be burning more calories through digestion (this is known as the thermic effect). One of the biggest mistakes people make when dieting is that they lose muscle as well as fat, which will in turn slow down their metabolism. By eating plenty of protein and following a suitable weights program this will ensure you maintain your muscle tissue. If you have trouble consuming adequate amounts of protein, try supplementing with a ‘whole food based’ protein drink.

Fitness tip # 9 – Interval Training. Interval training is the #1 cardiovascular exercise for weight loss. It includes high intensity exercise (for10-60 seconds) broken up with periods of low intensity exercise. The good thing with interval training is that you burn more calories in a shorter amount of time. So there’s no need to spend hrs pounding away on a treadmill, you can be done in 20-25 mins and that’s including your warm up and cool down! This form of training will keep your metabolism elevated for up to 24 hrs after you’ve finished training, through E.P.O.C (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption), so you’ll be burning calories even while you’re sleeping.

Fitness tip # 10 – Include a cheat day once a week! Keep your body guessing and have a cheat day once a week. This will stop your body from hitting a plateau and stop your metabolism from slowing down. A cheat day is a good time to eat the foods you’ve been craving throughout the week. No-one can eat perfectly 100% of the time without cracking, so hold off any foods that aren’t in your nutrition plan until this day. Having a cheat day will allow you to be good for the other 6 day’s of the week, (just don’t go too mad)!

Be sure to check back in a few days for part 3 of this mini series.

Train Hard!

Dan Clay
Dangerously Fit Personal Training
Sydney Personal Training
Sydney Fitness Boot Camps
Sydney Corporate Fitness