I get it… Not everyone loves strength training. It makes a certain amount of sense since there is plenty of chatter about using lighter weights to tone the muscles. Now, trust me… I’m not mocking what other people say, that’s there prerogative.

Here’s the deal from my perspective though.

Strength training assists us with

• burning fat
• increasing bone density (this means less breaks and fractures as we age, particularly women)
• boosting confidence AND…
• gets us through every day life

Here’s the other BIG thing to consider, strength training or resistance training is unique from person to person. The maximum amount of weight that I can lift today will be different from yours, which will also be different from your friend and your other friend. The common ground is that it is really important, for all of us.

I know another big concern is that some of us get a little more bulky than others when doing some serious strength training. If this is the case, which it certainly can be… then you want to vary the weights that you use throughout your workouts on a weekly basis. Not to mention there’s zero benefit to lifting the max amount of weight you can lift every single time you workout.

So how do you know where to start?

There’s a little bit of trial and error that goes into it. For starters though, you’d want to set aside some time to pick few exercises that you’d be curious to knowing your max amount of weight that you can move. You’d likely only want to test 1-2 of these exercises a day and spread them out over the course of a week. Trying to lift your maximum amount of weight for a single exercise will be very challenging, you don’t want to test several in one day, unless you are at a competition.

Once you know your numbers take them into consideration when you are deciding which weights to use for your workouts. If the workout has rep schemes that 8-12 or more, use a lesser percentage of the weight. If the rep scheme is 3-5 or less, consider using a greater percentage of your maximum weight and vary those higher percentages from workout to workout so you aren’t always doing the same. Remember, attempting 100% of your weight all the time isn’t a good thing.

When it comes to H.I.I.T. (high intensity interval training) keep in mind that high intensity doesn’t necessarily mean fast. This could be a great opportunity to use a slightly heavier weight for one exercise and lighter to moderate weight for the other exercises, provided the rep/set scheme is appropriate. Adding in strength training here will help with all the attributes of lifting heavier weights that were listed out above while also feeling like you’ve worked out doing the H.I.I.T. component of the workout.

If you aren’t quite into the whole idea of lifting heavier weights this will be a mindset shift for sure. It’s OK to ease into it, remember Rome wasn’t built in a day. Mixing up the amount of weight you use during your workout program as a whole (meaning month over month) helps you to avoid serious plateaus so from that standpoint it’s highly important to vary the amount of weight you use for both different exercises and the same.

Want to see what I’m talking about, stop in to set up a success session with one of coaches today!

What exactly are you looking to achieve this year as it relates to your health and fitness? Have you decided you want to lose 15 pounds or stop eating processed foods or maybe even deadlift your own bodyweight or more.

Regardless…

Any of the options I listed or any you have in your heart, all require you to start and then be consistent.

I could have belabored that a bit but that’s the reality right? If you want to see a change, you have to make a change.

It’s a really unique time at Urban Athlete right now. It is of course the beginning of the year and resolutions are flying around everywhere but the reality is this… We want to see you reach your goals. Sometimes it takes a little kick start to get things going and to remind you or even inspire you to keep going!

The upcoming 6 week Lifestyle Challenge isn’t about restrictions and two-a-day workouts. In fact we’re bringing it further back to the basics than I ever have before. It’s crazy but it’s true – measure the calories in, measure the calories out and ensure the calories in are rich in nutrients.

You ready to make the jump?

Starting Monday, January 28th – you can take the lifestyle leap with us. Send us a message  to urbanathletephilly (at) gmail.com or 215-248-2130 to get set up for a success session this week and get started on the path that will lead you to long term success with your health and fitness.

There’s a really great quote,

“If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you.”

-Fred Devito

If effective exercise and good for you nutrition were easy, everyone would be doing it. Everyone would have successes. As a whole we’d likely be a healthier, happier world.

When your exercise routine doesn’t challenge you anymore you probably won’t see results, at least not the same degree of results you had in the beginning of starting. You can challenge yourself by:

• using heavier weights
• taking less rest
• varying the tempo of the exercise
• completing the same amount of work in less time
• changing the time of day you exercise

The same concept applies for nutrition. It will take more time to prepare your food but it will be healthier and better for you than eating out or buying prepackaged food items. It might be easy to order a pizza for dinner but over the long haul you’ll have a greater response from grilled chicken, roasted vegetables and a salad.

I don’t mean any of this to say that you should purposefully make life harder on yourself, that’s not the angle I’m approaching this from. If you’re going to put in the effort to do a workout, be sure to make it challenging so you benefit from your efforts. If you’re going do that, then you’ll want to fuel and refuel the body with nutrients that are needed by doing some meal prep.

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Don’t know what to do for your workouts?

Call us to set up a time for your success session and we’ll show you how! 215-248-2130

There are likely more recommendations on health and fitness, exercise, weight loss and strength gains than any other subject matter on the consumer market. If not, there are at least too many to count.

Who and what should you believe?

First and foremost, all the facts are required to make the best, educated decision for you.

If it sounds extreme like caloric deprivation, under 1000 calories a day while maintaining exercise, it’s not sustainable or healthy. Also, if it’s excessive, like two-a-day workouts with steady state cardio built in, it’s not sustainable or healthy.

All lifestyle; exercise and nutrition, decisions should support increasing your quality of life. That’s not to say that starting them might be uncomfortable compared to what you currently do. After all, consistent exercise and clean eating are not easy tasks to master but they can be mastered.

To avoid making this a mile long read, the basics for the average person with quality of life as goal, look like this:

-Eat lean proteins, healthy fats, non processed carbohydrates, vegetables and low glycemic fruits.
-Exercise consistently throughout the week, at least 3-4 days a week.
-Don’t starve yourself, your body needs nutrients, particularly after you workout.
-Get sleep, at least 7 hours, it’s part of the recovery process.
-If it hurts, don’t do it. Find a substitute.
-Never give up. Keep at it, building habits and creating change won’t happen overnight.
-Keep yourself accountable, let your coach or family member know if you need support during the process.

Once you’ve mastered the above you make tweaks to train for specific events or to see what your body is capable of doing. Just don’t over do it in the beginning. Remember this: extreme and excessive are not sustainable or healthy.

After being in the industry for over 14 years and owning a facility for over 12 years, I’ve noticed that when budgets are tight or expenses need to be cut, gym memberships are often one of the first to go. In reality it should be one of the last.

Here’s my opinion on how to make a gym membership work for you and why it’s valuable.

Years ago the boutique style gym wasn’t quite a thing yet, CrossFit did a great job of helping to get today’s smaller, functional training facilities on the map. Before then there were large, corporate owned gyms that offered classes, personal training and just a regular old membership, where most people just roamed about. The cost typically wasn’t impactful enough if you missed three weeks in a row or eventually three months in a row.

Here’s why those gyms, and most of our mindset about gyms in general don’t work:

1. You’re signed up,  all excited and motivated to start but you loose that motivation or you simply don’t know what to do when you are there.
2. There’s no accountability, so the first week you miss it’s not noticed, then all of a sudden you haven’t gone in 3 months and it’s still not noticed. Eventually you fall out of a routine.
3. Larger gyms are actually designed for you to not attend.
4. When you don’t know what to do when you’re at the gym you start to wonder if your time might be better spent doing something else.
5. If you aren’t following a specific workout and nutrition plan you probably aren’t going to get the results you want in the time period you want and you get frustrated.

In a smaller, boutique style gym, like Urban Athlete, we attempt to break the mindset and limitations listed out above.

1. At Urban Athlete – it’s about lifestyle. When you sign up for a gym membership we want you to come on a regular and consistent basis.
2. If you are doing personal training we will make sure the workout is tailored to the goals we discussed in your success session.
3. If you are doing group training we will make sure that you are comfortable in the group setting and have modifications and progressions available for when/if the workout needs to be adjusted.
4. Starting a new habit can be challenging and we want you to succeed, so all you have to do is get to the gym, we will show you what you need to do.
5. We also want your workouts to be fun! In addition to the workouts, we host charity events and appreciation events that allow the community to become more connected to each other.
6. Supporting you in your efforts is huge, we want to be able to lift you up, even if it’s just for the time you are at the gym.

The best thing for making a gym membership work for you is:

1. Make sure it’s convenient to home or work or along the route to get to either of these places.
2. Schedule your gym time like you do all other appointments and don’t miss.
3. Set small goals; if you attend the gym 36 times (that’s just 3x a week) in 90 days, reward yourself!
4. Let your coach know what support you need to keep at it. That’s part of the reason we’re there, to help lift you up.