Author Archive

Area Triathlete Transforms More Than Just Her Performance

Area Triathlete Transforms More Than Just Her Performance

In late spring Colleen came to me with one goal in mind: improved triathlon times.  She had started racing last year, fell in love with the sport and decided this year she was going to take it to the next level. With race season still a few months away, her initial program included personal training [...]

Lloyd James Teaches You How to Lose 100 Pounds

Lloyd James Teaches You How to Lose 100 Pounds

Learning how to lose 100 pounds isn’t the same as dieting to lose 10 or 20 pounds, it’s actually a very different journey.  Yes weight loss is the common denominator between these two goals but the numerator (10 vs. 100) requires solving these two equations in very different ways. If you want to lose 100 [...]

The Value of a Personal Fitness & Exercise Plan

The Value of a Personal Fitness & Exercise Plan

Creating an effective fitness exercise program is a daunting task for anyone living in today’s fast paced society. Taking care of a home, children, and maintaining a job leaves very little time for finding and then learning the proper methods required to get in shape.  In this article, I’ll show you how to create your [...]

Heart Rate Monitor Basics & Fitness Results

Whether new to fitness and athletics or a seasoned veteran, the use of heart rate monitor watches can bring a new element of understanding and intensity to your routine.  These digital monitors measure your pulse continually as you exercise and helps you stay within a predetermined heart rate range called the ‘target training zone’. Although monitors have been [...]

Sports Performance Training: Box Jumps to One Leg

Part of sports performance training is utilizing a controlled environment to re-create movements performed during sport.  Although not all sports do, most require the athlete to have controlled jumping ability.  That is, the ability to move a certain direction, jump, potentially move or manipulate the body in some way while in the air and then [...]

Strength Training for Sprinting

Strength Training for Sprinting

If you want to become a better sprinter, you can do so by incorporating various strength training workouts into your training plan.  Particularly, workouts focusing on the posterior chain will help you improve sprint ability.  The posterior chain includes your spinal erectors, glutes, hamstrings, and calf musculature.  These muscles are often referred to as the [...]

Healthy Meal Plans: Protein Drink Update

Healthy Meal Plans: Protein Drink Update

One of the great things about having clients as dedicated (or more) to fitness is that they often send me interesting little tidbits about fitness related media stories and research.  One of my best clients Cliff recently sent me this email: Hey Jes, Check out http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine-archive/2010/july/food/protein-drinks/overview/index.htm. The new Consumer Reports magazine has a good article [...]

Strength Training Workouts: Chest Workout Push-up Challenge

Strength Training Workouts: Chest Workout Push-up Challenge

As you know, effective strength training workouts are an important part of producing fitness results. A favorite component of my chest strength training workouts is push-ups.  It may surprise you to know there are a lot of different ways to perform a push-up.  Most often, push-ups are performed with momentum with little attention given to [...]

Testimonial: Colleen Okolski

Testimonial: Colleen Okolski

My name is Colleen. I am 24 years old and a newly inspired triathlete. I began racing triathlons in June of 2009, which I became turned onto after being bored with my daily workouts. I wasn’t a swimmer, I enjoyed biking but only on a mountain bike, and I ran only if I had to. [...]

Including Medicine Ball Exercises In Your Strength Training Workouts

Including Medicine Ball Exercises In Your Strength Training Workouts

Medicine balls are commonplace at most gyms and workout facilities these days.  They are used for anything from push-ups and overhead throws to functional swings and twists.  For such a simple piece of equipment they are extremely versatile and there are a number of different types of medicine balls to choose from. Most med balls [...]

Core Strength Training and The BOSU Ball

Core Strength Training and The BOSU Ball

A bosu ball is one of those half-balls with a flat platform on one side and a dome that looks like half a stability ball on the other side.  The word BOSU is an acronym that stands for “both sides up”.  Both sides up means you can use this piece of core strength training equipment [...]

Core Strength Training Equipment

Core Strength Training Equipment

In the world of fitness, terms such as core, core strength training, abs and stomach are often confused with one another even though their meanings are quite different.  As I’ve said before, I feel a lot of the confusion and misinformation is the result of the broad spectrum of professionals within the industry. On one [...]

Core Strength Training: Learning To Use A Stability Ball

Core Strength Training: Learning To Use A Stability Ball

I think my favorite core strength training exercises are those I do with any type of workout ball (ie: exercise ball, stability ball, or medicine ball). Of all the various forms of core strength exercises, I find that the simple movements using any type of exercise ball and body weight, or an exercise ball with [...]

Fitness Results Tips From a Mother of Four

Fitness Results Tips From a Mother of Four

I think each person faces a slightly different challenge when it comes to living healthy and getting fitness results. Some people struggle to balance family, work, health and leisure time while others face the psychological challenge of overcoming lifelong obesity. While the nature of our challenges and even the path we choose can be vastly [...]

Core Strength Training Exercises Part 3, Supine Bridge and Pelvic Lift

Core Strength Training Exercises Part 3, Supine Bridge and Pelvic Lift

The supine bridge and pelvic lift are two core strength training exercises that help people who experience low back pain or tightness.  Personally I don’t include the basic version of these exercises in my regular workout routine unless I’m having trouble with my low back.  There are more difficult, single leg versions of these exercises [...]

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