This blog entry is dedicated to the people playing Hanging With Friends on their phones while they think they are burning a ton of calories on the recumbent bike. This is also dedicated to the men and women who listen to an entire Kanye West song in between their sets. I would also like to dedicate this to the guys and girls who stop doing their push ups once they reach 10 reps even though they can clearly do another 10 reps. YOU AREN’T WORKING!
Here is how you get stronger: Push yourself to the max.
This is how you lose weight: Push yourself to the max.
The people I mentioned above are not implementing the Overload Principle to their workouts and therefore will not be getting optimal results! Don’t be that guy/girl!
Muscles only reap the benefits of strength training when they are forced to operate beyond their comfortable limits. The weights you lift, the reps you do, and the sets of reps you do should all be increased from time to time to keep challenging your muscles.
Your heart is a muscle too you know… If you’ve been running at the same MPH for a month going the same distance every time you run, you need to up your speed to work your heart out more efficiently!
Flexibility is a crucial element of fitness too! You must stretch your muscles to the point of tightness and hold for 30-60 seconds in order to gain flexibility results. Don’t break the hold until your 30 seconds per muscle group is up! I know you may not love stretching as much as me and all my yogi friends out there do, but full body mobility is very important. No one want’s to grow up and walk like the Tin Man.
Also, don’t take too much time off from your workouts!
If you don’t USE IT, you LOSE IT!
Muscle atrophy will occur in a few months after you cease to workout. This Reversibility is every gym goers worst nightmare. This is when your gains start to decrease!
You must keep exercising. You must make fitness a part of your life. Don’t become old and feeble… Become old and stronger, old and faster, old and sharper…
Don’t ever get to the point where you are out of breath by the time you reach the top of one staircase. Don’t get to the point where you need to think about how you are going to get up from a chair.
I’m not talking about aesthetics, I’m talking about using weight bearing exercises to increase bone density, joint stability, and overall improvements in every day functions!
STAY HEALTHY! – Your favorite New York City trainer.
