Hobart Personal Trainer | Hobart Fat Loss | Hobart Personal Training

Here you go, straight to the the point.

It’s what I like because it is what works.

I don’t see the point in doing exercises to ‘fill in time’. If you are going to do an exercise it may as well have a purpose. If not, find another one that does. (That is unless you have so much spare time on your hands that you want to waste it on pointless exercise…)

Number One

Front Squat Variations

It’s not that I don’t like back squats, it’s just that I think front squats are superior.

Why?

• With the right tools they are a lot easier to teach and learn.
• You don’t need as much load to work the legs –> less spinal loading
• They work the anterior core more

So in a nutshell, you can get up and running with them quicker because you don’t have to spend a whole heap of time ‘learning’ how to do the exercise. You won’t get much benefit from an exercise that you can’t load up because you can’t nail the correct technique. You can still smash your legs without smashing your back. And they smoke your abs (this is cool for everyone!)

You could squat properly at some stage...

Number Two

Push Up Variations

Why?

This old school classic is almost infinitely variable for both the beginner and the advanced trainer. Elevate your hands to make it easier or you can elevate your feet to make it harder.

You can also add resistance with bands, sandbags (or both…yikes!!). You can vary the with and angle of your hands and elbows to target different muscles and you can incorporate your lower body (think spider man pushups) to blast your core as well.

From a biomechanical point of view, your scapula should be free to move and not  trapped in on a bench. Not to say that you shouldn’t do bench presses, but at least balance it out with some non bench ‘chest’ exercises.

Number Three

Swing Variations

Why?

A lot of people tend to disregard the muscles they can’t see (too many squats and pushups maybe…!) All of the muscles on the back of their body which are typically important for your posture, muscle balance, injury prevention and strength. Your hammies, glutes, lower back, upper back all need to be worked as much as the muscles on the front of the body.

Personally I think kettlebells are the best tool for swings, you can pretty much swing anything. Be very careful when you are swinging cats though….

Seriously though, weight plates, dumbells, sandbags, water bags will all get the job done fine. Just be sure to stay super tight through your core, keep your back straight and in control of the weight at all times.

This movement can be used for power or endurance making it a great all rounder.

Wrong sort of swing...

Number Four

Pull Up Variations

Notice I didn’t say pulldown variations….if you are going to do pulldowns, us some bands and not a machine, they will keep you honest all they way up and down (you’ll know what I mean when you try them!)

These are another great exercise for your back muscles to help get that balance back.

Now with pullups you can add weight to make them harder or make them easier with bands or help from your trainer. Change your hand with and rotation to challenge your strength and different muscles and you have endless options for change or advancement.

If you want a great ab workout (and who doesn’t!) hold a weight between your feet and let me know how your abs feel the next day or two…

Now, give it to me straight….

Do you like the list? What would you add? What would you take away??

Leave a comment below….

There you are focused on your goal of losing weight and getting fitter and along comes a big, nasty distraction.

It might be some advertising for some food or meal you know won’t help you reach your goal.

It might be a friend inviting you over for dinner that you know won’t have the healthy option you desire.

It might be your birthday, your partner’s birthday, a colleague’s birthday, a long lost cousin’s birthday…

It might be a holiday where you intend to stay on track but veer off because after all ‘I’m on holiday’.

Well let me tell you, I’ve been there and done that. And what’s more I’ve fallen victim to every marketing, social and mental trap out there.

That’s why I’m telling you…

“you are not alone”

because

“I get it too”

“So how does that help me” I hear you asking. “You making a mess of things doesn’t help me out”….

Here’s something else I know.

When I make those bad choices, I generally feel sh!t afterwards.

Overindulge – feel sick.

Too much sugar – sugar high (not always good) followed by massive sugar low (never good)

Poor snack choices – low energy, typically leading to more poor snack choices.

Amplify this with the fact that poor energy and feeling like rubbish leads also to a bad training session and you can see how this revolving circle leads you nowhere good.

So lets get back to the part where I help you!

Write down a list of every obstacle that you feel is in you way (past, present or potentially in your future). Now add to this list at least one if not two possible solutions to these obstacles.

And when I say write it down, I mean write it down. The mere act of doing this and not just thinking about it will completely change your outcome.

So now you have a list of solutions, not just a list of obstacles or problems. Also, you will have committed these solutions to your subconscious and when the problem arrises you will be much better equipped to deal with it. Your brain will be preprogrammed to deal with the situation because you have already visualised and written down this solution.

Follow this method and you will find not only that you are able to overcome all of those little obstacles that life puts in your way, but it will also be a lot less stressful when you are doing it.

I love lists!

They make life easy.

It’s sort of like painting by numbers. Someone has done all of the hard work for you and all you have to do is follow along and reap the rewards.

So lets have a look at a list of five foods you should stock your shelves with.

1. Green Tea

Now before we get off on the wrong foot, i am going to say drinks count as a food. The calories definitely count, so I’m adding them to the list. But we want to add good ones, so it’s going to be green tea to kick things off. Antioxidants, increased metabolism and some calorie free fluid in the stomach is reason enough. By the way, when I say green tea, you will be buying bags or leaves not premade, sugar filled, pretend-to-be-healthy drinks.

2. Pistachios

As my daughter calls the, “the ones with the shell.” A couple of good reasons to eat these is that they taste pretty good but you also have to shell them which means you won’t eat as many! They contain plenty of goodness, boosting your immune system and lowering your cholesterol.

3. Cinnamon

Now if you have ever said to me that you don’t like spicy foods, you will know that my reply will have been “you don’t like donuts then….?” Cinnamon is a spice, however is mostly used to sweeten foods. Adding some to your oats in the morning, adding it to a shake or even adding it to some steak will help to control your body’s post meal insulin spike. In simple terms, less energy slumps and less belly fat!

4. Spinach

Spinach goes with anything. Anything! You can have it raw, steamed, or my favourite new trick – blended into your shake. Now before you turn your nose up, let it be known that adding spinach to you shake will have ZERO affect on the taste of your shake. It will make it a bit greener and add a whole lot of nutrients but will not affect the taste at all. Don’t comment on this or share an opinion until you have tried it!

5. Beans

Beans, any variety, pretty much any way. The more organic and less sauce they come with the better, but adding beans to your diet will add a heap of fibre and help to suppress your appetite. They can be added to basically anything (notice how I said basically anything…don’t add them yo your shake and blame me!) salads, eggs, meat, curries, hommus or just by themselves.

A nice little trick when filling your shelves with good foods is to take away an equal amount of bad foods. If you cannot bring yourself to throw the bad foods out, eat it. Eat it all, now. Seriously.

Chances are that you have a job.

Chances are that your job doesn’t require as much movement as even the same job 10 or 20 years ago.

Chances are that your job is causing your body some stress be it mental or physical.

Chances are you could implement a few of the following to improve both your health and fitness whilst you are at work.

Read On…..

1. Stand Up

Most jobs these days require a lot of sitting. Heck, I’m even sitting down as I write this and you probably are as well reading it.

The problem with sitting down a lot is that it places a lot of stress on your lower back. Add to this the fact that you are going to shorten the muscles in your hamstrings, hip flexors, abdominals and chest and then multiply this with some less than ideal sitting posture or ergonomics and you have a recipe for disaster!

So instead of finding opportunities to sit down, look for opportunities to stand up. Build habits around activities you do often and you will find it becomes part of your day. Stand up when you are on the phone for instance, this will get you up from your seat, lengthening your postural muscles, and giving your lower back a break.

2. Drink More Water

Yeah, yeah. We’ve heard it all before. But there’s a massive gap between knowing and doing. And to throw in another of my favourite sayings, “If you’re not assessing, you’re guessing”, unless you know how much you are ACTUALLY getting each day then how can you increase your intake?

Get a drink bottle designed to be refilled and avoid reusing an old plastic water bottle. Aim to get through at least two litres per day, PLUS what you need for exercise. (to start with this may even help with point number 1!!) The exact amount you need will obviously vary from person to person, but start with the two litre goal and then adjust as required.

3. Be Less Charitable

…or find another way to be charitable. Yes I’m talking about the fundraiser chocolates and lollies. Yes they get eaten. Yes the calories still count! Make a donation and eat an apple. The organisation will get more of the money and you will get less fat and sugar. It’s a win-win scenario.

4. Multi Task

Aim to get something done at lunch time other than eating lunch. A walk down town to pick up that gift, or just a walk to get out of the office and get moving. Eat your lunch at the same time and you can tick off two boxes.

If that doesn’t work, take your lunch for a walk, and eat it 10-15 minutes away from the office. Take the newspaper with you or do whatever else you normally do at lunch, but find ways you CAN do it not excuses why you CAN’T.

5. Free Parking and Public Transport

Inner city parking can be quite expensive. Actually it can be really expensive. But if you were to park out of town a bit and walk in (think 10-15 minute radius) or park near some public transport out of town, catch the bus or train somewhere close to work and get some extra exercise in there, it will add up. Once again look for ways and reasons why you can instead of putting up barries as to why you can’t.

If you are already doing these, great work. If you have any other ideas to share, just leave a comment below.