personal training toowong

Be Kind to Your Back

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At least once in our lives we’ve been told, “Back straight! Shoulders back!” as a way of correcting our poor posture. However, proper back health and correct posture is more than that. Good posture and a good back also have a lot more to offer us than the appearance of confidence. Whether you’re a fitness pro, an athlete or someone who’s just keen on making sure they’re in good shape, not enough importance is placed on having a strong back.

We take our backs for granted every day. All day, we hop from one seat to another–the car, the bus, the train, the office, the couch, the bed. The times we do get to walk, we’re probably balancing a heavy handbag or backpack or not noticing that we’re slouching as we’re in a rush. The matter of “good” and “bad” posture is not entirely simple. In fact, according to experts, there are five types of postures:

  1. Kyphosis is where the head is in forward position and the shoulders and upper back are rounded.
  2. Lordosis involves an exaggerated lumbar (lower back) curve with the shoulders pulled back too slightly.
  3. Sway back is when the body is actually tilting backwards.
  4. Forward head posture is where the head and cervical spine shift forward.
  5. Correct posture is when the shoulders and hips are aligned and the ear aligns with the shoulder down to the hip and ankle bone.

Now, you’re probably wondering how is it you can be mindful whether your ears and and hips and ankle bones are perfectly aligned at all times? Achieving correct posture seems like a tricky balancing act, but it’s achievable. When standing with good posture, you should be able to draw an imaginary straight line from your earlobe through your shoulder, hip, knee and the middle of your ankle. Meanwhile, good sitting posture means having your back straight and buttocks at the back of your chair with your feet flat on the floor and knees bent at a right angle.

The most common reason we’re given when advised to fix our posture is that it will make us look more attractive and confident. Of course, attraction and confidence don’t lie solely on physical appearance, but there is value in this. Non-verbal cues make up 85 percent of everyday communication, so even when you’re feeling unsure, you can at least make it seem like you are with the simple act of correcting your posture.

personal training toowongYour posture impacts your strength, no matter how much training you undergo. When we slump or slouch, the shoulder stabilisers fail and the chest and core drop. Even our breathing is affected by posture. Good posture opens the airways in our bodies, allowing for enhanced oxygen flow. This is why exercises such as yoga, Pilates and meditation place a lot of emphasis on breathing and posture. When you breath properly, you increase your concentration and thinking abilities as well. The more oxygen we get, the better.

The course to correcting your posture involves both physical and mental strategies. You may practice back-strengthening exercises at the gym, but keeping your posture in check whether you’re at work, play or rest requires a little more attention.

Women & Weight Training

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Weight training is very beneficial for all women. It is particularly beneficial for those with weight loss goals. There are a lot of misconceptions, however, with regard to weight training for women.

The most common misconceptions surrounding women and weight training are:

  • Women should lift weights at high repetitions and low weight for ‘toning’
  • Women who lift weights get big and bulky muscles
  • Our muscle will turn to fat if we stop lifting weights

1.      Women should lift weights at high repetitions and low weight for toning

‘Muscle tone’ comes from being able to see muscle underneath body fat. Therefore, if you have excess body fat covering the muscle you will not have a ‘toned’ look. I prefer to refer to ‘being toned’ as ‘having muscle definition’ as it more accurately describes the ‘look’ that many women are aspiring to.

In order to increase muscle definition, it is necessary to do weight training so that you have enough visible muscle, however, lifting weights at high repetitions and low weight actually trains our muscles for endurance instead of strength and hypertrophy (muscle gain).

So to make our muscles ‘toned’ we need to build muscle and this can only happen if your muscles are placed under sufficient stress, i.e. lifting heavier weights. Placing greater stress on your muscles can be accomplished by progressively overloading your muscles and placing varying stresses on your muscles (periodisation) on a regular basis.

2.      Women who lift weights get big bulky muscles

By far the majority of women do not have the high levels of testosterone and human growth hormone required to increase their lean muscle mass to a large extent.

By strength training, you can however, help maintain muscle mass as well as replace muscle lost through ageing and (depending on your genetics) perhaps add a couple of kilograms of lean muscle mass – if you are lucky!

Lucky because more muscle means a higher metabolism and therefore, faster fat burning. The net result will be that you will fit into your clothes more easily and slowdown the ageing process.

3.      Our muscle will turn to fat if we stop lifting weights

Muscle can’t turn into fat; it is simply not possible!

What will happen, however, if you stop weight training and continue to eat the same amount of food you were eating while you were training, the extra kilojoules that you used to burn will now be stored as fat. This is due to the fact that when we stop weight training, we begin to lose muscle and therefore, our metabolic rate declines, causing a decrease in our daily energy needs. Any excess calories, regardless of their source, will then be stored as fat.

Weight Training and Fat Loss

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Imagine that your body is a motor vehicle. Your muscles: use energy to produce movement (like an engine); absorb impact forces that otherwise could destroy your bones, connective tissue and joint structures (like shock absorbers); and provide the framework that enables you to function physically (like the chassis). Just as mechanics know that proper maintenance keeps your car in good shape, researchers are finding that weight training plays a vital role in keeping your muscles well-tuned.

Weight training also plays a crucial part in your weight loss efforts and more importantly helping you to maintain your weight loss results. One of the biggest mistakes people make when starting a weight loss or body transformation program is not including weight training with their cardio-vascular exercise and eating regimen. This is unfortunate, because when you cut calories without weight training for an extended period, you can lose muscle as well as fat. And when you lose muscle, your body becomes a lot less efficient at burning fat. However, when you gain muscle, your body will burn more fat, 24 hours a day!

The benefits of weight training for weight loss include…

Weight Training Increases Your Metabolism

Your resting metabolic rate represents the amount of energy you need on a daily basis to sustain the function of your body. Even at rest, muscle is very active tissue. Consequently, muscle loss results in a reduction in your metabolic rate. Because less muscle means lower energy requirements, calories that were previously used for muscle maintenance are now stored as fat. Sensible weight training is the best means of avoiding decreases in muscle mass and metabolic rate, and guarding against the obesity creep, i.e. weight training will maintain or increase your metabolic rate, which in turn helps you to maintain or decrease your body fat levels.

Weight Training Improves Glucose Metabolism

Researchers have reported a 23% increase in glucose uptake after four months of weight training. Because poor glucose metabolism is associated with increasing body fat and adult onset diabetes, improved glucose metabolism is an important benefit of regular weight training.

Weight Training Helps Neutralise Age-related Muscle Loss

Most adults that do not do weight training lose between 2.3 and 3.2 kg of muscle per decade. This equates to a decrease of 2-5% in metabolic rate every decade. At rest, 1 kg of muscle requires 13 calories per day for tissue maintenance, and during exercise, muscle energy utilisation increases dramatically. An InBody Scan (or other similar test) will help you monitor changes in your lean muscle mass.

Weight Training Improves Daily Function

Increased functional strength from weight training does wonders to help you with activities of daily living such as house work, working in the yard, moving furniture, and carrying bags of groceries, without gasping for air and tiring within minutes. If you have a medical condition such as arthritis or multiple sclerosis, lifting weights can also be a great help. The greater efficiency in performing general activities due to increased strength can also lead to an increase in the use of body fat as energy thereby helping with fat loss.

Weight Training Improves Posture

When your body is stronger (including your core), you are better able to hold yourself with good posture, your back aches less, there is less stress in your neck and your legs feel strong. You simply function better! Most people who increase their strength, also report an increase in self-confidence.

How Much Is Enough?

Although a personal trainer can help determine the best program for you, as a general rule benefits can be achieved from training 2 – 3 non-consecutive days per week for a minimum of one set per exercise for each major muscle group. You should use enough resistance to fatigue the muscle group by the end of each set.

Getting Stronger

Training your muscles does take some effort, but no matter what age you are, you’ll find that strength training will fuel a healthy lifestyle and help you function better in all aspects of your life.

 

OPTION 1: Seven Week Online Training Email Program

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This option consists of:

• A 30 minute initial consultation via telephone, email, SKYPE or face to face to explore and evaluate your current lifestyle habits, your exercise goals and ideas to get you organised to achieve the best possible results.
• A second 30 minute consultation to discuss your program, detailed goals and an achievable action plan.
• A comprehensive personalised 6 week cardio and resistance training program.
• Exercise & Food Diary
• Nutritional guidelines.
• Unlimited email support.
• A 15 minute post program follow-up consultation to discuss results, answer questions and explore further actions.

Book Now for $225.00

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OPTION 2: Seven Week Online Training Mentoring Program

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This is a seven week program designed for people looking for on-going accountability, direction, feedback and support from their Coach as they move towards creating forever change. This option consists of:

• A 30 minute initial consultation via telephone, email, SKYPE or face to face to explore and evaluate your current lifestyle habits, your exercise goals and ideas to get you organised to achieve the best possible results.
• A second 30 minute consultation to discuss your program, detailed goals and an achievable action plan.
• A comprehensive personalised 6 week cardio and resistance training program.
• Exercise & Food Diary
• Nutritional guidelines.
• Weekly 15 minute telephone consultations to discuss your progress, answer questions, provide feedback and support to assist you in achieving your goals.
• Unlimited email support.
• A 15 minute post-program follow-up consultation to discuss results, answer questions and explore further actions.

Book Now for $475.00

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OPTION 3: Thirteen Week Online Training Email Program

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This option consists of:

• A 30 minute initial consultation via telephone, email, SKYPE or face to face to explore and evaluate your current lifestyle habits, your exercise goals and ideas to get you organised to achieve the best possible results.
• A further 2 x 30 minute consultations to discuss your program, detailed goals and an achievable action plan.
• 2 x comprehensive personalised 6 week cardio and resistance training programs – new program issued week 7.
• Exercise & Food Diary
• Nutritional guidelines
• Unlimited email support
• A 15 minute post program follow-up consultation to discuss results, answer questions and explore further actions

Book Now for $425.00

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OPTION 4: Thirteen Week Online Training Mentoring Program

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This is a thirteen week program designed for people looking for on-going accountability, direction, feedback and support from their Coach as they move towards creating forever change. This option consists of:

• A 30 minute initial consultation via telephone, email, SKYPE or face to face to explore and evaluate your current lifestyle habits, your exercise goals and ideas to get you organised to achieve the best possible results.
• A further 2 x 30 minute consultations to discuss your program, detailed goals and an achievable action plan.
• 2 x comprehensive personalised 6 week cardio and resistance training programs – new program issued week 7
• Exercise & Food Diary
• Nutritional guidelines and shopping tips.
• Weekly 15 minute telephone consultation to discuss your progress, answer questions, provide feedback and support to assist you in meeting your goals.
• Unlimited email support.
• A 15 minute post program follow-up consultation to discuss results, answer questions and explore further actions.

Book Now for $875.00

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Personal Training

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One-on-one personal training sessions with your personal trainer will keep you highly focused on achieving your health and fitness objectives. Personal Best personal trainers are committed to your success and will do all that they can to assist you in your endeavours.

Your individual personal training program will generally consist of a combination of:

  • Resistance training exercise to develop strength,
  • Cardio-vascular (aerobic) exercise to develop stamina, and
  • Stretching to develop flexibility.

Nutritional advice will focus on supporting the exercise program and your goals. Close monitoring of your performance will help in adjusting the program as we go and to ensure that we increase the intensity when required.

Your training program needs to be individually tailored to get maximum benefit and to meet your specific health and fitness objectives. If necessary, we can also assist with injury or accident rehabilitation. Note: Exercise prescription will be done in consultation with your Doctor and/ or physiotherapist when required. To assist in the process of developing your program, we will assess your current level of fitness by conducting a comprehensive fitness assessment. This will then be repeated every 2 months to assess your progress as well as show any areas that need additional attention. Your program will be adjusted accordingly in line with your ongoing results.

The results of each of your fitness assessments will be available for your viewing in graph form on the My Personal Best website. In addition to your fitness assessment results, you will also have access to your periodised fitness training plan together with your weekly schedule on the My Personal Best website.

If you require extra personal attention, have a special medical consideration or simply want to allow yourself to the best that we can offer, then this is the service for you. If you find you work better with a partner, you also have the option of training with a friend or family member.

Personal training is available at each of our personal training studios at a time to suit you.

Our Mission is to ‘change people’s lives through motivation, education and support’ and we will do all that we can to accomplish this mission.

 

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On-line Personal Training

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Getting Started

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Congratulations on your decision to join our Running Club. Your fitness opportunities are unlimited in taking up this activity and we want to assure you that your progress will be monitored by our experienced running club trainers. We will also be there to encourage you when you are ready for events and wish to join your colleagues in a Fun Run or timed event.

Activities and information will be available to suit all levels of running. We will attempt to arrange educational opportunities throughout the running season, in addition to scheduled club training. When we support a club entry to an event, trainers will offer runners a preparation program and support the team.

“Nothing could be simpler than getting out there and putting one foot in front of the other” ~ Heather Turland, Commonwealth Games Women’s Marathon Winner, 1998

Objectives of the Personal Best Running Club

The objective is to provide Personal Best clients the opportunity to jog and run effectively as part of their fitness regime as well as to encourage members of the Running Club to participate in organised events and educational activities with the support of professional trainers.