Tag: Personal Trainer

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Weight Loss Exercise

What to look for in a trainer

From the LA Daily News. I jumped up when I saw this article as it hits all the important points to look for in a personal trainer:

Working with a personal trainer can help you reach your fitness goals safely and effectively. Before you hire one, keep the following tips in mind:

Looking for a trainer? Ask around. “We’re the ones in the gym all the time,’ says fitness trainer Jeanette Jenkins, who keeps a personal database of local trainers. “Trainers are going to know who is good because we’re all colleagues.’

Consider hiring a fitness trainer at your gym. They will be familiar with your facility, and you can always seek redress from management should a problem arise. “There’s absolutely a bonus to hiring someone at your facility,’ says personal trainer Kathy Kaehler. “It helps you move along and helps you change your workout.’

Ask for a free or low-cost introductory session. “Spend time with the trainer before you put up money,’ says Allen Saltzman, co-owner of Topanga Training and Fitness in Woodland Hills. “Have a meeting with him or her or ask for a 30-minute session for free. The best idea is to talk to a trainer and ask the trainer some questions. After three sessions with a trainer you should have a really good idea if you like and respect the trainer and whether he or she will take you where you want to go.’

Ask your trainer about his/her fitness certification. Most commercial gyms require their trainers to be certified by a reputable agency such as the National Academy of Sports Medicine. “I like it when someone asks me about my certification because it means they’re serious,’ says Kaehler, who holds a bachelor of science degree in physical education from Hope College in Michigan and is certified through the American Council of Exercise.

Expect professional respect and courtesy. “Watch how they deal with their clients; the language they use,’ advises Jenkins. “They shouldn’t speak over their clients or speak down to them.’

Workouts should be enjoyable and challenging. “There should be a fun factor,’ Jenkins says. “If you’re not having fun, eventually you’re going to stop seeing that trainer.’

Health and Wellness

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Weight Loss Exercise

Goal Setting and success in your health


Goal setting is an important piece of any changes that you make in your life. Whenever you get started making changes in any way I am sure that you have found that the giddiness that you feel at the beginning feels like it will keep you going as long as it takes. After a while we all know that doubts creep in and before you know it the excitement is replaced by doubt and the things that seemed important now feel like a chore.

Well if we start every new plan by setting goals correctly we will have more than a fighting chance once the excitement fades we will have A PLAN.

Goal setting is a simple process, you decide what you want, make lists of why you want your goals as well as a list of what could stop you, make a plan decide what you will use as goal posts as you move toward the goal and finally once you reach your goal you celebrate the achievement.

Let’s try this out with a weight loss goal:

  • Goal, to lose 30 pounds
  • Why, to feel and be more
    healthy, prove to myself I can do anything
  • What could stop me, people
    offering food, bad weather for workouts, tiredness
  • Plan, to do cardio 3 days a
    week and weights 2 days a week, to cut the size of my meals, to cut out
    all sugar except for once a day, get lots of sleep to rest from the
    changes and workouts
  • Goal posts, lose 2 pounds
    per week, 30 pounds should be lost in 15 weeks, adjust diet and
    exercise as needed
  • Celebrate, after finishing
    this weight loss get a family picture taken with me in new clothes

This goal setting system is almost fool proof, the only thing that you should add if you can is a partner and someone that you can talk to about your progress, a spouse maybe or a personal trainer if it is a exercise goal.

Now go forward and make some goals! One more thing that I learned from listening to Tony Robbins is that when you do make a goal don’t leave the site of a goal without taking an action towards it’s attainment.


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Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS Receiver with Heart Rate Monitor Review


Serious runners and other sports enthusiasts will benefit from a running watch like the Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS Receiver with heart rate monitor. The Forerunner 305 allows you to monitor, store, analyze and share your workout data. It has a built-in GPS to keep track of your route and tell you how far and how fast you went. It also includes a wireless heart rate monitor to help you optimize your performance. It monitors your heart rate, distance, speed, and calories burned so you can train smarter and more effectively.

Product Features

Exceptional signal reception with high-sensitivity, watch-like GPS receiver

Can store up to 100 waypoints and 50 routes

Waterproof, but not recommended for swimming

Comes with wireless heart rate monitor

Features auto-pause, auto-lap and auto-scroll (cycles through data screens)

Measures 2.1� x 2.7� x 0.7�

Weighs 2.72 oz.

Garmin is well known for its GPS units and it is one of the few GPS makers that cater to the needs of runners and cyclists. The Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS receiver is equipped with a heart rate monitor. It is designed for the elite athlete who wants to track his time, speed and distance while running, walking or biking. The heart rate monitor provides additional data to assess your performance level. Data in the Forerunner 305 can be uploaded and shared with a coach or personal trainer.

Depending on your needs or preference, the display can be set to show one large data display or up to four data. You can also scroll through data screens to see the information that you need at the moment.

Heart Rate Monitor

Like previous Forerunner models, the Forerunner 305 shows pace, speed and distance traveled. However, the Forerunner 305 now comes with a built-in heart rate monitor in addition to the GPS receiver. Athletes and training enthusiasts know the importance of monitoring your heart rate. The data from the heart rate monitor let the runner or cyclist know how intensely he is training. Highly accurate and sensitive sensors in the Garmin Forerunner 305 provide ECG-level heart rate data.

Customizable Screen Display

The display screen can be customized to show relevant data to suit your needs. You may want to look at your time, laps or total training time. If you need more data you can display your pace, heart rate, lap time, distance traveled, etc.

All data gathered by the Forerunner 305 are stored in its internal memory. You can review the data and even look at past performances to track your progress.

Data Dock

The Garmin Forerunner 305 running watch comes with a data dock that you can plug into your computer’s USB port. This will allow you to upload your training data to your computer. The included Garmin Training Center software can help you see how effective your training is. You can also use the MotionBased web site to store and analyze your workout data, using its graphing and sharing tools.

GPS Receiver with Heart Rate Monitor

With its intermediate to advanced running features, the affordable Garmin Forerunner 305 is designed for serious runners who want GPS functionality, heart rate monitoring, and computer integration from their running watches.

The device comes with a user manual, wireless heart rate monitor strap, computer docking and charging station, separate wall charger unit and Garmin Training Center software in CD.

The software is easy to setup and install, but you will need to read the manual and become familiar with the button functions on the running watch.

The unit’s built-in GPS capability is highly sensitive, allowing the receiver to work well even under tree cover or areas with tall buildings. Its wireless capabilities eliminate the need for wires that could clutter a bike. Computer connectivity is easy, and you can upload your training data to a computer or online-based training and route-sharing tools.

Pros

Offers a complete solution for monitoring and analyzing workout data

Customizable display

Connectivity to PC training software and online tools

Accurate heart rate sampling

Fast satellite acquisition time

Simple to set up and use

Accurate distance measuring

Automated training log update

Cons

Takes time and practice to master the features

Big/bulky size

No auto-off feature when not in use

What Customers Say

Judging by the positive reviews on the Amazon website alone, which numbers close to 2000, the Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS Receiver with Heart Rate Monitor is a huge success. Customers find the GPS functionality impressive, and the heart rate monitoring is a very helpful feature for serious athletes. Now selling for less than $130, this running watch is an excellent and affordable training tool for runners and cyclists.

Customers like being able to map their workouts on Google Earth, noting that the GPS data are very accurate. The included software is also excellent.

The main gripe that customers have is the lack of an ‘auto-offâ? feature on the running watch. It’s easy to leave the device on, so that the battery runs down.

One reviewer reported having the GPS signal dropped on occasion. There were no other similar incidents reported and it may have been due to a defective unit.

In general, customers are totally sold on the Garmin Forerunner 305. It has all the features they want in a running watch, including computer connectivity.

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