Got 15 minutes to spare in your schedule? If you do, then you can work out and still get some health benefits, even without your Oshawa personal trainers!

Scientists have long promoted 30 minutes a day almost every day of the week as the standard and bare minimum for health benefits. If you’re an adult, that means you have to exercise, at moderate intensity, for at least that long to stay fit and reap the benefits. An example of a moderate intensity workout would be a brisk walk. But let’s be serious – 30 minutes is a long time and somewhat of a luxury when you’re on the go all day and can barely breathe, let alone exercise!

But here’s some good news for the oh-so-busy: a study has found that a quick 15 minute workout may still give you a boost fitness-wise.

The study, published in the medical journal, The Lancet, followed 400,000 people living in Taiwan who self-reported their activity to the country’s National Health Research Institutes. According to the participants, even performing 15 minutes of exercise at moderate intensity experienced a reduction of:

all-cause mortality by 14%
all-cancer mortality by 10%
cardiovascular mortality by 20%
and an average of a three-year longer life expectancy when compared to participants who were inactive.

The more exercise the participants performed, unsurprisingly, the more health benefits they obtained.

Why is this interesting to us, Oshawa personal trainers?

You’ll be surprised by the number of people who don’t do anything at all just because they don’t have enough time to do a full workout (half an hour to an hour, usually). Many people will simply give up and say, “well, I don’t have enough time so it’s not worth it. Might as well watch tv instead.” That’s the wrong attitude! While 30 minutes is still better (only because it’s longer), 15 is still acceptable.

If you have the choice of doing a short 15 minute workout and doing nothing at all, go for the 15. At least you’ll still be getting something out of it!  And no worries if you can’t do a full hour – there’s no harm in breaking up your hour into smaller segments you can do throughout the day. 30 minutes in the morning, 15 at lunch, then 15 before dinner – it’s all good.

Sample 15 minute workout, courtesy of Personal Trainer Toronto. This is roughly 15 minutes. Modify for intensity if you wish by switching up the regular pushups with one-arm ones, for example.

4 minutes: Light jogging on the spot to warm up. Throw in some jumping jacks for good measure.
2 minutes: 10 pushups
3 minutes: 12 deep squats
4 minutes: as many burpees as possible – pay attention to your form!
2 minutes: shallow squats and light stretch

Sounds easy enough. Try it out!

Unless you’re chosen career is in the fitness industry, you aren’t spending most of your day exercising and working out. You probably just have a bit of time set aside out of your hectic schedule to work out – and even doing that forces you to adjust your schedule to accommodate your work out. You don’t have a lot of time to spare, and you demand that your work out is as efficient as possible to maximize the benefits. You need to do circuit training.

Circuit training is not for the faint of heart. This style of training is high intensity for a shorter period of time and demands the effort of your entire body for muscular and cardiovascular improvement. You’ll be moving your body in a variety of ways to target all parts of your body, whether it’s the your legs, arms, abs, back, or wherever else you want to improve. No muscle group is left untouched. Here’s an example of what a regular circuit training session would be like with your Scarborough personal trainer:

pushups
squats
pull ups
situps
lunges

Each exercise would be done slowly or quickly, depending on the intensity level, and some jumping may also be incorporated into the routine to increase the cardio level. Between each exercise, don’t expect much of a break – you need to keep your heart rate up to get the full benefits. Rethink what a “break” is – you’ll be giving your arms a break while you do squats, but rarely will you be allowing your entire body rest. Your personal trainer will customize the circuit according to what your fitness goals are.

It is typical that no weights are used during circuit training when you first start exercising this way. Your body is sufficient in providing enough weight resistance during each exercise. Of course, after a while weights may be added to increase intensity, but again, this will be quite light.

No weights or ones that are very light – sound too easy? We challenge you to try a bit of circuit training with us, your Scarborough personal trainer. Your first session is free so what do you have to lose?

Cooling down, much like warming up, is an essential part of any workout. The cool down segment of a workout allows your body, and mind, to transition from an exercising state (that is often quite stressful) to something more sedentary and relaxed.

Ideally, you’ll want to wind down your workout with less intensive exercises for about five minutes. For example, if you’ve been running, you’ll need to slow your pace down to a jog then walk. If you’ve been doing cardio kickboxing, march on the spot or step from side to side. Five minutes allows the temperature of the body and muscles as well as the heart rate to slowly decrease, which is better since a rapid decrease can shock the body. Circulating blood also slows down, allowing the muscles to eliminate waste products (i.e. lactic acid) that may have accumulated during the more intensive part of your workout and preventing blood from pooling in the legs (possibly leading to nausea and dizziness).

Once your heartbeat has slowed down and and you’ve cooled off, it’s time to stretch.

Research has found that the best time to improve flexibility and enhance your recovery is during this time. Skipping stretching regularly can reduce flexibility in under a month, so it’s absolutely imperative that it’s part of your cool down.

Our certified Personal Trainers know the importance of cooling down and stretching. They’ll help you perform exercises to adequately cool you down and improve flexibility.  You’ll also notice that you’ll be less stiff and sore the next day!

Canada’s Heart and Stroke Foundation recommends adults aged 18 and over get 30 – 60 minutes of physical activity almost every day – only about half an hour for vigorous activity and an hour for lighter activity. Doing so can improve and maintain your health as well as reduce your risk of suffering from several diseases that have been scientifically proven to result from a sedentary lifestyle (not to mention a shorter lifespan).

So what does “lighter” and “vigorous” activity mean?

Here’s a chart that shows some examples of possible activities that fit the description:

Light Activities (an hour)
Walking at a leisurely pace
Low intensity gardening
Gentle stretching
Bowling

More Intensive Activities (around 45 minutes)
Brisk walking or hiking
Riding a bike
Raking leaves
Dancing

Vigorous activities (about half an hour). You should be breathing hard, sweating and your heart rate should be accelerated.
Spinning
Kickboxing and marital arts
Jogging and running
Fast swimming

Obviously, though, it really depends on how much effort you put in to each exercise. Dancing can be vigorous if you go at it hard, and spinning can be less vigorous if you’re slowly pedaling. The Public Health Agency of Canada also recommends that you work on flexibility, strength and endurance on most days of the week to achieve the most health benefits.

However, these guidelines are the bare minimum. If you want to really increase your strength, endurance or lose weight and keep it off, you’ll have to bump up your exercise regimen.

You’ll far exceed the guidelines if you sign up for private or group sessions with one of our Personal Trainers in Toronto – even the free trial class can help you!

The sun’s shining and it’s gorgeous, so it’s no wonder many of us, including personal trainers, are taking advantage of the summer weather by exercising outside. But beware: the heat can be a killer. Seriously.

The main cause of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (aka sun stroke) is insufficient fluid intake while working out or performing strenuous physical activity. Fluid intake is essential to assist in healthy bodily functions as well as produce sweat, which helps cool down the body. However, if you don’t drink enough, the body will use liquids to satisfy bodily function requirements first – which is the problem. Since you won’t sweat, your body won’t be able to cool down, allowing the core temperature to rise to a level that could kill your cells, damage your brain and cause serious health problems.

Heat exhaustion is a sign that your body is unsuccessfully cooling itself down. You’ll look pale and feel clammy. You’ll also most likely feel faint, nauseous, weak, lightheaded and have a headache. Muscle cramps may develop, and you’ll be sweating profusely. To treat heat exhaustion, all you have to do is cool yourself down. Remove clothing, move to a cooler area, and drink some water or something with electrolytes and a bit of sugar (e.g. Gatorade). Don’t gulp – just drink a bit at a time.

If you’re breathing is shallow and you’re not sweating, have a headache, rapid pulse, hot red skin, and are acting strangely, then you’ve got heat stroke. Heat stroke is far more serious because your insides are basically “cooking” due to the rising core temperature. Needless to say, this requires immediate medical attention. Move to a shady spot, wrap yourself up in cool, wet towels, drink water or a sports drink, and get medical treatment from a professional.

Beat the heat by drinking plenty of water before you even think about working out. It’s a good habit, especially for the summer. Health Canada recommends drinking 2 to 5 cups of water at least 3 hours before you workout, and about a cup every 20 minutes while working out. Wear clothing suitable for hot weather, sticking to loose fitting items that are light in colour.

And because humidity makes it harder for the body to cool itself down, since sweat won’t evaporate as easily, you may want to consider moving your workout indoors or waiting until the humidity isn’t so high.

You’re committed to getting fit, so you throw yourself into an exercise regimen that’ll improve your strength and endurance, hoping that it’ll help you lose the flab and get toned.

Such enthusiasm is fantastic, but our Personal Trainers have found that sometimes too much enthusiasm can be a bad thing, especially for people who want to fast track their way to improved fitness.

If you want to prevent injury, remember to do the following:

Before and after every exercise session, warm up. This involves gentle stretching and something to get the blood pumping a bit faster prior to the session and more intense stretching and a cool down afterward.

Drink a glass of water before you work out and drink more at intervals throughout (some experts believe about 2 ounces every 15 minutes is ideal).

If you’re just starting your exercise program, start off easy and increase intensity gradually. To keep things challenging, aim to do a couple of more reps or a heavier weight every week, or increase the length or intensity of your cardio segment.

Don’t workout on an empty or full stomach. Have a banana or something light (preferably rich in protein) in you haven’t eaten, or wait at least 2 hours if you have.

Your body needs time to heal after strength training, and this can take one day or more. Weightlifting can only effectively tone and build muscle if you allow your body to repair the targeted muscles, and this can only be optimally done when you’re not using them and resting. Many people find strength training every other day achieves the best results. On those off days, try doing something else like cardio.

Pay attention to your body. If you feel pain while you’re doing an exercise, stop and adjust your position. If that doesn’t help, tell your Personal Trainer about it or skip the exercise and do something else. This is incredibly important since ignoring pain can cause damage to your body, particularly your joints. Stop exercising if you feel dizzy or have pain in the chest, neck, shoulder or arm. This may be indication of a more serious health problem.

Going to the gym to lift some weights and run on the treadmill can get boring pretty fast for some people. Boredom with an exercise routine is probably th emost common reason why people don’t achieve their fitness goals, in the short or long run. It definitely helps to enlist the help of a personal trainer, since they’ll instill much needed motivation when you most need it. However, even we know that hiring a personal trainer can be difficult, particularly when budget constraints exist. So, how do you reach and maintain weight loss and fitness goals if you dont’ have a personal trainer and hate going ot the gym?

Easy. Join a martial arts class in Toronto.

The martial arts provides a unique and incredibly effective way for people who want to keep or get fit and are looking for something differeent, whether a fitness freak or far from it.

If you’re not familiar with the marital arts and are weary of such a proposition, we totally understand your concerns. Afraid of getting hurt? Hurting someone else? Becoming more violent? The essence of martial arts is certainly about “fighting”, but you needn’t worry about such things if you express your reasons of joining a class to the teacher and sit in on a class and watch to see if it’s suitable for you. There are so many martial arts schools out there that you’re bound to find one you like. As for becoming more violent, the majority of marital art styles promote respect, humility and discipline. These traits are inherent in most styles, as espoused by their respective founders.

We think that the martial arts is an excellent alternative to the gym, and here’s why:

1. A great all body work out. Take a kung fu class, and you’ll be using your entire body for its duration. Unlike weightlifting and other exercises that focus on one area of the body, kung fu gets your arms, legs, and core working at the same time. Actions like punching and kicking may look like they use only the arms or legs, but in fact your entire body needs to be involved in order to perform techniques correctly. Trust us, your whole body will be sore the day after if you’ve exerted the effort.

2. Improves strength. Pumping iron isn’t the only way to build muscle. The martial arts strengthens all the muscles, including the core and stabilizers, since it forces you to use your entire body. Muscles you never even thought you had will also get strengthened.

3. Improves cardiovascular health. When you practice a technique, usually you have to do it over and over again to get it right. So, imagine doing a bunch of kicks or punches – you get the picture. From start to finish, a martial arts class keeps the heart pumping and you sweating. It makes for an excellent aerobic work out.

4. Improves flexibility. You’ve seen those high kicks and low sweeps that talented martial artists can do. They get it from achieving and maintaining a certain level of flexibility, which is what you’ll be doing if you join a martial arts class as well. Kung fu helps improve flexibility through dynamic and static stretching exercises, increasing your range of motion.

5. Remains challenging. Unlike a gym environment, martial arts employs a number of different techniques. Coupled with varying skill levels within a class, this “sport” makes it a constant challenge to keep up, always giving you a goal to attain. Each class is dynamic and challenging – never boring!

Personal Trainer Toronto believes that martial arts can become an integral part of any exercise regimen. We offer private martial arts training to improve fitness, increase strength, boost flexibility, and accelerate weight loss. Call us today to find out more information about our Toronto martial arts program, Fighting Fit.

You see boxers and professional athletes skipping all the time. It’s an essential part of their fitness training routine. Want to know why?

Get rid of the idea that it’s just for little girls with pigtails playing outside – skipping is a great way to boost cardiovascular fitness, helping to trim and tone the body. It increases endurance and helps improves speed, positively affecting your ability in any sport that requires such qualities, including martial arts, basketball, and badminton. If you’ve got to stay light on your feet, then adding a skipping component to your exercise regimen is ideal.

Remember to do the following:
bend at the wrist only, keeping the arms soft
stick to little jumps to maintain speed
only skip on a padded floor, since concrete floors can be damaging to the joints

It’s not as easy as you think, you know! There are many people out there who don’t know how to skip, or to skip more than a few seconds.

Need more info? Watch the video – it may help. And don’t be surprised if your personal trainer asks you to do a few minutes of skipping.

There comes a time when working out or doing any form of physical exercise will seem completely beyond your ability. Let’s face it – unless you’re totally motivated, sometimes you just don’t want to do anything except sit on the couch, in front of the tv with a complete array of your favourite snacks.  It’s hard to find the energy to work out after a long day at work or dealing with the kids.

At these times, your energy levels are probably at an all time low. If your muscles aren’t aching, you aren’t sick, or you don’t have another more pressing engagement to commit to, then you have no real excuse that’s preventing you from working out. The only thing you’ll need to do is to boost your energy levels, which will put your body and mind in a better state for exercise.

Here are 4 surefire ways to boost your energy levels when your Personal Trainer isn’t around:

1. Low energy levels are often related to low blood sugar levels (BSL). A low BSL doesn’t just make your body feel sluggish, it can also negatively impact your mental state, making you feel cranky, stressed out and pessimistic. This makes it even more difficult to exercise, since your mindset will help you supply a number of self defeatist excuses.

To maintain healthy blood sugar levels, all you have to do is eat all day. Sounds like a pretty good deal, huh? The only thing you have to remember, though, is that what you eat has to be nutritious, which means instead of chips and cookies, you’ve got to eat vegetables, fruits and whole grains, with occasional lean protein. If you don’t have the luxury  to snack all day, then eat something about 30 minutes or less prior to your scheduled work out. Choose something that’s rich in simple carbs with some protein (about 20% protein). Avoid sweets and other sugary foods. Although you’ll feel great right after you eat them, your energy levels will crash minutes later, causing you to feel worse than before.

2. Take a 5 minute walk outside. This can help get the blood circulating, which is enough to kickstart some people. Or it just might make you want to keep walking, long enough to sufficiently become your actual cardiovascular work out!

3. Drink black tea, coffee or other beverage with caffeine about 1 hour before your scheduled work out. The caffeine will provide a quick boost that’ll help you get to the gym.  Avoid drinking caffeinated drinks regularly throughout the day, however.

4. Drink plenty of water throughout the day to avoid dehydration (6-8 cups for the average sized person), and 1-2 cups about half an hour before exercising.