Progress Journal: We're Moving! I'm still here and in a much better frame of mind

First announcement:  I am moving this blog to a Word Press site by April 15.  I have some pretty exciting changes happening and the blog is just one of them.  

Spring Training 8 weeks down

This has been an interesting time.  My diet changed.  We've lowered my carbs and upped the fats for some days with carb cycling so my weight is up 7lbs from where I was last year.  I'm fine with that believe it or not because frankly the whole goal was to recomposition which means lose body fat and add muscle mass.  

Since my pants fit right again....I don't think I care all that much.

It's been a great 8 weeks.  I've really let go of some of my hangups in regards to food.

Perfectionism

A few weeks ago my coach posted a great article she had written about perfectionism.  I think one of my big problems last year was that I went into this with the attitude that it all has to come out perfect and I can't mess up or else it will all be over.  This kind of unhealthy mindset created a really unhealthy environment for me when it came to food.  You already know about the Teddy Grahams and Trail mix but I became anxious and just too consumed with food.  At one point I said if this kept on and I couldn't co-exist with Nilla Wafers then I was not going to continue on with my goal to compete in Figure.  It simply wasn't worth developing an Eating Disorder.

As a testament to this, I bought two boxes of Girl Scout cookies this past weekend and ate some during my free meal while I watched How to Get Away With Murder.  I still have two boxes of cookies in my freezer and have not touched them.  This is an excellent sign.

Yeah so about competing...

I am still pushing towards that goal but with a different attitude.  I am no longer in this to get onstage in a bikini and heels.  I am in this to become stronger, challenge myself, and develop some good habits for my life.  Competing is just a stop on the journey.

I see many people who use competing as some sort of means to salvation for their lives.  Whether it is to make them feel like they accomplished something or thinking that this will solve their problems.  It will not do any of that.  It will be something that you committed to and finished but it's not going to lead to riches (in fact it will probably leave you poorer because it is expensive) and it takes up so much time that you won't be having this booming social life either.

As I told my coach yesterday, I am going to continue working hard and then leave it to her when she thinks that I will be ready.  I see so many women who want to just jump into competing without putting in the time to build their bodies or even develop good habits.  They just want to get up in a bikini.  Not me.

Train Like an Athlete

Strength Test: 135 lb Deadlift for 5x5

With that being said, my training has evolved in a sense as well.  I'm still lifting heavy, doing cardio, but I've also started incorporating lots of flexibility training in as well in order to improve my performance, range of motion, and prevent injuries.  Since I have more energy due to the increased fat in my diet, I have been able to push it harder in the gym.

I have had a chance to work around a lot of athletes this year and one thing I've noticed with them is that they have to vary their training and having a game isn't an excuse to miss the weight room.  They have to constantly be working to improve their game.

Same goes for me.

I'm still alive

They say it's in the "offseason" that your stage body is made and the prep is just to uncover that hard work.  I've been putting that to good use and keeping in my head that as I am pushing it and getting stronger that this will also pay off onstage but that's not my only goal.

I want to be functional for life as well.  I even did a 5 mile jog/run and I was able to complete it without walking.  This was after not running distance at all for at least 18 months.  I thought I was going to have to turn around during the first 4 minutes because it got really real but I told myself to just keep on going and I made it! 

I attribute it to my high volume weight workouts for my legs.  As I tell my clients, "We get strong to run.  We don't run to get strong".

 I am really enjoying my workouts.  Plus I found a new source of motivation for my workouts and I am pleased to report that nobody was yelled at or tackled to the ground.  

Progress Photos

I am pretty happy with these.  No I am not lean but this is only the beginning AND I'm happy with it.  I like how I look.  I think it's great!  Peep the Wanna Be Women's Physique Pose.  I think that is my ultimate goal so I can get up onstage and do a routine.  I have a whole catalog of Madonna, Britney, and Beyonce that is just BEGGING to be choreographed.  

Progress Journal: Week 1& 2 of Spring Training Completed!

The Aftermath of Eating all the Things...

I am unrepentant and unapologetic about eating all the things so now we are dealing with the aftermath.  Right now I'm about 6 pounds scale weight above where I left off before my food scale broke and deciding to EAT ALL THE FOOD over the holidays.

So right now it's about getting back into the habit of waking up early for gym time, getting in my water, and food preparation.  I

First Training Cycle of 2015 is COMPLETED!

I'm actually really pleased with the way things have gone this past 2 weeks.  I feel strong in the gym and my food intake has been on point.  

I feel great.  Weeks 1 & 2 of my Spring training are complete and I am now heading into Week 3 and I will have my marching orders from Roxie.  A lot of my anxiety that I had about food has gone away.  There are no binges and no quest bar dreams. Really if I craved anything it was salad and that was a welcome for me. I have had a free meal each week and it has been trail mix, burger, and fries.  LOL!  I love my trail mix.

I told myself that if I had problems with bingeing and such that I was going to have to re think competing as a goal because I don’t think it’s healthy and I don’t want to set myself up for problems later on down the line.  I also think this was a great opportunity to learn about some unhealthy habits that I had such as anxiety about food.  Not a good thing.

Goals

After doing my measurements for my update I have decided that by the end of this 12 week Spring Training, I want to lose:

• 8 pounds (My coach hates when we get hung up on the number but it's where I like to be around normally)
• 1.5 inches off of my waist 
•  2 inches off of my navel.

I am very excited about seeing something like a hamstring in my back photos..and I can see some Quad action as well..  I also notice my shoulders look better.  As we chug along here I cannot wait to compare my last year pictures with this years pictures.

This week I got a little behind on my food prep but that wasn’t an issue.  I subbed some foods out that I really like and it was fine. They are also higher fiber foods and I had a salad out which I would rather have than a quest bar.

I have been drinking water, lemon, a dab of honey, and cayenne pepper/cinnamon in the mornings for my digestion instead of coffee. (I have that later…LOL)  I have been reading about alkalinity and fat loss…it may be a bunch of hooey but I notice my sugar cravings aren’t happening.

I will post my pictures after Weeks and 3&4

Staying Motivated to achieve your best year for your Health and Wellness!

Tip#1 - Have a Destination and avoid the March to Nowhere (or Buttonwillow)

Losing Weight is a terrible goal. It’s generic and not specific. If you were taking a vacation and I asked you, “Where would you like to go?” What if you responded with “California”. That could mean San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Buttonwillow, Kettleman City, or Modesto. Some of those places are awesome and some not so awesome. You need to have a specific destination or else you could end up in Buttonwillow and then you will give up and quit.

What should your destination look like? I believe the best goals are Functional in nature or if cosmetic not number specific.

Examples of Good Destinations on a Roadmap

Incorporate more fruits, vegetables, and whole Foods into my every day diet
Exercise 4-5x per week
Improve Upper Body/Lower Body Strength
Decrease Body Fat
Improve Flexibility

The Best Thing about all of these goals? The byproduct of all of these goals is that you will see a reduction in body fat.

Tip #2 - Roadmap to your Destination

Using our analogy of taking a trip (and avoid ending up in Buttonwillow), suppose I asked you this question: “Well how do you plan to get to your destination?” 

Then you said, “Well I don’t really know. I’m just planning on taking a bunch of freeways and seeing where I end up.”

That’s not the most efficient way to get anywhere but unfortunately that’s what most people do when it comes to their health and fitness goals. They buy every new diet book, follow all the fitness people on social media, join a gym, and they are off to the races. No direction, no roadmap, just trying a bunch of things to see what sticks.

I call this technique throwing oatmeal against the wall. You just want to see what sticks.

There is a better way.

Yesterday we talked about destination. Now we need to put those destinations on a roadmap and decide which is the best direction for us to use to get where we are going. Using our examples yesterday here are some examples of a roadmap with direction.

1.Incorporate more fruits, vegetables, and whole Foods into my every day diet
2. Exercise 4-5x per week
3. Improve Upper Body/Lower Body Strength
4. Decrease Body Fat
5. Improve Flexibility

Roadmap
Grocery shop once per week, eat veggies with each meal, use fruit as dessert
Begin exercising 3x per week CONSISTENTLY
Strength Train 2x a week including a Strength Class at the gym
Take Measurements every 6 weeks
1-2 Yoga Classes per week and 5-10 mins of Flexibility Work after each workout

This is enough to keep you busy for about 12 weeks and everything corresponds with our destination. Roadmap with direction!

Tip #3 - It won't be easy so get your mind right

Despite what the gym salespeople, magic bean hawkers, and those informercials try to tell you, fitness isn’t easy.  It’s not supposed to be easy.  It’s easy for you to give your credit card to these people selling you the dream, but the actual WORK of fitness is hard work.

Sorry but 10 minutes a day of exercise isn’t going to cut it if you want to make real changes.  I would never discourage anybody from starting where they are and if all you got right now is 10 minutes, I would rather you do that than zero but this isn’t easy.

It’s not easy to get up early in the morning and go workout when you would rather stay in bed.  It’s easier to order take out than it is to cook all your meals, put them away, and then do the dishes.  It’s not easy to tell people “Nope I’m good.  No wine for me tonight or cocktail.”  It’s not easy.

And your workouts?  Sometimes they will be uncomfortable and they will burn.  You’ll be sore and tired.  It’s not easy but I don’t know anything that is worth doing that is easy.  

If you want easy and comfortable prepare not to see much change.  It’s just that simple.

Tip #4- It will take longer than you think

Tip #5: - It isn't going to happen overnight. As a matter of fact it will take you about 12 weeks to undo the holiday damage and 6 months to 1 year to see substantial 

The two biggest lies in Fitness are: it's easy and you can get quick results

I am so tired of reading stupid 3 day, 5 day, and 30 day results "programs" that "health coaches" are peddling for their Multi Level Marketing scams. Real results take time.

Why? Because if you don't understand the journey, then you won't be able to hold on to whatever results you get which is why these multi level marketing programs are so successful. It's the process that teaches you the good habits, discipline, and what actually works for your body and lifestyle. You get none of that with Quick Fix programs

Many of those people whom you admire on Social Media have been working out for YEARS to achieve those results. It didn't just happen overnight or in 30 days like some may claim.

There isn't a magic number of sessions that will get you there either so beware of these salespeople that tell you that they can get you a 6 pack in 10 training sessions. That takes time and THEY aren't getting you anything. You have to do the work but that's tomorrow's tip.

High Intensity Interval Training: What you can use to spice up your routine and increase your fat burning!

I am a big fan of High Intensity Interval Training.  It’s a short and to the point workout and it gets you GOING.  Make no mistake about it though: It is tough!   I do a 10 minute HIIT workout as part of my own fat loss program and it is the LONGEST 10 minutes ever.  I wanted to highlight some FAQ’s about HIIT training.

Benefits of HIT Training

• Works from the cellular level - HIIT increases the mitochondria which is the energy center of a cell. The increase in mitochondrial density increases the amount of energy available to the working muscle meaning you can run longer...faster.

• Leads to more effective fat burning and carbohydrate breakdown -  In the February 2012 IDEA Fitness Journal it was reported that: Fat Burning was significantly higher after 6 weeks of interval training (Perry 2008) and In as little as 2 weeks, there was a significant shift in fat burning after 2 weeks (Talanian 2007)

• Exercise Post Oxygen Consumption or “Afterburn”:  After an exercise session, oxygen consumption is elevated as your body tries to recover from your session.  What’s also elevated? Your caloric expenditure.  This means that even after your workout is finished you are still burning calories at an elevated rate.  

Isn’t that awesome!  Less time and also a great Return on Investment.

Some Caution about HIIT

It’s not supposed to be done every day

More is not better.  High Intensity Interval Training is awesome but it is also strenuous.  You should not be able to perform 5 HIIT sessions in a week.  If you are, then I doubt you are doing true HIIT.  It takes a toll on your body as it should.  It’s high intensity exercise.

Save your joints and other tissues and  only perform HIIT workouts at a maximum of twice per week.  I have noticed some gyms and boot camps offering HIIT workouts 5x per week and telling members it is fine to perform these exercises every day.  Think of this as the Law of Diminishing Returns.  More = Diminishing Recovery and performance.  

Remember: You should be working on other components of fitness in addition to HIIT to avoid injury and to improve performance while doing HIIT.

Don't Start off with HIIT if you are new or just coming back to exercise

I have watched clueless trainers start a new client off with intense exercising.  This is after the client told them they sit all day and haven’t exercised in 3 years, but they want to show off so they preach “HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING” during the session.  

No.  

First you need to improve form, technique, range of motion, movement patterns, and conditioning before launching into HIIT.

Give yourself about 8-12 weeks before incorporating a HIIT workout into your routine.

Start Slowly and add on from there

10 minutes is plenty to start off with and then you can add gradually.  I really don’t believe in anything longer than 20 minutes.  After you are finished, then you can finish up with some lower intensity steady state cardio to give the joints a break and to allow yourself to recover.  Your heart rate will remain high and you will still be burning calories at a higher level.

Types of HIIT

High Intensity Interval Training can be performed on the traditional cardio machines such as: the treadmill, a bike, or the stepmill but you can also use equipment such as dumbbells, barbells, kettle bells, medicine balls, or even your own body weight.

The possibilities are endless. Stay tuned for a sample HIIT workout!!

Progress Journal: Welcome to Spring Training 12 weeks of Fat Loss (Week 1)

Welcome to Spring Training!!!

Well I am officially back on plan as of today.  Since I am from San Francisco and we are the world champions in baseball, I think it’s only fair to use this analogy of Spring Training as it relates to training.  

One of the most important parts of a training program is RECOVERY and REST. Along with flexibility, I think this is one of the most overlooked components of fitness.

This last month and a half of not weighing and measuring anything worked wonders.  I bought a new food scale and did not get angry when it was time to meal prep yesterday.  I actually welcomed it.  I also spent this last week eating whatever and doing whatever.  I needed the break.January 5

Now I am ready to go and I’m calling this my Spring Training.  Baseball players use Spring Training to get in shape, get the rust off, and work on the fundamentals.  So shall it be for me over this next 12 weeks.

I love deadlines and timeframes because it keeps me motivated knowing that I have a target date to reach.

12 Week Goals

• 90% compliant with plans
• Fat Loss in the Mid Section
• Stronger in my Back/Biceps (I have this thing about wanting guns and I am determined to have them)

January 5 was Day 1 and it felt really good to be back ALTHOUGH my HR was near 160 on the elliptical which hardly ever happens...LOL.

We won’t even talk about what happened with the scale this morning, but this happens every year and every year it’s usually all gone within 5-7 days.  I bet it will be even better this year with an actual plan to follow instead of my not eating enough plan.

I'm not showing any pics until I've completed 4 weeks...LOL! Then we can see the first comparisons.

Results of the First Week

Feeling really awesome and strong in the gym. My cardio conditioning is back where it was and my lifts feel really good. I also think it was a good idea to eat all the things because that took care of all of my cravings. I'm about 3 weeks out from putting my shorts back on.

Due to circumstances, I am sending in my update to my coach this next Saturday. I feel she will get a better idea of where I am after 2 weeks on plan.

I did drop 5.6 pounds of scale weight despite it all.  That was probably all water weight.  I expect to see big drops these 2 weeks and then my body will head into it's happy spot and the real work will begin.

I'm excited to see where I go this year.  Stay tuned!  I'm determined to do it better.

Confessions of a Group Fitness Instructor: My Main Reason for being Over Group Fitness (Part 2)

In my last post I talked about the reasons I am over teaching Group Fitness as it related to the members, but here's my main reason for being over teaching Group Fitness.

I no longer look at it as a method of weight control and I don't want to end up getting injured.

Teaching Group Fitness for Weight Control

I believe the crux of the problem with Group Fitness Instructors and why I've cooled out on teaching is that many instructors are using it for weight control.  I can remember being one of the instructors bragging on Facebook about doing this many classes, running 5 miles, and then going to lift weights and guess what baby?  I was still chunky.

I understand that  may be teaching to pay their bills and that's why they are teaching a lot of classes but I believe many instructors are teaching lots of classes to control their weight and many are fighting a losing battle.

It's Not Your Workout

GROUP FITNESS CLASSES ARE NOT YOUR WORKOUT.  YOU ARE THERE TO COACH AND LEAD.  TEACHING TONS OF GROUP FITNESS CLASSES WILL NOT GET YOU INTO AWESOME SHAPE.

I cringe reading some Facebook updates:  Today I taught 4 classes at the gym, ran sprints, and tomorrow I'm teaching 3 classes in a row.  All I can think now is "When are you recovering?  Your poor joints"

It's not your workout.  I believe the best Group Fitness Classes are when the instructor may do a little of the class but spend the majority of the time coaching the group to do their best.  The training I attended for group cycling it was EMPHASIZED that instructors need to be OFF OF THE BIKE teaching and motivating the group.

I don't want to be injured

I've avoided injury and I believe one of the main reasons is that I didn't teach classes with a lot of impact but I can remember my shoulder beginning to bother me when I taught Bodypump two days in a row.

Now there is NO WAY I would ever do that.  It's unnecessary and way too hard on my joints.  Plus your body can handle higher volume workouts but it must be done in the context of smart programming which would involve periodization and switching things up.

Just so I make myself clear:  Teaching 15 group Fitness Classes a week is not going to get you into better shape.  Eating better, having a well designed fitness program, recovery, and eating better (yep said it twice) is what will do that.

Where do I go from here?

The Schwinn Certification really did motivate me to start teaching differently.  I will be off of the bike more and more diligent about my coaching.  I wouldn't mind teaching a metabolic circuit training type class that I was able to design and program for my participants.  I attended another training for that type of format which asked its coaches to have a PURPOSE and GOAL for your participants when they enter the room.   The workout should have a PURPOSE and GOAL.  In that training it was emphasized that we are to design programs for our demographic and really emphasize coaching rather than performing.  

I have not totally given up on Group Fitness but it has lost a lot of its luster for me.  I have just resolved to bring what I am learning to class and hope that my participants will learn, grow, and get results from my instruction.

Confessions of a Group Fitness Instructor: 5 Reasons why I'm over Group Fitness (Part 1)

I've been holding this confession back for a long time but I feel like I'm ready to spill the beans:

I am pretty much over Group Fitness Classes and I am almost ready to quit teaching altogether.

My Reasons are as follows:

• Lack of Standards with Group Fitness Instructors
• Pointless Workouts with no goal or purpose
• No attention to programming or programming to what most members need
• Ineffective classes that do nothing but get the instructor and participants into worse shape
• Unsafe classes that lead to member and instructor injury

Group Fitness is how I got into the industry

I was a big fan of Group Fitness Classes.  In college I attended spin classes weekly and also kickboxing classes. My life changed when Billy Blanks came to teach Tae Bo on our campus.  I knew then that I wanted to do something like that.  Post graduation, I came home got a job working the front desk at my local gym and within 10 months I was up teaching my first Cycle Class.

I taught a lot of classes over the next several years and I go into detail in this blog post about what that did to my body.

I loved Group Fitness because of the fun, the community, and the awesome high you got from working out in the group.  When one of the class regulars passed away, most of the people at the service were from the gym. There were about 4-5 instructors there and also his fellow spin classmates who took 6 a.m. class with him for years.

During my time teaching Group Fitness, there was a lot of community amongst instructors and participants.  Members would travel from class to class and instructors would get to know regulars. I can remember the cycle room would be jamming every day as people would give their best in class. Bodypump Relaunches were an event that we would practice for and team teach to really bring our best energy and I loved it all.

Something Changed

I took about a year off of teaching to do management (which I hated) and when I returned to class I realized that something changed.  Group Fitness was no longer the same.  I went into the room with a plan and I designed workouts that I thought were challenging and had purpose.

Something changed.

I even began to hear people saying my classes were too hard.  I went in to the class and was shocked at what I found: people not putting forth any real effort, on their phones, and there was no longer the intensity and energy that I used to have in my classes.

I started watching the Group X rooms and I began to see that this wasn't an isolated incident.  I also heard from other instructors that they were experiencing similar.  I believe the following reasons may have contributed to what I observed in the Group X rooms.

Reason #1: Low Instructor Standards

In the last few years it has become really easy to become a fitness instructor. All it takes is a selfie, youtube, and an Ipod.

One of the things that has changed about the fitness industry is now EVERYBODY thinks they should be teaching a class because they look great naked.  They took a selfie, watched a "bro" on youtube, and now they are up teaching classes doing THE MOST RIDICULOUS AND UNSAFE "EXERCISES" EVER.  

I followed one "Fitness Professional" on Instagram and this person was bragging about making someone do Box Jumps who is 380 pounds (no lie) and this person just started working out.
WTF?  But this person posts pictures of herself in her bikini competitions so she must know what she is doing right?  I think Judge Judy here says it best.

Another problem is that you get people up there in front of classes who know NOTHING about the human body and they are posturing as experts on fitness because they took a weekend certification.  I've heard some terrible things from instructors due to a lack of knowledge and they are leading the people astray.

The most recent was an instructor telling participants that they need to get skinny before they do anything close to strength training.  Come take his class 3x per week and eat 1000 calories per day to get skinny.

Even worse are people who are involved in Multi Level Marketing who get up in front of the class and have anointed themselves as health coaches.  Their entire goal is to sell something and the nonsense that I have heard from these people just baffles my mind.

Because of such low standards, people are not getting workouts that they deserve.  Instead they are getting people who take selfies, can dance around to the music, want to be popular, and want to sell magic beans.

Reason #2 Pointless Workouts with No Goals or Purpose

This drives me nuts.

Many participants come to class year after year because they are looking for the instructor to lead them.  In my class I tell them: Class today we are going to be working on your power and strength. Even when I taught Bodypump I would tell people, today I want you to add on weight to get your personal best.

Now what I see in classes are people just doing things with no purpose.  Without purpose, there is no passion.  One of the reasons I like Les Mills classes (Bodypump, Bodycombat, Bodyattack) is because they clue instructors in that there needs to be MEANING behind what they are doing.

Without Goals and Purpose the workout becomes drudgery and boring and people stop caring.

It's just instructors up there yelling, screaming, looking in the mirror, and dancing to the music.

What is the POINT of the workout?  What are you trying to ACHIEVE?

Every workout needs to have an intended outcome and not simply filling 50 minutes.

Reason #3- No Programming or Programming to what members need

Many of the gym members are not in the best of shape.  They hate working out on their own so they come to class.

I love classes such as Bodypump and even Cycle that offer options for people but I think there are too many high impact classes on schedules which do not serve member needs.

I also am tired of these bootcamp, get crazy, and extreme workouts.  In most cases those workouts are too hard on the joints, people do not have enough strength to support the joints, people already have terrible posture from sitting all day and then they go to those classes and make things worse.

Many members need classes that focus on improving Range of Motion, learning exercise form and technique, and lengthening and strengthening their muscles.

Also where are the movement based classes and loaded movement classes?  So many people sit every day, they need classes where they can move their bodies with and without added resistance.  This doesn't have to involve jumping, impact, etc.  I'd like to see classes where people's postural imbalances and tight musculature is addressed.

Reason #4 - Ineffective Classes that do nothing but get the instructor and participants into worse shape

I've talked about this on the blog before but I have observed people going to the same classes every week for years and they don't improve.  In fact both the participants and instructor get into worse shape every year.  Is this solely because of the class?  Of course not, but it is a big part of it.

Most classes do not reach threshold for participants so people are doing the same classes every week and they have plateaued. The body loves to adapt so these people taking the Kickboxing class for 50 minutes in 2014 are burning 200 calories in 2014 when in 2013 they may have burned 300 -350 calories.

Not working Hard Enough

I recently went to a training for Indoor Cycling and the entire class was based around the console.  The presenter said that when people begin to use the console in their workouts, they start realizing how hard they have NOT been working in class.  

I see way too many people in Group Fitness Classes who are texting, phoning it in, and giving minimal effort.  I would say that is up to the instructor/coach to motivate people to work harder.  I also think this goes along with having intended outcomes for your class.  People are a lot more likely to take the class seriously and work harder if you give them an intended goal.

Unsafe and Misguided Classes that lead to member and instructor injury

I feel like I need my soapbox and microphone for this one.

I have seen so many instructors and participants get injured in these classes and a LOT of this could be avoided if people were able to be honest with themselves.

Member Injury

Most members that begin workout programs are deconditioned, have postural issues due to sitting all day and using computers, and many have no clue about proper form and technique.  So these people are PRIME candidates to attend the latest throw up your lunch classes at the gym or the hottest new bootcamp.

NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Deconditioned

A deconditioned client has no business in some high intensity class because they have not built that foundation of strength and recovery.  A deconditioned client in one of these cray cray classes is a recipe for disaster.

They may think they are going "beast mode" but talk to me in about 6 months when they end up getting injured and their bodies start breaking down because they were not properly conditioned for whatever trendy class was hot at the moment

Postural Issues

Most of the clients that come to see me need to improve their Range of Motion and begin to activate the muscles that become weakened due to sitting and sedentary lifestyle.  A client with poor posture performing 3500 squats and pushups is just asking for an injury because they are performing repetitive movements with postural imbalances.

Form and Technique

In many of the Group Fitness Classes people are not being instructed on proper form and technique and even if they are it is hard to watch EVERYONE which leads me to my next point.

Unsafe Moves in Classes

The Hang Clean and other Olympic lifts should not be in any Group Fitness Class and ESPECIALLY not for a high number of reps.  Why?  Most of those Olympic moves are for Powerlifting which requires maximal effort for a low number of reps.  One also needs strong core stabilizer muscles and a solid foundation for doing such moves.  There is no way those types of moves should ever be in a group class.

Plyometric centered classes should not be taught to large groups and limited to small group training and one on one training so that the instructor can watch for form and give modifications.  I train clients on reactive moves like squat jumps and frog hops but only after we've worked on strengthening their butts so they can stabilize in the jumps.  This process takes time and involves flexibility and opening up the hips.  Jumping around over and over again in a Group Fitness Class can be unsafe.  Most people I see doing these plyometric moves in class should not be doing it.  Falling forward, not able to stabilize on the landing, and poor balance would lead to major problems.

The Main Reason I'm Over Group Fitness

There is a big reason why I'm over Group Fitness and it has to do with an epiphany I've had through my own training and fitness journey.

Stay Tuned for Part 2!