I was lucky enough to spend a full week at a yoga retreat in costa rica, it was beautiful, ate vegetarian, did yoga each day, took surfing lessons and was in bed by 9:30 every night. Know this was certainly the way to live! “When I get back I’m gonna make some changes” I thought, but reality, patterns and ingrained behaviors smacked me in the face like the cold wind at Newark airport.
I’ve been feeling depressed, stuck in the same old routine, frustrated and thinking that I’m unable to change.
While in costa rica there was ample opportunity to meditate and relax and at the beginning of each day , Mary, one of the owners would haphazardly toss a deck of cards on the table face down. They were called the ‘power deck’ and had little messages, inspirations, meditations on them that I would try to keep with me throughout the day. I wrote one down and it certainly applies. One morning I chose COURAGE, here is what it said:
Action takes courage, we often feel like fish out of water, seperate and different from the world around us. Fish out of water can learn to swim in a new air of consciousness with a new purpose in life. Perhaps it is identification with objects and clinging to addictions that keeps you feeling seperate and keeps you from finding the source of your power: not only dependence on drugs, sex or alcohol, but also addictions like fear of failure, the need for approval, or fear of desertion. Discover your own power and meaning by having the courage to give up your addictions, the live your power with courage.
My business Fixed gear Fitness - NYC Personal trainer was born of my love for my fixed wheel track bike. Eleven years ago when I made a decision to change how I was living my life I bought a bike as part of my transformation and began to ride 7 days a week in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park where I was living at the time. It was slow going at first, I was in terrible shape, but soon progressed to about a 20 mile per ride a day.
Some time after this I began wanting to weight train which was something I had always wanted to do but just couldn’t. I found an awesome bare bones gym in Brooklyn called the 5th ave. gym - blood and guts. It was amazing. I saw the same guys every day at the same time, it was part of the structure that I needed and was a great atmosphere to get a great work out.
I’m recalling these memories now because I’ve found myself like a hamster on a wheel in a way too hot gym, with with terrible pop music (not where I train, an outside facility, of course) pumping away on a crosstrainer for 20 minutes and the convincing myself that, that’s good enough.
I had enough, grabbed my bike and got out and rode, in traffic, perdestrians, potholes, all of it, like I like it. F..k the bike paths, it puts my mind to sleep. I love the challenge of having swerve to avoid, stop, start, uphill into the wind and controlling the fixed wheel back down. After this I hit Tompkins Square park in the E Village near where I live for a push up, dip, pull up work out of about 25 minutes. I couldn’t ask for more. I’m not saying this is for every body and if it were I’d be out of business, but this weather is the best time to get out and challenge yourself, feel the cold, the wind, everything, challenge yourself and feel alive.
I chose that title because over the last couple of months I’ve been feeling that using the word core is far too limiting to what I’m looking for my clients to possess, which is a mastery of their movements under duress. Of the many definitions of the word chi, I find that defining it as a general term for ‘a vital energy that exists everywhere’ is appropriate enough for a simple NYC personal trainer such as myself.
The word core has come to mean your trunk, abs, lower back and glutes, but I’ve noticed that if my clients continually lock their knees or shrug their shoulders while training it is near impossible to engage these ares effectively to gain strength and balance. For me to use the word core is selling my clients short of valuable information, but it’s also much harder for me to teach. One of the best ways for me to teach this harnessing technique is through a simple hip thrust forward during standing exercises. One must be relaxed at the joints in order to allow your energy to flow effectively. Some might call the method I use cheating or using momentum, but it’s much more. It’s learning to balance the intense energy required during exercise with a relaxed state in order to complete the task at hand. When I train myself and my clients I train their whole bodies, not just their chest or biceps. I’m going to include a video for this technique within the next few weeks. Until then TRAIN HARD, relax, NAMASTE!!!!!!
Since my career began as a NYC personal trainer 8 years ago I’ve had the great opportunity to train many novice clients and usher them into fitness, some are excited and others, well………not so much. Either way I find it an honor to introduce them to the thing I’m most passionate about, especially the people that ‘hate’ the gym, I look at it as a challenge and want to get them hooked like I am.
Many challenges face the novice, endurance issues, technique and developing neuromuscular coordination, these all take time, but there is one that they can control immediately and that one thing is being properly fueled for a work out. Some people will show up for an evening work out and the last thing that they’ve had was a cup of coffee at 1 and can’t even remember what they’ve had for breakfast, this is a recipe for failure. There is no gas in the tank and you’re going to get stranded, frustrated and sick. A trainer can do a lot of things for you, but he can’t stand by and make you eat.
Let’s keep this really simple, and just address food regarding your work out. Optimally you should eat 1-2 hours before, consuming a meal of about 40% protein, 40% complex carbohydrate and about 20% fat ( these are only estimates). These can be comprised of almost anything, but try and stay away from those deli bars, as you don’t know what’s used in there preparation. Please also understand that this is a process of trial and error and it will take time to figure out what agrees best with your body.
Post workout meals for my clients are dictated more by time. if they’ve trained in the morning or afternoon, I’ll use the formula above, If training took place in the evening I’ll modify the carbohydrate intake depending on the intensity of the workout. To be a little more clear, if you hit the weights hard, you can eat more good carbs, but if it was more cardio intensive, or a light weight circuit, I’d cut the carbs in half and add more protein. See it’s getting complicated already, don’t get discouraged and remember, ‘progress not perfection’.
Similar to the first installment, the Gravity is used to achieve optimal caloric burn per session. In this video you can see the upper body work which incorporates techniques from pilates and yoga, add to this a few rounds of boxing, free weights and proper nutrition and not only will you be look good, but you’ll feel great and maintain flexibility.
