Monday (Fitness)Massacre - Trainers Behaving Badly Vol. 4 (11/18/2013)

Monday (Fitness)Massacre - Trainers Behaving Badly Vol. 4

Spending as many hours in the gym as I do on a daily basis, I'm afforded no shortage in sights of things that just make you shake your head. Unfortunately, quite often these sights are complete with a fitness 'professional' standing right there supervising the whole ordeal. I've decided the instead of standing silent and shaking my head, it would be better to call attention to said sights in order to educate my peeps.

This Week's Winner: BS explanations and not taking responsibility and admitting you were wrong or at fault.

Monday (Fitness)Massacre - Special Edition: American Diabetes Association Expo 2013 Recap

Monday (Fitness)Massacre - Special Edition: American Diabetes Association Expo 2013 Recap

Diabetes affects 24 million people in the U.S., but only 18 million know they have it. About 90% of those people have type 2 diabetes, a condition that can largely be controlled through diet and exercise.  Furthermore, a new study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine states a person with type 2 diabetes may spend an average of nearly $85,500 to treat the disease and its complications over his or her lifetime. Might be something we want to get a handle on.

Being diabetic myself, the cause is obviously near and dear to my heart.  As such, I try to get involved as much as possible in order to create awareness and make a difference in people's lives by teaching them how to successfully avoid and/or control this deadly disease which has become a global epidemic. I also tend to get a little fired up when I see it manipulated and/or pimped out for financial benefit as the expense of those suffering from it.

Cue Pittsburgh Kettlebell's participation in this past weekends American Diabetes Association Pittsburgh Expo at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center......

WARNING: NSFW language ahead.

Monday (Fitness)Massacre - Trainers Behaving Badly Vol. 2 11/4/13

Monday (Fitness)Massacre - Trainers Behaving Badly Vol. 2

Spending as many hours in the gym as I do on a daily basis, I'm afforded no shortage in sights of things that just make you shake your head. Unfortunately, quite often these sights are complete with a fitness 'professional' standing right there supervising the whole ordeal. I've decided the instead of standing silent and shaking my head, i...t would be better to call attention to said sights in order to educate my peeps.

This weeks 'winner': Physioball seated 1-arm overhead presses, WHILE PERFORMING BICEP CURLS WITH THE OPPOSITE ARM AND....AND AN ISOMETRIC LEG EXTENSION ON THE OPPOSITE LEG WITH KETTLEBELL HOOKED AROUND THEIR FOOT!

No, I didn't make that up. I couldn't if I tried. Talk about multi-tasking. It started out ok with the overhead press, but what purpose did adding in the bicep curl AND leg extension serve? Someone's taking the term 'muscle confusion' WAY too far. For starters, those are both inefficient single-joint exercises which provide no metabolic challenge to your system. Second, they require the load to be reduced across the board by such a degree as to render all 3 exercises about useless.

If you can't succinctly explain the purpose of each and everything you are doing in the gym, it's time to re-examine what it is you are doing and make the necessary adjustments. Everything should have a specific purpose with measurable outcomes.

Successful exercises programs are based around 5-7 basic movements, and the variables manipulated are rest, volume, and load - NOT the # of exercises.

You can look 'cool', get 'tired'...or - you can get BETTER!

Monday (Fitness)Massacre - Trainers Behaving Badly Vol. 1 10/28/12

Monday (Fitness)Massacre - Trainers Behaving Badly Vol. 1

Spending as many hours in the gym as I do on a daily basis, I'm afforded no shortage in sights of things that just make you shake your head. Unfortunately, quite often these sights are complete with a fitness 'professional' standing right there supervising the whole ordeal. I've decided the instead of standing silent and shaking my head, i...t would be better to call attention to said sights in order to educate my peeps.

This weeks 'winner':

Standing tricep extensions, WHILE STANDING ON TOP OF AN EXCERISE/PHYSIOBALL!

Here we've got an inefficient single-joint exercise, combined with an extremely unstable and dangerous training environment. A recipe for disaster if there ever was one. The gym should be a place to improve many things - strength, mobility, conditioning - what it should NOT be is an audition for Cirque de Soleil.

If you wish to use an exercise ball in an effective and efficient manner, come see us at Pittsburgh Kettlebells and learn exercises like ball roll-outs, stir-the-pot, and hip-bridge with leg curl that target your entire body all at once in order to make the most of your time and equipment investment!