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!

Latest Post-Gazette Appearance

Checkout my latest appearance in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in response to THIS article:

Diabetes successes

October 27, 2013 3:51 PM

Finally, a medical professional who "gets it." As a fitness professional of 12-plus years and a Type 1 diabetic myself, allow me to express my sincere gratitude for rare professionals like Dr. Swarna S. Varma who take the all-too-rare approach of focusing on prevention and the value of weaning people off of medications as opposed to the disturbingly common practice of treating symptoms and prescribing more medications ("Fencing in Diabetes: Endocrinologist Focuses on the Health Benefits of Preventing Disease's Complications," Oct. 21). The latter approach has been wholly ineffective, to be kind.

 

Through personal research and experimentation I, too, have developed my own methods, which are often contrary to "conventional wisdom," in order to achieve similar successes in both myself and clients. I look forward to sharing these strategies at the upcoming Diabetes Expo at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center on Nov. 9. The dedication and passion demonstrated by Dr. Varma as illustrated by conducting her own research and compiling her own database and her willingness to meet patients at odd hours mirrors that of my own and others who are personally affected by this deadly disease, yet Dr. Varma is not. For this, she is to be applauded, commended and emulated.

 

RUSSELL DEMCZAK
Health and Fitness Coach
Pittsburgh Kettlebells
Ohio Township

 

 

 

Maximize Your Workout With Kettlebells

Check out Pittsburgh Kettlebell's 3rd appearance on Pittsburgh Today Live with Kristine Sorensen!

And if you don't have access to kettlebells or a gym - don't worry! Stop by and visit us at the studio and we'll be happy to show you how to maximize your time and results using not much more than you own body!



Maximize Your Workout With Kettlebells - KDKA

Free-Tip Tuesday Volume LII: More Is Not Better, Better Is Better

First, a bit of a milestone today as with volume LII, you now have one tip for each week of the entire year to implement in order in improve your quality of life!

It's often human nature, especially with Americans, that if some is good; more is better. The following link illustrates the error and dangerous repercussions that can arise from this misguided way of thinking.

Free-Tip Tuesday Volume LI: Guard Your Goodies

While the possible negative side effects of cell-phone radiation are often discussed in terms of raising your risk of brain and other cancers, interestingly enough we often neglect to think of the negative impact those same emissions from our 'smart' devices can possibly have on other areas of the body they find themselves in close proximity to.

When we aren't talking on our phones, we can typically find them in our pockets; right next to..well I think you can see where this is going.

Having fertility issues?

Free-Tip Tuesday Volume L: Can The BPA (and cans)

BPA, or bisphenol-A, is a substance frequently used to harden plastics in such things as baby bottles, food storage containers, and water bottles. It is also found in the lining of many canned goods as an anti-corrosion agent.

So what's the big deal with BPA? Well, in just this year alone, BPA has been linked to the following:

Free-Tip Tuesday XLIV: What Gets Measured Gets Managed

Piggybacking off of last week's tip, 'Make it Better', the only way you can be certain you are - is to measure your progress. Progress in training. Progress with nutritional choices. Or simply progress in adherence to the plan you have set out for either.

So how do you go about this?

In terms of training, keep a training journal or log tracking your strength increases and volume on each of your exercises. We have so much going on in our lives we don't need anything else we have to remember right? Make it simple and write it down. It's hard to know where you are going if you don't know where you came from, not to mention the sense of accomplishment when you glance down and see how strong you have become over time!