National Personal Training Institute of Massachusetts

03/28/2022

"The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today."
-- Franklin D. Roosevelt

03/27/2022

For hands on personal training education, join the National Personal Training Institute family today! Classes begin in April - Go to nationalpti.org to sign up today 💪🏽🤓📚

03/23/2022

Iniury Prevention Training Guide

Getting hurt sucks. Sprains, strains, tendonitis, and even broken bones are all consequences of living an active and athletic lifestyle. Luckily, with the right knowledge and preparation, many injuries can be diminished or entirely prevented.
There are two classes of injuries: traumatic and cumulative. Traumatic injuries are those accidents that happen in sport or daily life, such as rolling your ankle on a trail run or crashing your bike on the morning commute. Cumulative injuries relate to tissue damage that occurs over time as a result of repetitive strain. These types of injuries creep up and may be a function of poor posture, faulty movement patterns, or improper training.

The best practice for preventing injury is general physical preparedness. General physical preparedness training is the first concept to understand when talking about injury prevention, especially for trauma. It means maintaining a baseline of fitness so that you can respond to physical challenges without harm. The following list has the five main GPP areas you need to improve:

1. Flexibility

Ensure that all major joints, including your spine, have full range of motion and sufficient muscle length.

2. Strength

Keep all large muscles and surrounding stabilizers conditioned and ready to react at a moment’s notice.

3. Agility

What is your reaction time and general coordination like? If properly honed, you can avoid spilling your bike as you swerve to avoid a pedestrian.

4. Balance

Can you stay vertical over uneven terrain or when carrying an awkwardly shaped object?

5. Power

Do you have the speed to move out of harm’s way in a hurry? Better hope so if you need to dodge a vehicle while on your morning run.

03/19/2022

Just another day in the jungle hiking to new view points. 🇨🇴

03/17/2022

They are intermediary-advanced plyometric exercises. It is a dynamic power move that uses fast and powerful movements to improve agility and power.

There are many reasons why you should incorporate tuck jumps into your workout: they're challenging, they torch calories, and boy, do they get your heart rate up fast. They’re also a great HIIT move to add to your circuits or to pair with other moves.

Some Benefits include:
1: Plyometric Training- Plyometrics have been shown to increase rate of muscle contraction, increase power outputs, enhance muscle performance in ballistic movements, and ultimately increase athletic performance
2: Increased Caloric/Energy Expenditure- Tuck jumps demand high amounts of energy when performed. The necessity to not only jump, but then get high enough and pull the legs into the body can be extremely taxing.
3: Better Force Absorption- Tuck jumps are great for powerlifters, fitness athletes, and sports athletes looking to develop greater power production in the lower body.
4: Highly Accessible HIIT Movement- The tuck jump is mainly done with bodyweight, making it a great option to add to your bodyweight movement arsenal for workouts with limited space and/or equipment.
5: Body Awareness and Athleticism- Ballistic movements done in cyclical fashion are challenging for many reasons. The lifter gains body awareness in flight and impact phases, develops the ability to decelerate the body in motion, and enhance athletic abilities necessary for sport and training.

1: Stand on flat surface that is cushioned (to lessen the wear on your legs and knees). Feet about hip-width apart.
2: Begin exercise by getting down into a half squat position and exploding off the ground while bringing your knees as close to your chest as possible. Swing arms upward as you explode off the ground.
3: Try to land softly on the balls of your feet with a bend in your knees and then immediately explode back up.
Remember: Avoid locking your knees when you’re landing.

03/16/2022

Weight Management and Metabolism

As long as your home's kitchen sink is up to building code and is working efficiently, you should be able to leave your faucet on maximum force and not worry about your sink overflowing. The rate of which water is dispensed from the faucet into the sink should be cleared down the drain before any accumulations.

I like to think of the human body, physiology, metabolism and weight management in this context. For the most part, humans should be able to maintain an ideal weight for their optimal levels of health. However, just as grease and soot may clog your kitchen sink and drain, certain lifestyle choices or physiological inefficiencies can clog our drains and require a clearing. Some of these choices may lead to a quick clog and some may be a slower build up.

Often we hear that we need to stop eating as much or start exercising more when maintaining a desired weight becomes a challenge. People suffering from weight management issues are automatically labeled as over eaters or lazy. If we associate this judgement in respect to the kitchen sink, we simply conclude that the person is forcing more water than the drainage can handle. The suggestions are to turn the water flow down (decrease caloric intake), or start bailing water out of the sink (burning calories). Much easier said than done. Both of these options are problematic in that they are not always sustainable.

What if there was another thought process? One that was based on training smarter rather than harder. How about instead of looking at the symptom we look about the cause? One that was geared towards not holding someone accountable but granting them capable. One that didn't create a dependency but empowerment. What if, instead of the unsustainable changes of famine and burning high amounts of calories, we simply restore the drain and plumbing.

Every person has their own recipe for successful weight management. Some can accomplish their ideal weight by simply increasing calories burned. Some people can accomplish their ideal weight by simply decreasing calories consumed. Focus on the cause and work a solution for it.

03/15/2022

Did you know working out in a group setting can improve athletic performance as opposed to working out alone.

Studies have shown that working out with a group can actually boost your mental health compared to working out alone. Once you get in the habit of going just a couple of times to a group fitness class, it becomes easier and feels more obligatory as you build a sense of community and camaraderie with your fellow fitness participants. Synced workout routines in particular, are effective at helping participants work through pain tolerance and keeping up with the pace of the group, all while creating a bond.

03/14/2022

03/09/2022

Stretching the back!

1. Helps limit the deterioration of the intervertebral discs
2. Reduces the risk of disc herniation
3. Strengthens the muscle groups of the back
4. Prior to exercising, particularly with heavy weights, will warm up the muscles in preparation of the effort to be endured
5. After exercising this exercise will help stretch and loosen the back muscles helping to alleviate residual soreness

03/08/2022

Eat the rainbow and we don’t mean Skittles!

Eating a colorful diet of wholesome foods can:
🌈 help you succeed with your weight loss goals
🌈 strengthen your immune system
🌈 promote a healthy heart
🌈 create radiant skin

03/07/2022

When it comes to fitness success, consistency is everything. Regardless of the activity you choose, you have to be consistent. You have to do it over and over again before you see any results

03/04/2022

Bottoms Up! We are not talking about a drink. Flip your kettlebell upside down and get to pressing to add a little variety to your training program.

Bottoms-up training is simple. Rather than holding a kettlebell with the bell hanging below the hand, flip it upside down so the heavy portion sits above the handle. (It can also be done with a weight plate.) This forces you to recruit additional muscle fibers and motor units. This method improves strength, performance, and movement mechanics. It even enhances joint integrity.

The overhead press is an essential bottoms-up movement. As with any of press variation, it can be performed isolaterally (both arms working simultaneously but independently) or unilaterally (one side at a time). With the isolateral version, the difficulty of managing two unstable objects makes these variations more demanding.

Before you grab a kettlebell and start pressing, take note that it's extremely important to pay attention the movement here. The way you hold the weight and your positioning is essential to make sure you're getting the most out of the exercise:
• Obtain a light kettlebell and position it onto your shoulder in a bottoms-up position
• The bell will be facing up and the handle will be down
• Ensure that you grip the kettlebell tightly, and keep your elbow close to your body as the bottom up position will immediately create an unstable weight
• Brace your core, squeeze your glutes, and focus on keeping the kettlebell absolutely still before beginning the exercise
• This will activate all of the surrounding muscles of the shoulder joint
• Begin pressing the kettlebell directly overhead until your elbow is locked out
• Your body will naturally find the path of most stability, ensuring that your technique is correct
• Slowly lower the weight and perform for the desired amount of repetitions

Here are a few benefits:
• They correct movement patterns and lifting technique
• They increase centration of the glenohumeral joint
• Help with co-contraction of reciprocal muscle groups
• Increase mental focus
• Improve spinal alignment and posture
• Improve grip strength
• Incorporate anaerobic conditioning
• Make you breathe properly