Hi guys,  Kris from Custom Fitness here, your personal trainer in Amarillo. Why does it have to be SO hard to be healthy?  Today we are taking a closer look at that very sentiment and at the end we have a great finisher to your workout.  If you have any questions about today’s topic or you’d like to learn some tips to really amp up your motivation and routine, give us a call: 806-322-3188.

I had several clients walk in today who had been hit by the summer slump. “Why does it have to be so hard?” “Why do we always have to be keenly focused on it to make it work?”  Those questions are pretty tough for some people.  Alternatively, others feel adding small changes to their lives are simply no big deal. So why is their a varied response?  Well it could be the approach people to take when they begin their fitness journey. My question to you is are you using the right tools?

To illustrate this I have a non-fitness related story for you.  I have a friend who has hair so straight you could use it as a level to hang pictures. When she was little she got a perm and it fell out the next day. No matter how she tried to curl her hair, it just wouldn’t work. When she grew up, she found this ‘tool’ that heated her hair to the exact temperature it needed to hold a curl. So what was the difference?  When she was little trying to curl her hair, she wasn’t using the right tools.  When she employed the right tool it worked for days at a time.

When people are looking at their health and trying to figure out what works, I am always reminded of that story. As personal trainer in Amarillo, I have heard time and time again from people that they “need this class”, “this gym membership”, or “this piece of equipment to get the results”.  Sure, maybe those tools have worked for other people, but they could be the wrong tool for you. If you are using the wrong tools for your body, then you are going to find frustration and discouragement long before you see any results. You want to really examine the tools you are trying to apply to your routine and see if they can give your body the results you imagine.

You don’t need big bulky machines nor do you need specific equipment — you can easily workout with nothing more than your own body, but you have to know how to use it.  A gym membership is basically renting you the equipment. It doesn’t provide you guidance on how to approach our weight loss goals.  Our society is strong advocates for doing everything ourselves. We feel we should be able to pay the $40-60/month membership fee and go in and start making physical changes. I wouldn’t go out and try to perform a root canal surgery on myself just because I have a toothbrush.  Thus, I hope that you as a fitness enthusiast wouldn’t take on a task beyond your focus.  You can learn about it, definitely. There are stacks of books, pages of articles, and websites galore with the sole purpose of spreading fitness knowledge albeit a lot of it is malarky. But is that knowledge your primary focus day in and day out?  At Custom Fitness we wade through the facts and fiction for you to stay on the cutting edge of research, so you don’t have to.

Recently I had a client walk in saying she was very confused. For two years she was trying the DIY model of fitness and adopting every mix of diet she could find (high carb, low fat, high protein, no carb, and more), but never had any real transformation.  I’ll update you on that story in the coming weeks with hopefully lots of great success. She was honestly confused by the volume of information at her fingertips.

When you feel like you are struggling. Don’t try and solve the issue by going on a spending spree.  Before you pull out the wallet, first look and see if you have the right tools in place. One great tool, honestly, is a personal trainer or a team of personal trainers.  A place like Custom Fitness where we take your specific needs, goals, and your body and tailor our approach to you. When you go to a generic group training session or a workout video at home, it could work, but it may not be the right workout for your body.  It could cause an injury or so sore that it makes you not want to workout again.

If you’re done wasting your money on things you don’t need, wasting your time on things that aren’t working, and you’re ready to get rid of your frustration, give us a call. We’d be happy to provide you with a complimentary fitness consultation.  Just come and see if we are the right fit for you; if so, great! If not, we understand that too. We would love to be your perfect tool, your personal trainer in Amarillo, Texas.

Now, onto the workout finisher.  A finisher is when you are at the end of a strength workout or circuit exercise and you want a burst of cardio at the end. This will help raise your metabolism a little bit longer than normal.  You want to add something in at the end of your routine that is short, sweet, and powerful. Something you feel at the end of it that you are done (a finisher) and is effective to reaching your goal.  If your goal is weight loss or muscle tone this will be a great finisher for you.  

Today we will be doing a ladder. Meaning you do 10 reps of each exercise, start again doing 9 reps of each exercise, start again doing 8… all the way down to 1. You are probably wondering what one rep of an exercise will do, but I promise in this ladder it really makes a difference.  As for a modification you can cut it down by doing only evens (10,8,6,4,2) or odds (9,7,5,3,1). Make sure you are performing to your current ability (level).  You can modify with almost little to no break in between as possible.  

For this one we will be doing a pushup either on your knees or toes and then a squat jump with your hands wherever you want, but jumping as high as you can.  10 of each, then 9 of each, 8, 7…etc.

As you build it up you will feel your heart rate raise, so how do you modify it? Bring the pushups to the knees and rather jumping for the squat go up on your tiptoes (we don’t need the impact, but do need the movement). If you are jumping, please remember not to land with straight legs. Bend your knees softly when you land to help absorb the impact on the joint and it will be easy to fall into the squat. You can pause at the bottom for a rest, don’t pause at the top..

That’s all I have for you today.  Give us a call if you are interested in the consultation or any of the services we provide here.  Our phone number is 806-322-3188 or e-mail us anytime at info@customfitness.biz.  At Custom Fitness, we are YOUR personal trainers in Amarillo.  Have a great day!