Thanks so much for your help, I do appreciate it.

A good strength training program is based on a principle called progressive overload – which calls for progressively placing greater-than-normal demands on the muscles you are working.

When you lift weights, you do a little bit of damage to your muscles. For a couple of days after the exercise, your body recovers and repairs the damage you did to it. And when the muscle repairs itself, it makes it bigger and stronger than before.

So you are breaking down the muscle, so your body can build it back up.

Metro Sports Magazine recently surveyed personal tainers, coaches, and gyms in the Washington, DC metro area to write a story titled “Toughest Workouts in the Mid-Atlantic.”   

They used my personal favorite swim workout in the article.   Take a look and if it sounds like fun contact me about personal training and I will gladly put you through it.

Which gyms in the Washington DC area have the best personal trainers?  There are two gyms I recommend to clients:

 1)Fitness First Health Clubs. With locations in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC.  These health clubs feature the latest exercise and fitness equipment, as well as hundreds of Pilates, aerobics, yoga, and cycling classes, all included with membership. 

2)Rockville Fitness in Rockville, MD.  Last year, Mens Fitness listed it as one of the 20 Best Gyms in America.  Previously known as Planet Fitness, this gym has some of the best equipment in the Washington DC metro area.   Olympic lifting platforms, Hammer Strength plate loaded machines, a boxing room and spinning classes, makes this gym like no other in the area. 

What makes these gyms different?  Why are they the best gyms in the Washington DC area for personal training?  They are the best gyms for personal trainers, because all trainers at these gyms are independent.  They are not employees of the gym.  These gyms have no trainers on staff.

Why does this matter?  Because it allows the trainers to spend their money on staying up to date with the latest exercise trends and techniques.  The are in it for a career and can afford to invest in themselves through seminars, workshops and additional certifications.

I have put together three FREE Fitness E-books as a service to anyone searching for the truth about fitness and weight loss success. Enjoy.

• 5 Must Know Ab Exercises. The Five ab exercises in this ebook can help you achieve the mid-section of your dreams. These are the very same exercises that I use with my most successful clients.

• 21 Insider Tips for Fitness Success. The 21 tips in this book are your’s to use toward your fitness goals. These are the very same strategies that all of my most successful clients follow when training with me.

• The Truth about Weight Loss Suppliments. This report will give you the facts about weight loss supplements. Some of the information you read might make you mad – but I feel that it is my duty as a fitness professional to give you the truth.

Today’s edition of the Washington Post Express newspaper has a wonderful article about your blogger, me, Nick Irons.   It is a great story entitled “Health Monitors: People Pump It Up with Online Personal Trainers.“ 

 The link above will take you to a PDF of the entire print edition of the newspaper.   The Health section starts on page 37.

 If you are inspired by what you see and want to try online personal training for yourself, please take a look at the online personal training section of this website or contact me.

Everywhere you turn,  people are telling you to exercise. You doctor tells you to exercise, George Bush tells you to exercise, now even McDonalds is telling you to exercise.  Why should you do it?  What should you exercise?  Here are the top 10 reasons to exercise.  

1)To look Better
Face it.   You look better when you are in shape.  You look better in clothes and you look better naked. 

2)To feel better
Exercise is addicting, because it improves your mood and the way you feel about yourself. Researchers have also found that exercise is likely to reduce depression, anxiety and stress.

3)To make more money
Studies have shown that you are more productive when you exercise.  One study found that 80 percent of employees believed their exercise program was helping them become more productive at work, and 75 percent thought regular exercise was helping them achieve higher levels of relaxation and concentration.

4)To reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke
Daily physical activity can help prevent heart disease and stroke by strengthening your heart muscle, lowing your blood pressure, raising your high-density lipoprotein (HDL) (good cholesterol) and lowing your low-density lipoprotein (LDL) (bad cholesterol), improving blood flow, and increasing your heart’s working capacity.

5)To lower your blood pressure
Regular physical exercise can reduce blood pressure in those with hypertension. Physical activity can also reduce body weight and body fat which contributes to high blood pressure.

6)To prevent type II diabetes
By reducing body fat percentages, exercise can help prevent and control adult-onset diabetes.

7)To prevent osteoporosis.
 Weight-bearing exercise promotes bone formation and may prevent many forms of bone loss associated with aging (especially in women).

8)To prevent obesity
Exercise helps reduce body fat by building muscle mass, burning calories, and improving metabolism. When physical activity is combined with proper nutrition, it can help control weight and prevent obesity, a major risk factor for many diseases.

9)To reduce lower back pain
By increasing strength and endurance and improving flexibility and posture, regular exercise helps prevent back pain.

10)To improve your confidence and self-esteem.
Studies have shown that exercise brings about significant increases in confidence and self-esteem.

So you have been working out for a while, seeing great results and loving the difference you see and feel in your body. But what happens if, for some reason — injury, vacation, burnout, or something else — you have to stop for a while.

What happens?

Well first, let me tell you what doesn’t happen. Your muscle does not turn to fat. That would be like saying if you stop driving your car, your tires will turn to marshmallows. You may lose muscle mass and gain some fat, but your muscle does not turn to fat.

Here is what does happen:

• Cardio: You begin to lose aerobic endurance in as little as two weeks.

• Muscular Strength: Studies have shown that muscular strength will return to pre-exercise levels after four to 12 weeks off.

• Muscular Size: Muscles will shrink after 4-12 weeks off.

• Metablism:  As your muscles atrophy, your metabolism will slow.  This means that if you eat the same amount, you will gain weight. 

More is better right?  If exercise is good for you, than more exercise is automatically better, right?  Well, yes, to a point.  But, it is possible to exercise too much. 

When you exercise more than your body can handle, you can reach a state of overtraining.  In the past overtraining was no big deal.  You were just “hitting a plateau”,  or “burning out”.   But if you continue to exercise in a state of overtraining, your performance will continue to get worse, not better. 

 How can you tell if you are overtrained?  Well here are some common symptoms:

• Decreased performance

• Irritibility

• Lack of desire to exercise

• Depression

• Sleeplessness

• Increased muscle soreness

• Higher Resting Heart Rate

• Higher submaximum heart rate

• Lowered testosterone levels

← Previous Page — Next Page →