10 Reasons To Hire A Personal Trainer

Just a quick link to an existing page on the site that gives those that are maybe contemplating or are unsure of whether or not hiring a personal trainer is for them, a good checklist of where to begin.

This is a great starting point and of course there are many others, and it will depend largely on your previous experience. Most importantly, ask around, friends, family, etc. to see if there are any personal trainers that they can recommend which will possibly make the difference between a good or not so good experience.

Here is the short list of 10 Reasons To Hire A Personal Trainer, you can read more on the Personal Training page:

1. You don’t see any results
2. You are not sure where to begin
3. Your workouts are boring
4. Your workouts are not challenging
5. You would like to learn techniques so you can exercise on your own
6. You need motivation and accountability
7. You are physically limited by illness or injury
8. You are preparing for a sporting event
9. You need or would prefer supervision during your workouts
10. You would like to learn how to workout at home

For those of you reading this and the weather is getting warmer, now is a great time to find the right personal trainer to help you get in shape for summer, but also stay in shape year round by learning the correct exercise techniques.

More Protein Choices For Personal Training Clients

Many personal training clients have indicated recently that their protein levels are too low, or that they are just not sure what are some good choices, and how much to eat per meal/day.

Giving advice on nutrition is always a difficult one due to the fact that most people have partners, families, eat out often, etc. but there are some very simple rules to follow without having to radically change your diet (unless you really should!).

Protein is like the foundation of a house, trying to build an impressive looking house on a questionable slab is obviously not the best method. Neither then, is training hard at the gym and not supporting your diet, time and dollars spent at the gym or with your trainer, without the right fuel source.

Some very simple rules that anyone can follow are to eat 5 meals per day in line with what most people already (should) do and this is:

1. Breakfast  – Yes, this really is the most important meal of the day!
2. Mid morning snack
3. Lunch
4. Mid afternoon snack
5. Dinner

Then it’s simply a matter of adding some protein with every meal. Try and get 20-30 grams of protein with your main meals, ie. 1, 2 & 3 and at least some protein with your snacks and try and combine protein and carbohydrates with every meal. For in between meals, a piece of fruit is an excellent way to combine these two with the following good protein choices, in no particular order:

Food	Calories	Protein	Carbs	Fat
Egg Whites	17	3.5	0	0
Whole Eggs (extra large 56g)	83	7	0	5.6
No fat yoghurt (200g container)	96	9.6	13.6	0.2
No fat milk (250ml)	113	11.5	15.5	0.3
Traditional Oats (100g)	380	12.8	56.7	8.8
Dry Roasted Cashews (30g)	172	4.6	9.8	13.9
Chicken Breast (100g – raw)	110	22.5	0	2.5
Rump Steak (100g – raw)	117	23.5	0	2.5
Canned Tuna (140g)	147	35	0.7	0.6
Tuna and sweet chilli (Can – 95g)	101	12.4	11.0	0.6

There are many others, but these are a good place to start. Leave a comment with your own suggestions and I will update the list.

Don’t forget to read the recent article on having hard boiled eggs handy as a source of protein. If you are eating more than 4-5 boiled eggs a day, consider not eating all of the yolks if you find fat content is too high if you are counting your calorie intake.

The Aerobic Conspiracy

Read this excellent article today by Phil Stevens titled “The Aerobic Conspiracy”, which shows just how badly out of proportion the whole cardio vs weight/resistance training argument really is.

In reality, if you could only choose one, and no doubt this all comes down to personal preference also, you would choose resistance training over cardio/running every time. A better solution would be to incorporate both into your workouts and they are both beneficial.

It’s a great read and you can see it here: http://www.staleytraining.com/articles/phil-stevens/2009/aerobic-conspiracy.htm.

A Personal Trainers Quick And Easy Protein Snack

Have been doing this for the last couple of weeks as it saves a heap of time and you always have a handy source of one of the best sources of protein available and at a very small expense.

What is it?

Hard boiled eggs!

I do these a dozen at a time and it takes 10-13 minutes in boiling water (vary your time depending on how you like them, and yes, the water must be boiling when you put them in, or else you might end up with something slightly underdone…).

These really are the perfect snack or even as a whole meal, say for breakfast have 2 eggs with sea salt and cracked pepper, with a piece of fruit, a handful or two of raw mixed nuts, bottle of water and you are really starting your day off in seriously good form. The yolks are fine to eat and they contain most of the essential nutrients found in eggs, so don’t discard them no matter what anyone says about the fact that they are high in fat. This comes from an old bodybuilding style of nutrition which has its place, but not in the context of this post which is for every day people which is 80%-90% of those in the gym, or with personal trainers.

The following picture (click to enlarge) is taken from the box, and note that these are 70 gm free range eggs, showing the nutritional information for you calorie conscious people out there.

For those of you that don’t follow any type of nutritional plan, maybe now is a good time to start as we only need a certain amount of food, or energy each day, and you know where the rest goes if you don’t use it? Fat.

I hope this helps and saves you a heap of time.

The Top 10 Weight Loss Foods That Burn Fat

Quite a lot of personal training clients have been asking for information on nutrition lately, which is great because it is probably the most neglected area of a training program.

As with many other factors in the general fitness world, the amount of information is simply staggering and can be overwhelming to someone looking to make some changes in the way they eat, and more importantly, how much they eat (and drink!).

A recent article by Tom Venuto titled “The Top 10 Weight Loss Foods That Help You Get Six Pack Abs!” (click the link to read the entire article) contains the following food groups and why your diet should consist mostly of these:

• Top 10 Starchy Carbs and Whole Grains
• Top 10 Vegetables
• Top 10 Lean Proteins
• Top 10 Fruits

One particularly good point that Tom makes, which is mentioned throughout his very well know Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle program, is to zig-zag your carbohydrate intake. Very simply this means to rotate those foods you select based on your training schedule, or when you need the energy the most.

To give an example, lets say your do your strength training on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays and you do cardio or some other sport, or whatever it is you enjoy that gets you burning calories on the other days. As a general rule, it would be best to pick foods from the “Top 10 Starchy Carbs and Whole Grains” on your strength training days when you need the energy the most and choose from the “Top 10 Vegetables” on all other days when your need for such energy dense foods is not as great.

It doesn’t mean you never eat the starchy carbs on non-training days, but it’s a good place to start and to change your way of thinking in terms of how much food does my body need today in relation to what tasks you have planned for the day. If you are working in an office and are sitting down for most of or all of the day, then your energy requirements are going to be much different than if you are “taking the day off” and playing golf, or out jet skiing or a big day at the gym.

Don’t forget though, your body needs fuel, just like a car does, to perform at it’s best so choosing the majority of your food intake from these lists will put you in a great position to achieve whatever fat loss or muscle building goals you have.

If you need help with your nutrition I would love to help you as it’s a very big part of getting and staying in great shape. Contact a personal trainer in Adelaide to find out more information.

Personal Training Blog

For workout tips, some simple advice on nutrition and workouts that you can do at the gym or at home, visit my personal training blog which I keep for my personal training clients. They are able to access this information anywhere and have updated content to refer to, or be able to refer back to some older posts that contained a workout they liked or perhaps some quick tips on nutrition.

Here are a few posts you can check out and hopefully use yourself. If you have any questions just leave my a comment and I will get back to you.

Workout For Personal Training Clients On Holidays – this is a great workout that can be done while on holidays or just away from the gym and even at home as no equipment is required.

Weight Loss Tips From A Personal Trainer – some very easy to follow nutritional tips that you can start using today no matter where you are as no special products are required, just good natural food.

Short and Sharp Workout in 20 Minutes – a quick workout that almost anyone can do and fit into their schedules.

These are just some examples and I try to add new content as often as possible.

Enjoy!

Adelaide Personal Trainer

If you are in the Adelaide area and looking for a personal trainer you are more than welcome to contact me to arrange a consultation at a private personal training studio just 5 minutes from the Adelaide CBD. Facilities and equipment are fantastic and plenty of parking is available at no cost.

Personal training is a great way to start an exercise program, or if you currently exercise you can use the assistance of an experienced personal trainer who has been doing it for years show you techniques and exercises with the most benefit.

Sessions can take place in the studio or weather permitting in one of Adelaide’s many beautiful parks close by. You have the choice of training for 1/2 hour, 1 hour or with a friend if that is more appropriate.

Feel free to contact Clayton on 0411 230575 to arrange your first personal training session.

Look forward to meeting you soon.