As a trainer I get asked so many questions about how to train, what muscles to train etc etc. Too many times I see people in the gym sitting down, doing a simple bicep-curl… wow ( I always can’t help to think what a waste of time )

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m all for isolation and targeting a specific muscle, but unless you are training for the World Bodybuilding Championship and you need to increase your right bicep by a quarter cm in order to get perfect symmetry, it really is a waste of time.

I’ve always proclaimed functional training from the rooftops, simply because it is needed by every single human being on earth.

Multi-dimensional training is the fastest most effective method and style to build muscle, burn fat, increase bone-density, correct posture and feel a whole lot better about yourself.

Like I said before, this is a style of training and not a method written in stone. every single exercise, old school and new school can be incorporated into covering all spheres. By simply making sure that one is moving forward (north), sideways (east & west) and backwards (south), the body get trained and strengtened from all sides. This is the true definition of functional training.

Taking lunges forward, squatting sideways and lunging backwards is the simplest exercise in the arsenal of multidimensional training. Here, anybody can become creative and turn a simple exercise into a fat slashing, super fit, super strong exercise.

Happy training to you all

The Bowflex SelectTech 552 Dumbbells (2009 Model) is perfect for anybody that is short on space and wants to save thousands of dollars… so that’s pretty much everybody.

But what are these dumbbells really all about?

We’re about to find out.

The Bowflex SelectTech 552 Dumbbells (2009 Model) is an adjustable system that allows for one dumbbell to have multiple weight starting from 5 pounds all the way up to 25 pounds, going up in increments of 2.5. It works with a dial that turns to free a certain number of plates, that then stay behind when you lift them up, giving you a desired weight to work with.
The entire system is very well made, strong and sturdy. Being a tall and relatively large person, personally, I didn’t have any problems with doing an array of exercises. On the flipside, I can foresee that a small or short person might find it a little bit awkward to use for some movements. Overall though, any person, novice or advanced will comfortably receive benefit from the system.

The Bowflex SelectTech 552 Dumbbells (2009 Model) is an innovation in home exercise equipment, perfect for a total body workout.
The Bowflex SelectTech 552 Dumbbells (2009 Model) comes with a money back guarantee, so there isn’t much risk involved.

If there is one thing that I get asked as a trainer all the time, if there is one thing that everybody in the gym struggles with, if there is one thing that everybody in the gym wants… IT’S ABS!

The stomach muscles has always been at the center of any person’s physical image and without blame, a nicely toned stomach does look awesome, right. But if getting them and keeping them was easy, everybody will have them and not just the elite few.

In order to get a powerful, strong, flat, toned stomach, one needs to start at the basics, and that is the exercise off course. Diet obviously also plays a pivotal role, but if you can manage an easy, simple exercise that challenges, targets and isolates the abdominal muscles, you’re well on your way to a beautifully, strong, toned six pack.

The days of endless sit-ups is over and these days there is fantastic tools to help you accomplish the stomach you’ve always wanted. There is very affordable tools, there is very expensive tools and then there is absolute useless tools. One doesn’t need to spend an arm and a leg in order to get abs. A very affordable fitness tool that has been around for many years, a little bit of discipline, consistency and a bit of patience is what you need to accomplish your abdominal powerhouse.

The ab-wheel is a tool that has been around for many years, stood the test of time, is simple, small, easy to use, easy to travel with and as an added bonus strengthens your lower back as well.

If a solid six pack is what you’re after, then the ab-wheel is a must in your collection of fitness tools.

There is a full review of this product on the REVIEW PAGE.

Happy Training!

Injury, whether it’s muscle, joint, bone or tendon, is probably the number one cause for stopping training and you’ll be surprized to know that it is just as easy to prevent injury as it is to sustain it.

The most common injuries is overuse injuries which occurs when one particular joint or muscle is worked out too much and not given enough time to rest and recover. Inflammation of the tendons is the first to pop up and is normally due to the fact that we push too hard, too fast.

Training the body to desired standards is a slow process and it needs time to rest and recover. Muscle strength and development occurs much faster than that of the tendons and joints.

As a rule of thumb, give the body about twelve weeks to adapt to any new training regime. This includes low weight, low intensity, high repitition work.

Yes, you won’t see much change but you’ll be preparing the body internally and when the time is right your results will come through without any pain or injury.

When and if you experience any pain or discomfort, don’t make the fatal mistake of leaving it alone and hoping that it will go away. Trust me when I say that it will come back to bite you. Immediate ice and heat, muscle cream and sport massage is the order of the day.

With more serious injuries, like muscle tears, fractures etc. obviously a physiotherapist is the number one option in this case.

Remember these words: PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE!

Take it easy and give your body plenty rest and recovery.

Happy Training!

For an excellent resource on injury prevention and rehabilitaion:

Click Here!

With our fast paced world today and all our engineered food, it is no longer a secret that we don’t get all our nutrients from the food we buy off the shelf. Mass production, cold storage, pesticides etc etc contributes to loss of vital nutrients that the body needs.

The body needs macro and micro nutrients in order to function properly. Macro nutrients is proteins, carbohydrates, fats and micro nutrients is essential vitamins and minerals.

From a weight loss point of view, ideally you want to consume low calorie, high nutrient food and as I’ve explained, this is becoming quite difficult in today’s society. Yes, it is possible to get all your nutrients in but you’ll have to consume alot of food in order to do that which results in picking up unwanted weight.

Flu and germs also goes around especially in a gym environment and getting in your multivitamins is becoming more and more important.

The bottom line is everybody needs supplementation and that doesn’t mean that you now have to go out and buy a mountain of pills and shakes but a good multivitamin and a good immune booster is a must for everybody.

Off course getting in nutrients doesn’t always mean popping a pill. Vitamin D we can get from about twenty minutes in the sun, vitamin C from oranges, assuming that it is picked from the tree and not been sitting a cold store room for months. 

Consistently taking your vitamins and educating yourself in high nutrient foods will make a dramatic change in your body and you’ll feel better, have more energy.

Happy Training!

Flexibility is important and that being said, it is probably one of the fitness components that is pushed to the side most often. The general consensus is that if I’m not a pro athlete, why stretch?

Well, this article is aimed at answering that question.

First of all, flexibility is not about becoming as supple as a gymnast but to form a balance in your body. Flexibility increases physical performance. A flexible joint  has the ability to move through a greater range of motion.  Stretching also helps reduce muscle soreness after exercise.

A very common problem among most people is lower back pain and i have written a previous article on that subject. Stretching reduces the risk of low back pain by promoting muscular relaxation.  Flexible hamstrings, hip flexors, quadriceps, and other muscles attaching to the pelvis reduces stress to the low back.
Another great benefit of stretching is an increase in the blood supply and nutrients to joint structures. Stretching increases tissue temperature, which in turn increases circulation and nutrient transport. This allows greater elasticity of surrounding tissues and increases performance. Stretching also increases joint synovial fluid, which is a lubricating fluid that promotes the transport of more nutrients to the joints’ articular cartilage. This allows a greater range of motion and reduces joint degeneration.

These are just a short list of the great benefits of stretching. There is no need to become a yoga fundi, but if you want, that’s great.

10 -15 min of stretching each day will give you benefits I spoke of above and you’ll have a fitter, stronger body.

Happy Training!

If there was two exercises that I would dub the father of all exercises, the mother of all mothers, the best of the best… well you get the idea… it would most defintely be the the squat and the lunge.

In the following post I will be talking about these two exercises and comparing them to each other.

First of all, every single client of mine, young, old, big or small does both of these exercises on a regular basis unless an injury prevents them from doing it.

First of all lets see which muscles the squat works out:

• glutes ( the butt )
• quads ( front muscles of your legs )
• hamstrings ( back of your legs )
• calves
• core

That’s a lot of muscles for one exercise and you’ll also notice that it’s some of the biggest muscle in your body, meaning maximum effort = maximum results = maximum weight loss.

Lets look at the lunge:

• glutes ( the butt )
• quads ( front muscles of your legs )
• hamstrings ( back of your legs )
• calves
• core

So, I’m sure you’ve noticed that both of these exercise work the same muscles. So why do both?

They challenge the same muscles in different planes which adds more functional strength to your body.

If doing both sounds like too much, start with the squat and switch them around each week. This way you’ll keep challenging your body. Like I said these two exercises is the mother of all mothers. They challenge multiple muscles simultaneously and trains the body as a unit instead of individually.

A great advantage for many people that doesn’t feel comfortable in the gym  is that both of these can be done in the comfort and privacy of your own home. And when you comfortable and ready, you can go to the gym and start adding resistance to the movement, but more on that in later posts.

So go ahead and try these two best of the best moves. 

Happy training!

PS: Keep a eye on the video page, coming soon,  that will describe these exercises in detail.

The benefits of resistance training is no secret. Consistently doing resistance training is good for the body  and mind.

This article focuses on the weight loss benefit of resistance training.

Cardiovascular exercise is a must if you are trying to lose weight. Adding resistance training 2- 3 times per week will make it a really powerful combination.

Consider the following:

• every additional pound of muscle you gain, your body burns around 50 extra calories every day of the week
• research has shown that regular resistance training can increase Basal Metabolic Rate by up to 15%
• so, for someone burning 2000 calories per day, that’s a potential 300 calories extra burned everyday
• resistance training  can reduce bone deterioration and build bone mass, preventing osteoporosis
• resistance training can also inhibit the affects of Sarcopenia, the age related loss of muscle mass. strength and function
• it has been proven to have a positive effect on insulin resistance, resting metabolism, blood pressure, body fat and factors linked to illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer
• resistance exercise can boost brain power and fight off diseases like Alzheimer’s
• resistance training releases endorphins which is the hormone released when you feel happy

Remember that CONSISTENCY is the key and the body needs time to adapt to whatever you are exposing it to. It generally takes between 8-12 weeks to physically see a result, so don’t quit if you don’t see a result in the first few weeks. Trust me when I tell you that something is happening within your body.

So, add some iron and see your results speed up dramatically.

Happy Training!

Everybody misses a training session now and again and it’s ok. You start your new fitness regime and everything goes great for a couple of weeks and you miss one day. So you feel slightly disappointed in yourself but then you miss another and another and before you can find yourself you’ve gone without training for the same amount of time that you did.

I am guilty of this and so is professional athletes and it is really ok. Give yourself that 80/20 space that allows you to miss 20% of your training days and successfully complete 80%. It is a very do-able ratio that allows for some error that you don’t need to feel bad about.

We all lose motivation from time to time and the key is to just press on. Exercise is supposed to be fun and enjoyable but there is going to be times when it doesn’t feel good, it burns or pains or you just don’t feel like doing it. If exercise were supposed to be fun and games, we’d all be fit and lean.

When you find yourself going into that downward phase, which happens to world class athletes as well, it’s generally time for something new or different. Perhaps a couple of planned out sessions with a trainer, find a buddy to pull you through or just do something crazy like skydiving to get the adrenaline pumping.

Dont give up whatever you do and just because you miss a couple of days in the gym doesn’t mean to stop altogether. Prepare for it and put it behind you when it does happen.

It’s happened to me time and time again but in the end it’s how we deal with these little bumps in the road that helps us reach our goals.

Keep pressing on and see yourself accomplishing your goal.

Happy Training!

Science was a cornerstone in the development of Kinesis.
The fitness industry has grown up and grown out of resistance machines that only move in one plane.

Kinesis brings a whole new dynamic way of training body, mind and soul.
It mixes functionality with creativity and in doing so enables an infinite number of exercises with Kinesis.
Used for sport specific, rehabilitation, endurance, explosive, young, old, novice and professional, the Kinesis really is for everybody and anybody.

The three pillars of Kinesis is strength, stability and flexibility. Kinesis achieves these three pillars by incorporating balance, proprioception on an uneven surface and controlling your body in space and all in an environment where you can fully extend the body.

Benefits of the kinesis is:

increased coordination
increased strength
increased balance
stronger core stability
increased flexibility
increased endurance
proper posture

In Kinesis training 30% more calories will be burned compared to traditional equipment training. A higher work volume can be achieved in a shorter period of tme.

Kinesis means movement. This type of workout is movement education for the ody and mind. This training is different from traditional exercise . Time in movement is the goal here, rather than reps. Movement training is FUN!