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Featured Exercise - Lower Body
Stability Ball Squeeze:
Target Area:
Inner thigh - This is a great exercise for increasing the strength and tightening the inner thigh.
One of the complaints I often here from clients is that their inner thigh is soft and wiggly. This exercise can help tighen the muscle and combined with cardio exercise can get anyone stronger and more shapely legs.
Set-up:
Sit on the ball so that the knees are on either side of the ball, like you were riding a horse. Make sure your knees, hips, stomach, and shoulders make a straight line with one directly above/below the other. Your feet will be placed back behind and used for balance.
Start the Exercise:
Start by squeezing your knees closer together. The ball should change shape a little and your body will lift slightly. Squeez your knees together as hard as possible at the end of the movement and then release slowly.
Get all you can out of it by...
How many times?
About 5-10 times. Start with 5 and then work your way to ten. You should rest a day inbetween attempts to give your body time to recover.
The ball squeeze is a great exercise. You'll love the results. If you don't have a stability ball please contact me and we can talk about what size and type to get.
**As always consult your doctor before starting an exercise program. This exercise may not be for you. I share them to spread information, please be careful always while exercising. Know your abilities and your limits. If you have any questions please ask anytime. |
5 Steps to Create Your Own Extreme Makeover
How to make it work and keep it working.
I have recently launched into training Cherie, the winner of the extreme makeover (learn about her below). It was very challenging to pick only one person to work with. I wanted to help everyone, but I am cursed like we all are, with limited time. So, for those of you who entered the extreme makeover and didn't win, this is for you. If you did not enter the makeover but are still looking to make a change to your health and your appearance through exercise, this will also help you.
These are five essential steps to creating your own dramatic change. If you follow these steps you WILL reach your goal, you will feel great, and you will get more and more compliments on how good you look.
Step one:
Prove to yourself how important this change is to you.
If it's not important, it will not happen. I asked certain questions in the sign-up sheet for the extreme makeover, not because I wanted to dive into your personal life, but because I wanted you to think about your reasons, your struggles, and how you could make this change fit your life. I wanted even the people who did not win the extreme makeover to have already made a plan for success. If you haven't answered those questions yet, the form is still up on my website. Just read it and write the answers for yourself. Read through these answers on a regular basis to keep your motivation up.
Step two:
Make a plan.
This is where you will have to find out how you are going to make this change. If you have downloaded (and read) my e-book, it has some tips and concepts you can use when building your plan. This is where my job typically comes in, as people aren't really sure where to start and what to do. In two sessions I can give you a lot of those answers, but in the absence of me (some of you live in other states anyway) Let me give you a basic principle to follow. You may have heard this principle before...it's called the KISS principle. KISS stands for "Keep It Simple Stupid." Now I realize it's not nice to call people names and I know you're not stupid. It just helps to nail home how important it is to not make this change more complicated than it needs to be.
Your plan needs to be something YOU CAN ACTUALLY DO!!! Too many people make up the ideal plan where they run 5 miles a day and eat tree bark for breakfast and lunch and then have spinach for dinner. This plan will not work!! Instead make a plan to do 10 minutes of walking, running, or something on an exercise machine. That one change could help you lose 5-10 pounds over the course of the year. As for the diet - try to work on some small changes to make it more healthful. Instead of sitting on the couch with a bag of chips, pour some chips into a small bowl. This will help you avoid that shocking moment when you realize "somebody" ate ALL the chips. I am also offering an amazing nutrition program FREE for you for 14-days. If you're serious about this change you will sign-up and at least use it the full 14-days. If you use it faithfully, I know you will love the predictable success it brings and will sign-up for another month of the program.
Step three:
Find support.
You need someone who is supporting you on this, but not someone who supports you and lets you run wild and free. You need to share your plan with them and they will help you by annoying you. They can remind you about your plan when you are losing motivation. They can ask you how you are doing on different aspects of the program. This person is critical to help you STAY on plan. Anyone can start a fitness program in fact you have probably started one many times. Live sometimes gets in the way and you can get knocked off your plan.
It takes help to keep going.
This person should not be a spouse. Trust me. You don't want any part of the arguments this might start. This is the exact reason why if I were married and my wife wanted to lose weight I would find her another personal trainer. I just wouldn't want to be sleeping on the couch that often.
A strong willed best friend type is a pretty good fit for this support person. It works best if you have a friend who is at a place (health and weight wise) that is similar to your goals. This way they are not being a hypocrite. It's tough to be motivated by someone if they don't walk the walk.
Step four:
Make it something to enjoy.
Make your time spent on exercise as rewarding as possible. If you like to be around people and talk, then find a way to exercise around people and talk. Group exercise, a walking buddy, or even sports (carefully, of course, you aren't as young as you used to be) will work.
If you stress a lot during the day, take some time and get away from the things that stress you. A lot of people will run for this reason. They are outside and free of responsibility for that moment while they are out there. If you are inside on a treadmill there are pressures of family, phones, and other things you are seeing that need to be done in the house. The weather is getting nicer so you might want to plan in some hiking on weekends to really clear your head and enjoy the peacefulness and beauty of the outdoors. Hiking up and down hills gets a better workout for your heart, your muscles, and your balance.
If you are enjoying it you will be much more likely to continue. And as you continue the results will show.
Step five:
Keep motivated and celebrate victories but then move on to the next goal.
I actually started this newsletter for this purpose. I wanted to be able to make occasional contact with you and share some extra information and remind you to stick to it. I would be completely thrilled if you never read my email but every time you saw my name in your inbox you got back on your exercise program. That would mean you would always stay reminded and motivated. Of course I don't spend the time writing this so no one reads it. I'm glad you're taking the moment now to read, learn, and get motivated. If you like the newsletter please let me know. If you think of anything that could be better, also let me know.
There are other ways to stay motivated besides the shameless plug for my newsletter. You need to use your answer to the question, "why are you doing this?" You have to keep that in front of you at all times. The why isn't to lose weight. Follow it another couple whys. Like why do you want to lose weight? You will finally get to a reason that actually means something for you. Like, I want to be able to play with my grandkids. I want to feel great about myself again. I want to be the man my wife married 20 years ago...these are the real motivators. These are part of those answers that you did up in step one. Post that up in places you will see it. And keep working your plan.
As success comes (and it will if you follow that plan), stop and enjoy the victory, your new look, and your energy. Just don't enjoy it for too long. If you stop working the plan, you will start to move back from whence you came. And please include me on your success. I love hearing about it. I will definitely be encouraging and motivating - after all this is my job.
If you ever have any questions, feel stuck, or if your about to give up I hope you feel comfortable enough to contact me. Just email me at Jeremy@talltrainer.com or call me at (585)261-0533.
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 Meet our Extreme Makeover
Winner
Cherie
To everyone who entered:
This was a very difficult decision I wanted to pick everyone. Hopefully Cherie's results can help motivate you and keep you motivated. That along with a little help from me will hopefully get you an extreme makeover too.
About Cherie
Cherie was gracious enough to let me share some information about her.
Height: 5'1"
Weight: 151 Lbs.
Age: 50 years
Goal: to lose 20 pounds in the next 8-weeks but also increase energy and stamina for keeping up with three teenage boys.
We did full measurements on her but I don't think its necessary to display them here. She works full time and has 3 sons at home - 13, 15, and 19.
There were so many qualified candidates. We picked Cherie because she has a great opportunity to reach her goal in the 8-week period and she represents the typical problems and body type of others who are struggling.
I want to expand the extreme makeover next year. Do you have any suggestions...? Email me back if you do.
Don't forget about our teammate:
Read more about Cherie... |
