Archive for the ‘Fitness Gym’ Category

Different Types of Pilates Workouts

1) Powerhouse Pilates

Powerhouse Pilates is a form of exercise that provides that of a fitness approach to that of the Pilates education overall. It was founded by Marci Clark and Christine Romani-Ruby in order to make Pilates education easily available for fitness professionals.

2) Peak Pilates

Peak Pilates is one of many forms of Pilates which uses a truly and entirely different approach that teaches you how to teach and not just what to teach. Peak Pilates certification programs concentrate on that of professional development and a deep understanding of the integrated, systematic approach to Pilates overall.

This knowledge is important because it is what provides the solid foundation and the confidence; two things that are required in order to become a successful Pilates instructor.

Moreover, the Peak Pilates certification programs offer that of a modular educational pathway which allows you to learn and teach at your own pace while simultaneously matching your own personal education level to the level of Peak Pilates that you wish to teach. It is compulsory for every single Pilates student, regardless of their specific fitness level or movement experience, begins by learning the introductory system.

3) Stott Pilates

Stott Pilates is one which concentrates on that of breath, core conditioning, and body awareness. Moreover, Stott Pilates exercise provides a safe and highly effective way to stretch, which is a very important part of the Pilates routines altogether. Stott Pilates is also great as it strengthens and streamlines your body without adding unwanted bulk and without putting any more pressure on your joints.

Stott Pilates is performed on a mat and uses specialized equipment. It is considered as being one of the few fitness regimes that can last you for a lifetime. In addition, it is also thought of as being the perfect compliment to that of cardiovascular exercise, sport and rehab.

The Sporting Club offers many different varieties of pilates classes and instruction!  Check out all the have to offer on their website!

Personal Trainers Speed Up the Fitness Process!

Trying to get into shape without the expertise of a personal trainer is one of the hardest things an individual can try to do.  Getting into great shape isn’t a one-step process. Many people don’t understand just what’s involved in reaching their goals.  There are many reasons as to why people fail to achieve a higher level of fitness without the help of a personal trainer:

People lack the motivation to start and complete their fitness goals.

Most people don’t have the knowledge to reach their fitness goals.

People lack the equipment that is necessary to reach their desired level of fitness.

People lack the time that is necessary to achieve a higher level of personal health.

Physical health and fitness are really a hobby, not a job.

How A Personal Trainer Will Give You The Motivation You Need

One of the best things that a personal trainer can do is provide you with the motivation to start and finish your individual fitness goals. Many people refuse to get into shape simply because they believe that they will not be able to complete their desired goals.

The Personal Trainer shington Has The Knowledge You Need

Your local fitness trainer has the knowledge that you need to start and finish your fitness plan. A personal trainer has the know-how from foods you should eat to the variety of exercises you should be doing to get you that body you’ve always wanted.

Your Personal Trainer Provides You With The Equipment

A great thing about a majority of personal trainers in the area is that they provide you with the necessary equipment that you need to achieve your individual fitness goals. Exercise equipment, even used equipment, is rather expensive and a personal trainer can save you a paycheck (or two) by providing the fitness hardware to you.

A Personal Trainer Will Plan Your Workouts To Fit Your Schedule

Another useful feature that comes from working with a personal trainer is that they will work with you to fit your workouts in your hectic schedule. Regardless of how hectic your schedule is, a personal trainer can work with you to find the time.

The Sporting Club offers a wide array of personal trainers just for you!  Check them all out at the Sporting Club’s website!

Pilates Come in Many Varieties

 Power Pilates

Power Pilates are exercises on almost the same lines as yoga, however with a big difference – the fitness in yoga comes from the mind first, hence the deep meditation, etc. The Power Pilates imparts a series exercises which are focused to build muscles and overall the fitness of body and mind.

There are many programs which offer a number of Power Pilates at different levels of interest. The Power Pilates is a series of exercises that a person has to take on for about 12-36 hours per week. The Power Pilates moves will almost always require backup by some form of equipment. These equipments are used for different muscle stretching exercises.

The Power Pilates exercises are a great way to stay fit. Yoga is the only other method for accomplishing the same level of fitness of the mind and body. Power Pilates is not too costly to learn, or too labor intensive as yoga yet it is highly effective. While with yoga you will need to be extremely supple, with the Power Pilates you require only to have the will to learn and do it.

 Yoga Pilates

There are several different yoga Pilates workouts that involve exercises that have their foundation in yoga along with Pilates as they focus on flexibility and core strength. An exerciser can do these yoga Pilates exercises at a restful pace by breathing slowly and deeply throughout the workout. Yoga Pilates exercises can also be adjusted to fit different fitness levels and flexibility. However one should also consult the doctor before starting any of these exercise programs.

There are definite yoga Pilates guidelines that should help exercisers which include yoga postures that should not be performed on a full stomach. One should wear comfortable clothing to enable freedom of movement and not exercising when feeling weak or shaky.

One should build up strength steadily while staying within personal limitations. One should extend their boundaries of limitations gently while staying focused throughout the workout on one’s breathing that is inhaling and exhaling fully and completely, through the nose.

Because yoga Pilates classes is mushrooming everywhere, there may be a limited number of qualified instructors available. Having a qualified instructor is important as it guarantees that the participant takes the right yoga Pilates exercises. In the case of Pilates, it is dangerous to do moves that are beyond one’s capabilities.

Looking for some good Pilates training?  Look no further than the Sporting Club, where you can find so many different types of Pilates instruction you won’t look anywhere else!

The Benefits of Pilates

Pilates incredible popularity can be traced to the fact that it provides its faithful practitioners with benefits that you simply can’t get through traditional aerobics/strength training format.

1. Makes You into Muscle Man

If want a long, lean look without bulky muscles, but with all the strength. Would you like to build strength and endurance without getting the muscle man look? If so, pilates may be just what you have been searching for.
There’s a reason that pilates is the exercise of choice for gymnasts and professional dancers. Most conventional workouts tend to create bulky muscle. Why is this? In most workouts, the emphasis is placed on repetition and building strong muscles.

This causes already-strong muscles to get even strong, and thus bigger. Pilates does not rely on frequent repetition, and thus no overgrown muscles. Pilates focuses on the whole body, not just on sections of muscles.

2. Increases the Strength of Stabilizer Muscles

There are many benefits that one can achieve through a proper use of the pilates program. One of the most significant points of the pilates program is it’s ability to increase the strength of stabilizer muscles that may not commonly be worked out in a standard exercise program.

Also, since pilates stresses the use of graceful and fluid movements, it can be a great way to get a better sense of the kinesthetics of your body. The sense of body that you can achieve through pilates is quite significant, and many find that they are better able to balance themselves regardless of the position that they are in.

3. A Mind-Body Workout That Strengthens Your Whole Body

Another one of the benefits of Pilates is that it engages the mind and enhances body awareness. Like yoga, tai chi, and Asian martial arts, Pilates is not just a workout for your body. Joseph H. Pilates studied yoga, martial arts, and other ancient mind-body activities and included a strong philosophical foundation into the practice of Pilates.

Pilates not only helps tone your body, but your mind and spirit as well. The smooth, precise and flowing movements of Pilates are designed to make you more mindful of your body.

Breath movement is also emphasized to put you in touch with how breath moves through your body. Pilates has been demonstrated to reduce stress, anxiety, and helps lift depression. The mind-body connection is fundamental to the study and practice of pilates.

Looking to get started in Pilates?  Look no further than the Sporting Club where you can get your fill of great pilates classes at great prices!

The Sporting Club’s Golf Fitness Program

UTC Fitness Gym‘s golf fitness program was launched this past Saturday, April 3rd.  The two-hour session covered many of the areas designed to help golfers get more out of their game while keeping themselves strong and healthy.

The aspects of training that we went over were:

1. Flexibility

2. Maintaining your Center of Gravity

3. Sport Specific Motor Programing

4. Proper Exercise Selection

5. Posture

There was also a good amount shared about the mental side of the game and how simple techniques can help you stay focused throughout your round.  If you missed it last Saturday, don’t worry!  There’s another seminar planned this coming Saturday, April 10th at 10 am.  Hope to see you there!  If you have any questions please email Michael at michael.shelly@thesportingclub.com for further information.

Fairways and Greens!

Michael Shelly

San Diego Sporting Club Trainer

The Sporting Club

Michael Shelly

CHEK Exercise Coach

NSCA-CPT

858-342-0467

Over Training Syndrome

Ever wake up or finish your day at work with the feeling of not wanting to go to the gym?  Of course!  We all do. One sign that can show an increase in the risk of Over Training Syndrome, (OTS) is a lack of motivation or decrease in energy.  If you’ve worked out for 4 or 5 days in a row or had many workouts lasting more than a couple hours, whether you are at the UTC Fitness gym or on your own, chances are you can use a day of rest or just light activity. OTS is very common and can lead to a decrease in performance, lack of results and increase the risk of injury.  It is one of the most common problems for people struggling to get results from their workouts.  The way to benefit from all those hard workouts that you put your body through is to let the body recover.

If you have enough energy or maybe only worked out a few days at most in a row, try taking a short walk.  Get some fresh air and relax your mind.  Stress can be a cause for your low energy.  Think about what causes you to feel a lack of motivation or lack of energy.  If you need rest, take it. If you need something or someone to inspire you or motivate you, talk to a San Diego Sporting Club Trainer. Don’t let your workouts get stale and don’t let your energy level rob you from getting an invigorating workout. Whatever you need, find it and put it to work!

Take rest when necessary.  Change your workout styles and/or goals.  Listen to your body and it will give you what you want.

James Di Muzio

The Sporting Club

Personal Trainer

Pilates

Following The New Orleans Saints win at The Super Bowl, I have to mention that Drew Brees incorporates Pilates in his training and also endorses hybrid Pilates weight bearing routines such as the Total Gym and TRX Suspension training. There is a long list of NFL players practicing Pilates besides many other male professional athletes as it is one of the top forms of training an athlete can do to produce results, whether their goal is to jump higher, run faster or kick or hit the ball further. Initially they are drawn to it when rehabilitating from an injury, but they soon realize that it enhances their performance.

In an article in Beyond Fitness spring 2008 entitled “Pilates for the Sports Guy” written by Kerrie Lee Brown, there is a quote from Master Stott Pilates instructor John Garey: “I’ve heard from many athletes that when they take Pilates, they start to think about their body and it’s function differently. In particular, they start thinking about their “centre” or “core.” Ultimately they find that they transfer all that they learn in the studio to the playing field-often subconsciously. Pilates makes athletes get back in touch with their basic training principle and therefore expands on what they already know. The benefits are amazing-increased power, strength and mobility.”

The Winter Olympic athletes are also no stranger to Pilates. Ice skaters have been practicing Pilates for years. In 1980, Robin Cousins was the competitive figure skater Olympic champion, and in 1984 Torvill and Dean became the highest scoring figure skaters of  all time at the Winter Olympics. All of them trained with Alan Herdman- who is famous for bringing Pilates to the UK. More recently Rachael Flatt who is from La Jolla just won Gold for Womens figure Skating, she incorporated both Pilates and yoga in her training program.  Freestyle Skier and Canadian silver medalist Jennifer Heil regularly practices Pilates. Julie Manusco is the most decorated US skier in history and she does Pilates privately with an instructor that is a former ski racer in Japan. US 2010 Gold Medalist Hannah Kearney does Pilates Reformer classes several times a week at her local fitness gym.

There are many professional golfers practicing Pilates, like Tiger Woods, Butch Harmon, David Duval, and Annika Sorenstam to name a few. So many in fact, that there are certifications for instructors to specialize Pilates for golf. A couple of us at the UTC Health Fitness Center Gym have participated in probably the most famous which is called “Hole in One Pilates,” originated by Sarah Christensen.

Head coaches everywhere are recognizing that the powerful combination of core strength, increased flexibility, efficient posture and mindfulness of movement are providing athletes with that winning edge.

Lucy Garcia

TSC Pilates Manager

Staying on top of your Routine

Busy day? Don’t let it keep you from staying on top of your fitness and wellness routine. After a day of stress or even before it begins, be sure to get in some form of exercise. It doesn’t have to be the typical one hour routine in the fitness gym. A very efficient and fast way of increasing your fitness, cardiovascular and fat burning goals is interval training.

Try choosing a few weight training exercises and throwing in a minute or two of cardiovascular work in between circuits. You don’t need a treadmill or bike. Use your body. Jumping Jacks, Burpees, or even jogging in place all work great in increasing your body’s ability to use a lot of muscles at once and increase your heart rate. As soon as you finish your time of cardio bursts, jump right back into your weight training circuit. Keep this going until you finish 3-4 sets. You can get this all done within 10-20 mins, depending on the number of exercises you choose. Opt for compound or multi-joint movements; Rows, Presses, lunges and squats.

Don’t let a stressful, long and busy day bring you down. You release positive hormones while exercising and will feel energized afterward. A little bit of time is all you will need to get a great workout and take you out of what may be a “comfort zone” style workout your used to doing for an hour or so. So spice things up!! Get it in and get it done! Don’t use the “No Time” excuse. You’re only holding yourself back from your health and fitness goals and allowing that stress to enter your body and take control of your life. Take the control back and do an interval training workout. See a San Diego Sporting Club trainer for ways to vary your interval training circuits. We are here to point you in the right direction!

James DiMuzio
Elite Trainer
CPT CES PES IFS