Club Blog

San Diego Gym – Master Trainer, Elyssa Tommer Featured in Shape Magzine

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(ARA) – Working out, exercising, training, conditioning – it all puts stress on your body as you stretch, tone and build your muscles.

But these stresses could cause you injury and pain, especially if you do an exercise incorrectly, or push your body too hard.

Hiring a certified or personal trainer to help you develop a workout can really help you achieve your goals – safely. Here are some situations in which a certified trainer could come in handy.

* Training for a specific sport – A certified trainer knows you need to develop strength and flexibility in specific muscles and areas of your body for different sports. Having a trainer will help you to target those muscles with unique workouts.

* Losing weight – Losing weight is hard to do by yourself. It’s difficult to keep motivated, and if you were to become injured, the setbacks could be tremendous. Hiring a personal trainer who gives you encouragement, keeps you focused on your goal and provides you with healthy methods for losing weight can make the process a lot easier.

One of the newest exercise trends is exercising with hula hoops, and Sports Hoop Inc. is holding a certified trainer program, providing you with the knowledge and tools needed to facilitate your own class. Using Sports Hoops can energize your body, empower your self confidence, help you to relieve stress, strengthen your core muscles, assist in losing weight and slim your waistline.

* Toning muscles – Get Michele Obama’s arms or abs like “The Situation” from “Jersey Shore.” If you’re going for a specific toned look, a trainer can help you target those specific areas of your body.

* Training for a special event – If you are planning to participate in a long run, swim, hike or need to get into shape for a certain kind of physical event, a trainer will help you prepare safely so you are in the best shape possible at the time of the event.

Getting into shape and helping your body to stay healthy is great, but make sure you train safely so you don’t get sidelined by an injury.

Balance exercises are often neglected in fitness routines, but having good balance is an important part of overall joint health and injury prevention. One of the reasons that balance training is left out of fitness programs is that it has little impact on how your body looks. Instead, balance training is all about how well your body moves. There are a lot of good looking people whose bodies do work well.

Core Training and functional training is all about getting your body to move more efficiently. When your body moves more efficiently, you are less likely to get injured and you will perform regular activities and athletic activities at a higher level.

A balance exercise is an exercise that is done standing on 1 leg. Your center of gravity shifts when you stand on one leg, so your core muscles must work harder to stabilize your entire body over the standing leg. Running is a 1 legged exercise, so any sport or activity that involves running requires good balance.

Upper Body Plyometric Exercises: Where explosion and power in the muscles of the upper body are essential, the following upper body plyometric movements will further develop those traits. Sports that require power in the upper body include: wrestling, mixed martial arts and boxing (more powerful strikes), and any sport that involves explosive upper body movement (throwing, tennis, others). Most of these exercises employ either a medicine ball, or in some cases, a basketball may be utilized.

· Overhead Throws- An over-head throw requires a wall, or a partner, and some sort of ball (medicine ball is recommended; however, a basketball may be substituted). Begin the movement facing the wall at a safe distance, ball grasped in both hands with arms extended overhead. Your stance should provide for optimal balance during the set. To achieve this, stand with feet no further than shoulder width apart, and staggered, one foot slightly in front of the other. When ready, explosively extend the arms out in front, throwing the ball off the wall with as much force as possible. Catch the ball on the bounce and methodically return to the starting position. Immediately repeat the movement. Each throw is considered a repetition.

Side Throws-This movement is performed in much the same way as the overhead throw except the exerciser is standing with either the left or right side of the body facing the wall (standing sideways to the wall). The arms are held slightly bent, with the ball resting on the hip farthest from the wall. Knees should remain slightly bent throughout the movement. On exertion, allow the trunk to pivot naturally at the hips, and with as much force as possible, throw the ball off the wall or to your partner in a slightly underhanded fashion. Catch the ball on the bounce or from your partner, and thoughtfully return to the starting position. Immediately repeat the movement. Each throw is considered a single repetition.

Again, regarding the number of repetitions, one should start with a minimal number of throws to begin with, and then progress incrementally. As with any fitness routine, the same cornerstones apply. Whether one is new to exercise, or a highly-trained competitive athlete, there are some very basic rules and principles that apply to any successful personal training program or routine.