With personal training in West Chester you receive cutting-edge exercise routines with variety, and as they say, variety is the spice of life. Adding variety to your cardio routine not only helps you achieve a fuller workout but helps keep the routine from becoming boring. While some of us thrive on having consistency in our fitness programs, many of us are in danger of quitting because doing the same exercises over and over again quickly loses interest. In this article, we’ll take a look at why variety in your cardio routine can help you reach your goals, some easy ideas for incorporating variety in your fitness program, and how personal training in West Chester can help you to find the variety you need.

Why we need variety

There are several reasons why variety is important in our fitness routines. It’s important to remember that there are over 600 muscles in the body, so it’s highly unlikely that you’ll be using every one of them in one single cardio exercise. With personal training in West Chester the main purpose of cardio training is to raise the heart rate and improve energy and stamina, but cardio can also work on different muscles groups at the same time.

Another reason variety is so important is that it can help you push through the inevitable fitness plateau that you’ll run into from time to time on the way to reaching your goal. The body reaches a plateau when it is working at its optimal capacity at any given exercise. This happens most often when the same exercises are repeated over and over again. Changing up the routine with personal training in West Chester can help push through a plateau and even avoid reaching one altogether.

Daily, weekly, monthly

If you like rapid change and need variety to keep you motivated, you can vary your cardio exercises in the same thirty minute session by changing the exercise every ten minutes. Others prefer to concentrate on one exercise per session, but may do a different exercise every day. There are also those that like the consistency of following the same routine but realize that changing the exercises is beneficial in the long run, so will change every four to six weeks.

Change as you feel comfortable, but remember that part of working towards your fitness goal is pushing your body out of its comfort zone, so it’s not a bad idea to at least try an exercise you previously would have avoided it. You may find that you need assistance, and that’s where personal training in West Chester can help!

Getting help

If you feel like you’ve done every kind of exercise you can think of and are at a loss for what to do next or just need some advice on the best ways to vary your cardio routine, you may find that personal training in West Chester is the best way to go. A personal trainer can design a routine that helps you reach your goals as well as keeps you interested with cutting edge exercises. After all, personal training in West Chester is the best way to spice up your fitness routine is to make sure it has plenty of variety.

Premier Personal Training with Dennis Carroll is located in West Chester, PA and serves clients in West Chester, Downingtown and Exton. Every client at Premier receives an individual personal trainer needed to successfully reach their goals. All programs come with a 100% money back guarantee, so why not get started today? Don’t hesitate! Sign up for a Free Consult now!

Our personal trainers in West Chester understand that watching a person succeed at weight loss after a lifetime of failure is quite motivational; in the best of circumstances, you could use that experience to help boost your own fitness and weight loss program. But is it realistic to think that you can lose weight like you see on TV?

The Pros And Cons Of Reality TV Weight Loss

Everything that you see on a reality TV weight loss show is not necessarily bad, but you have to be able to take the show for its entertainment value and know where reality ends. There are both good and bad lessons to be learned by watching reality TV weight loss shows, and before you apply what you see to your own weight loss goals, our personal trainers in West Chester want you to consider the whole of the matter.

What’s Good About Reality TV Weight Loss Shows?

First off, reality TV weight loss can be very motivational. It is inspiring to watch a person who has struggled with weight and fitness all their lives become stronger and healthier. There is a certain confidence you get from watching others—whose lives may parallel your own—succeed. It is motivational to see that it is possible for the most unlikely of persons to push themselves past the point they thought possible to lose weight and achieve higher levels of health and fitness.

It is also beneficial to see the difference a real support system and weight loss/fitness plan can make. Often reality TV weight loss shows feature support systems, group therapies, and professional services for the participants. For many, it is the presence and support of these other individuals, and the education that they gain in regards to health and fitness, that help them make the jump to finally achieving weight loss goals. Our personal trainers in West Chester know first hand that proper instruction and constant motivation can help you achieve your long term weight loss.

What’s The Downside To Reality TV Weight Loss Methods?

Like most reality TV series, reality TV weight loss shows present very unrealistic portrayals of weight loss for the average man or woman. These shows provide personal trainers and nutritional support, but they also take an extreme approach to weight loss in many instances, pushing diet extremes and day-long workouts rather than incremental, sustainable fitness and nutritional programs.

Our personal trainers in West Chester want you to know that it is not realistic to try to lose weight just by watching snippets of weeks and weeks of people working to lose weight and then trying to recreate their weight loss ‘program’ on your own. What is often not shown is that these contestants are spending entire days in the gym and at times crash dieting for a monetary prize, which ends up being an unrealistic motivation once normal life resumes.

This also has the effect of promoting exercise programs that are not safe or healthy for individual viewers (and also not for the contestants sometimes). Safe and effective exercise is highly personal, and we would suggest contacting our personal trainers in West Chester to help create a program customized for your needs. The physical health and abilities of the individual must be considered before a good exercise program can be devised.

The biggest problem with reality TV weight loss shows is that they are not personally tailored to you. It is not safe, healthy, or effective for you to simply adopt the program used by another—whether your neighbor or a contestant on TV. Our personal trainers in West Chester create healthy fitness programs see to all aspects of the individual’s life and create a program that is healthy and workable—and sustainable—for a lifetime of health and fitness.

Premier Personal Training with Dennis Carroll is located in West Chester, PA and serves clients in West Chester, Downingtown and Exton. Every client at Premier receives the individual training needed to successfully reach their goals. All programs come with a 100% money back guarantee, so why not get started today? Don’t hesitate! Sign up for a Free Consult now!

A personal trainer in Downington understands that experiencing soreness the day after a work out isn’t uncommon. After all, you’re pushing your muscles beyond what they’ve been used to doing. But sometimes we mistake injuries and strains as sore muscles and push through the pain, which can lead to lasting damage. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at why muscles become sore, what you can do to help prevent soreness, and why working with a personal trainer in Downington can help you avoid injuries and strains.

Why do we get sore?

If you’re exercising correctly, muscle soreness should be very minimal, but those that are just beginning or have recently intensified their work outs may experience muscle soreness the day after a work out. This phenomenon is called delayed-onset muscle soreness, or DOMS, and generally occurs twelve to 36 hours after an intense work out. There are two factors that contribute to DOMS; a build up of waste products in the muscles and miniscule tears in the muscles. Not only are the muscles sore, but symptoms can also include feeling stiff, weak and tired. A personal trainer in Downington understands DOMS and will know how to safely and effectively get you passed it without injury or strains.

Avoiding soreness

Working out shouldn’t leave you feeling tired and sore, but energized! You can help your body better recover by taking care of your body before and after your work out. Make sure you’re getting plenty of sleep, as exercise will only exacerbate the tired feeling, and take an appropriate amount of rest between work outs, so your muscles have time to recover. A personal trainer in Downington suggests always warm up your body for at least ten minutes before any kind of intense work out, because exercising “cold muscles can lead to strains and injuries.

Stretching after a work out is just as important, as it encourages the blood flow to return to the organs and discourages lactic acid from building up in the muscles, which contributes to soreness. Finally, make sure you’re getting enough fuel for your body. Food give your body the energy it needs to work out efficiently, so consider adding a small snack an hour before your workout and eating a healthy meal afterwards, to help your muscles better recover.

Getting the help you need

If you’ve already tried some of these techniques and are still experiencing soreness after your work outs, chances are that you may have strained a muscle. A muscle is considered strained when it has worker harder than its capacity and it actually tears. If you don’t notice significant improvement over a period of a few days, you may need to seek medical advice.

It is, of course, very easy to avoid injury by making sure you’re using exercise equipment safely and not pushing yourself beyond your limits by consulting a personal trainer. Working out with a personal trainer in Downington has many benefits for you, including designing a fitness regime that’s right for you, encouraging you along the way, but most importantly, making sure you’re working out safely and efficiently. A personal trainer in Downington will be able to advise you about your muscle soreness, when you should seek medical advice, and how to avoid injury all together.

Premier Personal Training with Dennis Carroll is located in West Chester, PA and serves clients in West Chester, Downingtown and Exton. Every client at Premier receives the individual training needed to successfully reach their goals. All fitness programs come with a 100% money back guarantee, so why not get started today? Don’t hesitate! Sign up for a Free Consult now!

With West Chester Fitness Trainers you can improve your life through a healthier choices and fitness. Deciding where and how to begin your fitness journey are just as important as making the decision to begin in the first place. For those that have never traveled down this path before, it can be complicated and confusing. That’s why working with West Chester Fitness Trainers is a great choice for beginners and lifelong fitness devotees alike. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at how the personalized attention of a trainer can help you reach your goals.

You Don’t Have to Do This Alone

How many times have you started a new exercise routine and followed it faithfully for three weeks before you’ve found that your enthusiasm is long gone? Be honest – it’s easy to make excuses to avoid exercise. “I had a rough day at work,” “I’m too busy today,” “I didn’t get enough sleep last night,” the list goes on and on. But how quick would you be to make excuses if you know there was someone waiting for you at the gym?

And once you get to the gym, going through the motions alone can be equally intimidating. “How long should I do this exercise?” “Am I even doing this right?” Having West Chester Fitness Trainers by your side will help ensure that you can get instant feedback whenever you have a question, not to mention that they’ll monitor your progress and make sure you are working out safely and efficiently.

Focus and Motivation

West Chester Fitness Trainers are more than safety instructors in the gym; they can be your personal cheerleader – or even your personal drill sergeant, if you prefer – to help keep you focused on your goals and motivated to make them happen. A good personal trainer will keep track of your progress, and use this information to change or accelerate your workouts accordingly.

Before setting on your fitness path with a personal trainer, make sure that this is someone that you can see motivating you in the future. Do you feel comfortable with this person? Will you feel comfortable taking directions from this person? Being sure that you can form a good relationship with your personal trainer may mean the difference between meeting your goal and getting frustrated enough to walk away from your trainer and your goal.

Tailoring to Your Personal Needs

From the first day you meet with your personal trainer, he’s working to help you realize your fitness goals. The first meeting should include a full assessment, including your present weight, body fat index, and what you’re working towards – whether it’s losing weight or preparing for a marathon. This is also the time to let the trainer know if you have any problems such as joint or muscle injuries, are suffering from diabetes or are recovering from a heart attack. Using all of this information, the trainer will create an exercise program that is tailor fitted to your needs to help you reach your goals, and not the other way around. There is no better time than the present to hire West Chester Fitness Trainers to make your goals a reality!

Premier Personal Training with Dennis Carroll is located in West Chester, PA and serves clients in West Chester, Downingtown and Exton. Every client at Premier receives the individual training needed to successfully reach their goals. All programs come with a 100% money back guarantee, so why not get started today? Don’t hesitate! Sign up for a Free Consult now!

West Chester Fitness Training experts understand that when you’re working fifty hour weeks, exercise is probably the last thing on your mind. It’s very easy to fall into the trap of grabbing fast food and crashing on the couch after a difficult day at work before catching a few hours of sleep and starting all over again. The truth is that exercise can help even the busiest professionals stay in top form, sleep better, reduce their stress and even complete tasks without fading at the end of the day. In this article, we’ll take a look at how busy professionals can make time for exercise.

Pencil it in

Any professional worth his salt has a calendar filled to the brim with meetings, appointments and deadlines. Why not pencil in time for exercise, too? If you’re really ready to make a commitment to improving your lifestyle, schedule exercise into your routine and treat it like an important business meeting. Once you’ve added it to your regular calendar, you’ll be surprised at how easily everything else falls into place. At the same time, don’t beat yourself up if something unavoidable comes up and you have to cancel. Just don’t use this as an excuse to cancel the rest of your exercise appointments for the week! A West Chester Fitness Training expert can help you stay on track by holding you accountable!

Exercise at Work

If you truly can’t get away during the day, there are plenty ways to incorporate a little fitness into your daily routine. A West Chester Fitness Training expert has a view suggestions! Obviously, try to always take the stairs. Instead of emailing a question to a colleague on another floor, take the time to go ask the question in person. Set an alarm on your computer to remind you get up once an hour to stretch your legs and your arms. Even a quick break can be refreshing. Clip a pedometer on your belt and try to achieve between 6000 and 10,000 steps a day.

If you have your own office, you can even incorporate exercise equipment into your routine. Try sitting on an exercise ball, which will strengthen your abs and back while you work, or lifting dumbbells while you’re on the phone. Even if you work in a cubicle and don’t want to be seen with your exercise equipment, keep a couple of bottles of water in a drawer and use them as dumbbells when you can.

Office Fitness Programs and More

Upper levels of management are quickly learning that when their employees are healthy, they tend to work more efficiently, so exercise can benefit everyone in the workplace. Some companies have taken the initiative to start fitness programs in the office with the help of a West Chester Fitness Training expert.

Finally, if you live close enough to work that you can commute by foot or bicycle, consider making this change. Not only will you be doing something healthy for yourself, but it’s healthier for the environment as well!

Remember, you don’t have to make these fitness changes all by yourself. Seek out the advice of a West Chester Fitness Training expert. A personal trainer will take your busy schedule into account when setting out a fitness program for you, and help you come up with even more ideas on how to incorporate more exercise into your busy lifestyle.

Premier Personal Training with Dennis Carroll is located in West Chester, PA and serves clients in West Chester, Downingtown and Exton. Every client at Premier receives the individual training needed to successfully reach their goals. All programs come with a 100% money back guarantee, so why not get started today? Don’t hesitate! Sign up for a Free Consult now!

Personal trainers in Downington know that exercise and good nutrition can do a lot to prevent or delay diabetes onset, but that they are also key factors in controlling diabetes, preventing serious complications, and in living well with diabetes. Typically, a fitness personal trainer will recommend some form of exercise for all diabetics, but care must be taken to develop a safe plan given your specific situation.

Many Benefits Of Fitness For Diabetics

A 2005 study showed that people who had diabetes and who walked daily were healthier after two years. Their medical expenses were lower as well, indicating their overall health was better. In contrast, people with diabetes who did not exercise experienced a decline in health and increased health care costs.

Physical fitness is important to diabetes as a means of controlling blood sugar; it is also a highly effective means of maintaining heart health—a top threat to people with diabetes. Personal trainers in Downington have seen that diabetics who exercise benefit from:

• Improved circulation—preventing lesions and tissue damage throughout the body
• Prevention of heart problems
• Increased blood flow to the heart
• Decreased cholesterol (of ‘bad’ cholesterol levels)
• Increased levels of good cholesterols
• Decreased nerve damage
• Weight loss
• Lower risk of stroke
• Decrease in blood pressure

People with diabetes who exercise enjoy many of the same benefits of people exercising without diabetes—and more. For people with diabetes, though, exercise takes on an even greater importance as the extra boost is necessary to keep the heart, lungs, and body functioning at optimal capacity.

Exercise Considerations For People With Diabetes

Exercising with diabetes is similar to exercising without, but there are special considerations that need to be accounted for. Since exercise causes dramatic changes to blood glucose, it is important to talk to your doctor about how to manage blood sugar before, during, and after exercise.

It is also important to know what types of exercise are beneficial and will improve your condition and what types of exercise are safe given your specific symptoms/condition. For this it is important to ask personal trainers in Downington for advice.

For example,

• Aerobic exercise and sports are recommended, but care must be taken to monitor effects on blood glucose
• Strength training helps build muscle and improves metabolism, but when complications arise strength training may need to be modified or suspended
• Patients who have lived an inactive lifestyle need to gradually break into exercise and increase intensities as fitness improves
• Blood glucose levels dictate the safety of exercise—it is generally recommended that diabetics not exercise with blood glucose below 100mg/dL or above 300mg/dL

In addition, personal trainers in Downington require that all diabetics stay well hydrated during exercise (because dehydration impacts blood sugar) and should always check for injuries (particularly of feet) following exercise.

Getting Help To Exercise Safely

Developing a plan for safe and effective fitness can be daunting if you have diabetes. The help of qualified professionals—including the advice of your doctor and the knowledge of personal trainers in Downington—can help immensely. Your doctor will work with you to make sure that you are exercising in a way that is beneficial and safe, and a personal trainer will build upon your doctor’s recommendations to develop a fitness plan that is right for you.

As a diabetic, exercise is one of the best ways to remain healthy at your optimal level throughout life. Get the professional advice and assistance you need and commit to regular exercise so that you can live well for many years, despite your disease. Personal trainers in Downington can help you learn about how this is possible.

Premier Personal Training with Dennis Carroll is located in West Chester, PA and serves clients in West Chester, Downingtown and Exton. Every client at Premier receives the individual training needed to successfully reach their goals. All programs come with a 100% money back guarantee, so why not get started today? Don’t hesitate! Sign up for a Free Consult now!

A personal trainer in Exton knows that your genes have a lot to say about your body and its response to fitness efforts. Given the personal impact genetics has on individual fitness, structure, body type, and response to exercise and nutrition, no two fitness plans will produce the same result.

Premier Personal Training with Dennis Carroll is located in West Chester, PA and serves clients in West Chester, Downingtown and Exton. Every client at Premier receives the individual training needed to succesfully reach their goals. All programs come with a 100% money back guarantee, so why not get started today? Don’t hesitate! Sign up for a Free Consult now!

Fitness—What Your Genes Have To Do With It

Genetics determine everything about you, including how you will respond to food and exercise. This may help explain why, despite your best efforts, every exercise regimen you have tried has not produced the desired result for you. A personal trainer in Exton understand that genetics play a significant role in your health and fitness will help you find out what will and will not work for you to reach the specific fitness objectives you are after.

A personal trainer in Exton knows that your genes determine what the structure of your body will be, how naturally strong you can potentially become, how fast and flexible you’ll be; they also dictate what shape your body will be, as well as things like how your body will respond to certain types of exercise and overall athletic/exercise performance (which explains why there are people who are natural athletes and those who are not). Research has shown that some people are simply more genetically prone to be fit. Even at a mitochondrial level, they are able to better process oxygen and energy and translate that into power for the body.

So what does this mean for you personally? Are you destined to be unfit? Not at all. A personal trainer in Exton can help!

Environment Trumps Genetics In Health And Fitness

While researchers have shown that weight control and fitness may be easier for some people to achieve, it has also shown that the real factor is environment and lifestyle. While not every person can be an Olympic athlete, every person can be fit and healthy. The growing incidence of obesity across the nation is not attributable to genetic change—it is directly the result of lifestyle.

While it is helpful to understand a bit about genetic limitation, genetics are no excuse for poor health and fitness. Understanding your body type, how you respond to certain exercises, and what your physical abilities are is important to structuring an effective and safe exercise plan. By learning about your genetic predisposition, you can work with a personal trainer in Exton to:

• Develop an exercise plan that is safe for you
• Develop a plan that targets difficult areas of the body and maximizes others
• Set realistic fitness and weight loss goals that you can achieve
• Develop a realistic body image
• Prepare you for the work involved in reaching desired results
• Diversify your fitness routine to achieve desired results

Just as no two bodies are the same genetically, the most effective fitness routines will not be the same (although they may be similar) for two given people. Working with a personal trainer in Exton and developing the best fitness program that will respond to your genetic predisposition takes a bit of time and a lot of understanding of the function of exercises so that the right type and quantity of each is incorporated into a balanced, effective fitness plan for your genes.

A West Chester Health Expert Writes In the last few years, the term glycemic index has grown in prominence in West Chester health and fitness circles. This is a relatively new tool for those that are seeking to improve their overall health and loose fat, and while there are plenty of West Chester health and fitness experts that support incorporating the glycemic index in the diet, there are others that say that it’s not worth the trouble. In this article, we’ll learn more about the glycemic index, as well as its pros and cons, and what a West Chester health professional can do for you!

What is the glycemic index?

The glycemic index was developed by Dr. David Jenkins, a professor of nutrition at the University of Toronto in the early 1980s. The purpose of his work was to discover the best kinds of foods for people that suffer from diabetes, a disease in which the body doesn’t produce enough insulin, the hormone responsible for breaking down foods like sugars and starches. Dr. Jenkins discovered that foods like potatoes, traditionally thought of as a complex carbohydrate, or food that was thought of as breaking down slowly, thus causing the blood sugar to rise slowly, actually lead to a rapid rise in blood sugar, which can be dangerous for a diabetic. This discovery prompted researchers to begin classifying foods by their glycemic index, or the change in blood sugar that happens after food that is high in carbohydrates is consumed.

How can it help me lose fat?

Following glycemic index diet, which encourages eating foods that have a low glycemic index and avoiding foods that have a high glycemic index, can work because eating foods that spike the insulin, or those that have a high glycemic index, and reduces glucagon, a hormone that metabolizes carbohydrates, making it harder to burn off fat. It sounds simple enough, and research has shown that it can actually work. A study was performed by researchers at the University of Sydney in 2006, in which 129 overweight young adults were split into four groups, and each group was given a different diet to follow for twelve weeks. Two diets were high in carbs and two were high in protein. In each group of two, one diet included foods with a high glycemic index and the other had foods that had a low glycemic index. Between the two high carb diets, those that followed the diet with a low glycemic index experienced nearly double the fat loss, with a very strong response in women. While those following the two high protein diets lost equal amounts of weight, there were differences in the level of good and bad cholesterol, with those following the low glycemic index diet coming out with better cholesterol levels.

The Negatives

To be honest, there aren’t any major reasons not to follow a diet including foods that have a low glycemic index, but there are some important things to keep in mind. First, the glycemic index is an average, and every body is different. It is impossible to predict how any given food will react in your body, so keep this in mind if you don’t see the results you wished for not happening right away. Secondly, the most important thing to keep in mind when changing your diet with the focus of losing fat is that you still need to burn off more calories than you consume – just because a food has a low glycemic index doesn’t mean that you can eat tons and tons of it. Finally, if you’re already following a West Chester health and fitness program, throwing the glycemic index into the mix can make planning your meals much more time consuming and confusing that it needs to be.

The Bottom Line

Whatever your fitness level, a West Chester health trainer will keep you motivated throughout your entire weight loss process. They will show you exciting and new exercise routines to keep boredom at bay! There is no better time than the present to hire a West Chester health professional to make your goals a reality!

Premier Personal Training with Dennis Carroll is located in West Chester, PA and serves weight loss and fitness clients in West Chester, Downingtown and Exton. Every client at Premier receives the individual training needed to successfully reach their goals. All programs come with a 100% money back guarantee, so why not get started today? Don’t hesitate! Sign up for a Free Consult now!

When many of us are in pursuit of losing weight as a West Chester Health and Fitness goal, we often rely solely on the numbers of the scale to tell us how we are doing. Unfortunately, this is not always a healthy measure of success. Losing weight without a complementary exercise regime can result in losing important muscle, which can have more dangerous effects in the long run. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at weight loss vs. fat loss, and what you can do to ensure that you’re losing weight in a healthy and safe way to make sure that you reach your West Chester Health and Fitness goals.

Weight Loss Doesn’t Mean Fat Loss

When most of us say that we want to lose weight, what we really mean is that we want to reduce to amount of fat in our bodies to create a leaner silhouette. Most of us know that the fundamental principle of losing weight is that if we burn more calories than we consume, the result will be weight loss. But where is this weight coming from? Let’s take a closer look at how our bodies process the calories that we consume.

First, the body converts what we eat into energy, which in turn gives us the power to go about our daily lives. When we consume more calories than we burn, the resulting calories are converted into fat. On the other end of the scale, when we consume less calories than we burn, we lose weight but we also lose energy. Unfortunately, the weight loss doesn’t necessarily come from the fat, but the energy stores that are depleted are made up proteins and carbohydrates, which are found in muscles. This means that the muscles get smaller, the metabolism lowers, and once the body has adapted to the lower energy levels, the body will cease to continue losing weight.

The bottom line is that simply decreasing the amount of calories consumed may result in short term weight loss, but the weight won’t necessarily come from fat. Plus, if the calories are restricted too much, the body could even start storing fat as a preventative measure, because it doesn’t know when it will start receiving normal levels of calories again.

Getting Rid of Fat Instead of Muscle

So what’s the right procedure to get rid of the unwanted fat? The answer is simple – begin a nutrition and exercise program at our West Chester Health and Fitness club. Your body still needs enough calories to keep your energy levels high, but you can eat a great deal more and keep your appetite satisfied with a healthy, balanced diet than you can with a diet full of junk or fast food. The other important factor is a balanced fitness routine comprising of both cardio and strength training. Both cardio and strength training are important for burning away fat and increasing muscle mass, not to mention increasing the metabolism.

Measure Your Body Fat

There are several ways of measuring your body fat, which is often a better gauge of your overall health than a scale. Calculate your Body Mass Index or have a West Chester Health and Fitness specialist calculate your body fat with a skinfold caliper or simply measure yourself with a tape measure and keep track of the results. The best way to gauge your body fat is to simply look in the mirror, take note of how your clothes fit, and most importantly, how you feel. Feeling great is really the best result of following a West Chester Health and Fitness program.

Premier Personal Training with Dennis Carroll is located in West Chester, PA and serves clients in West Chester, Downingtown and Exton. Every client at Premier receives the individual training needed to successfully reach their goals. All programs come with a 100% money back guarantee, so why not get started today? Don’t hesitate! Sign up for a Free Consult now!

News From Personal Trainers in Exton! You’ve managed to make time in your busy schedule for a workout session, but even so, you’re running late. In order to make up time, you’ve decided to skip over your stretching exercises and skip to the meat of the workout. After all, stretching is just a small part of the warm up anyway, right?

Personal trainers in Exton say…Wrong! Skipping over the stretching part of your warm up exercises or even during your cool down is not only a bad habit to start, but could also be dangerous to your body and lead to injury. Stretching is a very important part of your work out routine, whether you’re walking or preparing to lift weights. In this article, we’ll take a look at why stretching is such an important part of your workout routine and why you should always stretch both before and after a workout.

Why Stretching is Good For You

There are a whole host of reasons that stretching is good for you. Muscles that are tired are have not be in use are usually tight and constricted. Stretching helps keep the muscles flexible, not just for work out routines, but for everyday tasks. Stretching promotes good posture, helps protect your joints, and leaves you feeling relaxed and free of tension. In fact, stretching has so much going for it that even those that stretch on days that they do not work out can reap the benefits.

However, overdoing it can be just as harmful as not stretching at all. Personal trainers in Exton stress that stretching should never be painful! Every body is different so don’t judge yourself against the person stretching next to you. If you’ve stretched to the point of pain, back off a little and hold the new position for twenty seconds or more.

Stretching During Warm Up

It is important to remember that stretching is an important part of the warm up, but it is not all there is to warming up! Recently, personal trainers in Exton have started recommending that a ten minute warm up period should precede any stretching. This is because the muscles shouldn’t be stretched while they are still “cold,” or before any physical activity has taken place. The warm up period of movement helps encourage the blood to flow to the muscles, sonovial fluid to “grease” up the joints, and get the heart rate increasing. Stretching before the body has had time to warm up a little can cause strains or tears in the muscles, which is exactly what you’re trying to avoid by stretching in the first place!

Stretching During Cool Down

Personal trainers in Exton stress that just like during the warm up period, stretching is integral to the cool down period. All of the blood that is pumping through the muscles during the work out can pool there if the muscles are not stretched; stretching encourages the blood to return to the body’s organs. A good stretch after a work out can also discourage lactic acid from building up in the muscles, which can help promote the feeling of soreness the next day. Most importantly, stretching helps relax the body and relieve tension, which means that you’re likely to feel much better after your work out than when you started!

Premier Personal Training with Dennis Carroll is located in West Chester, PA and serves clients in West Chester, Downingtown and Exton. Every client at Premier receives the individual fitness training needed to successfully reach their goals. All programs come with a 100% money back guarantee, so why not get started today? Don’t hesitate! Sign up for a Free Consult now!