Many people are interested in starting a fitness program but are afraid of getting injured. Other people have already dropped out of a fitness program after getting injured while working out. In today’s post, we will discuss some tips and tricks to help you prevent injuries in the gym. Continue reading Prevent Injuries in the Gym
Have you ever considered personal training or working with a personal trainer? With all the fitness options available to you, you may scoff at the idea of investing in personal training. However, working with a trainer can be an invaluable experience and help you reach new heights of fitness and athleticism. In this post, we discuss five benefits of personal training that you can’t get with any other type of fitness program. Continue reading 5 Benefits of Personal Training
The Turkish Get Up is a weight training exercise that involves standing up from a laying position with one weight overhead in one hand, and then reversing the motion back to the lying position. The exercise is a great stunt for party tricks, and also can serve as a good addition to your resistance training warm ups or cool downs. Still, the exercise has its limitations and might not suit everyone. In this post, we will discuss how to properly perform the Turkish Get Up, muscles involved, and benefits and drawbacks of this popular training exercise. Continue reading The Turkish Get Up
Group exercise is a popular fitness option for many people. In this post, we will discuss the pros and cons of group exercise so you can decide for yourself whether to join a group class, work with a trainer, or go solo with your workout routine.
There are a ton of benefits to working out with a group. Here are some of the biggest pros to working out in a group class.
Working out in a group class with a structure provides a lot of structure. Most exercisers go into the gym completely unprepared and without a plan. They wander around from cardio machine to cardio machine, without putting any thought into a structured routine. Often, after trying a few pieces of equipment, they decide that they have had enough for one session and decide to leave the gym.
When you join a group class, you will have a workout program designed for you. The class environment gives you some structure that you probably would not have had on your own, unless you work with a personal trainer.
Joining a fitness class also provides accountability and camaraderie. You will likely find friends in your class that will make the prospect of exercise more fun. Your friends will likely also know if you don’t make it to class, providing accountability.
Working out in a supportive group environment is just plain fun for a lot of people. Some people may find working out in a group class more enjoyable than working out solo.
Working out in a group class may also motivate you and push you to set new gym records. You might find your competitive nature come out when working out with a group. You might also be motivated by your group fitness instructor to work harder than you would on your own.
Group fitness classes are generally free or available at a low cost. Most classes range from $8 to $15 dollars per hour. If you live in a more metropolitan area or are taking more specialized classes, than that rate may jump up to $20-30 per hour. Still, the cost usually pales in comparison to working with a private coach or trainer.
Despite many advantages of working out with a group, there are some downsides to consider. Here are some of the biggest cons to working out in a group fitness class.
Compared to what you might experience working with a personal trainer, you might not receive as much personal attention in a group class. This may mean you won’t benefit as much from the exercises in the workout. In more extreme cases, this may mean the difference between correct exercise execution and getting injured during a workout.
While a competitive environment in a group class can encourage you to set new personal records, it can also increase the risk of injuries. If you compromise form for speed or use too much weight relative to your abilities to keep up with the class, you might risk injuries. Some classes also feature exercises you may not have enough skill to perform safely in a circuit training environment.
For instance, I have seen many exercise classes that encourage participants to perform kettlebell swings when they have never been instructed to perform swings correctly before. Kettlebell swings actually require the ability to combine many technical skills including hip hinging, ballistic hip extension and bracing. Generally my clients have to master the kettlebell deadlift and take several sessions to learn and perfect the swing before I allow them to perform just a few reps at a time. In a class environment, a participant may be asked to perform hundreds of swings without ever learning proper technique.
Of course, good group fitness instructors can mitigate the risk of injuries by selecting good exercises for the group, selecting group participants based on skill and fitness level and encouraging participants to strive for good form over speed or load.
Group fitness classes can be an effective, fun and cost efficient way to get some exercise guidance, accountability and camaraderie. If you want to give group fitness lessons a shot, feel free to try them out but remain realistic about your abilities. However, if you feel that you would benefit more from private instruction customized to your needs, personal fitness training might suit you better.
As the weather begins to warm up, many people have begun lacing up their sneakers to walk or run. Many people, however, are unsure whether running or walking offers a better workout for their specific health and fitness goals. In this article, we will provide a bit of information on both activities so you can decide whether walking or running will fit your needs. If you have ever wondered about the comparison of walking vs. running, read on. Continue reading Walking Vs. Running: Which Exercise is Best For You?
Squats and the leg press are two multi joint exercises that build and strengthen the glutes, quads and hamstrings muscle groups. However similar on their face, these exercises have a few key differences. In this article, we compare squats vs. leg press so you know how to structure these exercises in your resistance training program. Continue reading Squats vs. Leg Press
Have you ever wondered whether you should include front squats or back squats in your resistance training program? Today we will compare front squats vs. back squats so you can make an informed decision which of these exercises deserves a spot in your training routine. Continue reading Front Squats Vs. Back Squats
Have you ever wondered how push ups stack up to the bench press? In this article, we will discuss bench press vs. push ups so you can decide whether to include either exercise in your resistance training program.
Read more: Bench Press Vs. Push upsGreat Strength Builder: On the bench press, you can work up to loads that greatly exceed your bodyweight. This makes the bench press a great exercise to build strength in your chest, triceps and shoulders.
Track Progress: With the bench press, you can easily track your progress by recording the weight you use each session. Adding weight over time indicates that you have gained strength, improved your technique, or improved rate coding or neural output at this movement.
Good Predictor of Upper Body Strength: The bench press is a good predictor of your overall upper body strength. Since this movement requires all your upper body muscles to work together, it’s a good indicator of strength in your pecs, shoulders, triceps, and lats.
Hard on Shoulders: Depending on your technique, grip width, back arch, injury history and shoulder anatomy, the bench press might cause or exacerbate shoulder injuries.
You must keep your shoulders retracted to avoid impingement syndromes in the bench press. However, keeping your scapula pinned down while you perform the horizontal pressing motion potentially compromises full shoulder function in the long term.
If you want to reduce your risk of shoulder injuries while performing the bench press, learn and practice good technique. Respect your limits and add other exercises like rows and overhead press into your routine to balance the demands of your bench press workouts.
Lack of Abdominal Engagement: Compared to the push up exercise, the bench press does not recruit your abs or hip flexors as much. For those looking for a more full body exercise, the push up might be a better choice.
Highly Technical: This exercise requires an initial time investment to learn proper bench press technique. Setting the start position, arching the upper back, setting the feet flat, learning proper leg drive, and deciding on a grip width and bar placement all require some learning and experimentation. This exercise actually requires you to invest significant effort to learn proper technique and to find an individual style that works for you. Consider working with a qualified strength coach to learn and perfect your technique.
Cost and Equipment: To perform a bench press you need a bench, power rack, training bar and plates of various weights to add to the bar. You might not have easy access to all that equipment on a regular basis, and purchasing that much equipment might be expensive.
Free and Versatile: You can perform push ups at home, on vacation or in your office. This exercise requires no equipment and you can perform it anytime without needing to set up any (costly) equipment.
Easy on Shoulders: Unlike the bench press, push ups allow your shoulder blades to move freely throughout the movement. For those with prior shoulder injuries, push ups might be a better choice.
Core Involvement: Push ups require your abs, glutes and hip flexors to work to keep your body in line during the motion. Push ups might work your abs as much as a plank. For those who want a more complete workout with just a few exercises, push ups might fit the bill.
Scalable: If you can’t yet do push ups on the floor, you can do them on a wall or elevated bar. If push ups no longer challenge you, you can add weight, pauses, or try movement variations that feel more difficult.
Limited Strength Development: Push ups only require you to lift about 50-75 percent of your bodyweight. Once you get good at them, it’s more difficult to add significant weight or find push up variations that feel difficult enough. In contrast, you can always add weight to your bench press to accommodate your continuous progress.
Wrist Injuries: People with wrist injuries might have pain supporting their body weight in the push up. However, you can always support your hands on dumbbells if you have a wrist injury.
The bench press is generally more effective to build chest and upper body strength. However, if you continue to overload your push up workouts, push ups can be just as effective as bench presses.
Ultimately, the effectiveness of each exercise depends on the effort you expend. As long as you use good technique on either exercise and push yourself, both exercises are pretty effective at increasing upper body strength and muscle endurance.
As long as you don’t have goals to compete in powerlifting or maximize your upper body strength, you can probably replace bench press with weighted push ups. You will still have to make sure you continue to add weight, reps and/or sets on your push up workouts to continue to improve your overall pressing strength.
In summary, if your goal is to build a reasonable level of strength and general fitness, than (weighted) push ups may replace bench press workouts.
If you want to optimize your upper body strength over the long term, you should still incorporate the bench press into your strength training program.
Ultimately, you can decide whether to perform push ups or bench press based on your own goals and needs.
Continue reading Bench Press Vs. Push ups
Deadlift and Romanian Deadlift are both effective exercises for targeting the muscles in the lower body, particularly the hamstrings, glutes, and lower back. However, there are some key differences between the two exercises. In this blog post, we will discuss deadlifts vs. Romanian deadlifts.
Both jumping rope and running are excellent forms of cardiovascular exercise that can help improve cardiovascular fitness, burn calories, and strengthen muscles. However, there are some key differences between the two activities that can make one more suitable than the other depending on your goals and preferences. Continue reading Jump Rope Vs. Running
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