Health Beauty & FitnessHealth, Beauty, Fitness Tips

Thinking about getting in shape? If you’re interested in working one on one with a personal trainer the small niche fitness boutiques located in and around Santa Barbara provide an abundance of choices both in the environment and training approaches featured in the different facilities. Recently I visited a number of these studios, looking for a new place to train my clients, and was amazed at what Santa Barbara has to offer.

Instead of the muscle isolation machines, typical of the traditional gym setting, most studios are filled with stability balls, medicine balls, bands, cables, foam rollers and all sorts of other tools designed for a more functional approach to fitness. These facilities don’t only cater to strength building athletes; they’re filled with everyone from youthful competitors looking to improve in sports, to seniors working to build stronger bones. After visiting a few of the local hot spots and exploring some of their diverse training approaches, I zeroed in on a few of the highlights.

The Fitness Studio on Middle Road

Platinum Fitness, located on Middle Road in Montecito, is a small, bustling studio where you’ll find individuals of all shapes and sizes, including plenty of ultra fit, highly competitive endurance athletes. Peter Park, owner, competes at the elite level in running, cycling and triathlon, so it’s no surprise that his studio attracts many of the local endurance athletes, including Lance Armstrong when he’s in town. Platinum’s an upbeat facility; walk through the doors on any given day and you’re surrounded by a profusion of natural light, inspiring hip music and a variety of energetic trainers helping clients realize their goals through “functional training.”

Functional training, the latest trend in fitness training, prepares you for the specific activities you perform in your daily life. Maybe your job requires you to do a lot of reaching, lifting, bending over or standing and your back, your knees or your shoulders suffer. Or maybe you find yourself parked in front of a computer all day and your posture needs a little work. And then again you might be rehabbing an injury and find that you need a little help in returning to work and life successfully. Whatever you do in your daily life, functional training can make it easier.

Unlike the traditional approach of working one muscle at a time, functional training involves combining exercises to get all your muscles – from your calves to your shoulders – in on the action. Stepping up on a bench with dumbbells in hands and then pressing the dumbbells overhead, for example, will prepare you to step up on a chair to put a box on a shelf.

The idea is to work against the resistance in such a way that the strength gained from the exercise “transfers” to the specific movement in your life.

If you’d like to improve your ability to get up from a chair you might choose leg extensions to build leg strength. But the squat would be a much better exercise choice because it’s more like the actual movement of getting up from the chair. So the squat develops more functional leg strength.

Functional training also improves your performance in sports. If you’re a distance runner and you’d like to improve your time in the 10K, Peter Park advocates “strengthening the prime movers so that you don’t get as fatigued in the long races.” He puts his endurance athletes through a grueling workout specifically designed to improve strength and endurance, or muscular endurance, for competition.

Peter’s lower body program consists of a series of exercises done back to back: a set of 25 repetitions of squats, with bands (for constant tension); followed by a set of 25 repetitions of leg press, with bands; followed by a set of 15 repetitions of step ups; followed by three different 12-15 repetition plyometric (jump) drills. And that’s just one round. He’ll have his athletes do that three times! As you can see, Peter’s program mirrors both the movements and volume of the endurance competition… the functional approach to fitness.

The Fitness Studio on lower State

Perhaps the idea of training for the activities of daily life isn’t enough to get you motivated to start an exercise program. And you’re more interested in sculpting your body to look great in your bathing suit or bikini for the beaches of Santa Barbara. Then the “bodybuilding” approach to fitness may be more for you.

Specifically designed to increase lean muscle and reduce body fat, this method has additional rewards… like increased confidence, greater sex appeal, reduced stress and more energy for everyday activities.

Key 2 Fitness, one of the newer fitness studios in town, located on lower State, features the bodybuilding approach. Owned and operated by bodybuilders, Jeff Harrison and Leif Tiahrt, Key 2 Fitness is loaded with muscle isolation machines and free weights and is ideal for the strength athlete looking for a place to “pack on some serious muscle” according to Jeff Harrison. They also offer membership keys for individuals looking for a little camaraderie with other strength athletes in the community.

While the goal of bodybuilding is to develop a symmetrical physique, keep in mind that not everyone responds in the same way. Mother Nature, or your genetic make-up, determines, to a large extent, how you react to any training program. Factors such as muscle fiber type (strength or endurance), the ratio of testosterone to estrogen, and where your body fat is stored, all influence your capabilities. And in considering your vision of the ideal physique, remember that you can’t hide from your body type. Are you a slim and small boned ectomorph, a muscular and lean mesomorph, a heavy and big boned endomorph, or a combination of all three?

Although these genetic factors affect both men and women, there are still a significant number of women who won’t consider the bodybuilding approach for fear of getting too big. The truth is: most women put on a relatively small amount of muscle, even with hard work and dedication because of the estrogen to testosterone ratio. Unfortunately, this fear of being too muscular keeps a lot of women from reaping the benefits.

Many factors are involved in bodybuilding, but the one thing that really matters is that you progressively overload your muscles. Leif Tiahrt suggests using the “individual body part approach” and “maximizing the exercises for each body part.” He advocates a three day split in which the individual does “push” exercises (chest, shoulders and triceps), on Monday, “pull” exercises (back and biceps) and legs, on Wednesday, and a full body circuit, on Friday. He uses three to ten repetitions per set and finishes each exercise with a drop set to failure.

By using moderate to heavy loads and moderate to high volume, Leif’s program effectively increases the size of the muscles to create a more aesthetically pleasing physique… the ultimate goal of bodybuilding.

The Fitness Studio by the Arlington

Maybe you’ve put on some muscle through bodybuilding. And now you’re ready for a more refined approach to your training… one that considers the specific demands of your sport and your goals… like achieving peak performance. Following a well-designed “sport specific” training program can help you reach those goals and attain the success you desire.

To perform at your best in tennis, for example, you need enough aerobic endurance to maintain your stamina for a game that may last several hours; anaerobic endurance (energy is produced without oxygen) for a high intensity rally that may last 6-10 seconds; speed and agility to be able to get into position to make the majority of your shots; power for serves, forehands, backhands, and volleys; and an element of prevention to avoid injury and overtraining.

Conditioning Specialists, located in a historic building a few doors up from the Arlington, features the sport specific training approach. Doug Holt, owner of Conditioning Specialists and SB Fitness Magazine, gained his experience at competitive sport through soccer, which he played at the collegiate level. His studio has the look of an upscale New York loft and features a personal training studio downstairs, and, private rooms for a MAT (Muscle Activation Techniques) and massage therapist upstairs, in addition to an office for the magazine.

When asked about sport specific training Doug says “it’s training for a particular goal… not only mimicking the actual demands of the sport – like hip abduction, knee flexion – but also the energy demands.”

To prepare for the sport specific demands of tennis, the strength training program is broken down into three phases, or mini training programs, each designed to develop a specific type of strength with the ultimate goal of developing the sport specific strength that tennis demands, power and muscular endurance.

In the first phase, “foundational strength,” the goal is to build a solid well-rounded base of strength, and, prepare the ligaments and tendons for the more demanding activity that will follow. The second phase is for building “maximal strength,” a measure of how much weight you can lift for one repetition. If you can squat 225 lbs for one repetition and your friend can only squat 205 lbs, then you have more maximal strength, in the squat. The goal of third phase is to convert the strength you developed, previously, into sport specific “power” (a combination of strength and speed) and “muscular endurance.”

Just as the preparation for the competitive season is broken down into phases, so too the overall training program is split into periods to promote long term improvements in strength and avoid overtraining. This program, which is usually an annual plan, consists of the preparation period (pre-season), discussed previously; the competitive period (in-season); and the transition period, when the season is closed.

By coordinating the phases of the training program with the different periods of the competitive season, you can maximize your strength and reach peak performance right on time for competition.

In Conclusion

So if you think you might be interested in working one on one with a personal trainer, explore the abundance of training studios around Santa Barbara to find the one that’s right for you. Be sure to keep in mind that while each facility may feature a particular training method, most studios contract to a variety of personal trainers, each with his or her own unique training style and approach.

1) Learn a New Sport

With the grown in status and awareness of sports such as golf and tennis, get your kids involved in a new sport. In addition to increasing activity and creating a spark of interest, sports will always increase a child’s coordination, movement patterns and build confidence with their peers. Sports such as golf, tennis, basketball, badminton, martial arts are great at keeping them interested and you will find aspiring champions in every child! Kids are great dreamers!

2) Set a Good Example

If you want your kids to be active, you MUST be active yourself! Lead by example, park the car away from the entrance of the supermarket, use the stairs instead of the escalator, get the kids up early and go for a walk before you go to work, do some exercise drills before dinner like push ups, lunges, squats, or jumping jacks.

3) Head to the Park

Parks are the perfect solution for your children to run around and enjoy themselves with their friends. Load bearing exercise like running and jumping keeps their bones and muscles strong and helped them to develop good motor control and co-ordination skills.

4) Kids Fitness Boot Camp

A totally new fitness experience for kids, Kids Boot Camp allows children to exercise in a fun and effective gym environment run by fitness professionals. Kids learn how to move safely and challenge themselves using only their body weight, exercise tubes, bands, and medicine balls. Created and run by the professionals at Fitcorp Asia (http://www.bangkokbootcamp.com).

5) Home Duties

Give some responsibilities around the home while are on school break, such as walking the dog, vacuuming and dusting. Not only will this help to develop a sense of responsibility, it will help build strong bonds with your children.

6) Family Fitness!

Get the entire family involved for weekend activities. Play catch, or tag around the back yard or in the park. Make exercise fun, and something you enjoy as well. If you show that you enjoy the exercise, they will to.

7) Fun Parks

In addition to having a fantastic time on all the rides, a day at the fun park such as Dream World will require hours of continuous walking from ride to ride. Fond memories and great for the whole family.

Ask and You Will Receive

Ask your kids what ‘they’ would like to do! More often than not there are influences from school or from friends which has sparked some interest. Ask and you will be surprised.

9) Fun Activities at Home

Crab Soccer, tag, jump rope, Hide and Seek or set up a fun circuit for your kids and their friends to do. Stair running, hoola hoops, hopscotch, skating, jumping jacks, balance drills, frog jumps, arm circles and skipping ropes make for a fun and very effective workout!

10) Set up a Rewards System

Create a points system for exercise that encourages your kids to exercise regularly. Use rewards such as trips to the movies, tickets to sporting events, new sporting equipment like jump ropes, roller blades, exercise tubing. Never use food as a reward.

I used to own one of those big pulley system weight machines. It cost me a couple of thousand dollars and was really good quality. I sold it on Ebay for $150 last year.

Now I use low cost equipment and get heaps better results. I can go outside and train, or I can train in front of the television. I can train in the living room and watch the kids at the same time. Or I can pack it all up and take it to the park and train with friends and clients in a different setting. No longer am I stuck in the study. And as I said, the results have been amazing. So what do I use?

First off I would recommend a good set of adjustable dumbbells. You know the ones where you can add or remove weight plates as required. I actually have a couple of sets. One I keep quite heavy for use with leg exercises and one set that I change around a lot more depending on what exercises I am doing. These will probably be your most expensive purchase, but you will use them over and over. There are so many different ways to use them and you can easily work your whole body in any number of ways. Almost any exercise can be done with a set of dumbbells.

Another piece of fitness equipment I use a lot are my medicine balls. There are so many different ways to use medicine balls too. You can get them quite cheap at large sporting goods stores or from the internet. I use a 4kg one and a 6 kg one. I use these in every session with my Personal Training clients and Bootcamps too. They are great to use on your own or for partner work.

One of my most used pieces of equipment is a step. I had a friend build me one from some timber he had laying around. It is about 12 inches high and wide and about 4 foot long. Clients can get on either end of it and step up and down together. It is amazing how much harder they can go with someone else to keep up with. The step combines well with the dumbbells or the medicine ball for step ups, step downs, sideways step ups, lungeing off the box or onto the box or even dips off the side. You can also jump on and off the box or even use it to do push ups with. Put your hands on it to make them easier, or your feet to make it harder. Clients that find it hard to get up and down from the floor, can even do ab exercises on it and it doubles as a bench as well. To improve fitness, a step is invaluable.

Another cheap piece of fitness equipment is the humble skipping rope. Uses are obvious and you will be surprised how hard it is if you haven’t tried it lately. If you persist though, you will improve your fitness really quickly with regular jump rope sessions and they are great for weight loss too.

There are many other inexpensive items to include in your home gym set up. These can include resistance bands which are great to take on holidays and yoga type mats which come in real handy when training outside on hard surfaces. Kettlebells are a great item to have, but they can be quite expensive so search around for them. There are many suppliers on the net. I use them a lot in my training sessions and my clients love them too. There are many kettlebell exercises for either strength development, endurance improvement or fat burning, and they work really, really well.

These are just some of the inexpensive ways to equip your home gym. Don’t be fooled into thinking you need an expensive pinloaded weight machine. All of my clients, not to mention myself, have fantastic results without them.