Philly Personal Training Blog

If you’ve ever seen the cover of a fitness magazine, I’m sure you’ve seen headlines that are very similar to “(insert fit celebrity) Reveals Her Top 5 Fitness Secrets!” It’s intriguing to the reader because the celebrity must know something the reader doesn’t if she’s in such good shape. But if you stop and think about it, you find yourself wondering: Are fit people really keeping secrets, whispered only among a select few, about how to stay in shape? Of course not. In fact, their “secrets” have probably been under your nose the whole time. It boils down to this: People who are fit just have better habits than people who aren’t as fit. I’m sure you’ve noticed what these habits are, but maybe you’ve never really understood them well enough to try them out for yourself. Consider this your challenge: Try incorporating these five habits of fit people into your daily routine, and if you stick with it, I can pretty much guarantee you’ll see a significant change. Habit #1: They make exercise ...

Workout DVDs, “As Seen on TV” workout equipment, gym memberships: These are all things millions of people try every year in an effort to become more fit. But what if improving your own health simply came down to spending more time with other people who are in good health? As entrepreneur Jim Rohn said, “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” Since Rohn was an entrepreneur and was mostly interested in helping others become more successful, the point he was trying to make was, if you spend time with more successful people, you will also become more successful. On the other hand, if you hang out with people who are negative, they could have a negative impact on your life. This theory can be applied to almost all aspects of life — including your fitness levels. So, let’s try something: Stop and think about what type of shape you’d like to be in. Now think about the five people you spend the most time with. Do these people match up with your goal of being ...

You put your time in at the gym and eat right. You strength train and do cardio. But still, you’re not seeing results. You’ve been at it for months and yet it seems the scale doesn’t budge and your muscles won’t change. It’s frustrating and defeating when you’re putting the time and the effort in but not seeing any changes. Don’t give up hope and throw in the towel yet because, chances are, there’s a way to turn things around. Below, the top six workout mistakes that keep people from getting stronger, explained. 1. You don’t give yourself enough rest Overtraining is common among those who love to exercise, but the reality is that rest is just as important as the workout itself. A lack of rest increases the risk of overuse injuries and there’s also the risk of overtraining, or exercising beyond the body’s ability to recover properly. This can lead to hormonal imbalances, fatigue and a decrease in strength. How much rest one needs depends on factors like age, fitness level and training v...

Like personality types, there are many different variations of squat form — and many prove what  not  to do when performing a squat. The good news is, how you perform a squat, especially if you’re not doing it right, can clue you into specific muscular imbalances, which you can then correct, leading to a stronger you. Below, three common squat-form mistakes and what they can tell you about where you need to build strength and flexibility. If you lean forward …  It’s common to have a tendency to lean forward when trying to squat deeper, but a forward-leaning squat could indicate weak glutes and/or tight hip flexors. When the glutes aren’t strong enough, the hip flexors take over to pull you deeper into the squat, causing you to lean forward. If the forward lean is a result of tight hip flexors, the quadriceps take over and shift the center of gravity, bringing you forward. The way to correct a forward-leaning squat is severalfold. Firs...