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By: Taylor Empey, Nationally Certified Fitness Trainer and Nutrition Specialist

ISSA – CFT, SFN, SET, SSN, and Elite Trainer Level I

The reason I claim that working with a trainer gives you an edge above all else is because no matter how much knowledge you have in regards to exercise science or nutrition, no matter if you are a trainer yourself, and no matter how many “years you have been doing this,” working with a trainer gives you the one thing that you can’t give yourself; that is coaching and accountability.

Now, yes, we can find ways to motivate ourselves and set up incentives to better accomplish our goals, but let’s be honest, 9 times out of 10, we’d rather disappoint ourselves in secrecy than hold ourselves accountable to a family member, friend, coach, or trainer, and disappoint them instead. Working with a knowledgeable trainer gives you motivation, accountability, makes the impossible seem possible, and gets you those last 3-5 reps you could not get on your own. Working with a trainer has been statistically proven to get better results in a shorter time frame than pursuing your goals on your own. There is a 75% failure rate in individuals who attempt to reach their fitness goals; that is over 7 out of 10 individuals that attend a gym on a regular basis, and a percentage of those other successful individuals are already working with a personal trainer. The one piece of advice I can give you that will do you the most good in the long run if you don’t have the knowledge of a trainer would be…GO HIRE A TRAINER! How can you expect to get results if you don’t even know what you’re doing? Yes, there is enough information on the internet on how to attain successful results, but guess what? If you don’t have the education, you won’t know how to systematically piece all that information together for your individual needs. There is also a TON of bogus information on the internet when it comes to health, fitness, and nutrition so be wary of venturing off into the internet in search of fitness advice that will deliver effective results; you may end up with more issues than when you began.

Hiring a professional certified trainer will be the best decision you ever made in regards to your health so long as you pick the right trainer. Two words to make sure you select the right trainer – Dedicated and Educated. Give yourself the edge you need; hire a personal trainer today and I personally guarantee you won’t regret it.

By: Taylor Empey, Nationally Certified Fitness Trainer and Nutrition Specialist

ISSA – CFT, SFN, SET, SSN, and Elite Trainer Level I

YOU ARE UNIQUE

We all have different goals, motives, body types, lifestyles and time constraints, so a “cookie cutter” exercise program just won’t work for everyone. A good personal trainer will create a personalized program tailored to your specific needs and requirements.

YOUR TIME IS VALUABLE

It’s important to make the most of the time you have. With the knowledge and expertise of a Personal Trainer, you’ll avoid common pitfalls, getting maximum results in minimal time.

YOU ARE HELD ACCOUNTABLE

Having an appointment represents a commitment and a responsibility. By employing a personal trainer, you’re less likely to skip a session simply because you are tired, unmotivated or too busy.

BLAST PAST PLATEAUS

It’s not uncommon for you to experience plateaus as your body adapts to your program. It’s during these times that a personal trainer will revise your exercise program and refocus you mentally to push you past your plateau.

TRAINING SHOULD BE FUN

One of the things that hits even the most health-conscious person is boredom! Your personal trainer has a repertoire of exercises and programs geared towards keeping you active and interested in your training.

PREVENT INJURY

A very common mistake that many individuals make is doing what they see others doing in the gym. Until you work with a trainer, you may not get the proper education in exercise technique, and run the risk seriously injuring yourself. A personal trainer will constantly monitor your technique and ensure your program is ideal for you, reducing the risk of injury.

GET PROFESSIONAL GUIDANCE AND EXPERTISE

Any good personal trainer will keep in touch with the latest advances in exercise science theory and practical research through on-going training. This means your personal trainer will keep you ahead of the game.

REGULAR ASSESSMENTS

Any personal trainer serious about helping you achieve your goals will do regular in-depth assessments to ensure you’re on track with your training. From fitness assessments, your trainer can progress your program to suit your rate of development.

UNPARALLELED MOTIVATION

It’s easier to exercise with someone around and a personal trainer is just the right person. A good personal trainer will know when to act as a tough general, but also know when to take appropriate rest periods. Your trainer is also a source of encouragement and inspiration or simply someone to talk to about your training concerns.

BUILDING A SOLID FOUNDATION

Any structure is only as strong as its foundation – your body is no different. A personal trainer will put together a well-balanced fitness program and give you the requisite knowledge and tools you need to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Studies have shown that people who work with a personal trainer are 80% more likely to get the results they want compared to working without a personal trainer!

“If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got!”

By: Taylor Empey, Nationally Certified Fitness Trainer and Nutrition Specialist

ISSA – CFT, SFN, SET, SSN, and Elite Trainer Level I

Determine What You Truly Want
In order to accomplish any goal, big or small, you must clearly define what it is and what it is not. What is the goal, what does it look like, how does it make you feel?; and so forth. You must also determine a specific and definite time frame to accomplish the goal.  Make a deadline, or you run a severe risk of procrastination and never accomplishing your goal. You should, however, give yourself an appropriately reasonable amount of time to accomplish the goal while still making sure that the time frame is short enough to inspire a sense of urgency within you.

The last thing to remember here is that you need to clearly identify what is holding you back from reaching your goal. Let’s be honest, you’ve failed up to this point because something held you back. You need to identify what that was, eliminate its effect on you, and begin moving forward.

Begin With The End In Mind

You need to clearly define your end game. This is not the goal itself, but the results, affects, outcome, and ripple effect that has taken place in your life after your goal has been met. Who are you now as a person? What did this goal deliver into your life? What have you become? What is your level of happiness now? Was the goal ultimately worth it?

After you come to a positive conclusion and you picture the end in great detail, it’s time to work backwards and set specific milestones to accomplish on smaller time frames so you see incremental progress, have a sense of reward, and use the Law of Averages to ensure that you reach your goal.

The Law of Averages states: Future events are likely to balance any past deviation from a presumed average. What this means is that if you average out your annual goal, for example, into monthly, weekly, and daily milestones, and you actually hit those milestones, you will establish an average performance very close to reflecting your projected outcome. This is key in accomplishing goals; without it, the effectiveness of goal-setting decreases severely.

Establish Your Priorities To Overcome Interference

This is often referred to as your “Why Power.” This should be a written statement, mission statement, or mantra that you recite to yourself daily. It is the reason you’ve chosen to undergo your endeavors, why you’re pursuing your goals, why you’re taking the high road.  It’s what keeps you going even when it seems futile and foolish to continue.

Your Why Power must be so powerful that it can withstand the onslaught of any interference that will most definitely come during your journey. You need to ask yourself, “What am I willing to sacrifice now for what I will attain later?” Interference can come in the form of temptation, presumed reward, short term satisfaction, guilt, shame, opinion, other people, criticism, skepticism, doubt, disbelief, etc. The list goes on and on.

Make sure you understand it is a simple concept of Pain vs. Pleasure. You are undergoing temporary pain for long term pleasure, or the short term pleasures of interference don’t outweighs the consequences and ultimate long term pain that they cause down the road. Remember that anything actually worth having requires effort. Anything that comes easy never lasts and is often forgotten.

Maintain Positive Thinking Power

Maintaining a positive mindset is one of the most essential and effective principles and tools we can use in personal development and goal achievement. It causes you to look at all the good any situation has caused you which immediately brings positive significance and reenergizes you to keep moving forward despite any interference or negativity that comes your way.

Remember that, if you have got haters, then you’re doing something right. If this form of interference comes, be glad and rejoice because what it means is that you are showing others that you are strong enough to pursue your dreams and strive for a better life when they are too cowardly to do so themselves.  You’re making that very clear to them. That is why people try to tear you down. Most people don’t actually get excited about harming other people; those individuals are known as sociopaths. Most people are just ashamed because you showed them that they are capable of accomplishing the same feats, but don’t possess the self-discipline to do so. However, let this happen because you may just inspire someone!

Just remember that most people give up before they even start! Do NOT end up like one of these people who lack so much confidence they don’t even TRY!  This leads perfectly into the last step of effective goal setting.

Immediately Take Action

Don’t hesitate for one second!  Not tomorrow, not after lunch or work! NOW!  The second you’re done reading this paragraph, go out and take 1-3 steps towards making that goal happen right now. Don’t procrastinate, begin the process, and build momentum. If you can manage to take action immediately, you’ve done what 75% of people fail to do time and time again. Go out there and start living the life you’ve always wanted right now!

By: Taylor Empey, Nationally Certified Fitness Trainer and Nutrition Specialist

ISSA – CFT, SFN, SET, SSN, and Elite Trainer Level I

Many factors determine exactly how many calories you should consume. You need to consider the fact that you are different from everyone else.  Factors such as height, weight, age, gender, body type, metabolism, activity level, job, current fitness level, injuries, medical conditions, and your goals all play a huge role in how many calories you should consume.

Let me help you shed some light on where to start with your caloric intake.  Don’t worry, I’m not going to give you an elaborate series of equations to work with even though sometimes I have to say I enjoy doing that myself to figure out just exactly what someone’s metabolic rate is.

So here’s a simple formula for calculating your individual nutritional needs.

Sedentary (Minimal Exercise)

Fat Loss:                          Weight (lbs) x 10-12

Maintenance:                    Weight (lbs) x 12-14

Muscle Gains:                   Weight (lbs) x 16-18

Moderately Active (Exercise 3-4 x/Week)

Fat Loss:                            Weight (lbs) x 12-14

Maintenance:                     Weight (lbs) x 14-16

Muscle Gains:                    Weight (lbs) x 18-20

Very Active (Exercise 5-7 x/Week)

Fat Loss:                            Weight (lbs) x 14-16

Maintenance:                     Weight (lbs) x 16-18

Muscle Gains:                    Weight (lbs) x 20-22

If you find that you still struggle with understanding what you need to do, please don’t hesitate to ask for help!

Whether you have questions about your workouts, nutrition, or just simply understanding where to start or how to get out of a plateau, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I’ll be happy to schedule a free one hour session to sit down and meet with you, discuss your goals and what you need to do, as well as give you a free workout.

By: Taylor Empey, Nationally Certified Fitness Trainer and Nutrition Specialist

ISSA – CFT, SFN, SET, SSN, and Elite Trainer Level I

The number one reason you don’t exercise is that you don’t have time. At least that’s what you tell yourself. I know we’re all busy. Between getting to and from work, balancing responsibilities and having time for yourself, there’s little left over for workouts. With summer in full swing, your busy schedule is sure to get even busier. There’ll be vacations, cookouts, and family gatherings. It’s no wonder that exercise quickly takes a backseat to summer activities. You don’t have to succumb to weight gain this summer. Escape the time crunch excuse in three easy steps:

Step One: Schedule Your Workouts:

You’ve heard this before, and it makes so much sense. If you treat your exercise time with the importance of a work meeting, then you’d never skip a workout and you’d be in amazing shape. While the scheduling concept is brilliant in its simplicity, you have to put it into practice to reap the benefits. Pull out your calendar and a pen. Don’t laugh, I’m serious! Just do it. If you want to get into shape it starts with committing to a revised schedule with a set exercise time. Identify three 40-minute time slots and mark them on your calendar. That is when you’ll exercise. Remember this: if the thought that you should exercise this week is floating around in your head, but you haven’t anchored it down to a specific time and date, it will quickly disappear.

Step Two: Get the Most from Each Minute:

The days of endless, mind-numbing cardio are over. A great workout can take place in under an hour, when done correctly. The idea is to burn more calories each minute. This is done through short, intense bursts of exercise. Use the following three tips to bring your routine up to the next level:

1. Be Unstable:

Use your entire body, and target your core, by performing exercises that engage stabilizing muscles. To do this, use an exercise ball, a balance board, a balance disk, or you could simply stand on one leg.

2. Add Resistance: 

The more resistance you incorporate with your routine translates into higher intensity and more calories burned. Some ideas for adding resistance include: carrying dumbbells while doing lunges, wearing a weighted vest while walking or jogging, or putting a weight between your feet while doing leg raises.

3. Use Intervals:

Interval training is an amazing tool for creating short yet effective workouts. Don’t worry, it’s not complicated. Interval training is simply alternating between different short bursts of activity.

Here’s An Example:

Let’s say you want to focus on your legs and abs and to also get an effective cardiovascular workout. This would be a great interval routine for your goals:

Lunge while curling dumbbells, 15-20 repetitions

30 seconds of intense cardio: sprint, jump rope, or jumping jacks

Squat while pressing dumbbells overhead, 15-20 repetitions

30 seconds of intense cardio: sprint, jump rope, or jumping jacks

Crunches on an exercise ball, 15-20 repetitions

30 seconds of intense cardio: sprint, jump rope, or jumping jacks

Leg raises off the end of an exercise bench, 15-20 repetitions

Step Three: Twice the Results in Half the Time:

What if I told you that I have a proven way to deliver twice the fitness results in half the time? It’s simple really… When you attempt to lose weight or meet a fitness goal on your own, the odds are stacked against you. Sure, you could do it over time – but it’s a long and lonely road…a road lined with detours that threaten to undermine your progress. When you start a program with me, you suddenly have the upper hand on weight loss. You have me in your corner, coaching you each step of the way, keeping you accountable to workouts and giving you that dose of encouragement when the going gets tough. And I’ll be the one congratulating you when your goal is met.