Fitness — FRESH! Fitness - A division of FRESH! Wellness Group

Resistance Training Principle #2: Failure is Your Friend!

If you are scared of failure, I have 3 words for you…Get Over It! In life, and especially in Resistance Training, failure is a good thing. In fact, it is a necessity for continued improvement (just like life). To paraphrase Hans Selye, “What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger”!In fitness, we often call this failure “momentary muscle fatigue”, or “momentary muscle failure”. A good exercise set will finish once you hit momentary muscle fatigue. This is the point during a set when you absolutely cannot do another rep with perfect form. If you can perform more reps, rather than just stop, you should perform the extra reps to hit momentary muscle fatigue and next time, increase the resistance by 5-10% so you can hit momentary muscle fatigue within the suggested repetition zone (the number of reps will vary depending on your current program phase and training goals).

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7 Vacation Slim Down Tricks

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Does your upcoming vacation have you worried about your waistline? You should be.

The average person gains almost a pound a day while on vacation.

But that doesn’t have to be you. Most of the time extra pounds sneak up on you when you least expect it, so decide right here and now that your vacation will leave you slimmer than when you left.

All you have to do is have a plan.

As you embark on your next vacation adventure, use these 7 tips to come home fitter than when you left. [Read more...]

Cardio Principle #5: Cross Train

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If running (or cycling, swimming, walking, etc.) is the only cardio activity you do, your running muscles will continue to get stronger and stronger, but the muscles that are neglected will get weaker. The end result of this is a muscle imbalance and ultimately injury…which defeats the purpose of exercising in the first place!

Now, the pessimists out there are probably saying, “Great! That’s means I shouldn’t even bother exercising!” If that was the first thing that popped into your mind. Stop. Give yourself a swift smack…and then call me. We have a LOT of work to do!

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29 Simple Ways To Be Fit

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Far too often fitness is presented as complicated and confusing.

Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Being fit comes from living the following simple everyday practices: [Read more...]

A mouthguard that can make you stronger?!

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We all know that visiting the Dentist regularly is proven to keep you healthy and prevent future dental issues. Well, now your Dentist can increase your athletic performance by improving strength, endurance, reaction time and reducing the physical stress on your body!

If that sounds like a tall order for the average Dentist, it’s because they now have a “secret weapon” in their arsenal to help make these changes possible! [Read more...]

Are you a “Body Whisperer”?

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Calgary Personal Trainer says QUIT SMOKING!

Happy long weekend! First, I want to apologize for not getting a second tour of the Body Worlds Exhibit organized for you. I just realized that this is the last weekend and the exhibit ends on Monday night!

If you haven’t seen this amazing display of the human form, drop everything and get down to the Calgary Science Centre this weekend before it’s gone. It truly is an experience that will change your perspective and life, health, fitness, and your own mortality.

Even though it’s the long weekend, thinking about the Body Worlds exhibit, got my mind off on a “work” tangent. It brought back to the surface the fact that most people know so little about their body and why it is killing their efforts to get fit, lose weight, and reach their goals in life.

So, I decided to shoot this quick video to rant about a few of my favorite pet peeves on this topic.

How well do you know your body and do you care what you are doing to it?

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Body Worlds Tour

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Body Worlds - An incredible way to learn about what happens under YOUR skin!

It’s Saturday afternoon and I just finished touring the Body Worlds exhibit at the Calgary Science Centre with 12 enthusiastic members of the FRESH! Fitness community. It was awesome!

For me personally, it was my 3rd time seeing the exhibit (previously Montreal & Edmonton) and it still blew me away. There were some new features that I hadn’t seen, but the beauty and complexity of the human form is something that never fails to amaze me. The exhibit is incredibly organized, the information provided makes you reflect on your past, appreciate your present, and become motivated about creating your future!

It was also great to see the wonder, awe and amazement in the faces of those who attended the tour. During the visit I was able to use the various exhibit specimens to answer a wide range of questions from the group and explain about common fitness and health related conditions they may have experienced (or were still experiencing). Whether it was that nagging IT Band, plantar fasciitis, or muscle injury, to a more detailed explanation (with visuals) of the broken bone or orthopedic surgery they had, the answer was easy to provide due to the surrounding exhibits.

One thing I found nice was [Read more...]

The Top 7 Reasons to Exercise

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Summer has arrived and along with it the dreaded bathing suit season.

Whether you can’t wait to bare it all on the beach, or if you’re still working toward a weight loss goal, exercise is the key to looking and feeling great in summer months.

But why else should you exercise? Here are the top 7 reasons to exercise this summer: [Read more...]

Vacation Tips to Keep You Fit

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With summer vacation quickly approaching, you’re probably planning your next getaway.

Whether you go on a cruise, an African safari or a low-key trip to the beach, warm summer days are the best time to get away from it all.

But wait – did you know that the average person gains almost a pound a day while on vacation?

Between missed workouts, extra large restaurant meals and indulgent snacks, lazy vacation days will quickly add inches to your waistline.

So before you pack your bags for your next adventure, read the following 6 Vacation Tips and come home fitter, not fatter.

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Lies, Misinformation and Feeding Your Fantasies

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Just stand there and shake off the fat! Yeah Right!

OK, this is a last minute post that I just had to write. I’ve been doing trade shows in the fitness industry for the past 10 years and I’m used to hearing outrageous claims made by manufacturers and people selling various products. But this past weekend I was beside a booth at the Outdoor Adventure Show that was worse for my stress levels than nails on a chalkboard. The bad part was that the lady selling the product was so nice, but I just couldn’t handle the drivel she was spouting all weekend. The worst part was that streams of people were eating up the marketing hype and falling “hook, line and sinker”! [Read more...]