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Getting Fit By Yourself-Can You Do It? Las Vegas Personal Training

Thursday, July 28th, 2011

I know I’m a personal trainer, so this post may come off as a bit biased, but I’m going to try to keep it at level as possible. Ask yourself this question. Are you in shape? If the answer is yes, I guess you could stop reading this. If the answer is no, ask yourself a few more questions. Are you on a direct route to being in shape? If yes, tell me to screw off, if no, keep asking questions. Why do you think you might not be in shape, or on that direct route? I’m getting to a point here. Most people, think they don’t need any help when it comes to getting in shape. I see this a lot with former athletes who were on this college team, or that one, competitive bodybuilders who have lost it, and on and on. You get it a lot from people who were in the military as well. These are the people who say, “oh man, I used to be in such good shape, back when I was playing ball.” or “Yeah, we used to do all kinds of that stuff in the military”. You look at them now, and you can’t even tell they ever worked out in their entire lives. Unfortunately, they are the hardest eggs to crack. And on the other end of the out of shape spectrum, you have the people with no prior training or conditioning background, who just don’t do the right things. Well, there is hope for us all!

For the former athletes, we will call them, a lot of times, it’s an ego thing. They think that they were in shape once before, so why would they need help to do it again? they went through all the training and workouts in college, just do the same thing, right? Well, when you don’t do something for a few years, you become, hmm….. not so good at it anymore. So those two laps around the track that were a warm up for you in college, have now become a whole workout for you. The 50 pushups in a minute you were repping out in the Army, now become 50 pushups in 10 sets of 5, that take you 30 minutes. Problem is, all these former athletes THINK they can get themselves in shape, because they’ve been there before. But what they fail to realize, is they had someone pushing them that whole time, whether it was their coach, or trainer, or captain, or whatever. Now, in the real adult world, that influence is gone. And that’s why you see so many former athletes, just, to put it bluntly, get fat. There is no more guidance. They are responsible for themselves, and they just don’t do the necessary things anymore to push themselves. Most of them don’t see the need for outside help, because they think they know what it takes to get in shape, and it may be true. But let’s go back to asking questions. If they do know what it takes, why aren’t they in shape anymore? Everyone on earth can use the excuse of time, a job, kids, whatever, but it really comes down to one thing. The motivation. If that former athlete is not motivated from within, maybe it is time to get help from an outside source, if just to kick them into gear. I have tons of friends who USED to be athletes, and now, that motivation to stay in shape isn’t there. That’s why, they should look into someone like me, or your own local personal trainers or coaches, to throw them back on that right bus to fitness. Point is, they might KNOW what to do, but for whatever reason, they aren’t DOING it. Find someone to help.

Now, for the “unexercised”. These are the people, who think they want to get in shape, and think that they can do it on their own. For every ONE success story, I can name TEN that still have not watched a single P90X dvd they bought two years ago. The fact of the matter is, is that we as a majority, are a lazy society. If that offends you, it shouldn’t. Look up the definition of lazy in the dictionary. It means this:

averse or disinclined to work, activity, or exertion; indolent.

OK. So, when it comes to working out, for whatever reason, do you have an aversion to it? Do you find reasons not to do it? No time today. The kids needed to be taken to soccer practice. I have to take my car to the shop. I had a long day at work. All excuses to not work out, which, actually means….. lazy. So if this is you, don’t be offended when someone calls you lazy, because it’s just, unfortunately, the truth. I’m sure I’ll get hate mail for that, but it is what it is. I didn’t make up the definition of lazy.

Back to the “unexercised”. Some just don’t know what to do, so they don’t do anything. Others, are afraid to take that first step, and still others “think” they can do it on their own. For the most part, all of the above equal those people being out of shape, with excess bodyfat, and no muscle tone whatsoever. These people should be BEGGING for help, if it’s just one session with a trainer, a commitment to sign up for a fitness bootcamp, a subscription to a fitness podcast, the recruitment of workout buddies, or just SOMETHING to put them on the right track. They get that help, and they are one step closer to reaching their goals. They don’t get that help, and… they are still sitting on the couch, wondering how hard it is to return the Ab Coaster.

Point of this long blog post is this. Most people need some outside influences to at least start on their fitness quest. Why not take advantage of the resources around you to help you along the way. It’s a service just like any other. You aren’t going to try to fix your computer when it crashes. Most likely, you’ll take it to the Geek Squad. So when your body and fitness crashes, take it to an exercise nerd squad, like myself, or the many others across the nation. I guarantee there is someone in your town, who can help you, even if you think you don’t need it(which, if you answered no to any questions at the beginning, you do)!

Tags: burn fat, fat loss, Las Vegas, lose weight, Personal Trainer
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The Difference Between Being in Shape, and Looking Like You Are- Las Vegas Personal Training

Monday, July 18th, 2011

I live in Las Vegas. I see tons of people with GREAT bodies, and tons of people with, let’s just say, not so great bodies. Let’s just take the people with great bodies for this post. OK. I know a lot of people in the show industry here in Las Vegas, from male dancers, to female dancers to Cirque Du Soleil performers to little people who ride tricycles. A lot of them LOOK like they are in great shape, and to credit a few, some of them ARE. But a lot of it is also an illusion. I run a fitness camp through my personal training stuff, and If you took any random group of some of these performers who look to be in killer shape, I will bet you around half, would think this is the hardest workout of their lives. I will say this. Fitness Camp is challenging, but it is nowhere near the hardest workout of your life. The problem is, a lot of these “in shape” people, and performers, are in shape for their particular talent. If you rounded up the guys in Chippendales, Thunder from Down Under, and American Storm, three male revues containing guys with great bodies, I would venture to guess that 25 % would function well in fitness camp. How can this be? Well, some people work out to LOOK good, and some people work out to BE good. If you do the former, you are a one trick pony. If you do the latter, it will serve you two purposes. You’ll actually be in shape, and as a result, you will look good as well. So when it comes time to hike those trails at Red Rock, you’ll have enough energy to take some pictures, AND want to take your shirt off for those pictures. Have a good day.

Tags: in shape, Las Vegas, look good, lose weight, Personal Trainer, ripped, six pack
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UFC Gym- It’s NOT just for fighters. Las Vegas Personal Training

Wednesday, July 6th, 2011

I’m in the new UFC Gym in Corona, California right now, doing a shoot for all their marketing. I didn’t know what to expect before I got here, so I figured I’d see the standard octagon, punching and kicking bags, a jiu-jitsu area, and maybe a few treadmills and some dumbells. Well, let me tell you this. I was dead wrong in my assumption. I walk in to this 40,000 square foot beast of a gym. They had personal trainers, a whole kids activity center, pro shop with food, a group exercise room, TRX‘s kettlebells, lines and lines of cardio machines, and everything else you could expect or want. I was actually blown away by this gym, and how much I liked it. I’m kind of a pain in the ass when it comes to finding places to work out that I think are optimal. This is one of them. I mean, I will say, I am a little disappointed that they don’t have a basketball court. But could you imagine the minds of UFC thinking basketball? Me neither. They also don’t have a pool if that’s what you are looking for, but they pretty much have everything else taken care of. Trust me. Throughout this shoot, we’ve had to do almost all of their activities that are available. Do I like spinning? Nope, but I was on a bike for about an hour last night pedaling my big butt off. Some of the other things we shot for, that they offer, that I’m not good at, are muay thai(obviously), Hot Hula, Zumba(which I kicked major tail at) and their D.U.T. which is their daily workout, similar to Crossfit principles. There literally is something for everyone here, and they aren’t paying me to say this at all. I know, I know. You don’t buy it. But what they are trying to do here is take things to a different level for UFC, and I think they are doing a good job with it. Their personal trainers for instance, I think are representative in the fact that they are all different sizes. They have a few fighters who train, a guy who does Ironman competitions, The “Crossfit” type trainers, and bodybuilders.

My final take on this place, is that I like it. If I lived in Corona, or one of the other cities www.UFCGym.com is at, I would most likely join. This is the third center they have opened, and will most likely have ten in the next year or so. They will of course, end up in Las Vegas, because, what is UFC, without Las Vegas? Anyway, if you are in any of the areas they do have a gym, I think you might want to stop by.

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Working Out Outside. Is It Too Hot? Las Vegas Personal Training

Tuesday, June 28th, 2011

I live in Las Vegas. Right now, at midnight, it’s 94 degrees. We had fitness camp at 7pm. I don’t remember what the temperature was, but I think it said 100 when I was driving up. To be honest, this wasn’t the hottest fitness camp that this personal trainer has put on. We’ve been out there at 105, I remember last year. Although it was a little uncomfortable, it wasn’t unbearable. So, where you live, what is the temperature? I assume parts of Arizona have similar weather. But how about in Iowa? Or New York? Florida maybe. Even in Oregon. Everywhere in the U.S. has a different climate and temperature, most of it hot right now. Should you be exercising in it is the question. I think why not? Certain things have to happen for this to be safe though. You have to be properly hydrated, so bring a bunch of water. I prefer Fiji, but you can drink whatever water you would like. Also, wear appropriate clothes. If you live in Las Vegas, it’s probably not a good idea to wear some sweatpants and a warm-up jacket with a ski mask on, unless you are walking into a 7 Eleven. To the same point, if you live in Alaska, and you are working out outside at 9pm, you probably aren’t going to want to be wearing some marathoner shorts and a sports bra. Yeah. I’m talking to you dude. But seriously, dress appropriate for your conditions. Also. don’t overwork yourself. When it’s hotter outside, you might not feel like you are putting forth a ton of effort, but trust me, it catches up to you. Take it easy the first few times, and you’ll get the hang of it, I promise. Other than that, I’ll reemphasize the hydrating part. Get plenty of water. In the heat, too much really isn’t an option. Don’t NOT drink water because you want to “sweat it out”, or whatever from the clubs the night before. Your life depends on this. Ok. Be safe, wear the right gear, and DRINK WATER. Everything else should just roll with that.

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Do You Really Want a Six Pack? Las Vegas Personal Training

Tuesday, June 21st, 2011

You don’t want a six pack. I know you don’t. For those of you in Las Vegas, and well, I guess most places, if I asked you if you wanted ripped abs, you would probably say, “Of course I do!” To be honest, if you don’t already have ripped abs, you are lying to me, and you are lying to yourself. The problem is, your mouth says yes, but your actions say you don’t care. I get so many people who say they are doing their best, but their best involves drinking on the weekends, eating out 3 or 4 times a week, and doing half assed workouts. To be honest, if that’s your best, you will be lucky to have anything in that cooler of yours we call a stomach. When you are trying to get shredded, or just a little bit of muscle tone, it takes a little dedication. it’s not 30 minutes on the elliptical, some bicep curls, the ab machine and bench press. It’s plyometric workouts, interval training, sweating your tail off and eating food for fuel, rather than taste. Yes, you can get both accomplished, but when you really want to see results, those nights out, the random drinks at the bar, skipping the gym when you should be going, Taco Bell, ranch dressing, gummy worms, and a host of other things, have to stop. It’s a little time commitment, but if you say for the next three months, I’m going to work harder than I’ve ever worked, you’ll get results. I don’t think most people truly, honestly think it comes easy, I just think they don’t have the dedication to do what is necessary. It’s work. You will actually have to have some drive to reach your goal. You’ll have to sacrifice some things. It’s not like your life is over. You go to work every day right? Do you mess around at work? Consider this a 3 month job. Don’t mess around, and you’ll get that raise in the form of a better body.

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Do You Have Fitness Friends? Las Vegas Personal Trainer

Sunday, June 12th, 2011

SO I’m riding my bike on the back trails of Las Vegas today. It was pretty nice, around 90 degrees and sunny. Figured I’d get a tan. As I was riding, I passed a community recreation center. I passed by the outdoor pool, and tennis courts, and saw people in both. I love to play tennis, even though my shoulder tells me I shouldn’t. But it reminded me of something. If I wanted to play tennis here, I really wouldn’t have anyone to play with. Most of my friends, with weather like this, would rather go to a pool, or, they just aren’t very good at tennis. But it doesn’t just go for tennis. I play basketball every Tuesday, and to be honest, that’s one of my favorite times of each week. But besides that, I don’t really have any friends I can call and say hey, lets go play basketball. I’m just a fitness guy. I can’t help it. Most anything active, besides water sports for obvious reasons, I like to do. I just don’t know many people who like to do them. I know there are sites like Active and Meetup, and those are all well and good. But it raises a question anyway. Do you have people around you, who are into fitness? It helps, if you do. It limits the deterrents from getting your workouts in, if other people want to do active things with you. I mean, who doesn’t love Wet Republic, and Rehab, and laying by the pool and just hanging out? I’ve had a lot of those days myself, but to be honest, that’s not who I am. I think I just do that, because, that’s what everyone around me does. I’d MUCH rather go hiking, or to Utah for the day, and take up Red Mountain . I just don’t have a ton of friends who are into that? So, the point of this all is, if that’s what you are into, find friends who are into fitness too. If you don’t have that network around you, you’ll always have a hard time really enjoying your life, when what you really want to do, you aren’t doing. If you really love hanging out at pools, great. Good for you. It’s nice from time to time.

Tags: basketball, Fitness, Las Vegas, pool, Rehab, tennis, Wet Republic
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Do You Know What You Are Doing That Exercise For? Las Vegas Personal Training

Saturday, June 11th, 2011

I go to a few gyms around Las Vegas, and I watch a decent amount of people work out. They work out alone, or with a personal trainer. They have friends or significant others they work out with. So, a lot of people, do a lot of different things for their workout. My question to all of you, personal trainers, avid exercisers, and first timers alike, is, do you know, why you are doing, what you are doing? Why have you picked the exercises you do? (that didn’t sound right, but Step Brothers is on, and I love that movie. A little distracted.) But yeah, why do you pick your exercises? I get it, if you are with a personal trainer, because most likely, that trainer picked your exercises for you. But if you ARE that trainer, why did you pick those exercises for your client? Did you pick them out of a hat? Did you see them in a magazine, and thought it looked cool? Do you want to impress the other people in the gym and get more prospective clients from the “cool” exercises you are doing with this client? Or is there an actual purpose, for that client, to do the exercises you are giving to them? These are all questions, if you are that client, that you need to be asking your personal trainer, and your personal trainer, should be asking themselves.

If you aren’t working with a personal trainer, why do you do the exercises you do? Did you see them on the newest infomercial? Did your friend say they worked for them, or worse yet, just someone you saw in the gym who seemed to be in great shape recommended to you? Maybe you just do them because you don’t know what else to do. Maybe it was your high school football teams workout, or that’s what the trainer on one of those TV shows was having the contestants do.

Whatever the reason, you need to ask yourselves WHY you are doing those exercises. You need to do exercises that work for you, and serve a purpose for you. If you are a 130 pound woman, who just wants to make sure her triceps don’t jiggle when she waves, you might not want to be doing bench presses with 600 pounds, or flipping tires around a junkyard. If you are a 45 year old man with knee problems, you might not want to be doing heavy squats because you saw them on whatever the newest DVD program is. Maybe there is a cool machine you just want to try out at the gym. Could be a big mistake for you.

Whatever the case, know the purpose of your exercise program. There are plenty of routines on maybe websites like fitness.com and ideafit.com. But your routines should be based on your goals, and what you can and can’t do individually. If you have previous injuries, you shouldn’t be doing the same exercises or routine, that people without those injuries. This doesn’t sound like it’s all that important, but if you think about it, it’s pretty logical. If I can’t push off my knee to jump, and the person next to me can, would it make sense that we both do barbell squats? No. I need fix the inhibition in my knee before I compound the problem. This goes for almost any muscle, joint, or bone injury.

We all have different bodies, and different ailments. We can’t all do the same workouts. Know what workouts and exercises will help you become more movement optimized. Now, I’m gonna fall asleep while watching the rendition of “Sweet Child Of Mine” on Step Brothers. If you haven’t seen it, it’s pretty amazing.

Tags: exercises, Las Vegas, Personal Trainer, work out
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Results in 5 days? Las Vegas Personal Trainer

Tuesday, May 24th, 2011

Let’s say you have a photo shoot in Las Vegas in 5 days. But, you don’t think you are photo shoot ready. What are some of the things you can do? You can starve yourself, which usually isn’t very painless. You can take water pills, which also isn’t healthy. And you could do sauna, garbage bag suit thing, and cardio for 5 hours a day. None of which sounds fun. I have a simple solution, which in itself, plays with your emotions, and your discipline, but works. It literally is ONE change, that can visibly affect your body in as little as 5 days. Here it is.

Every time you eat, have a source of protein, and a vegetable. Most of us humans don’t do this. So let’s say everyone knows the chicken and broccoli, but what about Tuna and asparagus? Or Salmon and green beans? How about turkey breast and spinach. You could even do this with supplements. Whey protein shake and carrots. Even a recovery shake and celery. I’m not saying to not have other sources of food, but keep them minimal. If a 5 day fix is what you really want, which in my opinion, shouldn’t have to happen in the first place, this is how you do it without killing yourself. don’t do the dumb cleanses, or not eating, or water pills. Be smart about it.

On a side note, I would like to say thank you to Jessica Otero, from Infinite Labs, for hooking me up with some of their product. I’m excited to try out this Juggernaut stuff!

Tags: cardio, Las Vegas, photo shoot, protein
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You Can Look Like THIS- Las Vegas Personal Training

Monday, May 16th, 2011

Do you have a personal trainer? If not, Las Vegas has some great ones. Look into it. But seriously guys, the reason I am writing this post, is to debunk a myth or two today. I hear a lot of people saying this or that is the reason they can’t work out, or get in shape, and they can’t look like this, or this. (thanks Ryan Reynolds and Jessica Biel) The question I pose, is, why not? How do you think they got there? Because they are famous? Probably not. There are PLENTY of famous people who aren’t in shape at all. So that’s not it. We’ve talked before about having the time, money, equipment at home, knowledge, and on and on and on, about the pitfalls to not being in the best shape you can be in. But the only thing holding you back, is you! You make the effort. Jessica Biel doesn’t have someone work out for her, she works out herself. She actually takes the time out of her day, which I am sure involves some sort of acting, to get her workouts in. Same with Ryan Reynolds. I know they have more money than most of us, but what does that matter? Do you need money to work out? Or to take your kids to the park? NO. You just need effort from yourself, and the will to become great! We all have it, it’s just where will you find it in you? There is no stopping you from getting your best body. You are only stopping yourself. Take those limitations off, and start to move. If you are already working out, and not seeing the gains you would have hoped, assess your situation, and figure out the solutions to getting there! There is NO REASON any of us should feel bad about our bodies. Take the right steps, and you will lose that feeling, and gain a wonderful one.

Tags: Jessica Biel, Las Vegas, Personal Trainer, Ryan Reynolds, work out
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Eating Healthy Is Too Expensive? – Las Vegas Personal Trainer Weighs In

Friday, May 6th, 2011

I get a statement from a lot of people when it comes to eating healthy. They say it’s too expensive. Trips to Las Vegas are expensive. I see people end up spending over a thousand dollars a trip without the bat of an eyelid. It’s all about what you value, but let’s not totally get into that. Being a personal trainer, sure, I’m a little biased, but I just don’t get how you can say eating healthy, nutritious food is too expensive! Let’s take my week for example. I’m going to give you three meals I had. Unfortunately, they were all dine out meals, which, most of us do weekly, to be honest. I went to Sunrise Cafe on Sunday. What did I have? A Power Wrap and grapefruit juice, and a side of french toast. Yup. I said it:) Cost- $15. I also went to Bachi Burger and had a Lonely Bird Chicken and Turkey Sandwich, and an iced green tea. Cost-$12. Then i went to Thai House, and had some red chicken curry. Cost- $15. Ok. That’s three meals, for a total of $42. This is NOT uncommon for the average person, who complains that eating healthy is too expensive. Let’s see what that $42 can buy us in healthy food. You can get boneless, skinless chicken breast for $3.00 a pound some places. So, let’s get 2 pounds. You can get 16 ounce packages of frozen, ORGANIC broccoli for $2.00. Let’s get 3 packs. Fuji Apples- $2.00 a pound, let’s get 3 pounds. Brown Rice, a bag that makes 10 servings- $3.00. Bell Peppers average about 79 cents each. I’ll take 5.

So in total we have:

2 lbs. of chicken breast- about 8 servings
3 bags of broccoli- about 10 servings
3 pounds of apples- about 8 apples
10 servings of brown rice
5 bell peppers- about 10 servings

We just spent $25. So, instead of those 3 meals for $42, we now have about 8-9 meals for $25. So, 3 times as many meals, for we’ll say, half the cost. Most people just don’t want to cook, is the reason I think that they give for healthy food being too expensive. It’s not too expensive at all, as we all can see. It’s about convenience, and being lazy. That’s really what it’s all about. It’s a matter of quitting with the excuses, and just making the decision to eat better, plan your meals and having the drive to reach your goal.

The other “cheap” option is fast food. Let’s break that down. Let’s say you eat a value meal every day. We’ll round that to about $5.00 a meal. Even at that low price, you still can’t beat the average of $3.00 a meal on the healthy side. I don’t want to get into this any further, because, if you just look at price, you lost your argument.

If you are looking at time, as far as a convenience factor. If you take 2 hours a week, to prepare your meals, that argument is gone now as well.

I would love for any of you to email me a great argument to NOT eat healthy. The taste thing, you can grow out of. For example, I GREW to love chicken. I didn’t love it at first. Same thing with almond butter. Hated it when I first tasted it, but now I prefer it over peanut butter. Bring it on. you can email me at tony@tonycress.com

Tags: eating healthy, Las Vegas, Personal Trainer
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