Wow. Sitting at the airport today in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and I need to detox. I went home for an American Storm show, and let’s say my town treated me well. Anyway, today is going to be a short one, because I think my flight leaves in ten minutes. One of the guys in the show asked me about motivation for workouts. He says he always has problems at the gym staying motivated to do that last set, or to push a little bit more weight, or even to just work out. So what can be done about this? Personally, I fall victim to this from time to time, and I look in the mirror, and look at old pictures to stay on top of my game. if i don’t look like I did in the pictures, that’s motivation enough for me. Some people need music to motivate them. Sometimes it’s an atmosphere thing. If you don’t like where you are working out, try a different gym a couple days. That might be all it takes to jumpstart you back up. Or maybe it’s a new workout program that will excite you again. Go buy new workout clothes. Ask a friend to come work out with you. Maybe take a few days off, and see what happens. You might start itching to get a good workout in. Whatever it is for you, find it. The slightest changes you make, could make all the difference in your bodies. Good luck, and if you have any more options, let me know!
Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Motivate My Workouts! Las Vegas Fitness
Sunday, May 23rd, 2010
Las Vegas Workout- Our 6 Week Challenge
Sunday, February 28th, 2010Hello from Las Vegas, my workout friends! Your personal trainer, Tony Cress, back again with some new news for your fitness fix. My partner in exercise crime, Emily Bussey, and I, have decided to take a workout challenge against each other. This may finally get my butt in gear, to reach my own fitness goals. I am going to have to work on my own nutrition, and figure out how to do all this with a bum neck and shoulder right now, as I’m pretty sure I may need some physical therapy. Anyway, we have six weeks to take on this challenge against each other, and there are benefits and consequences for the winner and the loser or the workout challenge. If you would like to see all the details, you can check it out on my youtube channel, and I will try to post that link right here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkWf1tSEO58
Personal Trainers that Love Las Vegas
Saturday, November 21st, 2009So, I have been a personal trainer in Las Vegas for about 5 years now, 12 in total. And it never ceases to amaze me, in this quest for fitness, that some trainers, aren’t really helping their clients, they are helping themselves. I see that this is even more evident in Las Vegas. Now, there are TONS of good trainers out here, and tons of people taking their clients to the next level, designing amazing work outs, great nutrition plans, and sculpting six packs. But there are also quite a few personal trainers out here, that are basically wasting people’s time, charging a high rate because they know people have money out here, and they can get away with it. Case in point. I was at Las Vegas Athletic Club the other day, and I was watching a female trainer, do a superset with her client. The superset happened to be leg extensions and Barbell Deadlifts. Now, I don’t have a problem with either of these exercises. I wouldn’t ever have my clients do leg extensions, but that’s another story for a different day. But anyway, as soon as said client was done with her leg extensions, she moved into what i believe to be, the most ungodly, nightmarish attempt at a deadlift i have possibly ever seen. Her back was similar to the St. Louis Arc, and also, very similar to Igor in the Frankenstein movies. Her back was rounded so much, I thought maybe she was going into a tumbling routine. And what was her trainer doing? Oh, just staring off into space, couldn’t give a care in the world. I almost stopped her myself, in fear of her rearranging some vertebrae, but i held back. Not my place. Anyway. I watched this work out go on, and saw a few more disgusting shows of form, then i just left. Heartbroken. My point is, some trainers checked out a LONG time ago. They just want their money for the session, and you can do whatever the hell you want. Not a good thing in my book. The question I ask, is why do these people pay those trainers? Take home lesson for all you kiddies. Ask for a session for free, or ask to watch them train someone else. Just figure out what you are getting into before you make a committment to someone who works for Globo Gym.
It’s too cold in Las Vegas to Workout
Friday, October 30th, 2009Ok. Being a personal trainer here in Las Vegas, is kind of tough. Since there is always so much going on here, conventions, parties, sex shows, etc, people always have an excuse to not work out. But last night, someone gave me a crazy one. They said it’s “too cold” to work out. Wait a minute. Last time I checked, fitness centers were not located outside! They said they didn’t want to go out in the cold to go to the gym. For their sake, I wanted to buy them another excuse. That just doesn’t work for me. If you drive to the gym, for one, you are in your car. At most, you are outside for a minute. If you don’t drive, jog, and there’s your warm up exercise. Either way, you aren’t going to freeze to death. I think it comes down to a factor of motivation, and how bad you really want your goals.
Now, being me, personal trainer and all, I think I coould handle a minute a day of cold, for a lifetime of fitness. You need to find whatever obstacles they may be, that are holding you back, and jump around them. That’s all for today folks.
If You Can’t Afford a Gym Membership, Make One at Home!
Tuesday, October 6th, 2009 
Here in Las Vegas, the weather is cooling off a bit. I think it went from 95 one day, to 75 the next day. The weather has been in the 70’s since that day. Got me to thinking. Pretty soon, it’s not even going to be the 70’s here in Las Vegas. It’ll be 65 on a good day, and on normal days soon, the high will be around 55. That also got me to thinkin. That’s pretty cold. Not cold if you live in Canada, or Alaska, or….. Iowa, but cold, by Las Vegas Standards. And when it gets “cold” here, no one wants to be outside. So to keep up with your fitness goals, if you were playing tennis, or biking or jogging or whatever, out in the nice heat, you have to bring your game indoors. And that means one of a few things. Most people think it means GYM. And with the gym, comes a cost. A cost which some people say, is too much. So I am going to offer a solution for those people. I disagree with that statement here, because a gym membership is $21 a month. And if your health isn’t worth that, I don’t really know what is. But for you sad saps who live in places where memberships run twice that or even $100 a month. Here is my following solution.
Ok. most people don’t like the idea of working out at home, but basically, i think it’s one of the best options. You can’t say, “I didn’t have time to get to the gym today.” Technically, you sleep at your gym, so there goes that. You can’t really make excuses. Other people may come up with the “fact” that they don’t have enough weight at their house. Anyone who says that must be blind. Pretty sure you have plenty of weights, in the form of couches, fridges, mattresses, clothes baskets, dressers, milk jugs, tables, bags of flour and sugar, jugs of protein, pots, pans, etc. ever try lifting up the end of your couch? now do it 10 times.. there’s one set tough guy.
For those of you who think my alternatives for at home working out are a bit crude, or too “mannish” you can pretty much create your own “mini-gym” with about $100 or less. For your cardio workouts, there is this crazy intense tool you can pick up for some of the best fat burning around.. It’s really high tech and advanced. It’s called a jump rope. Go pick it up at Wal-Mart for six bucks. If you feel that you need some weights, You can go with a couple options. Resistance tubing is great, comes in various intensities, and costs only a few bucks for each band. You can pony up the big bucks and get a couple dumbells, but they do cost about 50 cents a pound if you can find them cheap. Another part of your “gym”- a stability ball. So many different exercises can be done on this thing. You’ll want either a bench or a step, that you can get on craigslist for about 5o bucks, and that’s about all you need. You can get hundreds of exercises out of just the equipment i talked about, and your own bodyweight.
If you would like more info on crafting your own gym, you can always email me. I AM a personal trainer. if you think you have it down, and just need some guidance, i have a few at home workout programs you can purchase on the site. Either way, if you think a gym membership isn’t for you, for whatever reason, that doesn’t give you an exepmtion on working out. It only gives you another excuse as to why you aren’t happy with your body.. Thanks peeps.. have a good one.
So Many Supplements, So Little Time… and Money
Tuesday, September 15th, 2009 
So You’ve decided to finally get yourself in the best shape you’ve ever been in your life. You started going to the gym, watching what you eat, started lifting weights instead of just walking on the treadmill and talking to any person you know in the gym, and you decided to start shaving your chest. Come on, it brings all the definition out. Since you are going to all these great lengths, you want to get the most out of your newfound obsession (lifestyle). You are looking through all the bodybuilding magazines and men’s health magazines for the latest workouts and diet plans, and every other page, there is an advertisement. And these aren’t just any advertisements. These are advertisements for things you NEED to make your fitness goals complete. This ad has you gaining MASSIVE amounts of muscle in as little as 3 weeks. This ad has you losing 10 pounds of fat in 30 days. And this ad has you adding 3 inches to your….. wait a second. I thought we were reading fitness magazines. Anyway. These ads convince you that this is the FINAL piece in the quest to your perfect body. Well, let’s take a look at the general view of these ads.
Generally, the ads will come with some sort of scientific study. This is GREAT. Execept there is one small problem The studies, they are reporting, are usually done by scientist who work for their own companies, so they get the results that they want, and omit results that they don’t. While some of the results they get are in fact real, we’ll take a closer look at the subjects they use.
You will see ads that have tons of before and after photos in them. It worked for Joe Mammahatu, who was overweight, pale and obviously depressed. After he took Supplement X, he all of a sudden became ripped, happy, and tan as hell. There are a few things wrong with this. Joe Mammahatu, is actually, Hercules Steroidian. Usually the Before and After Pictures and testimonials are professional fitness athletes, or personal trainers who know how to get their body in peak physical form in limited time. These companies pay these athletes to essentially get fat, and then take pictures for them at that stage, and in competition stage. I will also say, i believe most of these guys are on some “performance enhancing drugs”.
I will not say that i don’t believe in supplementing your nutritional plan with supplements. I buy them myself. But do your research. These things are NOT the answer to your prayers. Most of the time, they are a placebo effect. You are taking something, so you think it works. Some of the time, it actually does work.
In the end, it’s up to you to decide what supplements to take, but do your research. Don’t spend Hundreds of dollars just because you see an extremely jacked up dude in the ad. Most likely, he’s jacked up from something other than what you can get at Wal-Mart. I know the people of Las Vegas are smarter than that.
You Have “NO TIME” to Work Out? Please!
Friday, August 14th, 2009
Being a Personal Trainer, I get asked a lot of workout questions, nutrition advice, the best way to burn fat etc. I also get a lot of excuses, as to why the people asking me the questions, aren’t doing the answers i am saying. They don’t have the money to buy the right foods. They are always on the go so they can’t take fruits and veggies with them. They are starting back up next week. The list goes on and on. The one thing that bothers me the most, which is a HUGE copout, is they don’t have any time. Really? Come on. I believe everybody on this planet, unless you are some sort of Doc Brown time traveler, or a wizard, has the same 24 hours in a day, 7 days a week.
Most people who say they don’t have time, really, don’t MAKE the time. It’s all about priorities. Some people would love to work out, but they make other things a priority over working out. I get some people who say they don’t have time to work out, yet they ask me who I think is going to win American Idol. If you have 3 or 4 hours to watch a tv show each week, you have 3 or 4 hours to work out. Unless you work for Fox, this is a copout. These people just think it’s more important for them to keep up with a tv show, than to get their health right. I am not saying what they do is wrong, they just don’t have their priorities right if fitness is what they want. But, there also is a way to get your workout in, and that sweet show.
What if, at every commercial break, you did as many pushups as you could? try it one episode. See how you feel. Or, every break, you did something different. Squats the first break, pushups the second, jumping jacks the third, and so on. By the time the show is over, you pretty much have a total body workout. And, you got to see your show. AND you didn’t waste your time during the boring commercials.
Let’s say, you work ALL the time. Well, let’s not, because no one works for 24 hours. Every single person has 15 minutes of free time throughout the day. So, if you have five minutes before you have to pick up your kid from school, do 15 pushups, 15 squats, and 50 mountain climbers. Do that 3 times throughout the day. There is your workout.
So, the next time you say you have “NO TIME” to work out, think about these things. It’s been real, but i HAVE to go watch America’s Best Dance Crew. Later
Goals: Why We Need Them.
Monday, August 3rd, 2009
Ask yourself this question. Do you get in your car, and drive, with no specific place (GOAL) to go? I hope not, but if in fact you do, where do you end up? It can’t be the place you expected to go, because you didn’t really expect to go anywhere in particular. You may have ended up at a movie, or at the grocery store, neither of which was ultimately where you wanted to be, but they are also both not bad places.
Now, let’s apply this to your health and fitness. If you don’t have a specific place to go (GOAL), where are you going to end up? The short answer to this, is that you won’t really know until you get there. How do you know exactly what to do, what exercises to do, how to eat, how much cardio, etc. if you have NO idea what you are doing it for? This is exactly why people need to set realistic, measurable, and attainable goals.
Let’s go back to the car for a second. Let’s say you live 2 miles from the bookstore. Your goal, is to get this cook book you’ve been wanting for a while. Now, based on setting realistic, attainable goals, maybe you decide that you want to get to the bookstore, buy the book, and get back home in 30 minutes. This is definitely an attainable goal, but you have to focus to get it done. If it takes 10 minutes to get to the bookstore, and10 minutes to get back, this leaves you with 10 minutes to find the book, and buy it. This leaves no time for browsing for other books, and other irrelevant activites. You have to focus, and get the job done. This is the same concept you have to use for your fitness and health goals. You have to set them, and have them be attainable. Going back to the car, you can’t expect to get all that done in 10 minutes. As far as exercise, you can’t expect to lose 20 pounds in a week. Goals must be ATTAINABLE. Also, you don’t want to go the other way and set a goal too general, because it leaves room for distraction. If you say you want to lose 5 pounds in a year, it leaves plenty of room for other things to get in the way, ie, nights out, pizza, laziness. This all has to do with focus. If there isn’t a straight line to the goal, you end up taking a lot of wrong turns.
So, let’s say for example, you want to get in better shape. What does that mean exactly? That’s not a real goal Real goals can be MEASURABLE. Now, If you take your general thought, getting in better shape, and make it measurable, you can figure out if you’ve reached your goal. Let’s say to get in better shape, you want to lose 10 pounds. Great! Now you can look on the scale, and see if you lost your 10 pounds. It’s measurable. Either you did it, or you didn’t. And we want to combine this with the other aspects of goal setting. Is 10 pounds realistic for you to lose? How long should it take you to lose that ten pounds? Is it attainable? How many weeks/months should it take you to lose that 10 pounds? Did you lose the ten pounds in the desired amount of time? These questions make a goal much more specific, and gives you the straight line you are looking for, so you don’t stray from it. It helps with adherence to your fitness direction.
I hope this has helped you today. Setting measurable, realistic, attainable goals is a HUGE key to your success. Don’t just go to the gym to go to the gym. Have a plan. Get in, get out, do your work! Everything should fall into place after that. Until then kids. Don’t Worry. Be Happy. Doo Doo Do Doo Doo, Doo Doo Do Doo Doo Do Doo……. Bobby Mc Ferrin:)
Spaghetti For Breakfast?
Tuesday, July 14th, 2009
So, here i am, at two in the morning, writing a blog. Wow. I should be sleeping, but i gotta get this outta my head! So the other day, Josh, a friend of mine, asked me this question. “What can I eat for breakfast besides eggs and oatmeal?” or something like that. I have to, by the way, thank him for the title of this blog. Thanks Josh. So anyway, my answer for this was kinda simple, but we’ll get into it in some more detail instead.
If you read any fitness, health or bodybuilding magazine for that matter, they’ll tell you that for breakfast you should have egg white omelets, and oatmeal, and turkey bacon, and sausage mcmuffins, and…….. wait. No, not sausage mcmuffins. My bad on that one guys. Which is a GREAT breakfast. Throw in a few veggies in that omelet, and it’s pretty complete. But what about the people who hate eggs, like myself? I know they have reasons for saying that is the ideal breakfast. You get some protein from the eggs, some carbs from the oatmeal, and some fat from the turkey bacon, all your macronutrients right there. That, to me, is a good enough reason i suppose. But I don’t really like that food. But i think the main reason they say those foods all the time is because they are ”breakfast” foods. They also say cottage cheese, whole wheat toast, yogurt and fruit. ”Breakfast” foods again. But what if you don’t like those foods? Should you just skip breakfast? Ummm… no. These aren’t wonder foods that have amazing powers, only if you eat them in the morning, and they aren’t the only foods you can eat in the morning either. This whole thing has been based on tradition. Who’s to say you can’t eat a lean burger at breakfast? Your mom? No. Hopefully she stopped telling you what to eat years ago. If she didn’t, you should either have a talk with her, or you could just move out of her house already.
Moving on. There is no magic “breakfast” in terms of specific foods. Lean protein is lean protein. And complex carbs, are pretty much complex carbs. Whether it’s oatmeal or brown rice, they are pretty much doing the same thing. Whether is turkey breast or egg whites, they both are protein rich. Getting into specific types of protein and to a certain extent complex and simple carbs, really don’t have much to do with the general public. When you are at 10% bodyfat and want to get down to 8%, that is when you start worrying about that. But basically, you can eat whatever combination of meat and grain you want for breakfast. Spaghetti and Meatballs? Why not? just make sure the spaghetti is whole wheat, and the meatballs are made from the finest, umm…. what do they make meatballs out of? Meat? yeah, the finest meat.
P.S. I apologize if this blog is jumbled, as i am half asleep as i’m writing every sentence. so if you don’t get any of this, read it while you are sleeping, because, it makes sense to me!
What Should I Eat Before I Work Out?
Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009
This is a question that definitely plays a role in the effectiveness of that upcoming workout. Eat too little, and you’ll have no energy to put forth into a hard, intense workout. Eat too much, and you’ll end up in the bathroom, or if unlucky enough, just over the garbage can by the water faucets for everyone to see exactly what you DID eat before you came to the gym!
Now, I can’t say that everyone can eat the same thing, but I can say this. You need to have a little storage of both proteins and carbs before you hit your gym time. About an hour beforehand, so you can give your body some time to digest that food, and get some of it stored for energy, have something as simple as a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The peanut butter provides you with some protein, and the bread and jelly provide you with the quick use carbohydrates to fuel your workout. Some people like to have protein shakes before their workout, which is also fine, but it just doesn’t sit right with me. When it comes down to it, something light, is better than nothing at all.
