What Personal
Training
Involves
Although everyone’s
fitness programme is different, there is often
an element of all of the following at various
stages throughout the training:
Strength &
toning work
Using handheld weights, Dynabands or resistance tubes. This is to
train the major muscle groups in the body,
and would typically include the chest, back,
shoulders, arm, leg and abdominal muscles.
By improving your muscle tone, the more
calories you will burn doing nothing because
muscle is metabolically active but fat is
not.
Cardio-vascular
activity.
This might include power
walking outside, hill walking, jogging or
running, depending on the individual’s goals
and preferences. This type of aerobic
exercise is also effective for burning
calories and fat, getting your heart rate up
and ultimately improving how efficiently
your heart and lungs function.
Core strength
training.
This involves working the
body’s core muscles in the abdominals and
back. It is essential for improving posture
and it can help to reduce lower back pain
(depending on the medical diagnosis of what
exactly the back pain is, and how it has
been caused). Core stability training
usually involves working with the large
exercise balls which are becoming
commonplace now in gyms and even in offices.
They are an excellent way of training the
abdominal muscles, and the stronger your
abs, the less likely you are to suffer with
low back pain. The exercise balls are also
great fun to use, and can be incredibly
challenging and demanding so make for a very
good workout and ultimately a very strong,
lean, toned body, if used correctly.
Warming up &
stretching. This applies to everybody’s
training – it is critical to warm up
properly before doing any kind of exercise
in order to prepare the body for the
challenges in the workout ahead. Stretching
is also very important, especially at the
end of a workout to prevent the muscles from
stiffening up too much and to try and reduce
the amount of lactic acid building up in the
muscles which can cause muscle soreness the
next day. Doing a good warm up and stretches
also helps to reduce the risk of injury.
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