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Push Yourself!

Within the world of health and fitness, the biggest misperception and mistake that people make in their training is with exercise intensity. I’ve lost count a long time ago of how many gym members I’ve seen in my years as a trainer who insist on coming in and doing the same old thing over and over again. Or how many clients of mine have come to me and asked, ” How come i’m not losing weight and I’ve been doing such and such for x amount of weeks?”

That’s the problem right there. Nothing works forever. Your strength and cardio routines will only cause a physical response as long as they are at an intensity level high enough to demand that response. What i mean is that the body responds and improves only as long as it is put through activity that it sees as something it must adjust to. The gym members and clients I’ve just mentioned are continually exercising only at or below their body’s already established ability level. If you do not consistently force your body to operate at a level above what it’s used to, it will not improve itself to adjust because it doesn’t have to! This concept is called a PLATEAU. Your body will adapt only as much as is appropriate to accommodate your activity level, and through that adaptation you find yourself at your new and improved conditioning level.

So, if you want your body to keep moving towards even better conditioning you have to keep your routine moving towards better intensities. Simply put, as you get in better shape the activities that got you there will no longer cut it. If you want to avoid that plateau and get all the way to where you want to be, you can’t be afraid to PUSH YOURSELF. And by this I don’t mean you have to go crazy and do something to any sort of extreme. In fact, the only way to push yourself is to use moderation. Additionally, there are multiple ways to step your exercise intensities up in the gradual ways necessary. Here I will list a few examples of ideas and concepts that help this process, but remember that no one of these on its own can be effective.

There are specific combinations and timings in which ideas like these should be employed in order to make any real progress towards whatever goal you may desire. One even needs to be careful in how each is employed and introduced. This structured and specific approach to changing intensities is called PERIODIZATION and is what fitness professionals such as myself use to counter that plateau effect mentioned earlier. You need a blueprint to build your desired fitness level.
H.I.T Training ( Intervals )

Circuit Training

Compound Sets

Progression to Power Movements

Progression to Plyo’s

The Irony of Health and Fitness

Why is it that undoubtedly the most valuable thing in the world to us all is more often than not, met with so much hesitation? I can even go so far as to say that we are even afraid of it in a lot of ways.

We make every excuse in the book to justify why we can’t and don’t want to do it, and as a personal trainer and fitness professional I can say with confidence that this statement is not an exaggeration. We accept very excuse and every opportunity that enables us not to go to the gym, or not to get on that treadmill, and not to physically exert ourselves to work hard knowing full well that this is what needs to be done to maintain and improve our health and well being. So, why in the world are we so eager to avoid what we know is and will always be THE single most important thing in our lives? The answer in just one simple word is competitiveness.

That single most important thing in our lives is fitness and we are just flat out unwilling to COMPETE for it. We do it fairly easily for most other aspects of our lives, so why don’t we want to do it for our own health? We grow from being small children aware of the fact that if we want to get through school we need to listen, understand what we need to learn, and of course work as hard as we can to accomplish it. The same is true by the time we have to decide what’s best in terms of supporting ourselves as adults. We seek out and understand what has to be done to get the right job that will provide us with enough money so we can live up to the standards that we set for ourselves. And again, most of us are generally very willing to work hard enough at the necessary tasks to accomplish our goals.

Sound familiar? Goals. Tasks. Hard work. These things are just as appropriate when talking about health and fitness! Just as they are with creating that good life with that great education, great job, comfortable lifestyle, and great social life, they are the foundation for building and maintaining what is supposed to be second to none on our priority list. Our health. All those other things are great and can definitely make our lives wonderful. But, our fitness IS our life whether we think so or not! I ask again why it is that we won’t compete the same way towards our fitness goals.

The answer is in the difference between fitness and the other situations in which we are much more capable of self motivating. Fitness involves and requires PHYSICAL effort to a much larger degree than any of those other aspects of our lives. This is the key to it all. Other than that there are no differences. Any goal in life, no matter what it is, requires its own appropriate path of actions put together in a way necessary to achieve its end result. We have to know WHAT to do and HOW to do it, and if done correctly, the WHAT leads to success. This is the exact same principle necessary to achieve success in the world of fitness but we have nowhere near the same DRIVE to succeed as we do with so many other areas of our lives!

We can’t afford to be so intimidated by a little bit of physical effort. That’s the only thing standing in our way! When I say COMPETE I don’t mean anything other than being more tough on yourself! Don’t think you have to be the most athletic, most fit, strongest, or anything like that. The beautiful thing about health and fitness is that it has nothing to do with ability or how you compare with anyone else. All it is is how you feel about challenging YOURSELF! And at YOUR own pace and ability level! As a personal trainer and strength coach with Posh Fitness, it is my passion to inspire any and everybody looking to improve, feel great about themselves, and be healthy because we ALL should want that for ourselves!

Fitness should not be a chore and definitely should never be intimidating. It’s a challenge no different than the ones you’ve already been accepting. Reach to be great in whatever it means to YOU!

What a Waste of Time and Effort! 5 Worst Fitness Habits of All Time.

1.)Taking the easy way out with diet and nutrition:

- Don’t get me wrong. Your diet and eating habits are hugely important in terms of successful fat loss, muscle tone, energy, cardiovascular health, etc…, but as a compliment to physical activity. The reason being, is that even if you are perfect in the way you eat and adopt the best habits, you are still doing very little to improve those fitness aspects I just mentioned.

Your nutritional habits are very important in influencing and changing those health characteristics, but they aren’t the initial factor that DICTATES those characteristics. What does that is strength and cardiovascular exercise. Physically training is what revs up your metabolism to where it needs to be for you to burn all that fat. Cardiovascular activity and weight training are what maximize the function of your system and provide you with the appropriate muscle tone needed to sustain your metabolism and fat burning power. Overestimating the effectiveness of your diet habits is the easy thing to do because it requires very little physical effort to eat well.

Just simply eating well on its own may prevent weight gain and cause a minimal amount of early weight loss, but what it also does is allow your metabolism to just adjust itself to that particular habit without needing to improve. METABOLISM and how it is controlled through exercise should be the source of attack. How can you expect to improve the way the car works without improving its engine?

2.) Going through “ the motions”:

- Let’s stop being satisfied just with the fact that we’ve “done something”. Stop allowing yourself to just be happy that you have that gym membership. Or telling yourself “good job” just because you went to the gym and sat on a few machines. Looking like you’re doing is not the same as doing, and quite frankly, your body isn’t going to be fooled. It will improve if you MAKE it improve. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourself.

3.) Keeping it comfortable:

- This is highly related to #2 on the list. You can’t be afraid to step outside your comfort zone and push yourself. Don’t run away from the challenge of fitness, because a CHALLENGE is exactly what it has to be. There is no other way around it. To improve your health and fitness there needs to be a stimulus presented consistently to your body that it isn’t used to. That is difficult for it. Your body will naturally attempt to adjust to the activity, and in doing that it has no choice but to improve.

4.) Being way too impatient:

- You are setting yourself up for failure if you go into your fitness attempts with a quick and easy mentality. Wherever it is that you want to get to with your health, will not be seen quickly and most definitely not easily. The body is too complicated, and the path to fitness involves too many avenues for you to just be able to snap your fingers and get what you want.

5.) Lack of respect for fitness as the science that it is:

- This bad habit is the most interesting because most are not consciously aware of it. It’s not as if we do it purposely, but still it is probably a greater obstacle to our health success than any of the others I’ve mentioned. It is the reason we are impatient. It is the reason we don’t understand the importance of pushing ourselves. It is the reason we simplify what has to be done to improve. And, it is the reason we undervalue certain aspects of our health and fitness. It is the reason for all of this because if we don’t accept fitness as a science, we are ignorant as to just how involved a process it is. It takes structure, organization, timing, and manipulation of a large variety of variables to be done the right way. Once this fact is understood, it can be so much easier to allow ourselves the patience and work ethic necessary to succeed.

A Unique Brand of Fitness. The Future of Fitness.

The state of fitness as far as how it’s approached and perceived, is far too often misguided in these times today. Fitness as a concept needs to be taken and transitioned from just a simplified get fit quick scheme in peoples’ minds, to what it really is.

Health and fitness is the process of achieving greater performance and conditioning of mind and body by training the systems of the body to operate most effectively. It is most definitely not supposed to be quick or easy in any way. And quite frankly, to expect that is selling short just how scientifically involved fitness is. For anyone who has ever asked why it’s so hard to get in shape and be healthy, I’ll give you the sad truth. It’s because we as a culture have the ridiculous habit of EXPECTING fitness to come easy, and QUITTING the moment we realize that it’s going to take some effort.

We are way too soft on ourselves and don’t fully understand the urgency of health and fitness until we come across situations that force us to open our eyes. So, we go through the motions and ACT like we are committed to fitness because this is what we always hear that we are supposed to do. But, how much of a priority is it really if we so easily give up when the inevitable shows? When it turns out that it will take longer than a week. Or, we realize that our muscles are sore and we’re getting tired. The fact is, that it’s Not a priority to too many of us, and we don’t truly understand what fitness is.

To understand it is to accept that it’s going to be a process because of how intricate a system the body is, and that there is no such thing as quick and easy when we’re talking about changing our bodies. The general culture of health and fitness HAS to change. It is unacceptable to continue getting nowhere because of neglect and simplistic attitudes, when all we have to do is embrace a little bit of challenge for once and compete!

Fitness needs a different style and mentality. The only style and mentality that will fit what the body requires to improve itself. It needs stubborn work ethic, confidence, and competitiveness. It needs that from it’s professionals as well as its participators. And no disrespect to anyone, but I Jason Spencer AM that new brand. That unique and necessary style of professional capable of changing the perception and atmosphere of fitness for the better, and to what it HAS to be for anyone to be successful.

As a NYC trainer and conditioning coach there is no one more capable, more driven, more passionate, and more fun to work with than myself. I understand exactly what fitness should be and encourage everyone to take me up on that, and allow me the opportunity to show the future of fitness. Now, please don’t just take my word for it! Let me tell you about myself and where I come from. As I’ve mentioned my name is Jason Spencer and I possess unmatched enthusiasm for all things health and fitness related! It is this fact combined with my natural know how for training, and education that make me an outstanding fitness professional. But, my motivation for what I do is that I have the ability to INFLUENCE people and communities towards something that is without question the most valuable thing to us all. That power to influence and my passion to do it is the glue that holds it all together and drives my great knowledge and enthusiasm. As a personal trainer and strength & conditioning coach I possess the most distinct and credible certifications in the industry. I am certified through the National Strength and Conditioning Association ( NSCA ) as a strength and conditioning specialist, and am certified through the American College of Sports Medicine ( ACSM ) as a personal trainer. I am also certified as a Flexibility & Corrective Exercise Specialist through the Swedish Institute of Health Sciences in Manhattan, NY.

I have a bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience as well. I am committed to the highest standard of professional education and only want to get better and even more capable of impacting the fitness lives of anyone in need of guidance. I come from a very athletic lifestyle since childhood and as a former collegiate athlete. Fitness and training is what I do and was born to do, and i am extremely personable. My ambitions as a fitness professional are aimed at great things! I don’t do this just for money.

I don’t do it to be famous, for attention, or because it’s ” cool “. My motivation has always been to do something with my life that has meaning and positively impacts others around me. So what could be a more positive impact on someone’s life than optimizing their health?!! And furthermore, even greater is to be able to change the way fitness is thought of. To not only train people into shape but being a leader for them so that they learn how to stay on top of their health for the rest of their lives. That’s the big fight. Getting someone into shape is just winning the battle as they say. Winning the war is teaching and influencing them to change and maintain a great lifestyle and mindset permanently! Fitness is held back by misguided expectations and priorities as i’ve already explained. Those faulty expectations and over eagerness to give up come from our mental fabric, so what fitness needs is not new exercises, routines, diets, or any desperate attempts. It needs a 180 degree transformation of philosophy on the parts of the many people i’ve been talking about. It has to go from being assumed to be quick and easy, to being appropriately thought of as a process.

A scientifically based method of achieving physical and mental results, that requires structure, organization, and manipulation. As a culture we need mental fortitude, patience, and understanding that will allow that process to play out. It takes a rare type of professional to have an influence on that level, but I am more than capable. I AM that rare professional because i understand this the most, and i CARE the most. Check out my profile and contact me!! spncer25@verizon.net or 732-513-3611 

More exercise, less food. Wrong?! Then HOW do I eat to compliment my exericse?

This question is very commonly asked to me by my clients and obviously by most others around the world of fitness, as it should be, considering that fat and weight loss is broken down into two fundamental elements. Energy consumption (eating), and energy expenditure (exercise). The relationship between these two elements will always be THE absolute determinant as to whether you are successful in achieving your fitness goals. Every little aspect and detail of your fitness activity, from frequency and difficulty of exercise to energy replenishment habits, will ultimately contribute to and influence the way this basic relationship pans out. Thus, determining whether your entire body of activities is effective or ineffective specific to your objectives. In a nut shell, if you burn more calories than you take in, you create a caloric deficit and lose weight. On the other end of the spectrum, if you burn less, youre storing excess calories and will gain weight. Now this concept is generally understood by most. So, to answer the question of HOW to connect your eating with your exercise, we MUST understand that they truly are and should be connected. Our confusion with how, what, how much, and when to eat stems from our common tendency to think of exercise and eating as two opposing aspects of fitness. We very often put the two sides up against each other as if one\'s purpose is to lose the weight and body fat, and the other inhibits this process. I want to shed some light and encourage you to treat eating and nutrition as a compliment to exercise and not a combatant, because quite honestly it HAS to be implemented to work WITH your exercise if you are to be successful. With exercise we are trying to train our body to operate most effectively through increased metabolism and fat usage stimulated by challenge appropriate physical activity. METABOLISM. The key to all these great results and aethestic desires we have. We run, jump, lift and employ any other fitness modality to burn calories and drop body fat weight. But what gets us to the eventual realization of our goals? That 15 lb weight loss. The ability to finally see that six pack. The overall slim and trimmed look in your legs. Or that increased lean muscle tone. We get there because over weeks and months our body has been taught and trained to metabolize its energy/calorie sources efficiently due to the types of stressors and challenges you present to it through exercise. These results are a manifestation of that long term process. This is what exercise does. If done appropriately it improves the way our bodies operate and burn calories to sustain our lifestyle and activity levels. But you need energy to burn energy. So to answer the question of how to eat, know that eating should not be taken out of the equation. If we\'re trying to improve our metabolism with exercise as I mentioned, then why would we want to take away what it needs to accomplish this? Not only from the standpoint of food being fuel to drive the activity of exercise, but also the fact that with exercise we\'re telling our body to become permanently better at burning calories without giving it what it needs to practice. That\'s like if someone would have told Micheal Jordan to become a great basketball player but only let him hold a basketball for 5 minutes a week. Doesn\'t make sense. You have to give your body the opportunity to become great at what youre telling it to do. And that opportunity is sufficient amounts of nourishment. Your metabolism will never become faster and more efficient without the consistent and frequent stimulation of the calories it needs to operate. It seems very counter intuitive that you may need to be eating more or more frequently to acheive your goals but if you think in terms of where you want to get to and not what you want right now, you will certainly begin to see the big picture. Yes, a I explained earlier weight and fat loss can be acheived immediately and on a short term basis through the simple principle of creating that caloric deficit i mentioned. This can be done by simply eating less or dieting to produce a fast and quick drop in weight. But unless that weight loss is done through an altering of the body\'s natural metabolism, it will not be sustained permanently. Your body will just readjust to the lesser amount of calories it gets by storing more and burning slower. A slow metabolism counters everything you are trying to accomplish through exercise. Your weight and body composition are dictated and maintained according your body\'s metabolic characteristics so just simply cutting calories or eating at a frequency less than optimal may drop a little weight and body fat short term, but you are still doing nothing to train the body to burn calories faster and continue its fat burning permanently. It will continue to metabolize slow even amongst the early weight loss and attempted exercise, making it very hard to make any extensive amount of progress towards that body change you so desire. In trying to build health and fitness, regardless of your personal goals, you must think process. Teaching, training, changing, and transforming the body\'s tendencies. The better you can think in these terms, the easier you will be able to allow food and nutrition into your repertoire to help and reinforce exercise. You will get where you want to be through a great metabolism and great metabolism only. There is no other way around it and all roads lead to it when we\'re talking about health and fitness. So think about food not in terms of what it can do solely on its own, but what it can help the body do. Your fitness goals are acheived through the body. The body can\'t improve without food as it\'s catalyst. That\'s the big picture. Once you see it, you don\'t have to be intimidated by the eating aspect of fitness. Everybody is indeed different as far as what\'s better for them in terms of the specific aspects of their activity and eating habits, and although this has just been more of an overview of how to think of and percieve the relationship between exercise and nutrition, i would love the opportunity to get into detail and guide any and everbody interested to their personal aspirations. Check out my profile and get to know me as a trainer!! Let\'s make it simple!!! Give me a call or send me an email!!! 732-513-3611  or spncer25@verizon.net