Training Tips: Beginner's Workout Program

This is what I usually give my clients for their first week of training. For those who are just starting with their programs, you can try this 3-5x a week. Most of my clients lose weight fast if they follow a strict diet during this program. You can alternate with weight training in between days of this workout. This program relies on form and speed. Rest for only 30 secs to a minute in between sets. Program lasts for 35-45 minutes only.


The Program


Start off with a 3-5 in warm up, either treadmill, skipping rope, jogging in place. This will keep your heart rate up and increase your circulation to your muscles. Follow this up with a total body stretch.


Now, after stretching start with the program. Increase your heart rate by sprinting for 1 min on the treadmill (start with a jog then speed up to 6 mi/hr or more as tolerated) or do a fast jog in place or fast skipping rope.


Once your sweating and your heart is beating fast, do these exercises. Make sure you move from one exercise to another exercise without resting, then repeat.


A. 1. Jumping Jacks X 20
     2. Push-up (you can also do half-push up if you're a beginner) X 15 reps
     3. Squats (hands behind the head) X 15
   Repeat, then water break for 30 secs to 1 minute


B. 1. Jumping jacks X 20
     2. Dumbbell Row X 15 
         (check link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMVlek6d8eE )
     3. Lunges X 15
   Repeat, then water break for 30 secs to 1 minute


C. 1. Jumping jacks X 20
     2. Mountain Climbers
        (check link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tg37pegdHvs )
     3. Plank X 25 counts 
        (check link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvQXc0aOXVA )
    Repeat, then water break for 30 secs to 1 minute


Before doing any exercise, consult your physician first.

Staying Fit with Lung Conditions (ACE)

I read this on the American Council on Exercise (ACE) Get Fit:

Staying Fit with Lung Conditions

Years ago, people with lung conditions were advised to take it easy, 

and sit out of strenuous activities. Thanks to medical research, those 

days are over.

Breathing easily is something that most people take for granted. But 

when you’re living with a lung condition, such as asthma, chronic

 obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or restrictive lung disease, 

breathing is something you’re always aware of, and shortness of 

breath may be a fact of life. But exercise can help.

Boost Fitness, Breathe Easier

Regular exercise won’t heal the underlying lung disease or improve lung 

function, but it reduces shortness of breath and improves your ability

 to perform everyday activities. At the same time, regular exercise reduces 

your risk of other serious conditions, such as diabetes, osteoporosis, and 

heart disease. People with lung conditions are 

often sedentary due 

to shortness of breath with activity. But a 

sedentary lifestyle results

 in loss of cardiovascular fitness and 

muscular strength, which in

turn worsens shortness of breath—it’s 

a vicious cycle. Breaking that

cycle with fitness training helps 

the body work more efficiently and 

helps you make better use of the oxygen

 taken in with each breath. 

This, in turn, leads to less shortness

 of breath. Regular exercise 

also helps reduce anxiety and depression, conditions that 

often accompany lung disease.

Pulmonary Rehabilitation

Outpatient pulmonary rehabilitation is a terrific program 

for people with lung conditions. Under the supervision 

of nurses and exercise physiologists, you’ll perform 

cardiovascular, strength, and flexibility exercise as well as 

respiratory muscle training. The staff closely monitors 

symptoms, changes in medication and responses to exercise

 to make sure that your progress is steady and that all prescribed

 exercise is safe and effective for you. They also stay in touch

 with your health care providers to ensure the best care possible. 

Educational classes are a key part of pulmonary rehabilitation, 

where patients and their family members learn about 

medications, breathing techniques, managing symptoms, 

oxygen therapy, energy conservation and work simplification.

 Social support is another element of the program. You get to know

 others who are dealing with similar challenges. If you’re interested 

in pulmonary rehabilitation, ask your health care provider for

 a referral. These programs are usually offered in a hospital or clinical

 setting and are often covered by medical insurance.

Get Up and Get Active

If your lung condition is less severe and you just want to become 

more active, talk with your health care provider about what exercises 

are best for you and how to coordinate medication with your exercise

 schedule.

People with asthma, for example, often need a dose of inhaled 

Albuterol prior to strenuous exercise to keep the airways open. 

Swimming and other water activities are good choices for people

 with asthma, because of the moisture in the air and walking is 

a safe and effective exercise for many.

Be Active, Enjoy Life

Having a lung condition doesn’t mean you have to live life on 

the sidelines.

In fact, there are many Olympic athletes with asthma. Competing 

on a world stage may not be your goal, but being fit and active 

may mean you can climb stairs, go shopping, and play with your

 kid or grandkids without excessive shortness of breath. Regular 

exercise can help you get the most out of life—now and in the 

years to come.

Reference: http://www.acefitness.org/fitfacts/fitfacts_display.aspx?itemid=3181&category=4 for more info.

Check Out the Plan of Your Trainer Before You Start Training

You've seen this a lot of times in the gym.  A client comes in. The trainer starts with a lifting exercise. After a set, proceeds to the next one. No warm up or stretching? Hmmm..  Then they start to converse for a long time. No plan at all? Maybe. 

The trainer should know what to give his or her client for the day. Come on, let's all go back to the basics: warm up first, then stretching before starting with the program for the day whether its a weight loss or strengthening program.  Always remember that we all are working for the motivation, that is motivation to stick to an exercise routine that is sustainable and a healthier lifestyle. Without the proper warm up and stretching, the individual may later on suffer from an injury that may make him or her stop the program. Too much conversations between breaks also has a downfall. It lowers down the intensity of the exercises by resting too much in between sets. For body builders, the more intense the exercise becomes, the more the growth hormone is triggered and it usually lasts up the 1st 50 minutes of exercises. 

So how can you check if your trainer has actually a plan for you?  Ask these questions then;

1. Does your trainer get your anthropometrics (body weight, body measurements, body fat analysis, BMI, etc) before you start working out?

2. Does your trainer take transformation pictures?

3. Does your trainer change your program every now and then to prevent fitness plateau?

4. Does your trainer have a monthly assessment to check for improvements or lack of improvements?

5. Does your trainer recommend you to a nutritionist or if at least recommend a dietary program for you?

6. Dos your trainer recommend a lifestyle change for you?

7. Does your trainer recommend activities outside your gym t supplement your fitness level?

Working out is a commitment. The reason why we hire trainers is for us to be challenged by their knowledge in fitness every time we are in the gym. We need improvements fast and learn from them so eventually we can do our own routines on our own.

What Causes Abdominal Pain During Exercise?

Two of my clients sometimes experience abdominal cramping during crunches and while running on the treadmill. I got this answer online from medicinenet.com Here it goes:

If you mean prevent muscular cramps that occur in the abdominal muscles while doing exercises like crunches and sit ups, the answer is not always clear since the cause of skeletal muscle cramping is not definitively known. You can experiment with making efforts to stay hydrated, for example, by supplementing your diet with bananas (for the potassium) and refueling with ergogenic drinks to replace electrolytes. These techniques don't always prevent cramping, but they are worth trying. When the cramps do occur, you should lay flat on your back, or stand up straight, and reach your arms over your head until the cramp resolves. Reaching overhead stretches the abdominal muscles and releases the cramp. If cramping continues, then it should be reported to your doctor.

If you mean internal cramping like a bellyache, this can be due to food or drinks you consume prior to exercise. Dairy, high-fiber foods, and sweetened beverages are just some of the most likely culprits, although there can be other reasons as well. A 1992 analysis during a Half Ironman competition revealed some interesting facts related to GI complaints. All of the triathletes who had eaten within 30 minutes of the start of the event vomited while swimming. If the pre-race meal (eaten anytime) had a higher fat or protein content, vomiting was more common. Hypertonic beverages (beverages that contain a higher concentration of solutes like electrolytes or sugar than that found in body cells) like Gatorade also caused more severe GI symptoms during the race, and all of the triathletes who experienced intestinal cramps had eaten fiber-rich foods in the pre-race meal. Excessively sweetened beverages can slow down the flow of fluid through the stomach, and this can cause discomfort. Ergogenic beverages that have 7% glucose tend to be tolerated well unless athletes consume excessive amounts.

In another trial, researchers studied carbohydrate loading in the days prior to exercise. One group of athletes ate the traditional pasta and rice diet, while another group ate less carbohydrate and substituted instead with a maltodextrin drink. Both groups had similar treadmill times until exhaustion, and muscle glycogen concentrations as determined by muscle biopsy, but the supplement group had fewer GI complaints.

Here are some tips for avoiding abdominal cramps that you can follow prior to working out:

1. Avoid caffeine. 2. Limit consumption of dairy products. 3. Limit consumption of high-fiber foods. 4. Avoid any other foods that you know upset your stomach or give you gas. 5. Stay hydrated. Dehydration can slow digestion of food and cause stomach problems. Drinking 7-10 ounces of fluid every 20 minutes is recommended. 6. Beverage temperature should be between 50 and 59 degrees. 7. Avoid taking aspirin, ibuprofen, products with sorbitol, fructose, or large doses of vitamin C prior to your workout. All of these can cause diarrhea or otherwise upset your stomach. 8. Avoid excessive amounts of sweetened beverages. Excessive sugar will slow down absorption of fluid through the gut during exercise and cause discomfort.

What is Golfer's Elbow?

Golfer's Elbow, also called medial epicondylitis, is similar to tennis elbow and is considered a cumulative trauma injury. It is thought that over time repeated use of the muscles of the arm and forearm may lead to small tears in the tendons which results in elbow pain and weakness. The muscles that are used to pull the hand down (wrist flexors) are located on the palm side of the forearm. These muscles attach to the common flexor tendon, which attaches to the medial epicondyle (on the inside of the elbow). When the wrist flexors are overused, the common flexor tendon becomes inflammation and painful. Such inflammation in a tendon is termed "tendinitis."

Tendonitis or Tendinopathy

More frequently, physicians are using the term tendinopathy to describe the typical pain of tennis elbow and golfer's elbow, which are more often injuries caused by long-term overuse rather than an acute injury causing inflammation of the tendon. The distinction is important because the inflammation of tendinitis is treated differently than tendinopathy. Inflammation from acute injury often responds quickly to medications and anti-inflammatory treatment. However, if the injury is due to of tendon tissue degeneration, treatment may be quite lengthy and will be focused on improving the strength of the tendon and rebuilding tissues.

Golfer's Elbow Causes

It is thought that overuse of the wrist extensors creates cumulative stress, and small tears in the tendon, which causes the inflammation and pain of tendinitis. Tendinopathy results when long-term overuse to the tendons continues and teh tissues begin to breakdown.

Golfer's Elbow Symptoms

Pain on the inside of the elbow, usually during or after intense use, usually indicates medial epicondylitis. Pain increases during wrist flexion and often radiates to the forearm. Because this frequently occurs in golfers, it has become known as 'golfer's elbow'.

Other symptoms of golfer's elbow include:

• Specific pain on inside of the elbow, particularly while grasping objects.
• Wrist weakness and pain during wrist flexion.
• Weakness and/or pain while resisting wrist pronation

Golfer's Elbow Treatment

The first step an athlete should take if tendinitis is suspected is to stop the activities that cause the pain, rest the arm and follow R.I.C.E. method for injury first aid (rest, ice, compression and elevation). This method helps decrease inflammation and swelling as well as providing temporary pain relief. Using conservative treatment often allows the athlete to recover without any chronic problem. Tendinitis usually resolves in a few days to a few weeks.

Unfortunately, it takes far longer -- from two to six months -- to recover from tendinopathy. Many cases of medial epicondylitis become chronic problems that gradually get worse because the athlete continues activity despite nagging elbow pain.

If your elbow pain lasts more than a few days despite rest and conservative treatment, you should see a sports medicine specialist for an evaluation and, possibly, a physical therapist.

A physical therapist may use ultrasound or other modalities to help heal tendinopathy. In some cases, a splint or brace may be recommended. The general rehab protocol for medial epicondylitis will depend upon the specific diagnosis and cause of the injury but the most common rehab methods include: ultrasound, medications, massage, bracing or splinting.

The final stage of rehab for tendinitis includes strengthening and flexibility exercises. There is some question regarding the benefit of stretching exercises for tendinopathy. Your therapist will help determine the best rehab path for you, but it's important to understand that beginning any exercises before the tendon has healed may make the problem worse, so it's essential to follow your therapist or physician's recommendations.

As you begin using your arm and elbow for activities, continuing to use the R.I.C.E. method is often recommended to manage both pain and swelling. Icing the elbow for 10-15 minutes at a time will decrease the inflammation and swelling and relieve pain. Wrapping the forearm near the elbow may help protect the injured muscles as they are healing.

Because recurrence of this condition is common, return to activity should not occur too quickly, and preventive exercises that strengthen the muscles should be done consistently, even after your pain resolves.

Anti-inflammation medicines may help reduce inflammation and pain during acute phases of injury, and in chronic or intense cases, your physician may consider using cortisone medicine to help relieve the discomfort.

If nonsurgical forms of treatment do not eliminate the pain of this condition, surgery may be recommended as a final option. A hand specialist may offer advice regarding potential treatments and the possible outcomes for surgery.

Lastly, keep in mind that whether you elbow pain is from tendonitis or tendinopathy the immediate treatment should include rest. Next see if you can determine the cause of the injury and make a correction. If your elbow pain came from overuse, reduce or stop that activity, and find a substitute activity. If the pain is from poor technique or poor ergonomics, consult a coach or trainer for skills training. If you can eliminate the offending factors, you have a much greater likelihood of a full recovery.

What is Circuit Training?

Circuit training is a form of physical exercise that combines strength exercises, or weight training, with endurance exercises, or cardiovascular training. Circuit training can be used by a single person following an exercise routine or by a group of people who rotate among training stations. A circuit training routine works out the whole body in a single session.

Circuit training is a great way to exercise without the need for equipment. An example of a circuit training rotation can include push-ups, sit-ups or other form of abdominal training, jumping jacks, and squat thrusts. In cases like this, a person does as many repetitions of an exercise as possible during a fixed time period, before moving to the next station. Between stations, there is 20 to 30 second recovery time allowed, but never more than that, as the heart rate would go down too much.

A circuit training plan can also be done by using weight machines, elastic resistance, or hand-held weights. Circuit training can also follow a specific theme, such as combining different Pilates exercises or using boxing techniques. Because circuit training can be adapted to use any type of equipment available, it is often the program of choice for people who want to exercise outdoors. In a gym, a circuit training routine can include 5 minutes on the treadmill followed by an abs workout, followed by 5 minutes on a different cardio machine like a stepper or bicycle, and so on. To be effective, all exercises must be done at a high intensity.

Circuit training programs often take an average of 30 minutes to complete, and offer the same advantages as a one-hour-long regular workout would provide. This also means that circuit training is an excellent choice for people who cannot afford to spend 2-3 hours at the gym on a regular basis.

One disadvantage of circuit training is that it can be too hard to follow for beginners. People who are out of shape or haven't exercised in a long time run the risk of injuring themselves if pushing their body too hard on a circuit training program. In those cases, enlisting the help of a personal trainer can make all the difference, especially during the first few weeks of training.

Train with Certified Trainers Only

I've been working out in the gym for a long time now and never had I valued the importance of a licensed trainer.. until I became one.

In the garage gym that I had joined before, there were just the spotters.. like houseboys who managed the gym. They didn't know shit but since at that time I was studying for my Physical Therapy licensure exam, I was able to study all the exercises, the anatomy of the body, the kinesiology of the exercises. I got big then, just working out on my own.


When two of our american friends asked me to train them 5 years ago, I decided to be a certified trainer. Well, why not. Got the materials from the US., and took the exam. We were like 60 in the classroom all fitness trainers and managers of the top fitness centers in the country today. Most of them bragged about their clientele, their schedules, their fitness clubs. They boasted themselves with their pumped up bodies. I was quiet.. being just knew in the group. We all took the American Council on Exercise (ACE) Personal Trainer Certification, a one day exam-- half day about principles of fitness and half day of simulated program planning. This was then sponsored by then Fitness Professionals organization.


After a month or so, FITPhil called up to tell me that I was one of the only two applicants who passed the exam (the other trainer is the current trainer of Piolo Pascual in Planet Infinity). Whew!! I was in heaven. Got my first certification as trainer! That started it all. My clientele grew and 2 years ago, I renewed my certificate and became a Lifestyle and Weight Management Consultant.


Being a trainer meant a lot. I became confident about training people. I knew my limitations. I learned more about people. 


In this time when most fitness clubs hire mostly physical therapists as trainers, I believe that having a real certification on fitness training is necessary. Most know about exercises but still there is a big difference  when training people who have fitness dilemmas. 

TRX Suspension Training

Used to just read about it in websites.. Now I'm using this wonderful training gadget. It really is great to develop and improve your core muscles.

Recently I incorporated TRX training to all my weight loss programs and all my clients started appreciating it. Body weight is still my key to my weight loss programs and adding TRX training not only gave a different spice to the entire program, it also improved it.  Now my program has evolved into better one. I got all 3 innovative gadgets with me now: TRX suspension, kettlebell and medicine ball (which in one article said are the best gadgets in town now)... and to me TRX training is one of the best!

What Happened???

OMG! I totally have forgotten that I have a good blog! Focusing more on status updates in FB, I have neglected my writing on this blog. What a waste of time. Starting today I will post again fitness tips and articles here....