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Improve Balance & Reaction Time: Indo Board Training Gear & Suzie on the New “Gigante” 24″ Disc

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Waves are a force of nature like no other. Susan does a superb job to illustrate this and more. A great read!

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My Own Personal Fitness Challenge:100 Squats Everyday for October 2012

Suzie Cooney, CPT

UPDATE: Nov 2, 2012:   Thank you everyone for helping me reach my goal of 3100 squats with 20lbs. I am continuing on with new found strength and am wondering why I took so long to do this. See, even trainers need a little help now and than. My legs are super strong AND my butt and legs got more toned!

 I am writing this blog entry today, October 9th, 2012 with 900 squats completed in my own training log. Today was proof, with a high surf advisory here on the N. shore of Maui, my legs held me up and helped me stick 2 head high waves at Kanaha. It was closing out all the way across and at first, I simply could not get out, then finally a small lull.  I felt confident and strong. YES!

Why in the world you may ask am I challenging myself to perform 100 squats a day with 10lb (20 total) dumbbells? Did you know that this is my LEAST favorite exercise to do?  I absolutely with my heart and soul detest doing squats. You’d never bet that would you?

Well guess what, I need to be motivated and challenged too. As a trainer I tell my clients that if you make a commitment and goal to yourself, then tell someone publicly; your trainer, spouse, friend or whatever, you will more likely make that goal.  Write it down, post it, let the world know.  You don’t want to let them down do you?

Have you heard of the 21day rule? If you do something for 21 days in a row it becomes habit. I will admit I think things are not only taking shape but it’s shaping my thought and my brain.

So, the main reason for me sharing this on Facebook the month of October 2012, is that I need your help.  You see, after busting my legs in April of 2009 (Maui Weekly Story) that 3 month wheelchair stint did a number on me. I mean, my legs turned to mush in two weeks.  My lower half atrophied in ways I’ve never ever experienced and even with all the training they are not quite the same legs they used to be and yes, I do run like a girl!-

That freak accident changed my life in so many amazing ways and here I am professing and confessing to you my weakest link!  Three years later I’m still trying. My left ankle is bigger than the left but you won’t notice at first, my strength is ( to me ) about 75% and I really want to be extra strong for surfing, stand up paddling, and long distance crossings.

I still have to wear a compression stalking on the left leg once in a while and it still swells up once in a while.  It feels great and maybe I’ll start a new trend!

Now I am accountable to you. I don’t want to let you down and simply by posting this blog, I have assigned accountability.  That is one of the many reasons people hire me is to hold them accountable and help them reach their goals. I get it. But did you know that even trainers come to me to get motivated, get a jump start and ask me to hold them accountable?  It is true.

I know that some of you are doing it with me and I really appreciate that. It helps more than you can know.  I will occasionally jump in here or on FB to keep you updated and please feel free to do the same.

I want to thank straight away Tracy Lynn Penny and son from Sunset Beach,  Hawaii , sales person for freesurfmagazine. Way to go Tracy! Also to Jennifer Gladwin, Jacqueline Tan-Barclay, Amie Engerbreston, Jenny Ryan, Suzi Tucker, Joel Edwards, Brian Coppedge, John Smalley, Carlita T., Marty Melum, Salma Ansari,  Elder SUP, Brianna Castillo, Mary Lynn Hershey, Nick De Meyer, Kimberly Sutton, Casey Gotcher, Blen Hinton, Jeffrey Zerkle, and many more.

Precautions/Important Notes:

Continue reading My Own Personal Fitness Challenge:100 Squats Everyday for October 2012

Motivation and Focused Strength Featuring Lisa trained by Suzie Cooney, CPT of Suzie Trains Maui

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Lisa deep in it!

Motivation.  It is the most important aspect of any fitness regime and yet sometimes it is so difficult to find!  There are lots of tricks to stay motivated.  For me it’s all about doing something I like to do.  Then it’s easy to stay active.  I also change up my activity… a lot.  Winter for me means snow.  Lots of snow.  I love to snowboard, ski, snowmobile and cross country ski.  In summer I enjoy being on the water, at least when the wind is blowing.  For the last few years I’ve been learning how to kite surf.  Continuing to challenge myself with something new helps me stay motivated.  Having a friend to play with is also a great way to stay motivated.  Sometimes when the couch seems more appealing than your bike… it’s great to have a cheerleader to help you get moving.  And when you have an abundance of energy you get to do the same for your friend.

 I’ve always considered myself pretty fit but certainly recognize that there are some big gaps.  And at 45 those gaps are getting deeper.   3 weeks ago I was fortunate enough to get invited to tagalong to a Suzie Cooney workout.  I hadn’t previously worked with a personal trainer and the session I did was tailored for someone else… but I loved it and immediately booked myself and my husband in for our own sessions with her.

My idea that a personal trainer was akin to an army sergeant couldn’t be farther from the truth.  Yet Suzie provides a perfect motivational force!  And she is a force.  Moving weights back and forth a few hundred times is not on her program which is good because it has never been on my program.  I didn’t know you could do some much with an rubber band and a ball.  Every training session is different and each session is filled with an incredible variety of exercises.  It is never boring.  Suzie works hard at tailoring your work out to address each individuals needs.  After our sessions my husband and I always compare what we did… and of course.. who is better at what!

 I wish that I could take Suzie with me when I am not on Maui because with her help my current fitness goals are getting closer and closer.

 Thanks Suzie!

Lisa is an inspiring, charging woman. I enjoy training and working with Lisa for she goes to task and beyond with a fierce focus like I’ve never seen. She has broke records in the studio and takes pride in perfecting and executing all the exercises I put forth and eagerly accepts ANY challenge that I place before her.

For example, standing on a stability ball is no easy exercise. Then why don’t you add some dumb bells to the mix and some shoulder presses. Follow this by a grueling “weighted” session on the Vew Do Board, INDO Board and then finish off with a leg burning round of high performance land surfing on the Brett Lickle special SURF BALL trainer pictured here:

Lisa2 Surf Ball

 Besides her outer beauty, she is a walking, living example of health and fitness and I hope everyone who reads her story will step it up a notch. When you see her photos you know, this is an athlete!  Lisa and I have much in common like fast motors, and fast action packed adventure.  You can be sure Lisa will be charging on her snowmobile faster than ever with more body confidence and her training will help her in any condition that is demanding of her catlike, quick reactions.  Also be sure to look up if you’re kiting or windsurfing on Maui, she could just be soaring over your head catching some big air.  She’s also taken a quick learn to SUP and is already stepping into some tight step turns on her second day!  She is real and she is mighty and I’m glad to know her.

Suzie Cooney, CPT

Suzie Trains Maui  http//:www.suzietrainsmaui.com

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Want To Reach Your Fitness Goals Faster? Keep on Your Fitness Track With an Exercise Log

Want To Reach Your Fitness Goals Faster? Keep on Your Fitness Track with an Exercise Log

By Suzie Cooney,  CPT Suzie Trains Maui

New Picture (3)Keeping an exercise log can help you stay on track with your fitness and diet goals.         

I know making progress toward your health, diet and fitness goals isn’t easy … especially if you aren’t keeping track of that progress. People hire me to hold them accountable. But once you are on your own, you will have longer lasting results and continue to see your body changing if you keep track of your progress. I always try to impress upon that you will see a change more quickly in your body if you keep track. Just like keeping a food journal will more than like double your weight loss!

 Here are some great tips to ensure you the success you desire!

Measure your success and progress:

One of the basic principles of weight training is progression. During each additional workout you need to challenge yourself to stress and overload the muscle a little more than the last workout.  I love to help clients with this. First set we may go easy, but the second set, get ready! Depending on your goals, this progressive overload will continuously strengthen the muscle, increase endurance, size or a combination of the three.

However, if you don’t know how much weight you used, the number of repetitions or how many sets of a given exercise you performed, it becomes very difficult to consistently overload the muscle and make progress.

If you keep detailed notes of your exercises, the order in which they were performed in, the weight used, repetitions, sets and rest periods, you’ll always know exactly what you did in your previous workout. This will help you make sure that your next workout is slightly different and slightly more challenging than the last.

Exercise Logs Help You Identify “dull points and plataues” in Your Workout
Actual Exercise log 3 days a week

Actual Exercise log 3 days a week

Here’s an example of a real training log of one of my clients. He trains 3 times a week and by the end of the week we made great strength gains which is one of his goals.

Ever have a workout where you felt weaker than normal during a particular exercise? 

This can be the result of many factors, including over training, the order in which you performed your exercises, the intensity or volume of the exercises you did before the current one, or even whether you did cardio before your weight training.

Training logs provide a quick way to look at all of the different variables in a given workout and identify factors that could be impacting your performance. A variable can be either, speed of the repetition, if you are on 1 leg or 2, or by simply increasing the weight or by decreasing your rest period in between sets.

  Continue reading Want To Reach Your Fitness Goals Faster? Keep on Your Fitness Track With an Exercise Log