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.

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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:

 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

photo by Simone Reddingius

Are you ready to basically free fall with a piece of fiberglass pushing back to you as the force of gravity is sucking you down? Sure, you’ve been paddling; you’ve got good core strength, but what about the legs?  Will you still be standing, and do you have the power to recoil your body to pump for the speed you need into the next turn?

Gravity and surfing, water drag, board buoyancy and you, are all opposing forces that join you as you make your drop down the face of a small wave, or if you’re one of the few brave enough to step into the trough of JAWS. Being well- conditioned and strong, along with cat-like reactions can make you or break you. 

Without getting too technical on the values of centripetal force, board speed, or if you’d like to learn what “C = gT/2LL” means, go to Leslie Brooks site and read more: 

Getting Physical  The Physics Behind Surfing, and read up on: C = Wave Speed       g = Acceleration caused by gravity (9.8 Square meters per second)   T =Wave Period   L =Wave Length        Test on Monday, so study!

Back to the “physical” aspect of what I do and know, I wanted to ask an expert!  I had the pleasure of talking with Dave Kalama , big wave surfer here on Maui on the subject that fascinates me;  how the g –force effects of gravity as you drop down the face of a wave and how you need your body, especially your legs to hold your line as gravity is pulling you down. He helped described to me the importance of training for leg strength for exactly this.  

Dave Kalama Copyright: ©D.Wong

He said, “When you’re surfing down the face of a wave all muscles need to be firing at once. The slow twitch and fast twitch muscles must both engage.”  As a trainer, I get this. An example of slow twitch muscles that tend to be smaller in size, slower to fatigue and if we get scientific, increases oxygen delivery, vs. fast twitch, larger muscles and quicker to fatigue and basically are considered the power house muscles of your body.

Slow twitch muscles also include stabilizing muscles. Think of endurance, running a marathon, swimming laps vs. a power lifter will have fast twitch muscles to utilize for big bouts of serious lifting. Here I’m talking about quick, explosive reps, but only lasting a few seconds. For this, think of glutes and quads.

He agreed that most people spend a great deal of time on core and upper body training; but reemphasized the need to spend even more time increasing your leg strength.

For example, Dave does a minimum of 200 leg lunges, max 400 to 500 consecutive. Then a few sets of leg dips and some quick paced step and jump lunges followed by jump squats. Plus running up the sand hill backwards really warms him up. He trains a great deal in soft sand and is a firm believer that your toes, feet and ankles play a key role for board and rail control.

Dave explained it like this, “One can have board and rail control, but then you need to call upon power to take advantage of the control. Then there is board speed.  To get speed, you need to take advantage of the control and power. You’ll need to have powerful legs to pump the board to increase your speed. It’s all connected.”

Dave says, “If I had to pick any part of the body I’d train for surfing, it’d be legs over upper body. If you have bird legs it won’t do you much good.”

This makes good sense to me. I’ve seen Dave do some serious training here on Maui and it’s very inspiring. He also added that cycling is key to add to your training routine to help increase your power on big days.

Adding leg work to your routine seems easy enough, but its how you make the exercises extra challenging that be the ticket. There are lots of variables or things you can do to get those legs pumped up to help increase board speed.

Traditional squats, leg press and extension machines are great, but also add some plyometrics to the mix. Plyometrics is a term to describe the type of training that is explosive for speed and power. For example, I think of dropping down a wave I think of “Drop Jumping”. This exercise requires you to drop to the ground from a box or raised platform then immediately jumping up. I’d recommend starting on a platform that is not too high at first. Start with a 2 foot (24 inch) sturdy box, or simply standing on the ground and doing what I call tuck jumps.  You can change the “variable” by changing the speed of the movement. Also, jumping over and object like a bench, cones or a log at the beach or park:

Here are some basic explosive 2 legged hops. Remember soft landings, not flat footed. Use your body to propel you up:

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Plyometric training can be worked into circuit training or can be as simple as skipping,  hopping or bounding. Keep in mind this type of training is pretty intense and requires one to have a pretty decent base of leg strength, knee stabilization and hip stabilization, and no known orthopedic challenges.

I will line up 2 BOSUs in a row and have my clients use  their own body’s inertia to hop up with two legs together as high as they can, land on the BOSU and then on to the next BOSU.  To make it more interesting, I may fire an 8lb medicine ball at them to catch in mid air to test their reaction.

BOSU Jumps: Forwards and Laterals

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A sample plyometric routine might look like this:

Drop Jumps:  5-10    medium intensity              Rest: 45-60 seconds

Single Leg Step up to Bench with Dumb Bells: 10 -12 each leg 

Single leg lunges with dumbbells. I’m using 20lb each.

Lunges:
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2 legged hops from Standing Position over bench, cone or other object: 10-12

Lateral or Forward 2 legged hop up to BOSU or across   10-12  

Repeat 2-3 times.   To increase intensity, reduce rest period, add more weight, increase drop box/bench height.

Or, take one of these exercises and work it into your regular training routines.

Pre Conditioning: As mentioned earlier, this type of training, requires a solid base of strength training, supportive athletic shoes and should be performed on padded surfaces such as grass or the beach, or in a padded area to absorb some of the shock.

Proper active or dynamic stretching should also be performed before your routine and of course the proper cool down to follow. I’d allow 2-3 days for recovery in-between a plyometric session.

To recap, surfing is the ultimate sport that demands so much of the body and if you want to be good, go deep and drive into the next turn, you better have the legs to do it.  This type of training is also excellent for stand up paddling small and big waves!

Cycling, plyometrics, soft sand running, lots of lunges, weight training is a great way to be ready for the action. 

You can check out a few more of my “surf fit tips at: http://www.suzietrainsmaui.com/surf-sup-windsurf-conditioning-training-tips/

Thanks again Dave for adding to the topic! I hope you found this helpful and informative. We’ve just touched upon the very simple aspects of leg training for surfing here. If you want more information or want to train with me personally, let’s do it!  

I encourage to you to share your experiences, tips and big wave adventures with us.  Also, to learn more about Dave Kalama go to: http://www.davidkalama.com/

Also stay tuned for my SUP/Fitness Adventure clinic in Costa Rica next year.

Aloha and see you on the water!  Suzie Cooney, CPT

Suzie Trains Maui

http://www.suzietrainsmaui.com

Suzie is wearing the Olukai Kia’i’ Trainer   http://www.olukai.com/Product_WomensMakai_Kia’i%20Trainer_20127-3049.aspx

All photos and jewelry by Simone Reddingius. Check out more of her work at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/by-simone/

Check out ATHLETA’s sporty cap, “Morning Run”

Sunglasses: http://kaenon.com/

                        To see Naish’s new line for 2011 go to: http://www.naishsurfing.com

By Suzie Cooney,  CPT Suzie Trains Maui

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

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.

 For example, performing tricep exercises before other large pressing movements can leave you weaker than normal when performing chest or shoulder presses later in your workout.  

 If you can quickly look at all of your exercise information from previous workouts in one place, you’re more likely to notice that whenever you perform tricep press downs before chest presses, you can’t perform as many chest presses.

 With this knowledge, you can now try changing your order of exercises to see if it improves your chest press performance. And you’ll know whether it works, because you’ll have recorded it.

If you weren’t keeping an exercise log, this type of performance review would not be possible.

”Keep It Real”

You are only cheating yourself, so be real with yourself. The uncomfortable truth is that most people overestimate the amount of work they perform during their workouts or weight training. They’ll jump on a weight machine or pick up a pair of dumbbells, pump out a few reps and think that they’ve worked harder than their last workout. But how do they really know? They usually don’t.  Unless, of course, they are keeping an exercise log.

Writing down the details of each workout lets you have a true and realistic view of your performance in the gym. Self-deception never resulted in a better physique or improved health and the very act of recording your training regimen ensures that you are conscientious of what you are actually doing during your workouts, versus what you think you are doing. This is critical to meeting your short- and long-term fitness goals.

Break Training Plateaus

Training plateaus are inevitable for everyone, regardless of their level of experience or motivation in the gym. The body’s predisposition is toward maintaining the status quo when it comes to strength, endurance and muscle size. It’s not unusual for someone who has just started exercising or weight training to make fairly rapid progress in the first six months and then hit a wall. For more experienced gym-goes, those plateaus come more frequently.

DID YOU KNOW? The more fit you become, the more challenging it is to improve your performance or add additional muscle, since highly-conditioned individuals are often closer to reaching their genetically-determined potential than beginners.

But breaking through a training plateau is much easier when you can look back over subsequent workouts in your training log and identify the practices that resulted in progress, or those that maintained the status quo.

 For example, let’s say you want stronger, more well-developed shoulders but just don’t seem to be making progress, despite performing set-after-set of dumbbell shoulder presses. 

 You look in your training log and notice that you are always performing shoulder presses after your bench presses. Bench presses activate the triceps and front deltoids (front of the shoulders) to assist during the movement, so you decide to try shoulder presses first in your workout, when your deltoids and triceps are fresh.

 Suddenly you find you have added 15 lbs and an additional three reps per set, just by reordering your workout. The next thing you know, your shoulders are looking larger and more defined.

You know this because your training log told you so.

Often, breaking a plateau is requires nothing more complicated that trying something new or making a slight change in what you are doing in the gym. Keeping an exercise log or journal of everything you do each workout ensures that you never stay in a rut for too long.

Stay Motivated by Keeping and Exercise Log

Ever have one of those days when you feel like you’re not making progress toward your goals in the gym and you get down on yourself? It happens to everyone and even to me!

One of the great things about training logs is that when you’re feeling a little less motivated than usual, you can page back through your workouts and see the progress you’ve made over time.

Whether you’ve been working out for six months, a year, or six years, people often forget just how far they’ve come since those first days in the gym. Saving your training logs allows you to go back to your very first workouts and see how much you’ve actually progressed. Sometimes this is all it takes to get you fired up about working out again. It also helps create a sense of pride in what you’ve accomplished.

Keep Focused on Your Goals

When a client comes to me for a session, I can usually tell how they are feeling and how they might perform. But I always ask them on a scale of 1 to 10 how there are feeling before we start so I know how to load them up or maybe take it easy in the beginning. Training logs don’t have to be just for recording exercises, weight, reps and sets. A good training log will also contain notes about miscellaneous items like the amount of sleep you got the night before, your energy levels before and after exercise, whether you ate before working out, what your mood was like, the amount of time your workout lasted and even things like whether you felt a cold coming on, or were recovering from an illness.

All of these factors can impact your performance. Being aware of how the effect your workout can help you make lifestyle and diet adjustments that can improve your progress and lead a healthier, more satisfied, and fit, life.

Bottom Line: Be Consistent with your  Exercise Log

Keeping an exercise log is one of the single most effective methods of ensuring that you reach your fitness and exercise goals and continue making progress. We all have goals in life as we do in fitness and health.

Reward yourself at the end of the week or the month if you find that you are making good progress. Recognize that you may have good days or bad days, good weeks or weeks that didn’t turn out as you planned. That’s okay. Regroup and continue.  You’ll be so proud of yourself as you look back at the month before or event the year before!

 I’m always proud of all my clients and each day is a new day to keep your body healthy.

 If you’d like me to send you the exercise log I give my clients, feel free to contact me at http://www.suzietrainsmaui.com

 Keep up the good work! You can also follow me on Face Book   http://www.facebook.com/suzietrainsmaui.com

Aloha,

Suzie

Click here to read more about Increase Muscle Mass and why you should too:

http://www.mauiweekly.com/page/category.detail/nav/5015/Suzie-Trains-Maui.html  

To contact Suzie Cooney, CPT
808-283-2121
e: Suzie@SuzieTrainsMaui.com

Break out of the workout trap, and don’t be like others stuck in the same routine—and the same body.

Ever notice at the gym: You see the same person on the same treadmill or weight machine doing the same routine? But, do they look any different? Here are a few tips to avoid falling into the same workout trap.

More is not always better

Lifting too much weight can compromise the alignment of your spine and may cause muscle and ligament injuries. Heavier is not necessarily better. Watch your form and avoid swinging weigths or overloading the cables. For example, the lat pulldown machine can be very dangerous with too much weight. Maintain a controlled movement and pace. Avoid the rocking back and forth movement that tends to come with too much momentum or weight.

There’s more to train than just a bicep!

Most people love to train the bicep muscles, because they tend to respond to training rather quickly. Have you noticed that when you’re at the gym, everyone’s doing a bicep curl? Yeah, it looks great, but it’s the smallest upper body muscle. Don’t forget your legs, back, shoulders and abs! Balance your workout for total body conditioning.

Where’s my six-pack?

If you want to lose in the middle you must, do way more cardio. Your six-pack is waiting for you, but until you get that heart rate up to boost your metabolism, good luck. It’s not to say that if you did 500 crunches a day you may start to see some defintion, but you must lose the fat first. Be careful again not get stuck in the same cardio routine as well.

Machine monkeys

These are the ones all hunched over hanging over a treadmill, or stationery bike with a death-grip on the handlebars. Make sure your posture is straight and your shoulders are back. If the speed or elavation is too high, bring it down as not compromise good form. I like elliptical machines because you can’t really just hang there. Don’t cheat yourself.

Stay out of the trap for good

We all enjoy doing what is easy, and that’s how bad habits take shape. Working out should be fun and different. Some people do like routine, but I promise your body doesn’t. Go to the beach for  an outdoor workout. Grab your board, get some paddling in and catch a few waves, then finish with a weight workout. This is my favorite thing to do!

If I can help you get out of your trap, go to my blog at www.suzietrainsmaui.com/blog or call me at (808) 283-2121.

Suzie Cooney is a certified personal trainer and model.   Check out the entire issue of The Maui Weekly here.

Suzie Cooney, CPT Maui, Hawaii

I am often asked, should one train with free weights or machines?  There is great discussion among specialists in my field, but I like to focus on the benefits of both!

They both have certain advantages in strength training and performance. They both also have limitations.  It depends on what you have access to and where you are starting in your fitness program, if you are a professional athlete or coming off an injury, and what suits your needs.

Machines:

Whether a high performance spin bike like the cool Keiser M3 or the home gym system, Bowflex® Home Gyms or a cable systems such as Precor Exercise Equipment, offer a more controlled movement and allow for complete muscle isolation.

Machines, if used correctly, don’t have to be so intimidating.  They may be good for the novice person, or senior who has yet to establish the knowledge or the strength, to isolate the rest of their body as the base, and move the selected limb or target muscle group safely through a repetition. The motions are usually smooth and controlled.

For the experienced, machines offer a nice way to mix up the routine, avoid training plateaus, and don’t require a spotter.  They also can be used for rehabilitation if you are injured, to protect a certain joint, such as the knee or shoulder. 

Free Weights:I prefer free weight training, for it requires balance, coordination, and total body stability. More muscles throughout the entire body must be recruited to stabilize your base.  Think of your body, basically as the base or “machine”.  The feeling you get from free-weight training is much more natural.

Free-weight training offers a much larger variety of exercises that give you complete control, of speed, range of motion and the opportunity to progress the intensity of that exercise. For example, performing a simple bicep curl can be more challenging by standing on one leg, or placing a stability ball behind you with one foot, while the other foot in a deep lunge position!  This takes huge balance, strength and serious muscle stabilization. 

The equipment variety has changed greatly over the years.  You may have noticed that these days, free-weights come is many different shapes. I love to use medicine balls, kettle balls, The Body Bar and even paper plates!  I have noticed that one can achieve greater strength gains with this method of training.

Training with free-weights does require proper training and knowledge of how to perform each exercise safely! This is critical. I make sure all of my clients execute each repetition to perfection. We don’t progress up to a heavier weight or to the next level until we are both comfortable that the joints, back and extended limbs are strong. If you are attempting advance strength training, I highly recommend a spotter!

There have been numerous studies that conclude free-weights are not better than machines. They each have their role in fitness training, and I recommend getting comfortable with both. It’s also great to mix it up so you enjoy working out!