The Studio Specialized Personal Training LLC

03/21/2023

Stress and lack of sleep are the biggest things sabotaging your progress.

Read.
That.
Again.

Don’t think it’s true? Decide on a sleep routine and commit to it for one month and see. Just one month.

Trust the process and see how you feel afterwards!

03/14/2023

Stop letting perfection be the enemy of good.

Your journey won’t be the same as someone else's.

Adapt. Modify. Reset.

If you’re still moving forward and trying, then you’re winning.

03/07/2023

People are like a Rubik’s cube. While exercise and nutrition is a science, COACHING them is a mix of science and art. It takes a bit of twisting and turning to get the colors to line up just right.

Even if you’re not working with a coach - a good practice to get in when you get frustrated or want to quit at something, is to pause and check in with yourself.

What do I really need right now?

Do I want to quit or am I overwhelmed (confused, feeling unheard, uncomfortable, etc)?

How will I feel tomorrow, next week, or 3 months from now if I quit?
Very rarely does someone want to actually quit working out, eating healthier, etc. Your “I can’t do this anymore” feelings are usually trying to express a need for help without knowing how to ask for it.

So next time you’re feeling like you want to quit, pause and ask yourself the above questions and see what it is you really need.

When was the last time you wanted to quit something but didn’t? How did that turn out?

02/28/2023

5 Simple Steps for Weight Loss Success

Losing weight is hard, but it doesn’t need to be complicated. If you’re unsure of how to begin your weight loss journey, start here:

Eat protein at every. single. meal.: Building each meal, snacks included, around protein helps you feel full so you’re less likely to turn to last minute impulse eating decisions. Protein also burns more calories during digestion than anything else!

Be aware of liquid calories: Soft drinks, juice, sports drinks, alcohol and creamers are the most common calorie busters in liquid form. These drinks quickly add to your total calorie consumption.

Be active: Move as often as you can. That doesn’t necessarily mean making it to the gym 5x per week. It can be simple, like walking the dog, cleaning the house, or park the car around the block or side street. These are all great forms of exercise too!

Sleep! Your body needs sleep to recover, ingrain the new movements/lessons learnt that day and rebuild. Try to be consistent with the times you go to bed and wake up.

Plan your meals for the day or better yet the week. When you’re hungry and haven’t got your meal planned you will likely end up grabbing something that doesn’t suit your goals.

Focus on these five things and you’ll be creating great habits that steer you towards weight loss success!

Want to talk about it? Like this post or drop us a message!

02/14/2023

Things don’t have to be good or bad.

There is so much power in letting things exist, simply because they do. Let’s break this down a little. Here are two different mental takes on one situation.

Let’s say Jerry is trying to reduce his alcohol intake. He is trying to build a habit of not drinking on week nights, but he has three bourbons at a business dinner on Tuesday night.

Response #1: “Oh man, this is a total failure, I hate that I did this, I’m never going to succeed at this.”

Response #2: “Okay, I know that this isn’t a part of my plan and I won’t do this tomorrow.”

One of these assigns SO MUCH extra weight to a situation that is now in the past. It is done, giving yourself a lecture will not undo whatever happened. Even if you made a big mistake, it is not beneficial to tear yourself down about it.

Let it sit, let it lie. Let it exist without piling on extra meaning.

And just keep on going!

02/07/2023

Something is better than nothing.

If you do one workout a month, you are so much better off than if you did zero workout in a month. At the end of the year, that’s 12 workouts. After 10 years, that’s 120 workouts. Will you be a bodybuilder on this path? No, you won’t. But your health will be better for it regardless.

The same principle carries over any habit you want to form. Would you progress faster if you did it more often? Yeah, probably. But still, one step is farther than no steps. In the case of working out, you still broke down your muscles and your body had to build them back up after that one workout. Even doing that just once will help keep muscle and regulate your hormones.

Let one be okay. Maybe in time one will be a gateway to two. Then two can be a gateway to three.

But for now, if one is all you have, let yourself be okay with that one.

10/03/2022

Can you turn fat into muscle?

No.

It's misinformation. Don't know where it started but people truly believe if they workout, their fat will turn into muscle.

They are two very different things.

- Muscle grows and shrinks

- Fat can come and go

Now you can grow muscle and lose fat simultaneously. But your fat does not transform into muscle.

When you workout and increase your protein intake, you will build muscle. (And no, not turn into a bodybuilder 🙄) But rather, you’ll put on a normal amount of muscle. Which is super important in being healthy.

So where does your fat go?

Well believe it or not, you breathe it away.

That doesn't mean that if you stand in a corner panting away that you will shed all your weight (you’ll just get light headed and pass out).

Exercise and proper nutrition is the ultimate Dream Team.

It's why strength training is so important regardless of your goal. Your muscles need to work to grow and become stronger, which in turn will help burn fat away.

It's why your goal shouldn't just be to lose weight, but to also get stronger. Your muscles play a significant role in keeping you healthy. So it's important you don't neglect them.

Who else has been told that fat can turn into muscle?

09/13/2022

Your scale is lying to you.
Wake up. Step on the scale. >>> Don’t like what you see.
Step off. Take off your clothes. Step back on the scale. >>> Still not what you were hoping for.
Step off. Sit on the toilet. Hop back on the scale. >>> Still. Not. Good. Enough.
Your day just started off a total disappointment, and it hasn’t even started yet...

That number means something to you. It’s important. I get that and appreciate the power that number holds even though it rarely tells the truth.

So you go through the day, trying to forget about the morning weigh-in routine. The day went well. You give yourself a high-five . It was hard, but you chose the salad at lunch, even though it wasn’t what you really wanted. You said no to the 3:30pm chocolate temptation.

Surely, surely this made a difference!

You get home and run straight for the scale, full of excitement.
“How the heck did I gain 4 Pounds?!?!?”

Cue the spiral.
You grab that chocolate bar, ditch the workout - There’s no hope and nothing you do seems to matter.

You’ve “gained weight” but lost perspective.
There are numerous reasons the number on the scale has gone up.

But here’s what you want to focus on:

Perspective.

4 pounds of fat is roughly 14,000 calories. That means you’d have to overeat by 14,000 calories OR roughly 26 Big Mac Burgers to actually gain 4 pounds of fat. The vast majority of us don’t even consume that many calories in an entire week.

The day-to-day and hour-to-hour weight fluctuations are normal parts of biology and they don’t reflect your progress. The scale merely shows you your total body mass.

You may have “gained weight” and in the process, you lost perspective.

We all know this process takes time. Some days there are steps forward. Some days there are steps back. But through it all, keep your perspective.

09/06/2022

We need to stop negotiating for junk food aka. sweets, soft drinks, desserts, cookies, frappes, beer, etc. with exercise.

You don't have to do anything to eat and drink whatever you want.

Never punish yourself with physical activity after eating something, whatever it is.

Enjoy the foods and drinks you eat and feel good about them in the moment.

Enjoy going for coffee or a few beers with friends. Food is a positive thing, especially when it involves bringing us closer together and forming human connection.

Physical activity is not a punishment.

Physical activity is done because you feel good about it, because it is fun and good for your long-term health.

Eating what we want and also exercising are two POSITIVE things we do because we feel good about it in one way or another. One doesn't have to be conditional on the other and neither should be a reward or punishment for the other.

Exercise because you feel good about it.

Treat yourself and enjoy food because you feel good about it.

Stop the self-abuse, negative self-talk, and self-inflicted punishment.
Be physically active, enjoy the foods you love often, and do what you feel good about.

08/30/2022

"You just need to eat instinctively" to stay healthy .

☝️☝️ That is a bunch of crap.

If I ate solely based on what my instincts are telling me, I'd eat pizza and Chinese food at every meal because they're obviously delicious, cheap, and require only a phone call or an online order (and that pizza would have pepperoni and mushrooms on it whether you agree with me or not!)

Think about it, your food environment is set up for you to become unhealthy:
-Candy and soda at grocery store checkout lanes
-Fast food at every intersection
-Mobile ordering for easy access
So, you have to put in conscious effort to counteract it. Since the world around you ain't gonna help you, it's your responsibility to create your own environment that helps you succeed.

I'm a big believer in taking an hour once or twice a week to prepare healthy proteins and vegetables. Once you get it done, it's like having "fast food" that works in your favor instead of against you. Another approach is to purposely double up on how much dinner you make so that you have a home cooked meal ready for lunch the next day.
The time and energy you put into your health is an investment, not a chore.

When it comes to eating healthy, what do you struggle with the most?

01/21/2021

06/15/2020

Qualifications:

Experience: Personal Training, 1 year (Recommended)

Education:
Bachelor's (Preferred), Personal Training Certification

Location:
Birmingham, AL (Preferred)

Full Job Description:

Job Type: Part-time or Full-Time available

The Studio Specialized Personal Training is looking for a certified Personal Trainer (part time and full time positions available)

Certified Personal Trainers are expected to serve clients and potential clients by presenting the following:

-A positive and encouraging attitude toward exercise and physical activity.

-Leading participants through a safe, effective, and enjoyable workout.

-Providing exceptional customer service.

-Encouraging participants to exercise regularly.

-Lead participants through a safe and effective exercise routine.

The Studio is not your average gym. We are a private, by-appointment-only fitness club who upholds the highest standards of service and training. Our trainers are team players, and are dedicated to helping people and running business smoothly.

Qualifications: Recommended

-A 4 Year college Degree (fitness related preferred)
-Current Personal Trainer Certification (required)
-Current CPR/ AED certification (required)
-Knowledge of basic principles of physical fitness and aerobic exercise (required)
-Ability to clearly describe, demonstrate, and lead participants through aerobic exercise routines utilizing your knowledge and safety skills (required)
-A positive attitude and demonstrated leadership ability
-Pay is based on experience, certifications held, and part time/full time status