Personal Trainer| Massage Therapist| Rowan Chantal

11/27/2023

01/22/2015

Goals

Without them health and fitness is very difficult to stay motivated. If you have no goals what is the point of working out or eating healthy? If there is nothing to look forward to or work for what is the point? At first this may seem like I am going to be a debby downer...I assure you that is not my intention. Goals are the most important aspect of living and being successful. They give you a concrete object to look forward to. Goals give us something to work for. That is why setting realistic goals is very important. Some quick steps to goal setting then I will get back to the subject

S.M.A.R.T. Goals

S - Specific

Your goals have to be specific to what you want to achieve...for example if you want to take 3 minutes off of your 5k time, then maxing out on Bench Press every week probably won't help you shave those minutes down. Be as specific as you can, if running is your main goal then eat and train to meet that goal. That is not to say that weight training wouldn't help you, but just go back to what your goal is. Be specific in your goal setting and training.

M - Measurable

Make sure your goals are measurable, the more measurable they are, the easier it will be to tell how close you are to meeting them. If you set a goal such as "I want to be in better shape" or "I want to lose weight" neither of these are measurable or specific. They are both very vague. The reason your goals need to be measurable is so when you are down or having a hard time with motivation you can look back at your progress and say "Wow I have actually come really far from where I was". This can give you the nudge/motivation to get back on track.

A - Attainable

Make sure your goals are attainable. If you are just starting out with a new fitness routine and your goal is to become the next Rich Fronning (Crossfit Powerhouse) or the next Lance Armstrong (Minus the performance enhancing drugs) you will probably fall short and get frustrated. Smaller more attainable goals are going to keep you motivated and give you the drive to come back to the gym day in and day out. Once you start working towards and meeting your goals you can always reevaluate and set new ones. The reality is you could be the next Rich Fronning or Lance Armstrong, it just takes consistent work and determination.

R - Realistic

This goes along with the "A". Your goals have to be realistic with where you are at in your life. Now I don't want to discourage you, but when setting your goals you have to evaluate where you are and where you want to go. For example going back to the running goal earlier. If your goal is to shave three minutes off of your 5k time it depends on your current fitness level. If you are just starting out, shaving three minutes off of your 5k time is absolutely doable, you just have to stay consistent with your training and eat right. If you are more of an avid athlete and compete often, shaving three minutes off of your time may be a bit more unrealistic. The reason for this is the better shape you are in, the harder you have to work to reach that next level. For example, fitness is like an escalator, when you first start the stairs are moving really slow and the steps are small and it is easy to make progress, but as you increase your fitness level the stairs move faster and the upward progress gets smaller and smaller. Towards the top of your fitness escalator you have to work extremely hard to get in better shape. This is why when people say they want to "maintain" their current fitness level, I get a little confused because maintaining to me is staying the same and if you stay the same you don't make progress. If you are not progressing you regressing.

T - Time

Make sure your goals are time oriented. If you just say I want to lose weight or get in better shape these are far to vague. There is no deadline, there is no specificity. Therefore these goals are often not met. A better way to word these goals would be

"I want to lose 10 pounds in four months."

"I want to be able to do five pushups in two months/"

These goals have all of the above mentioned criteria, they are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and they both have a specific time. Now if you try these goals or similar ones and don't reach them in the allotted time frame, go back over your work. If you didn't change any of your habits and just set the goals, there is a very good chance you will never meet any goals. However if you started actively working towards them and still didn't meet them, then you would have to reevaluate your training routine and really see if what you are doing is getting you closer to the goals you set.

Thanks for reading, if you have any questions please feel free to message me.

Remember to train hard, eat right and recover quickly

01/15/2015

Do you experience lower back pain during deadliest? If so read on. During a deadlift you should feel some strain in your lower back, but not pain. The deadlift works the hamstrings, glutes, core and basically your entire back. When done correctly it is an extremely beneficial exercise for your body.
When you experience pain during the deadlift there are probably a new things to check out. First, how is your form? Is your spine straight? Are you locking everything into place? Is your core tight? Is your back arched at all? There are a variety of things that need to be addressed and looked at. If you are unsure of your form get a reputable and preferably certified individual to look at your form and get some corrections.
It has been my experience with the deadlift that one side of my lumbar erectors fatigues a lot faster than the other. This can be a little frustrating, but no one person is perfectly symmetrical. If a weakness presents itself it is up to you to fix it. if you decide to ignore it, it will not go away. It will continuously nag you until you take some time to address it and make it a strength. So for a lower back pain/strain during a deadlift I would suggest foam rolling before, after and during your sets of deadlift. This will help relieve any adhesions in the lower back and surrounding areas. if this doesn't help there are a variety of stretches that will help loosen your lower back. Most of which are too hard to explain through this post. Hit me up if you are having any of these problems and I will try to get you some more information on fixing your form. If you want you can try and send me a video of your deadlift. If you do this I will need a front, back, and both sides.
Remember if you are wanting a program that will push you to your limits and allow you to get the goals you want, then hit me up and we can get you started today!

Train Hard, Eat Healthy, and Recover Quickly

01/14/2015

Strength Exercises for a triathlete. Keep it plain and simple. The Back Squat, Deadlift and Front Squat are some of the best exercise to develop strength. These exercises use some of the biggest muscles in the body and are very demanding. If your form is correct these three exercises can almost be a full body workout (as long as from is PERFECT). Strength development should be part of every single fitness program, whether you are a marathoner, a fullback, or a nascar driver, strength will help you reach your full potential. If you are working out and not seeing any gains or simply not pushing yourself looking up a specific strength routine to help you step up your game. If you have no clue where to start, hit me up. I will be able to help you develop a strength routine that will work specifically with you and your sport.

Train Hard, Eat right, and recover quickly

01/13/2015

Okay ladies and gentlemen, this is where the rubber meets the road. I want to hear from you. Your fitness goals, questions and concerns. Ask me any question and I will do my best to answer it. I want to let you all know that I will be doing online coaching so if you are motivated and want to start getting results, give me a shout and we can get started today! I will focus on diet and exercise, but also help you set achievable goals. Goals are the best way to keep yourself motivated. With out them what are we working for? Hit me up today, remember to train hard, recover quickly and eat right.

11/25/2014

Alright folks, its time to do a little sharing of my recent athletic endeavors. I competed at the SWVA Fit-Games this past weekend. I placed Fourth overall in the RX division. For those of you that don't know about the Crossfit World, RX is where the big dogs are. It is where the top athletes compete. At first I was unsure to sign up for Scaled (which means the workouts and weight were a little easier/lighter) or RX (Big Dogs! GGRRRRR). I decided to run with the big dogs and go for RX. I had a great time and was happy with my placement.
My story of Crossfit began about two years ago. One of my friends (Tai) tried to get me to do a Crossfit workout. I tried it and at first didn't really like it. Shortly afterwards I became addicted quickly. I joined Crossfit Blacksburg. I trained with them for about six months. Their coaching and knowledge of the sport of fitness was awesome. I learned a lot. The only reason I stopped was because of the drive. It was very time consuming. I then had to keep motivated and train by myself at Floyd Fitness. I have been able to continuously push my limits and work well outside my comfort zone. I will admit there are times when it would be so much easier to not workout and go home and play with my dogs :-). The end result is no progress. Greatness lies on the road of continuous effort. Once you stop working your progress stops. Once progress stops, motivation wains and good old uncle sedentary pops in. Then all of the fun things that come from a sedentary lifestyle starts to happen. Fatigue, restless sleep, weight gain, sore joints, no desire to move. The list goes on.
So now I ask you, what drives you? What is/are some obstacle(s) that you have surmounted? What did you do to break through and reach your goals.
Your story could be the missing ingredient to start a friend/loved one/ or even a stranger on the road to success. So share it today and lets get some people motivated to be great!

11/19/2014

Hey all my fitness enthusiasts! I want to hear from you. If you have any questions about working out, diet, program design, goal setting or anything else that pops in your mind I want to know about it. Ask me questions and I'll do my best to answer them. Also you will want to stay posted because I will be starting an on going client spot light corner. I will be highlighting certain clients and their recent achievements . I hope to create a fitness community where you can share your successes and failures with your fellow fitness family. Have a great day and get those questions coming.

12/04/2012

Mizuno: Wave Elixir 7

Get ready to run loud and proud in the Mizuno Wave Elixir 7. For those of you who want to bring that animal spirit out, these are the shoes for you. The Wave Elixir is light enough for a race shoe and they offers enough support for a daily trainer. These shoes cup and support your heel so they would be ideal for anyone with a heel-strike but also have enough support in the arch for a fore-foot strike. The sole of the shoe feels like it is molded to your foot which makes for minimal to zero movement in the toe box. Unleash that inner animal and grab a pair of Mizuno Wave Elixir 7's this holiday season. Don't worry, they won't bite.

11/20/2012

Time to review The Mizuno: Wave Kizuna

This shoe is light weight and durable. The six removable studs make it easy to transition from the trail to the road. The sole of the shoe is sturdy and firm. It fits snugly around the arch and is true to size. You will look and feel fast in the black, yellow and red color scheme. The Wave Kizuno is good for any distance from a 5k to half Marathon because it doesn't offer much cushion for longer runs. Since it is a fairly stiff soled shoe it would be better to wear for races or your speed training, rather than an every day trainer. Where it lacks in cushion it makes up in stability. Once you tighten up your laces on the Wave Kizuno your foot will be in for a glove like fit and zero sliding in the toe box or forefoot area. If you are wanting to go with a more minimalist running shoe that is loud and fast. the Mizuno Wave Kizuna would be a great choice.

11/20/2012

After admitting to my addiction of running shoes, I figured the next step in my recovery process would to be to start writing reviews of them. This way I can let everyone know the benefits of new shoes. Each week I will be reviewing a new pair of running shoes, I hope my reviews will help you purchase your next pair. Feel free to ask me any questions.

10/19/2012

Here's your Friday inspiration!

10/17/2012

Lets strive for excellence!

"Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an action but a habit".

Aristotle