Question 1: Finally summer. After bearing with cool and rainy weather, we’ve finally seen some sunshine. If you’re like me, you fly through your indoor workouts so you can enjoy some of the sunshine we’ve been denied most of the spring. With that in mind, I wonder if you have some tips or ideas for things people can do outside to get a workout in? What can we do to get outdoors and maintain our fitness workouts?
Answer: You can do almost anything! Which makes staying fit fresh, exciting and challenging. Remember what it was like being a kid during the summer? Jumping in the pool, playing soccer or baseball in the yard, riding a bike? Bring back your inner kid.
Try incorporating activities like: swimming, kayaking, hiking, rock-climbing, frisbee, yoga in the park, soccer, basketball, baseball, or runs outside!
Question 2: Do you recommend doing cardio before or after weight training? I generally do about 10 minutes on the treadmill before I lift weights, then try to get another 30 minutes in afterward. Is this a good practice or should I mix that up?
Answer: You should refrain from doing cardio in excess of 5-10 before weight training. A short bout will help prime your heart, lungs, connective tissue and muscles for the work to come! Anything longer or greater intensity will begin to fatigue your muscles, making it more difficult to maintain solid form and stability, especially later in your set or if you are new to weight training. Save the tough cardio for after the weights.
In short: 5-10 minutes before is OK. More than that, wait until after!
Question 3: Warmer weather means sundresses and sleeveless shirts. Can you give us a few exercise tips to help reduce flabby arms?
Answer: Ultimately, in order to tighten and tone your muscles (no matter if it’s legs, arms, abs, etc.) your goal is to reduce overall body fat. Your best answer is to get in the gym (consistently) and start picking up some weights.
Remember that exercising muscles near the fat you want to lose does NOT help burn that fat. This has been a hot research topic in recent years, but the results show that this method does not produce the desired results. Oh well. Fat storage has more to do with stress, both intentional and unintentional, and overall health levels then the muscles you work.
Kelcie Hromisin and Matthew Dantone, dedicated fitness experts and personal trainers at Danko’s Gym in Plains Twp., are determined to help make NEPA residents healthier and more fit. Their Live Fit blog updates each Wednesday. If you have a question, reach out to them at kelciehromisin@gmail.com or matthew.dantone@gmail.com, and your question may be featured in an upcoming blog post. Live Fit, NEPA.
