My name is Josh but you probably figured that out. I am closer to 40 than I am to 30 and I haven’t decided whether or not Ill update that in a timely fashion. I am a musician turned fitness nerd. I am a Certified Personal Trainer and Group Exercise Instructor through ACE Fitness. I have a 200-hour Yoga Certification through Yoga Renew. I am plant based but you don’t have to be. I am not a huge fan of the wellness industry as it exists so I am doing my best to buck the trends. Most of what I have to teach you probably already know. I am here to help cut through the chaos and distractions and help you achieve your goals and build a healthier lifestyle. Everything I do is backed up with established research. My fitness approach can be summed up in the acronym
Nutrition Strength Habits Awareness Program and Endurance
Strength training focuses on the development of Strength, Power and Performance. This modality will focus mainly on weight lifting with heavier weights at lower rep ranges. Most of the work will be done under the barbell. Strength training is great for the development of mobility, flexibility, and strength. This modality does not lend itself to weight loss as adding muscle requires a calorie surplus. This modality is also light on cardiovascular work as long bouts of steady state cardio can be counterproductive to strength gains. However strength is great place to start if you want to work on body composition.
What is hypertrophy? Hypertrophy is the increase in volume or size of an organ or in our case, muscle. How is that different that Strength training? While strength focuses on the ability to lift more weight effectively, hypertrophy focuses on the actual growth of the muscle. The goal is often more aesthetic than performance related but there are health and performance benefits to hypertrophy training. Hypertrophy Training will also focus on weight lifting in higher rep ranges and lower weights and we will utilize more machine and dumbbell movements than Strength Training. Depending on your goals, weight loss is often a part of Hypertrophy Training but it is used in cycles and in counterpoint to weight gain.
HIIT or High Intensity Interval Training is a fun and efficient exercise modality. The idea behind HIIT is to increase your heart rate for short intervals and then let your body recover before repeating the cycle. It can be done with or without equipment, in your home or at the gym and can be modified to fit your needs and fitness levels. It is often done in a circuit which is why I included that modality here. By combining a variety of movements in series we are able to create workouts targeted to meet your goals. HIIT can be a great addition to a weight loss plan.
Don’t know where to start but know you need to do something? That’s fine lets build a program that helps you improve your health and fitness. There’s no reason we have to pick one paradigm or modality. Consistency is what’s important and adherence is how we achieve our goals.