Jon-Erik Kawamoto personal trainer

Similar to being undernourished and overfed, many of us are over-read and none the wiser. Thanks to the internet, there is a plethora of fitness articles and instructional videos at our fingertips. We are bombarded daily with conflicting fitness messages…no wonder it’s so difficult to decipher the good messages from the bad. In Weekly Fitness Reads, I’ll use my best judgement and share articles that I find worthy of reading. Enjoy!

Addicted to Fatigue

by Jim Kielbaso

I had a client start with me last fall. He was working with a different personal trainer but had to make a switch because his trainer was changing his schedule. Anyway, this client only lasted for 3 sessions. He stopped training with me because my workouts weren’t hard enough. He was so used to gauging his workouts on how tired he was because his previous trainer put him through crazy-ass workouts. You see, he was training to see how tired he could make himself.

Because he was a new client, I was using a more conservative approach (that I do with all my new clients) but he wasn’t happy because I didn’t kill him.

This article, Addicted to Fatigue, echoes my thoughts 100%. With all the hype on high-intensity training, Crossfit, P90X, Insanity, etc. it’s no wonder people associate how wet their shirt is with how good their workout was.

If you’re training to just create fatigue, you’re totally missing the point of training. Training is supposed to make you move better, stronger, more mobile and healthier. Once you’ve build a solid foundation, then you can add intensity and more complex exercises. Again, don’t train to get tired. Train to get better.

Stop Working Out Like an Olympian

by Lee Boyce

My colleague and friend Lee Boyce wrote this fantastic article for Esquire. He lists very important points to consider when choosing exercise programs and exercises. I really enjoyed this article.

Does Cardio Make You Fat?

by James Fell

Even though I write for many fitness magazines and websites, that doesn’t mean I agree with all the messages or articles they publish. Last week, a website I’ve contributed to before, T-Nation, published an article called Regular Cardio Will Make You Fat. These types of titles (which are chosen to pull you in) drive me nuts. James (a nationally syndicated fitness columnist for the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times) wrote this awesome article refuting this bold claim. Tons of great and real information here.

I also wrote an article for Bodybuilding.com last summer defending cardiovascular exercise called Why the Word Cardio Doesn’t Make Sense. You can read it here.

That’s it for this week. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Tara Stuckless

Personal Strength Training by Thomas King

I heard really good things about it from my sister, and I could see the positive results she was getting. I needed to do something. I was overweight, depressed, and recovering from a back injury. I had reached a point where simply getting up out of a chair was becoming difficult. I knew that if I didn’t do something about it my senior years would be very burdensome to the people close to me. I’m so glad I did! After just a few weeks my day-to-day pain was drastically reduced, and my mobility increased. I had the confidence to try sea kayaking, and I now play ice hockey twice a week!

The key difference is the expertise. The trainers know the gym equipment and the exercises, but they also have degrees in kinesiology, and can apply what they know to your workout. As someone who was in poor physical condition starting out, I was worried about hurting myself. Previously I tried an outdoor weekly bootcamp and injured my knee by pushing too hard. The trainers at JKC constructed a program that started at the right level for me, evolving it as I grew stronger and more fit. I feel well looked after.

Chris Stratton

I had been struggling with work-life balance resulting in not exercising or playing hockey as much as I had been doing in the past. In addition to being out of shape, I was starting to experience some back/shoulder issues and realized I needed to make some changes. Around this time, a friend (who was also a client) recommended JKC and that’s when I started!

You really feel part of a community where everyone is welcoming and supportive. You get a program that is designed specifically to achieve your goals, with the ongoing coaching, progress tracking and support required to achieve them. The JKC team are very knowledgeable about fitness and conditioning, and very engaging with everyone to answer questions or discuss anything and everything training related. I also like the flexible scheduling and gym times that work for my schedule (I like early mornings and evenings).

Bruce Dyke

Personal Strength Training by Jon-Erik Kawamoto

JKC is different from other gyms/fitness regimes I have tried in the past because of my level of comfort with the facility and other JKC clients and the amount of knowledge both Jon and Thomas demonstrate through personal attention to form, core development and overall strength is outstanding. JKC is by far the best training hands on attention that I’ve experienced period and I have experienced many over a lifetime of activity and playing various sports. The facility has everything you require plus, as you will learn there are many ways to use every piece of equipment and Jon and Thomas are very creative! There are many age groups and professions who attend this gym from elite athlete’s to the rest of us and the casual but focused atmosphere in the gym makes each visit interesting, friendly and challenging at all levels.

Erin Squarey

I had signed up for other gyms in the past and never went or rarely went. Something always got in the way or I was just too tired and lacked motivation to go. This way I’ve made a commitment to Jon or Thomas and I try very hard to keep my sessions once I’ve booked in. JKC is different from other gyms that I’ve tried in the past because no one is there to be “seen”. We are all there to get a good workout in and go on with our lives. And it’s a small gym so you get to know everyone and it’s like a big family. When I joined JKC, I couldn’t do a chin up with an elastic band, but I’ve slowly worked up to 10 free hanging chin ups. That was big because I hate chin ups.

Matt Garvin

I had spent a fair bit of time in gyms in my teens and twenties but I turned away from the gym to focus on activities that I enjoyed more. What keeps me at JKC is that I do really enjoy it. I always feel that I’ve accomplished something when I leave at the end of my workout. The environment is really positive and focused on challenging yourself whatever your level of comfort and fitness. I’ve also seen results that I’m really happy with; having someone who really knows what they’re talking about to guide your workouts makes them way more effective and focused than just “going to the gym”.

Shortly after I started at JKC, I sustained a fairly major injury that took me off my feet for several months. When I started to get back to activity, it was very difficult. Jon and Thomas worked hard to tailor my workouts to my goals and what I could do. With their help, I’ve been steadily building back strength and function.

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Weekly Fitness Reads Feb 23-2014

By Jon-Erik Kawamoto »