During these times, it's important to be able to workout anywhere. Gyms are closed or open with restrictions. But we still need to stay in shape. How can this be done and how can we keep the workouts fun and interesting? There's more to it than just saying to do 100 squats, 100 pushups, 100 sit ups a day. Sure that may work for a bit and you may even get some decent results from that. But eventually you'll get pretty bored and stale on that.    A big part of keeping things fresh and to get better results is to change the…

Forms practice is a very large part of the traditional martial arts. They serve many purposes. One is that in the old days it served as a glossary of the techniques of a martial art. The majority of the population was illiterate at that time and forms were a way to physically pass down the techniques and spirit of a martial art. Another is that it helps to ingrain the techniques into your subconscious improving muscle memory. And a third is that they are good exercise and in fact great for cardio as well as coordinating the body.   However for our…

This is a bodyweight workout that can be done anywhere with just a bit of floor space. There are four major categories of exercises that all need to be trained for a balanced workout. They are  1. Squats 2. Upper Body Push 3. Upper Body Pull 4. Core Work   At least one exercise from  each category should be done. In this case I've done three from each. Here's a full list of the exercises.  1. Squats 2. Beat Your Boots Squats 3. Wideouts / Pop Squats 4. Pushups 5. Hindu Pushups 6. Knuckle Pushups 7. Swimming 8. Renegade Rows 9. Body Rows (Lebert Equalizers) 10. Spiderman Climb 11. Frog Crunch 12. Side Plank Raise   Click below to see the workout. https://youtu.be/Wd1OHc7yWrU And send…

One of the less glamourous, but certainly essential elements of fitness, is body alignment. My first gym I trained at was Mack's Gym in Toronto which was run by Mack Miya. He was one tough SOB and was a very old school trainer. His philosophy was that you had no business handling any weight unless your alignment was spot on. So in order to teach me, he had me doing squats with a broomstick. This seemed very unusual to me at the time and I didn't understand it, but as the years went by I truly appreciated it since I've…

With almost everyone at home now, having workouts you can do regardless of equipment is essential. Here's a workout you can do requiring only a small floor space and the will to get it done. It's a circuit workout that can be done for either 2 or 3 rounds depending on your fitness level. Don't worry about rushing through it. Just go at your own pace and do the exercises properly with correct focus. For more information about this or other health and fitness related questions, click here

We're living in very unusual times to say the least! With things being locked down, gyms closed, restaurants closed, theaters closed, travel being extremely restricted, our lives have been turned completely upside down. There is light at the end of the tunnel and I'm confident that 2021 will slowly see improvements to allow us to return to normal. But one undeniable fact is that this past year with so many people living sedentary lifestyles, has seen a lot of unhealthy weight gain. I personally know some people who've packed on 25 lbs or more this past year. Normally one's day…

This was the first workout of my 50th year after my recent 49th birthday. It's a full body dumbbell workout that can be done either at home or at the gym. Here are the exercises along with the number of sets.   SUPERSETS (4 sets) Bench Press Bentover Row   TRISET (3 sets) Side Swings (invented by Vince Gironda) Bicep Curls Tiger Pushups   Goblet Squats (8 sets) Inchworm to Mountain Climbers (3 sets)   This was a great workout and an awesome way to start my 50th year! For more information, click here  

Here's a bodyweight circuit that can be done at home with minimal or zero equipment. For these exercises I used a doorway chinup bar, a pair of Lebert Equalizers, and a stability ball. However these can be modified to be done with things you have at home already. This is done for either 2 or 3 circuits and the reps are counted for this one. Timing your sets can work well sometimes, but it can encourage poor form sometimes. Therefore I generally favour counting reps over timing. Anyway here are the exercises along with the video. For more information on…

Here's a full body workout using just your bodyweight. With a lot of restrictions at gyms right now and home gym equipment being hard to find, we all need simple minimal workouts like this! Here are the exercises.   Jumping Jacks Squats Pushups Peeing Dog To Donkey Kicks Spiderman Mountain Climbers Crunches Superman   Do a total of two or three circuits. Each exercise in the circuit is done back to back. After this, do the Qigong finishing exercises and closing For more information about these exercises or for personal training, click here

I had the whole place to myself. Now with the new Covid regulations, you have to book your time now and I guess no one else did! Anyway here were the exercises. I just did straight sets today (no supersets or circuits)    Cable Pulldowns Dips Lateral Raises Dumbbell Curls Knuckle Pushups Goblet Squats One arm kettlebell swings.   For more health and fitness tips or for information about In-Home or Online Personal Training, click HERE

One of my favourite methods of fitness training is by using Fitness Challenges. I mean everyone loves a challenge, right?! There are a number of ways to do it, but to me the best way is to use either reps or distance. If you're using reps, then pick a number like 300, 400, or 500. Then pick some exercises and an appropriate number of reps so they'll add up to the total number.    For distance, take something like a football field or perhaps a large parking lot. Cover the distance with various drills. They could be anything. My martial arts teacher…

I love HIIT training (High Intensity Interval Training)! It can be done with just your bodyweight and the will to get it done. For this workout we have 9 exercises, each one done for 30 seconds of work followed by 15 seconds of rest, and a total of 3 rounds. It works great. The exercise are   Burpees Pushups Squats Speed Skaters Renegade Rows Mountain Climbers  Ape Crawl Bear Crawl Crab Crawl For more Information about Online or In-Home Personal Training, click here  

We all know about the importance of core training. The health of your lower back, posture, and overall health make it essential. So how do we go about training it? There are three methods to train the core.    1. Core Stability 2. Core Contraction 3. Core Rotation   Although they are all important, by far the most important of the three is the Core Stability. Planks and variations of it is the best way to train this. This will also lay the foundation for the other two. The problem when people try to do Core Contraction exercises without sufficient stability is that the hip flexors…

Here's an at-home bodyweight workout. I did use a set of chest expanders. However that could be modified for other bodyweight only exercises. Chest expanders are a very underused piece of equipment and I always bring them with me when I travel due to their light weight and portability. Anyway watch the video to see the workout!   And for more information about Online or In-Home Personal Training, click here

This is a killer workout I learned of recently from my Boxing coach. It's called the Walkin' 25s. Here's how it works. It's a circuit with several exercises done back to back and done in a ladder format. With ladders the reps for each exercise increase by 1 with each subsequent circuit. Start with 1 and increase all the way up to 25. After every 5 sets some of the exercises change, but there are some that remain the same all the way through. You can of course change the exercises, but for the example in this post, the exercise that stay the…

We're living in a very chaotic time right now. In December , nobody knew what the Coronavirus was and now it's all over the news in what seems reminiscent of the Spanish Flu of the early 20th Century. We will get through this with positivity, social distancing, and being careful and responsible. In the meantime however, managing stress is super important. And one of the best ways I know of is through Qigong Meditation. I've practiced it for many years now and it's really helped me at particularly stressful points in my life.   There are many ways of practicing this. It…

We are currently dealing with the Coronavirus Pandemic which is leaving a huge number of people stuck indoors at home with nowhere to go. Unfortunately this is just something that we all have to deal with. However that doesn't mean that your fitness has to suffer. In fact, some of my best workouts ever have been right in the comfort of my own home. And of course as an in-home personal trainer, I train people exclusively in their homes. But for those of you who are accustomed to the gym and need to have some at-home workouts, here they are.   One…

There are tons of different opinions on this. All I can do is give you my opinion as well as the reasons behind it. Hopefully it will make sense to you. It certainly does to me, but you'll have to decide.   So to start with, I remember I used to work at a gym where there was this other trainer about the same age as me. He always changed his client workouts every workout. I don't know if I every saw his clients doing the same thing twice. He would justify it by saying that it's for muscle confusion and to…

There is a lot of confusion about what makes a good workout program. Unfortunately part of the problem is just plain old misinformation. I'm sure you've heard the terms "toning" and "shaping". But the fact is that both of those terms are meaningless, and there have been countless people who've simply done poor ineffective workouts in the name of shaping and toning.   You have control over exactly two things as far as your muscles and body composition are concerned. They are: 1) BUILDING MUSCLE 2) LOSING FAT   When people look at a so-called toned body, they are looking at someone who has added muscle…

The youth of today are our future of tomorrow. Therefore it's  super important for them to be healthy and fit. There are of course many distractions that exist today that didn't when I was a kid. Internet, video games, social media, etc. Unfortunately as a result of this, kids are now more sedentary than they've ever been before. So there's the problem.   HOW DO WE GET KIDS INTERESTED IN FITNESS?   Of course as I'm sure you already know, people won't do something unless it's fun. Hardly a revelation, but it still needs to be pointed out. Personally I think the best way is…