Fitness

What sets Progressive Core apart from its competitors is its ability to continuously tailor its training offerings to members personalized needs:

Do you want to be optimally challenged? Challenged safely? Stave off boredom? Enjoy personalized training in a group setting?

Every workout is a personalized optimum challenge. It provides a group setting for those who need a social commitment to motivate them to continue with their workouts.   Trainers provide variety and freshness while moving members up through levels of fitness stemming boredom and helping them achieve their personal goals. Trainers follow-up with members requests personally ensuring members get the information they want to stay motivated to succeed.

Fitness Tips

1. Always focus on form and technique first to get maximum benefit of the exercise or drill
2. Train within your ability, set goals towards progression
3. Focus on a minimum of 30 minutes of exercise per day or 3.5 hours per week
4. Optimal fitness includes, resistance training, cardiorespiratory/pulmonary conditioning, strength, endurance, flexibility, rest and recovery.
5. Don’t pay too much attention to the BMI. This formula does not take into account the different sizes and shapes, lean muscle mass, and body make up on an individual level.
6. Hip to waist ratio is a good formula to use and to check regularly.
7. Resistance training helps to maintain bone mineral density and offset Osteoporosis
8. Strong cardio respiratory conditioning is more important than body fat percentage.
9. Training with bodyweight and free weights is a better way to increase overall functional strength and stability
10. Intensity and duration determine your energy system and predominately dictate your progression
11. Focus on core (hips, back, abdominals) before “beach muscles”. You can’t build a house without a foundation.
12. Bootcamps should have a focus and not be an exercise class. This style of intense training needs constant supervision from a certified trainer.
13. Educate yourself everyday by reading articles, asking questions, and being responsible.
14. Fat loss, lean muscle building and weight management is a process that involves consistency, dedication and goal setting. Health and fitness is a lifestyle, not a program.
15. There are over 20 muscle groups involved to perform  the staple, multi-joint, exercises such as squats, lunges, pushups and pull-ups. These exercises burn up to 3x as many calories compared to single joint/isolation exercises such as arm curls and crunches.
16. Genetics determines your favourite spot to store fat. The body gains  and loses weight in a systematic way. Lean people start to gain weight in the stomach and hips and as it continues, the weight gain eventually reaches the appendages (arms, legs, hands and feet). AS an individual begins to lose weight, the process is reversed and the last spot to lose is..your guessed it, the stomach and hips.
17. Use aerobic exercise to burn fat and total body weight training to raise your metabolism. Educate yourself on nutrition, get out of your “comfort zone”, and  work towards the results you desire.

Running Specific Tips

1. For optimal running performances, develop a year long training and racing plan and keep a training diary.
2. Cross training provides variety in your training regimen.  A variety of aerobic-oriented activities utilize and stress a greater muscle mass and you can achieve more balanced overall fitness.
3. Strength training - Having a strong torso helps hold your form together in the latter stages of a workout or race.
4. Strengh training improves running economy permitting faster running over the same distance with less consumption of oxygen.
5. Improved running economy means you can run for a longer time before exhaustion sets in.
6. Strength training will help improve your leg strength so that you can generate more force with each stride.
7. Strength training will help balance the fitness of all of the major running muscles of your lower body and help avoid injury.
8. Build rest into your schedule. Rest is just as important of an element as exercise in your fitness plan.
9. Vary your training routes. This will prevent boredom and prevent your body from getting acclimated.
10. Make sure your training plan is not too heavily focused on one thing. No matter what level of runner you are your plan should include four elements: endurance, speed, rest, cross-training.
11. Run on soft sufaces such as dirt tracks, grass and woodland.  This will largely reduce the impact running has on your body by cushioning your feet every time they hit the ground.
12. Stay properly hydrated.  Train carrying water/energy drinks so that you're used to it when doing races.
13. To aid recovery the most crucial time to eat and drink is in the hour immediately after you run.
14. Buy yourself some actual running shoes from an actual running store because running in junk “sneakers” will destroy your feet and your legs.
15. If you conserve your energy during the first half of a race, you can finish strong.
16. Practice running harder in the last half of your runs.