Reviewed by: Melinda, ID

I am very impressed with My Gym Trainer 3. For someone who enjoys exercise, I love the way it has a different workout every day, targeting different areas each day. I also love that it has tips and facts throughout the book.

The pictures are very helpful and the core workouts seem challenging but achievable. I would use this product with a few of my own variations. One downfall is that it can be very difficult to get to the gym 6 days a week.

It would also be helpful to have a few examples of meal ideas and types of foods that should be eaten with each workout day. Overall, the My Gym Trainer seems like a great tool to help tone and achieve a peak fitness level and I am excited to see the results!

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CLICK HERE to purchase My Gym Trainer! For more information, visit: http://www.mytrainerfitness.com

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Stretching is very important, but it should be done when muscles are warmed up, preferably during or after a workout.

Your daily workout cards do not include stretching, however it is highly recommended that you incorporate at least five minutes of stretching at the end of each workout.

Many people have favorite stretches that work best for them and their body. So, feel free to create your own stretching routine or follow the simple guidelines for stretching positions.

There are three kinds of stretches: Dynamic, Static and Isometric.

Dynamic Stretching involves gentle stretches while in motion; no bouncing or forcing. This is the only type of stretch that should be performed before your workout.

Static Stretches are characterized by stretching slightly past the point of comfort without injury, and then holding it. These should not be particularly painful but will definitely elicit a stretch. Hold 10-30 seconds for each stretch.

Isometric Stretches involve the pressing or pulling against a solid and immovable object and is considered one of the most effective forms of stretching. For example, pulling or pushing against a wall, doorway or bar; using the ground to push against while in a lunge position to stretch the calves. The idea is to use leverage to “pull” or “push” yourself into a more intense stretch than could naturally be achieved with bodyweight alone.

Yoga is a great way to stretch and relax and incorporates all three of these stretching techniques. A good yoga class at least once a week can be a great addition to any exercise regimen and should leave your body feeling very relaxed and well-balanced, while aiding the recovery of muscles you have worked during the week. Flexibility training elicits a feeling of rejuvenation and more importantly—aids in the nourishment of muscles and soft tissues by increasing bloodflow and nutrients to these areas for optimum strength, function and body composition.

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In traditional machine and weight exercise routines, exercisers rest for minutes at a time in between sets of a specific exercise. If you want to be more efficient with time while burning more fat, Circuit Training is the way to go.

Circuit Training describes a way of moving through exercises that maximizes fat-burning and cardiovascular training by keeping the heart rate and breathing up throughout the workout. When performing “circuits,” you will never find yourself sitting on a machine and resting (wasting) minutes at a time. Instead, each circuit containing 2-4 exercises is designed so that you move from one exercise to the next with virtually no rest in between.

In a Circuit, you perform a given number of repetitions for Exercise 1 and from there immediately go to Exercise 2 for the given number of repetitions, then onto Exercise 3 and so on. Once you complete the first “set” (each exercise done once for the applicable number of repetitions), go back to the beginning and start on Set #2 with Exercise 1, repeating the entire cycle,  usually 3-4 times.

In My Gym Trainer, each workout card will indicate how many sets (or times through each exercise) it should be performed. It’s okay to drink water and take short rests when necessary, but try your best to keep moving.

The idea behind circuit training is to keep the heart rate elevated throughout the workout to maximize cardiovascular conditioning, while also maintaining some lactic acid in the muscles to create a burn.

Lactic acid release is critical in forcing the body to respond, as its accumulation assures that the muscle is being sufficiently worked; so don’t be afraid of the “burn.” Doing a workout that allows for very little rest guarantees a somewhat constant stream of lactic acid accumulation in varying degrees. However, because you are doing different exercises back to back, there is some relief in that synergistic muscles are working, but at different angles.

Overall, circuit-style training can boost fat-burning effects while saving time and improving  the cardiovascular effects of resistance training.

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A favorite salad from a favorite store, is dandelion salad from Whole Foods Market’s Recipes.

Easy to make and rich in vitamins and minerals, dandelion greens are also relatively inexpensive yet pack a powerful anti-oxidant punch for strengthening the immune system.  A virtual pharmacopeial treasure chest, dandelions are known as a digestive-supporting herb.  They increase bile flow in the liver, which promotes digestion of fats and absorption of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, K and E. 

Dandelion leaves, flowers and even the roots have been used for centuries in herbal teas as a medicinal plant.  Today, dandelion parts turn up in coffee substitutes, and even wine. Dandelions are rich in the minerals potassium, iron, calcium and magnesium.  They contain nature’s highest level of vitamin A, as well as many B vitamins important for energy metabolism.  As with all vegetables, they are a great source of fiber.

Dandelion Greens with Warm Balsamic Vinaigrette
Serves 6 to 8
Make sure to serve these dandelion greens right after tossing them in the warm garlic-infused vinaigrette.

Ingredients
2 1/2 pounds dandelion greens
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/4 cup hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Method
Trim off thickest part of the stems and discard along with any tough leaves. Roughly chop remaining greens and transfer to a large salad bowl.

Heat oil in a small heavy skillet over low heat. Add garlic and hazelnuts and cook, stirring frequently, until garlic is golden. Stir in vinegar and salt and pepper.

Pour hot vinaigrette over greens and toss to combine. Serve immediately.

Nutrition
Per Serving (174g-wt.): 140 calories (70 from fat), 8g total fat, 1g saturated fat, 5g protein, 16g total carbohydrate (6g dietary fiber, 7g sugar), 0mg cholesterol, 290mg sodium
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/recipe.php?recipeId=681

DISCLAIMER:
We’ve provided this special diet and nutritional information for educational purposes. But remember — we’re not doctors and this is information, not professional advice! You should follow the advice of your health-care provider. And since product formulations change, check product labels for the most recent ingredient information.

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My Gym Trainer workouts are for anyone who is a relative beginner to gym exercise and who:

 - Wants to get the most out of their gym membership
 - Wants to improve their physical appearance, conditioning and health
 - Wants to improve their emotional and mental well-being
 - Wants to feel better about themselves and their life
 - Has reached a plateau and is ready for a new challenge
 - Can’t afford a personal trainer but would like the benefits
 - Utilizes a personal trainer and wants additional professional workouts

In addition, My Gym Trainer is very useful for busy trainers as a handy, at-your-fingertips integrated workout program they can incorporate for new clients.

My Gym Trainer:
 - Provides six workouts per week, averaging an hour each.
 - Structures workouts for best results: approximately 50% cardiovascular and 50% strengthening and toning.

CLICK HERE to purchase My Gym Trainer!

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By Jill Coleman

Women love to lift light pink weights to prevent bulking up.  As a trainer, I personally savor the moment when a female client comes to me and says that she doesn’t like to lift heavy weights because she doesn’t want to get “big” or because her “legs get big really quickly with weights” or some similar precaution.  These comments from women excite me because it means that I get the chance to change their perspective and show them amazing results with challenging, heavy weight—results they never dreamed of: inches lost, improved energy, better sleep quality, increased sexual drive, stress dissipation, improved self esteem and sense of empowerment.  I usually begin by saying that I guarantee that without challengingly heavy weight they will not see a single change in their physique, period.  They can literally do hundreds and hundreds of reps with light weight and end up with no curves, no definition, no cuts, and no inches lost to show for it.

The problem with light weights

In general, 90% of female gym-goers unknowingly train for endurance by doing things like jogging on the treadmill, zoning out on the elliptical or taking a 60-minute Power Pump “toning” class.  Essentially, in my opinion, lifting light weights for reps on end is the same thing as jogging, i.e. applying a light stimulus for a longer duration (endurance training).  Interestingly, 90% of female gym-goers are wanting fat loss, and yet they are training for endurance; in other words, they doing long, slow workouts with light-to-moderate resistance in order to be able to maintain a steady exertion for the duration of the workout.  If it is fat loss we want, why are we not training ourselves for it???

Hour-long toning classes require the participant complete hundreds of reps, with the goal of increasing weight lifted, all the while performing the same exercises.  Though incremental increases in weight are a great way to increase intensity, how much weight can you really add when you are expected to complete 100 reps with it?  Moreover, you are always doing the same exercises, class after class, to which we know that our bodies adapt more and respond less (i.e. burn less calories, build less muscle, release fewer amounts of fat-burning hormones) over time.

Furthermore, besides being a ridiculously-inefficient use of time, lifting with a weight light enough to complete sets of 30, 40 or even 50 reps elicits a very different hormonal response than that of heavier, more intense training.  At the physiological level, completing hundreds of reps using pink dumbbells essentially does the same thing as jogging in terms of the hormonal response.  It increases the stress hormones cortisol and epinephrine, but without the complementary release of fat-burning hormones like growth hormone, testosterone and even lactic acid, which acts as a chemical messenger in the fat-burning process.   The low-intensity resultant hormonal soup promotes muscle break-down and potentially even fat storing in the middle (cortisol is known as the “belly fat” hormone).  Doing these kinds of workouts day after day promotes stripping of muscle, not building.  The stimulus used is never enough to promote growth and development.  The only way to increase fat-burning while building muscle is to lift heavy weights, preferably quickly and get more done in less time.

Why lift heavy

In the “My Gym Trainer” books, we encourage you to train with challengingly heavy weights.  Here’s why:

Contrary to what many trainers may say, bulking up does happen, however it is not what you think it is.  It occurs when muscle is built underneath layers of fat, without any attention paid to fat-burning.  Thus, you appear larger.  By now we know that we must lift heavy weights to elicit any physique change, but we also need to burn fat simultaneously to lose inches and gain more definition.  Most educated personal trainers know that in order to increase fat-burning during and after the workout, you must breach your anaerobic threshold.  In other words, when lifting, you must get breathless, you must get burning in your muscles (signals lactic acid accumulation) and you must lift heavy enough weight to reach the point of mechanical muscle failure.  There should be no fear of bulking up when fat-burning is being maximized.

Lifting heavy weights to the point of muscle failure, in general, enhances the release of testosterone, which when increased naturally through weight training will increase fat-burning in women (one of the reasons men are leaner than women).  Lifting heavy enough to generate a strong burning in the muscles enhances the release of human growth hormone, which also aids in fat burning and has female-friendly anti-aging benefits.

Finally, adding lean muscle mass will enhance your fat burning potential while you are not working out.  A pound of muscle burns 15-30 calories per day at rest, while a pound of fat burns 2-5 calories; it’s a no-brainer of which composition is more desirable.  More muscle makes us more metabolically active. Furthermore, a pound of fat takes up more physical space than a pound of muscle.  So, burning fat and increasing lean muscle will NOT create bulk, but instead strip inches creating a lean, tight, defined physique, not to mention your clothes hanging off you.

Build Muscle, Burn Fat and Lose Inches with My Gym Trainer

So how do you do this?  First, stop doing “toning” workouts. If you can complete 50 reps without stopping, you are not “toning,” you are wasting both muscle and time.  Using the workouts contained in “My Gym Trainer,” choose a weight that elicits failure by the last rep.  For example, if the workout calls for 10 reps, choose a weight with which you can barely complete 10 reps, and definitely not 11.  Next, maximize your time in the gym by training quickly, sticking to less than 60 seconds between sets.  Workout sessions (cardio OR weight training) should be no longer than 35-40 minutes in duration for best results.  Long rest periods between sets is power lifting and does not burn fat. 

“My Gym Trainer” uses circuit training.  You have 3-4 exercises per circuit, through which you move quickly from exercise to exercise with little-to-no rest.  The workouts in MGT are designed this way in order to keep the heart rate up and generate a greater lactic acid burn in the muscles because there will be less time for the burn to dissipate between sets.   My Gym Trainer offers tons of variety in the exercises in order to keep the body responsive.  Compound movements like pull-ups, squats, lunges, push-presses, rows and bench presses use multiple muscle groups across several joints.  The more muscle tissue recruited by an exercise, the larger the metabolic effect of the workout. 

Go heavy and leave the pink to the babies!  We would love to hear from you, and about your My Gym Trainer experience!  info@mytrainerfitness.com

CLICK HERE to purchase My Gym Trainer!

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By Keith T. Barber and Jordan Green

Not all personal training certifications are equal.

My Gym Trainer is the best option for someone who wants the quality of workouts achieved by hiring a personal trainer without the cost.

The workouts contained here were designed by Jill Coleman, an American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)-certified personal trainer.

Jill also holds a bachelors degree in Exercise Science, which is something you, as a consumer, should look for when evaluating who to listen to in the fitness world.

Other top fitness certifications include those from the National Sports and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM).

CLICK HERE to purchase My Gym Trainer!

For more information, visit: http://www.mytrainerfitness.com

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