A Guide to Home Gym Equipment

A Guide to Home Gym Equipment From Pull up Bars to Smart Watches: Basic Gym Equipment for Every Need ChaptersWhat Gym Machines Should we use in Personal Training?Fitness Gadgets to Get the Most out of your TrainingThe Best Sports Watches 2018 for Getting FitWhether you are an expert personal trainer or beginner, this article will help you to meet your students' demands and get them to meet their fitness goals.  Are you a fitness amateur looking to see results and learn the right movements?  Superprof is here to help you choose the best gym equipment according to your fitness goals (muscle gain, weight loss or cardiovascular reinforcement).Going to the gym and not knowing where to start can be completely discouraging. However, with the right personal trainer and gym machines, you will become a pro in no time. (Source: Visual Hunt)Certain personal training sessions can be done with very little or no fitness equipment.  This will give you even more excuses to avoid the judgemental stares at the gym and do your own at home exercises. This article will give you all the secrets to get bac k in shape without spending loads of cash.  Of course there  are many other versatile exercises to tone that bottom, however, they require other kinds of  fitness accessories  such as squat racks, and  steppers  that can be found in most gyms. Such  exercises include kick-backs with the help of dumbbells and step-ups  that can be done on any sort of elevated platform.If you want more exercise ideas and the best assets around, take a look at Fitness Magazine's  Top 10 Exercises to Tone Your Butt. You'll have the best bottom in no time!Superprof's exercise pick:  Swimming! When people ask me what my favourite physical activity is, I always say swimming. You do not need to be an elite  Olympic  athlete to enjoy swimming. It's liberating, effective and free of any traumatizing injuries. Swimming is a total body workout  that helps you burn that cellulite, works a great number of muscles and relieves tension thanks to the massage-like feeling of water on the body.Swimming is a love of mi ne that deeply works your muscles and helps you shed the extra pounds without many aches and pains after. (Source: Visual Hunt)Should a Personal Trainer use Home Gym Equipment?We saw it above,  gym equipment  and  weight machines are interesting because they permit us to isolate and work out certain muscle groups. If we told you could become your own personal trainer and have your our own home gym using everyday objects, would you believe us?Personal trainers are physical training experts. Many have attained a BTEC National Vocational Diploma and achieved a Level 2 Gym Instructor Qualification. Trainers also possess the First-Aid Certificate in case any clients suffer from an injury while training. They are extremely experienced in the physiology and anatomy of the human body. They are there to help you reach your fitness objectives and teach you what sports equipment is best for your situation. They are also instructed to show you useful movements without the use of commercial fitn ess  equipment.Many fitness classes (abdominals, muscle gain and toning, cardio), water aerobics or pilates can be done without the use of any training  equipment.  In most cases, all you need are some a good floor or yoga mats, a towel and your favourite energy drink. Let us never forget that a good fitness program needs good quality nutrition and hydration to keep you in shape and give you the rest you need in between training sessions.The following low budget home gym equipment can produce amazing results:A skipping ropeResistance bandsAbdominal crunch machines; to help you do efficient abdominal exercises without the back painIt is also very possible to use everyday objects such as a bed, dining chairs, a bench or even a wall in your flat to do your exercises. Greatist has released an amazing article depicting  50 bodyweight exercises you can do anywhere. These exercises are designed for at home personal training without using specialized  gym equipment.Personal training: the pe culiar case of the abdominalsAbdominals should be treated on their own because they can easily be done with or without fitness equipment.Crunches  are the most popular abdominal exercises done in personal training or fitness classes. They are usually done with your own body weight, without any gym weights.  It is crucial to hold your head up with both hands as you lift your chest up and down.Another effective abdominal exercise is the sit-up.  It is an easy and effective movement to tone those abs. It consists of moving your upper body up and down while lying on your back with your legs folded.Sit-Ups are great because they can easily be done without the use of gym equipment. (Source: Visual Hunt)Men's Journal recommends doing  Flutter Kicks  as an interesting and effective abdominal workout. Flutter Kicks are not violent and they get you that six pack you've always wanted. Caution needs to be demonstrated during this exercise because if you lower your legs too far you could easily hurt your back.There you have it, whether you use equipment or not, there is a little something for everyone's personal training style. What makes a good personal trainer? Adaptability, realizing that every single client is unique and has their own needs.Fitness Gadgets to Get the Most out of your TrainingProposing a high-quality personal training program with effective exercises and realistic objectives requires planning. But sometimes, what separates a decent personal trainer from a FANTASTIC personal trainer is the material they use and the data they have at their disposal...Therefore, for an even more effective training program, why not use all the statistics that fitness trackers can offer?Calories burntRunning timeAverage speedHeart rateSleep quality...The data provided by these fitness trackers are very diverse and allow you to get the best out of your workout. They also permit you to retrieve all the useful and  functional  training information you need on an app. Everything is then transferred to your smartphone, tablet or computer.This allows any gym trainer  or fitness enthusiast, keep track of their progress, strengths, and weaknesses. A fitness tracker is an ideal complement to an enhanced  workout that makes  exercising more fun!No need to go to the gym anymore, get an online personal trainer.Gadgets and Wearables has a great list of  best fitness trackers and health gadgets for 2018.Apple Watches and Fitness Tracking Bracelets can help you get the most out of your workout.The Best Sports Watches 2018 for Getting FitAlright so you get the point: fitness trackers are a great complement to a complete workout.  However if you a little extra cash and want to invest more (you can never invest enough in good quality products), you should go ahead, treat yourself, and buy a smartwatch!Buying one, for the simple love of watches and the latest technology, can be a good idea, but a smartwatch is more sophisticated, precise and advanced than a fitness track er. Smart watch functions include:GPSPedometerGyrometerBlood oxygen sensorIntegrated sports programsCompassAltimeter...Many technology brands now specialize in smart watches, such as Garmin or Fitbit (we cannot neglect to mention the Apple Watch or even Samsung for that matter). Nevertheless, if you like an old classic and are afraid of buying from a brand you've never heard before, don't fret because well-known watch companies now offer a wide variety of models:Fassil,Casio,Tag Heuer...Now if you want more effective fitness training, it's completely up to you to discover the various functions of your new smart watch!

The Art of Being Productive in High School to be a More Attractive College Applicant (Part 2)

The Art of Being Productive in High School to be a More Attractive College Applicant (Part 2) ACT SAT Prep and College Admissions Blog In our last blog post on this topic, we explored why today’s high school students must be so productive in high school. Getting good grades isn’t quite enough anymore. You need to show a variety of interests and ideally achieve leadership positions outside the classroom to maximize your chances of admission to a top college. We offered a six-step process to being more productive in high school: Identify the activities and subjects you value and are genuinely interested in Identify key areas of alignment between what you value and what colleges would also value to create “leverage” Set goals and build a plan to meet them Get organized Prioritize and re-prioritize Get help when you need it In this blog post, we explore each step in more detail. Identify the activities and subjects you value and are genuinely interested in. The first step in becoming more productive is to think about what you value and enjoy. If you are trying to get the most out of each year of high school, a major consideration should be your personal preferences. You want to do things you enjoy with people you like hanging out with. If you enjoy writing or taking pictures, the yearbook or school newspaper is a good option. Obviously, there are lots of different sports to consider. It’s also important to think about which subjects you’ll target for more advanced study (i.e., AP classes, etc.). If you’ve always been pretty good at math, then make an actual or mental note that AP calculus is in your future. If you don’t like reading or writing, consider for now that perhaps AP English isn’t for you. At this stage, it’s just important to realize that, for better or worse, it’s important to be involved in a range of activities during high school, and you want to build a list of what interests you and put yourself in a position to take a leadership role in some of them eventually. At the same time, you want to take a reasonably challenging academic course load that you can both handle and do extremely well in. Identify key areas of alignment between what you value and what colleges would also value to create “leverage.” Next, and this is perhaps new to some students, you want to think about how those activities fit into a normal high school or college curriculum. This should start with an understanding of the primary importance of GPA, but with the sometimes-contradictory secondary importance of taking advanced, difficult, challenging classes. In other words, you’d be well served to get a perfect, 4.0 GPA. If you take all average classes though, and never take an honors or AP class, that 4.0 GPA is worth a lot less. On the other hand, when I was in high school, I loaded myself up with tons of AP and honors classes, and then didn’t put in the work â€" and perhaps really didn’t have the time - to get enough A’s. I was left with an “OK” GPA matched with a long list of challenging classes. That’s not ideal either. You want to look at your course of study and put your potential classes into categories: Required, core classes that you must do well in Optional classes that you choose, and again expect to do quite well in More advanced classes that you know will be a challenge, but which help your academic resume look challenging and impressive You’ll want a mix of courses across those categories. Next, consider the extracurricular activities in which you are interested, and note what opportunities might exist to build your resume while also covering required academic requirements. This creates “leverage,” allowing you to accomplish multiple objectives with one endeavor. For example, participating in the student newspaper and/or the yearbook development process often includes taking classes which count towards your English requirement. So, you are taking a class, but also getting involved in an activity. Similarly, if you are planning on taking AP level math or AP level French, there is probably some overlap with a math club or French club in which you could get involved, where part of the time you spend on the activity occurs during class. If you play a varsity sport, perhaps gym class is waived, making time for you to study during school. Students are often surprised at the opportunities they have to “kill two birds with one stone.” Obviously, it’s more than OK to get involved in something just because it seems interesting or a friend suggests it, but you should also be thinking about your options and interests in a structured way to identify these points of leverage. Set goals and build a plan to meet them The last step is about generating your list of options. In this step, you work out an actual plan. Now, if you are reading this early in your high school career (or, more likely, are a parent reading this earlier in their child’s high school career), you are in a better position. But it’s relevant for any student. Here, you realize that you only have X many classes you can take and Y many hours after school, and you decide what you are going to do, keeping in mind the “leverage” opportunities above. But before you can do that, you should consider your academic goals. If you want to go to Harvard, you’ll really need to do it all. High GPA, high ACT or SAT score, tons of activities, leadership, and community service. But, if you want to go to an excellent state school, a high GPA and test score will probably do the trick. If you are targeting a high selective liberal arts school, GPA and test score might be a bit less important relatively speaking and demonstrating unique and deep interests in a few activities is likely more important. The key is to identify where you want to end up, acknowledge the requirements, and then start planning. Your goal is to design an academic course of study that is challenging but reasonable, and supplement that with extracurricular activities that put you in a position to demonstrate a breadth of interests, skills, and leadership ability. Get organized One you have your rough plan, inclusive of courses you are going to take and activities in which you are going to engage, the key to success is staying organized. What does it mean to be organized? I like to think of organization as being driven by two fundamental concepts: a) filing systems and b) to-do lists. Filing systems are the physical or digital folders on your computer where information from each class or activity is kept. Your locker and your back-pack are also filing systems. To-do lists help you manage your time. I generally keep three different types of to-do lists, which help me best use the time I have in any given day: long term, medium term, and daily. In other words, I have a list of things I need to accomplish in the next 3 or more months, things that must get done in 1-4 weeks, and then things I want to accomplish today. An academic planner is a popular form of to-do list that I recommend. Prioritize and re-prioritize One of the hidden keys to truly high levels of productivity for a high school student is prioritization. You should pause at the beginning of each week as well as the beginning of each day to review and update your to-do lists and think about how you truly need to spend your time. You’ll be surprised how important it is to take a deep breath, step back, and decide what to do after comparing all of the things on your mental plate and on your to-do list. You might have that big project on your mind, but should you really spend another 3 hours working on it? Or, should you start studying for that quiz tomorrow? You may want to go hang out with your friends, and you should find time to do that. But if you have a big test tomorrow, what is more important? Get help when you need it I think students tend to vastly underutilize after school time with teachers, getting help from each other, their parents, and even private tutors. If you studied for a quiz but did not do well and are feeling your grasp of a concept slipping away, don’t just assume it’ll all make sense at some point before the mid-term exam. Go get help from the teacher. Spending the time to get that help earlier rather than later is a critical way to save time and increase your overall productivity. If you wait, you’ll end up spending even longer going over old concepts that you didn’t really understand at the time, and which you now have completely forgotten as you try to get up to speed before a big test. Don’t get too lost. Get help and support early. Summary Motivated high school students need to be highly productive in today’s competitive college admission environment. Productivity comes from working hard, yes. But it also comes from planning your academic course load and extracurricular activities carefully.