Hi Fitness Friends! My name is Alicen and I'm an NASM certified personal trainer based in Kansas City. My own weight loss journey led me down a path of fitness and I've been making it my business to help other people get in shape since I became certified as a trainer in 2009. Angelena has been kind enough to let me share a selection of Question and Answer posts from my website Former Fitness Flunky. Everyone has fitness questions so I have set out to answer the questions that I hear the most from my clients. Here are the top ten questions I get asked. Follow the links to see my full answer to these fitness quandaries.
1) Why am I sore after exercise? Soreness after exercise, also called delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), usually happens a day or so after exercise – hence the “delayed” part. Microscopic tearing of the muscle fibers during your workout typically is thought to cause this pain. Inflammation may also be a culprit in the pain. [more...]
2) Why am I Gaining Weight if I am Working Out? You've started a workout routine to lose weight and though you’ve been diligently working out just like you planned you find that instead of losing weight you’re actually gaining weight. What gives? A question I get frequently from new exercisers is why are they gaining weight if they are working out. [more...]
3) Why is Balance Training Important? Balance training is a crucial part of your fitness routine for a number of reasons. One of the most critical reasons is that improved balance can translate into stability. Stability helps you move efficiently through a variety of challenges while maintaining proper control and alignment of your body. [more...]
4) What Should I Tell My Personal Trainer? When working with a personal trainer it is important to be honest and open. Your personal trainer is tasked with designing an effective program based on your needs, but they need to know certain information to make that happen. [more...]
5) Why Should I do Resistance Training? You should do resistance training because it is an important element to your overall fitness. Resistance training can help you build lean muscle mass, improve bone density, increase your strength and balance. Each person may gain different benefits from resistance training, but overall it is an excellent compliment to a cardio routine. [more...]
6) How Much Weight Should You Lift? How much weight you should lift really depends on your goals, your abilities and your experience. A common method of determining how much weight you should lift is to determine your one repetition maximum (1 RM), or more easily explained, the maximum amount you can lift in one repetition while still maintaining proper form. [more...]
7) Why Has My Weight Loss Stalled? You weight is dependent on the calories you consume and the calories you expend through every day activities and exercise. When you lose weight by cutting calories or exercising your body may become accustom to the deficit you have created, thereby settling in to a new “normal”. [more...]
8) Is Running the Best Exercise for Weight Loss? Running is an excellent cardio activity and it can definitely help you lose weight, but I would not say it was the “best” exercise for weight loss. The best exercise for weight loss is the one that you actually do and enjoy. [more...]
9) Why Have My Strength Gains Slowed Down? Your body is an amazing machine. If you have been working out for some time you have no doubt watched your body change. Perhaps you have slimmed down, gained muscle, toned up or lost weight. [more...]
10) I Cannot Afford a Gym. Should I Even Bother to Work Out? You don’t need a gym membership to workout so you should definitely consider finding fitness a routine that works for you outside the gym. While a gym may offer an assortment of equipment to aid in your workout, there are many activities you can do that require little to no equipment and cost very little or are free. [more...]
Thanks for joining me for this Q and A! If you have a burning fitness question please feel free to Email Me. You can find more articles, advice, recipes and personal musings when you keep up with me through my website Former Fitness Flunky, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.
