Oct 16

[Coach Ari] The Importance of Hip Mobility and Core Strength for Golfers

by Ryan in Blog, Fitness, Nutrition 0 comments tags: athlete, become the athlete within, exercise, fitness, golf, performance, sport
The execution of the golf swing is a “feet to fingertips” athletic action- the entire kinetic chain is utilized. In order to perform proper movement throughout the golf swing requires certain levels of joint mobility and core stabilization. If certain joints (i.e. hips) are limited in terms of mobility or certain parts of the body are “weak”, executing an efficient swing without compensating form will be very difficult. The hips are a necessary joint in the golf swing. That said, if limitations are present in terms of mobility the body will compensate proper form which leads to trouble down the road. Both on the scorecard, and your long term back health. For example- the last golf lesson, or “tune-up”, I had approximately two months ago was because of that exact reason. My body wasn’t moving properly in the backswing because of poor hip mobility, and in turn that caused me to have a flawed swing with lost yardage and accuracy. Looking from a spectators point of view at normal speed, you would never be able to tell there was any sort of mobility issue. In fact I got compliments of how great my swing looked. But I felt that something […]
Aug 31

[Coach Joe] The only person that can change it is….YOU

by Ryan in Blog, Fitness, Inspiration 0 comments tags: athlete, exercise, fitness, new hartford, personal training, utica, utica personal trainer
If you want to see change, YOU have to change. That may sound silly but some of us don’t live that way. We want to lose weight but eat the same garbage day after day. We want to get stronger but lift the same weights over and over. We wonder why the person in the mirror doesn’t change while returning to the same old habits that created that person. Wellllllll What Happened Was… (Insert Shitty Excuse Here) Matthew Kelley writes in his book The Rhythm of Life “Everything is a choice.  This is life’s greatest truth and its hardest lesson.” He continues on “it is a hard lesson, because it causes us to realize that we have chosen the life we are living now.” This is a difficult realization but there is a silver lining.  Unfortunately (or fortunately) our choices have gotten us to where we are now.  The good news is that once accepted we can begin to make better decisions to get to where we want to be and not simply accept where we are now. A young gentleman by the name of Christopher Wallace is quoted for saying “Damn right I like the life I live because […]
Aug 31

[Coach Karlee] 10,000 Hours

by Ryan in Blog, Fitness, Inspiration 0 comments tags: athlete, fitness, performance, training, utica, utica personal trainer
What’s it going to take?? I ask myself this question all the time…What’s it going to take to be at the top of my game?  To be at the top of the heap? To be the best at anything? As an athlete, I think about this question often.  Being around other athletes makes me wonder how many actually think about this question.  If you were to ask 100 top athletes how they got to the top, there would be a different answer from each and every one of them. Have you ever heard of the statement, “It takes, on average, 10,000 hours of practice to be an expert?”  The 10,000 rule came about by a guy by the name of Malcom Gladwell, author of Outliers. There are several other authors who have written about this subject (Geoff Colvin – Talent is Overrated and The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle) and several scientists who have debated the theory. So, is 10,000 hours enough hours to put in to be the best or is it innate ability? I actually think that it’s a combination of the two; lots of repetitive practice (hours and hours) and innate ability.  However, I strongly believe there […]
Aug 13

[Coach Ari] How To Avoid Workout Burnout

by Ryan in Blog, Fitness, Inspiration, Strength, Tips 0 comments tags: fitness, personal trainer, training, utica, workout
Not excited to go to the gym? Are you dreading your next workout? Find yourself saying “maybe tomorrow” more than three days in a row? Odds are, you’re experiencing some type of burnout. This doesn’t necessarily mean you’re ‘over’ the gym, either. Odds are, there’s something in your life that is exhausting you. Burnout comes in many different shapes and sizes.  What exactly does experiencing ‘burnout’ mean? We hear the phrase all the time, but have no idea how to see it coming and take the necessary steps to avoid it. Burnout is a psychological term that refers to long-term exhaustion and diminished interest in an activity or work. Lucky for you, I’m here to help you learn how to take a more proactive approach to avoiding burnout. There are four common stages to be aware of.  Stage one is the honeymoon stage. A classic sign of this stage is being determined to fit into a size six by the time beach season comes around, so you never miss a workout. You’re super excited and eager to get back it! Stage two is known as the disenchantment stage. This is when your excitement starts to fade when you don’t see […]
Apr 11

[Coach Ari] Of course I know myself! …Don’t I?

by Ryan in Blog, Inspiration 0 comments tags: coach, meditation, mindset, new hartford personal trainer, personal trainer, utica, utica personal trainer
Health and wellness is SO MUCH more than just hitting the gym. It takes discipline, time and motivation. Many people think it stops there.  “Well, if I just dedicate some time to workout then I’ll get back in shape!” Unfortunately, life isn’t always that simple. We have feelings, emotions and bad days. Then bad days turn into bad weeks that turn into bad years.  Being active becomes a thing of the past, and don’t even get me started on eating healthy! What’s healthy? And then, all of the sudden, here we are staring into the mirror wondering how the hell we got to this place.  Sound familiar? ___ These moments happen to all of us at one time or another. The determining factor, however, is whether or not we decide to be honest with ourselves. Not only honest about how we got to this awful place, but honest about WHY we got to this awful place and WHY we want to get out.  True transformation works from the inside out. Once we dig into ourselves and stop making light of/ignoring the painful things that got us to the place we so horribly want to leave, the rest starts falling into […]
Apr 02

[Coach Karlee] Control Your Inner Jargon

by Ryan in Blog, Inspiration, Tips 0 comments tags: coach, mindset, personal trainer, visualization, workout
Jargon? What Jargon? The mind is a crazy thing. It can either pump you up or completely tear you down. For many athletes and individuals being physically prepared is only half of the battle. The other half is being mentally prepared.  What does your “inner jargon” sound like? Do you have a message you tell yourself? Some strategies that may help; changing your inner jargon, reframing and visualizing. Inner Jargon The voice that plays over and over in your head can have a huge impact on the decisions you make, opportunities you take advantage of… or don’t, how you view yourself, your worth and your confidence. For many athletes, their “inner jargon” is one of the most important things to have under control to help them to perform at their best.  Coming off the Olympics, it was very evident that all athletes had a pre-game ritual and the voice inside them had to be there to tell them “that it was their time”. When you’ve practiced for many hours, we tend to put pressure on ourselves and sometimes that’s what destroys the opportunity.  Allowing ourselves to get “too in our heads” about the outcome often results in failure instead of […]
Feb 25

[Coach Karlee] Change is GOOD

by Ryan in Blog, Inspiration, Tips 0 comments tags: change, coach, help people, leap, personal trainer, study, utica, workout
Change….. Change is hard. Change is necessary. Change is good. Over the last year of my life, I have gone through a lot of change. At first, it is always scary but once the change starts to occur, it can be so good and brings about so much growth.  I think a lot of times we all get stuck in the mindset of “should” and what “should be”. Ever hear the quote: “Happiness is letting go of what you think your life is supposed to look like and celebrate it for everything that it is” Well, I can really relate to the first part of this quote because I myself was stuck in the mindset of “should be” for a long time when it came to what my life was supposed to look like or what it should look like verses just being okay with the idea that it was starting to go in a different direction, as far as my career choice was concerned. I graduated from University of New Hampshire with a Bachelor’s degree in Equine Science. My whole life I grew up riding, showing and caring for horses so when the time came to pick a major […]
Feb 05

[Coach Joe] If I Were The Last Person On Earth

by Ryan in Blog, Inspiration 0 comments tags: fitness, new hartford personal trainer, performance, personal training, sports, training, utica personal trainer
“If I were the last person on earth, would I still do what I do?” This is a question posed by Steven Pressfield in his book The War of Art.  In itself it is a simple yes or no answer, however when we delve a little deeper is when things get interesting. Apply this situation to anything in your life to quickly sort through what is important to you and what isn’t.  If you care about an activity enough to continue doing it even though no one else exists you can say with certainty that it matters. For me, after going to undergrad and graduate school for a business degree it only made sense to get a job in the business industry.  However if the world were to come to some sort of doomsday apocalypse I know for a fact that I would not be drawing up SWOT analyses or go-to-market strategies for imaginary businesses. I WOULD however continue to pursue different fitness endeavors and experiment to see what works best for my body.  This is one of the main reasons I am so sure that I was meant to be in this line of work. So your homework is […]
Jan 15

[Coach Christina] 7 Steps To Reading Nutrition Labels…..PROPERLY

by Ryan in Blog, Nutrition, Tips 0 comments tags: coach, diet, fat loss, label, nutrition, nutrition label, nutritionist, personal trainer, training, utica
Nutrition Labels: What They Mean   Nutrition can be overwhelming.   What to get enough of, what to avoid, how much to consume, what to look for.   The majority of people are unsure how to read a nutrition label which ultimately means they are unsure of what their nutrition consists of.   Here is a simple, quick, and easy breakdown of how to navigate through a nutrition label.   Step 0: Avoid them.   Ideally, you are consuming foods that don’t have a nutrition label because they are organic or naturally sourced foods. E.g. tomato, spinach, banana, potato etc. Eat naturally and you won’t have to worry about reading a label.   Where to start in reading a nutrition label:   Step 1: Serving Size.   At the top of the nutrition label it will state the serving size and servings per container. This is an important step because if you consume an entire box of something that contains 3 servings, the calories and all the nutrients need to be tripled.   Step 2: Calories (Energy)   The word “calorie” comes with some a negative stigma. “Cut your calories,” “there are so many calories in that,” “too many calories […]
Nov 15

[Coach Joe]Pressure Makes Diamonds, Unfortunately It Also Bursts Pipes

by Ryan in Blog, Inspiration, Tips 0 comments tags: mindset, pressure, training
One For The Record Books Rarely in life does a game have stakes as high as this.  Win and you get to live, lose and live out your days in the service of a tyrant.  Yet there they were, with 5 seconds left on the clock and the worst result imaginable on the verge of coming true. The other team had been punishing them mercilessly the whole game.  With little to no players or hope left, one man had the courage to take everything upon himself to change their fate. It was at that moment when the odds were completely stacked against them that pressure was at its highest.  Some people crumble with that kind of pressure.  The spotlight becomes too much and they eventually fail. But not Mike. With 5 seconds left Mike knew he had no choice but to take things to a new level.  The pressure that reduced so many others to failure would be what elevated him to success, and ultimately saving his teammates and friends from sure doom. 5 seconds… 4 3 2 Now everyone else started to believe it could be done.  Everyone went from doubters to absolute believers in just seconds, but Mike […]
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