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Thanks for stopping by the Workout of the Week blog!
Today's topic is making sure your personal trainer or exercise instructors are properly educated and certified.

"It's not only for safety,” says Jenny Weber of the Wellness Council of Iowa, “it's also so the person feels that they're getting a full exercise prescription." Think of it like this, cooking dinner doesn't make someone a chef, driving a car doesn't make someone a mechanic, and working out at the gym doesn't make someone a trainer. "That person needs to come from a bachelor of science in exercise physiology or kinesiology along with professional certifications." Weber says if we want to get the most out of workouts with a trainer - it's critical to make sure the person is properly trained themselves! If you’re not comfortable asking the personal trainer or group exercise instructor ... ask the owner or manager of the club you are joining. Find out what kind of education, certification and experience exercise professionals have and also ask if the gym requires them to continually renew their certifications.

There are dozens of organizations that provide training and certification. Common ones for personal trainers include The American College of Sports Medicine and The National Strength and Conditioning Association. Group fitness instructors are often certified through the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America and the American Council on Exercise. Once certified, trainers and instructors usually have to work to maintain their skills. "Yearly you're required to take continuing education credits which is crucial because the industry changes," explains Weber. Bottom line – don’t be afraid to ask questions. It’s your money, your workout and your health.

EEK
Erin.Kiernan@whotv.com

Are you kidding me?!?!?

Hello and welcome to the Workout of the Week blog!

If you've been following along for the past few months you know Sonya and I are up for about anything. So when our colleague and friend Brooke Bouma invited us to give kettlebells a try, we happily agreed. Brooke has been working out with personal trainer Doug Van Wyk for a long time and says although she's always gotten a good workout, she's never worked as hard as she is during the kettlebell routine. Even with that knowlege, we were not prepared for what we experienced at Fitness World Downtown.

First, Doug had us to kettlebell swings. They're kindof like squats, but with a lot more movement. "So it's really about the hips and thrusting them," Doug explains. After just a few reps we were all sucking wind and Doug made us do several sets of twenty. "Your butt should be burning after ten." Uh ... yeah!

The next exercise involved pushups - which we HATE. Here's the thing ... you do the pushups on top of the kettlebells. And that's not all. You add a row after each pushup! "Your body doesn't want to do it," explains Doug, "but drop that hip more, there hold it, let em burn." By "them" he means our arms, our abs, our butts ... pretty much everything.

By this point in time I was calling Doug foul names, and he hadn't even thrown the most difficult move at us yet!!! It's called the "Russian Twist" and it must've been invented by someone with a really twisted sense of humor. It's very hard to explain (watch the workout video under the As Seen on 13 tab) but you start on the floor on your back, push up onto one hand with the other hand in the air and your opposite leg extended, then sweep that leg behind you into a deep curtsy lunge and finally push up into a standing postion. Reverse all of that until you are back down on the floor on your back. That's one rep. And that's when I said, "I HATE YOU!!!!"

This was brutal. By far the most brutal workout we've done. But you know what? Sonya and I are going to start working out with Doug every Saturday and here's why, "Using kettlebells you can actually incorporate all of the aspects of training into one," he explains, "you get a cardio training while doing resistance training and you work your entire body."

We could feel this through our entire bodies when we were doing it and for days afterward. If you're looking for a new challenge - give kettlebells a try.

Until next week ...
EEK
Erin.Kiernan@whotv.com

Money is no excuse!

Hello gang! I'm really tardy posting the blog today - my apologies.

This week the focus is building muscle. So here's a question for you ... do you have to lift weights in order to build muscle? "No way!" says personal trainer Gigi Filer. She says exercises like pushups and lunges work just as well, using your own body weight!

Sonya worked out with Gigi and Daniel Wright of Biggest Loser fame and got some great tips for us to share with all of you. For instance, if you are like us and you HATE pushups - try doing them against the wall or even the edge of a countertop at first. Then you can move on to pushups on your knees. Once you start building strength you can challenge yourself with full pushups or make them even tougher by using a BOSU ball or any other unstable surface. Gigi says pushups are the gold standard for getting lean and mean. "It gives you a different resistance because it's a constant resistance in both directions. The muscle is challenged during the entire range of motion - there is no rest!"

The same goes for lower body exercises like lunges and squats. If you do them correctly you can burn a ton of calories and target several muscle groups. Add a resistance band or grab any kind of weight and you turn things up a notch - no fancy equipment needed!

"No excuses," says Gigi, "you don't have to have a gym membership and you don't have to have a stack of weights at home."

So get movin' ... money is no excuse!
EEK
Erin.Kiernan@whotv.com

New life ... New love

This week's installment isn't just about working out. It's about life and love and learning to love yourself.

Last Friday (when I was sick with stomach flu) Sonya caught up with Rebecca Meyer and Daniel Wright from the Biggest Loser. Combined, they've lost more than 400 pounds. Wow. Months after the leaving the ranch, the two are a couple - living in Des Moines and devoting their careers to helping others reach their fitness goals. "When I'm working with someone I know exactly how they feel," says Daniel. "I was the guy who was too big to even fit on a treadmill!" Daniel and Rebecca remember well what it was like to be morbidly obese. They admit losing hundreds of pounds was difficult but they say maintaining is even harder - both mentally and physically. "Suddenly it's the finale and you're done and it's maintenance life," explains Rebecca. "We still need to workout and it's hard work. So I ask myself, do I want to be as thin as i was at final? No. Do I want to be as heavy as i was? No. It's just finding that mid-range ... at least for me."

Finding a happy medium can be a challenge in all aspects of life. For Rebecca and Daniel it included strategies to keep their old selves from making a comeback. They went through their closets and set limits. If the size 38 pants or the XL shirt start getting snug - somethings gotta change. No excuses. The couple says that's their new motto and they're trying to instill it in others. "We're basically living proof that it can happen just with diet and exercise!"

It's not fancy - but it works. Just like the programs offered by Hy-Vee and Wellmark. For tips on choosing healthy foods and getting a fitness plan going, visit www.wellmark.com. Click the "Health and Wellness" tab and then choose "Wellness Resources." There you'll find a wealth of information on living a healthy life!

EEK
Erin.Kiernan@whotv.com