Category Archives: Fitness

I occasionally blog about my attempts to get into better shape and struggles with remaining motivated.  Starting last week my trainer and I changed my work out routine.

In lieu of meeting twice a week for a one hour we will now meet three times a week.  Once a week we will have a one hour session focusing on my back and chest, and twice a week we shall meet for thirty minutes;  one session will focus on arms and one session will focus on shoulders.

I like the idea of splitting one of my one hour sessions.  In theory, this will make sure that these muscle groups will get more attention.  As time permits,  I’m hoping to incorporate cardio either before or after the shorter work outs.  I’ll let you know how it works out.  What are you doing? Any tips or suggestions are always welcome.

Kris Kranzky, my personal trainer at The Boston Sports Club in the South End,  each week shares some fitness tips to help motivate and encourage people like me struggling to get into better shape.

This week’s tip revolves around the importance of cardiovascular exercise.  According to Kris,  this is essential if you want to reach your maximum potential. Some of the ways that cardio training helps includes: weight managment, increasing bone mineral density and increasing your metabolism.

If you combine cardio and weight training in a single session, Kris suggests starting with cardio. This will make you less likely to shorten or cut out your cardio exercises and it helps warm the body to prepare you for your weight training.  To keep your cardio sessions interesting set goals for yourself; this can include time, speed or the types of running exercises.  One of Kris’ favorites is interval training.  Jog for one minute followed by a one minute sprint that is approximately 50-60% faster (e.g. on a treadmill one minute at 6.0 followed by one minute at 10.0).  Repeat this ten times for a total of 20 minutes.

Late last month my trainer asked me what sort of fitness goals I wanted to attain.  Aside from stating vague goals like building muscle mass and eating more healthy, I committed to do my best to try and get in 3 cardio routines a week and to get two solid lifting work outs with him each week.

Last week I was in Provincetown away from both my gym and trainer.  I was not able to get to the gym, but I did get in 3 30-minute runs which proved to be quite difficult due to the hot, hot weather. However, in light of the lack of time at the gym and my glutinous streak I’m now working to make up for lost time at the gym.   Here is tangible evidence of my 3-runs from last week.

Have you set any fitness goals lately?

Kris Kranzky, my personal trainer at The Boston Sports Club in the South End, shared his typical weekly workout regimen in last week’s fitness tips posting.

Kris has recently modified that routine to get into shape for two hockey tournaments next month by adding different workouts that focus more on power and explosive movements.

If you are looking to add variety into your routine, consider including sports specific exercises including olympic lifts, cleans, snatches, deadlifts, squats, plyometrics and quick feet drills.  Ask trainers at your local gym for suggestions or advice.  You can also use YouTube to watch demonstrations and to give you ideas on how to include new routines into your work out regimen.

For the past month I’ve been posting fitness tips from my trainer Kris Kranzky from the Boston Sports Club in the South End.

This week he shares his workout routine. Kris works out for five days and rests for two; his routine typically includes: Monday/ Chest; Tuesday/ Back; Wednesday/ Legs; Thursday/ Shoulders; Friday/ Arms.

Before each workout Kris starts with a 20-minute cardio, using a high intensity interval training setting on a bike or treadmill; followed by 40 minutes of weight training.  His goal is to complete approximately 120 reps per muscle group meaning if he does four sets of four exercises he would do 8-10 reps per set to 8 x 4 x 4 = 128 reps.

Since the end of May I’ve been posting fitness tips from my trainer Kris Kranzky from the Boston Sports Club in the South End. These posts serve serve as a reminder for me to take time to work out and maximize my fitness routine and diet.  I hope you find these tips interesting too.

Following up on last week’s tip, A Sensible Diet is Key, Kris encourages us all to be more aware of what we are consuming. If you do not know a licensed nutrition, you can check out this nifty daily caloric expenditure website to determine how many calories you should consume each day.  According to this tool, I burn approximately 2,800 calories a day so if I want to lose weight I need to consume slightly less than this and if I want to build muscle mass I need to consume slightly more.

Kris is quick to caution that those calories should not be saved for foods with little nutritional value and he suggests natural foods like fruits, vegetables and lean proteins.

Work has been busier than usual and my time at the gym has suffered (that’s a nice way of saying I’ve not been going). While huffing and puffing my way through my first workout in more than a week my trainer asked me, “Have you given any thought to what sort of fitness goals you’d like to set for yourself?”  UGH… really? I was just trying to not embarrass myself by gasping and groaning too loudly.

However after my work out it got me to thinking about setting some goals in terms of activities (e.g. setting a minimum number of workouts per week) as well as fitness goals that can be monitored and <gulp> measured. Are you trying to set some personal fitness goals? Misery does enjoy company – do tell.

For the past few weeks I’ve been posting fitness tips from my trainer Kris Kranzky from the Boston Sports Club in the South End.  In previous week’s tips have included: scheduling time to work out, finding the right balance, and mixing up your work out routine.  This week’s tip deals more with decisions made outside of the gym.

A sensible diet is key: It is important to consume a variety of carbs, fats and proteins in your diet. Try to eat a range of fresh fruits, vegetables and lean proteins.  Natural sources of fat from foods like avocados, olives, nuts and types of fish in moderation is okay too.  As a rule of thumb, your total fat consumption should be 15-30% of total daily calorie intake.

Last week’s tip.

The month of June is synonymous with summer in my mind.  The spring was more hectic than I would’ve liked and my time at the gym was impacted so I thought I’d start these weekly posts to keep me (and maybe you too) focused on personal fitness. These tips are from my trainer Kris Kranzky from the Boston Sports Club in the South End.

Mix up your work out regimen: Your body is like a machine and continues to improve based on the demands that you apply. If you continue to do the same exercise over and over, then your body will become more efficient at performing those types of workouts so it is important to continue to switch up your work out regimen every 6 week weeks.

Last week’s tip.

Long time readers know I’ve been pretty vocal about my training and personal fitness over the years so earlier this month I asked my trainer, Kris Kranzky over at the Boston Sports Club in the South End, to share some fitness tips I can post on my blog. I hope these forthcoming posts help you with your own personal fitness goals.

Find the right balance: Exercising is all about balance and if you take into consideration diet, resistance training and cardiovascular exercise you will see better results more quickly. Although this is common sense it is important to recognize how effective combining diet, resistance training and cardiovascular can be.

Last week’s tip

Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start to summer in the US.  Are you ready?

I asked my trainer, Kris Kranzky over at the Boston Sports Club in the South End, if he’d share some fitness tips I can post on my blog. I hope these forthcoming posts help you with your own personal fitness goals.

Fitness Tip: Schedule your workout We are all busy so it is important to schedule time to workout and remain faithful to that calendar.  This will help you get into a routine and make it less likely for weeks to pass between workouts.

For those of us in the northern hemisphere, June is the start of the summer months and if you live in the US, many consider the Memorial Day Weekend later this month the start of summer.

With four weeks before visits to the beach and pool become a regular thing, I’m ramping up my physical activities by working out with my trainer and trying to eat healthier.  How about you? Do the summer months provide you with an incentive to get into shape, fill you with dread or doesn’t even appear on your radar?

In 7 short weeks June will be here. June = Summer in my mind and for that reason I’ve been working out with my trainer, Kris, twice a week.  He’s the maniac jumping over burning logs and covered in mud. He’s one part bad-ass; two parts great listener and fantastic motivator.

I try to schedule two one-hour sessions with with him each week. I know this is going to sound crazy, but spending this money is my way of pampering myself. I feel so much better on the weeks I get two solid work outs with Kris.  I do my part too by trying to get in a decent cardio 2-3 times a week but sometimes work won’t relent and my only physical activity is with Kris.

I’ve had conversations with several guys I’ve met through my blog, and I know finding time to get in a solid work out can be tough. A lot can be accomplished in 7-weeks if you modifying your diet slightly and get a couple of workouts in each week. Let me know how you are doing and we can chat off line to keep each other motivated. God knows I need as much help as I can get.