tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20739473228932198362012-02-16T14:08:16.447-05:00A series of essays and articles covering a variety of topics on fitness and nutrition.Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01408634447916643790noreply@blogger.comBlogger241100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2073947322893219836.post-426211418920634172012-01-25T15:33:00.000-05:002012-01-25T15:33:37.088-05:00

Below, you will find an article that I wrote four years ago when I first began training clients. Shortly after writing this article, I had the opportunity to train my 67 year old father who was recovering from an extensive abdominal surgery. I put a lot of these principles into practice with designing his rehab training plan and we were quite successful at not only improving his core strength

Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01408634447916643790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2073947322893219836.post-61989927254341958672011-07-06T12:33:00.001-04:002011-07-06T12:41:36.015-04:00

I have always been of the mind that if you are going to take someone's advice, make sure they are qualified to give it. Being snarky and entertaining is fun, but at the end of the day doesn't prove anything other than we respond well to good advertising. I have followed a few blogs over the years written by educated and qualified individuals who are speaking about things they are educated and

Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01408634447916643790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2073947322893219836.post-53374049866304324322011-01-02T11:14:00.003-05:002011-06-22T09:40:27.610-04:00

Well, tis the season and all that. What am I talking about? Well, diet season of course. A lot of us have finished our holiday binges and have maybe tried on a bathing suit or two and been horrified by what they see in the mirror. New Year's resolutions, preparing for Spring Break, or just a desire for change in the post-holiday lull inspires many people to try to shed some pounds. How do

Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01408634447916643790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2073947322893219836.post-65165407871428911192010-09-26T10:31:00.000-04:002010-09-26T10:31:14.719-04:00

I have an old moldy copy of a book on circuit training written by the original developers of the technique, R.E. Morgan and G.T. Adamson from Leeds University. It smells weird and the pages are brittle, but it is very interesting. There were no machines used in this gym, it was all full body gymnastic and strength work that would be pretty hard for a lot of relatively fit folks to complete.

Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01408634447916643790noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2073947322893219836.post-89727837939894471232010-08-20T10:06:00.001-04:002010-08-20T10:22:22.008-04:00

So, there's a lot of hype surrounding high intensity interval training. Some folks think its the end-all, be-all to training and has magical properties that enhance weight loss and strength gains. Well, not really. It is a fantastic tool for increasing endurance, but can also lead to overtraining and overuse injuries if used incorrectly. Please read my previous article on fatigue, My brain is

Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01408634447916643790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2073947322893219836.post-56295897554246373502010-08-06T09:22:00.002-04:002010-08-08T09:44:58.138-04:00

You’re running and suddenly you can run no more. You slow to a walk until your muscles feel “ready” to run again and you do. Or, you are squatting a barbell for reps and on the last one, you pause at the bottom of the movement as your muscles temporarily fail. (Hopefully, you are in the cage or have someone to lift said barbell off your back with minimal damage.) What exactly is going on here

Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01408634447916643790noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2073947322893219836.post-10524111511791127902010-07-29T09:33:00.004-04:002010-07-29T22:53:03.541-04:00

To get strong, we lift weights. To lose fat we do cardio, right? And who has time for all that? So, about sixty years ago, circuits were invented.  It was shown that you could perform weight training exercises in a continuous circuit for 2-3 total sets and get both a cardiovascular and strength benefit.  But, how much benefit do you actually get? The original circuits, done in the fifties

Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01408634447916643790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2073947322893219836.post-47540656374299060092010-07-04T20:01:00.000-04:002010-07-04T20:01:48.439-04:00

Over the past two years, my fitness philosophies have been challenged, modified, and finally returned to their original form. And all I can say is thank God I'm not as wishy-washy as I thought I was turning out to be. As it turns out, fitness is pretty basic. It doesn't have to be complicated, it just has to be interesting and challenging enough to maintain the attention span of the

Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01408634447916643790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2073947322893219836.post-49136531612187720532010-07-04T18:30:00.005-04:002010-07-04T21:09:21.035-04:00

Holy cow! I've been trying to lose a few pounds over the past two months and instead, I've put on five. How can this be? I must have a metabolic disorder. Well, I actually did have an underactive thyroid after having half of it surgically removed, but that has been corrected with medication. It must be an effect of stopping the medication I had been taking until recently for migraines, or

Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01408634447916643790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2073947322893219836.post-90994699205808283982010-02-12T14:41:00.015-05:002010-05-29T11:27:25.835-04:00

I've recently had the opportunity to work with some folks who were relatively strong, but had plateaued for one reason or the other. Some were obviously sidelined by overuse injuries or biomechanical deficiencies that had not been addressed in their training, but others remained somewhat of a mystery. A friend and fellow coach, who is Functional Movement Screen certified, had utilized the

Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01408634447916643790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2073947322893219836.post-32376637883829968052010-01-05T22:09:00.005-05:002010-02-14T21:44:25.874-05:00

I have recently resumed my personal training business. For more information please e-mail me at flemingsj4616@yahoo.com.

Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01408634447916643790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2073947322893219836.post-34840913613561342732010-01-05T21:58:00.003-05:002010-01-05T22:11:00.802-05:00

Use flavor! Satiating the palate satiates the appetite. Marinades, spices, salsas, chutneys, are all ways to add flavor and satisfaction to a meal without relying on dessert. Do, however, avoid fatty sauces and dressings as these can add hundreds of unnecessary calories. We often think we are hungry when we actually crave a certain taste or sensation. This may be because we crave a certain

Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01408634447916643790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2073947322893219836.post-4012631217107819542009-10-19T17:38:00.005-04:002009-10-20T15:56:48.427-04:00

We are going to continue where we left off in discusstion of the rules and how to apply them to your performance nutrition. Remember, these are general guidelines and will not necessarily apply to everyone. After all, rules are made to be broken. Meal timing is of the utmost importance. The bulk of calories should be taken in during the active times of the day, usually during midday. The

Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01408634447916643790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2073947322893219836.post-6512750715062760552009-10-09T15:43:00.007-04:002010-02-16T14:19:54.068-05:00

Protein first and with every meal.For too long our American diet fads have focused on fat or carbohydrates. This simply cannot be a part of performance nutrition. As we’ve discussed, performance nutrition is focused on synergy between our strength and condition program and our diet. The key macronutrient that will determine our success with this in terms of building and repairing muscle and

Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01408634447916643790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2073947322893219836.post-31913639991211545182009-08-09T12:14:00.003-04:002009-09-01T15:10:24.101-04:00

Let’s be honest. Although most of us like that our workouts make us stronger, healthier, feel better, etc., the main reason we’re doing it is to look better. We want that six-pack, tighter butt, bigger chest, bigger biceps, you name it. So, we go lift heavy weights over our heads, run fast, jump high, and work up an intense sweat. But then what happens . . .Working out intensely gives us an

Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01408634447916643790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2073947322893219836.post-51747304447921944072009-07-17T19:57:00.000-04:002009-07-17T19:58:37.474-04:00

Go into any commercial gym these days and you will find a core training class centered around training done on an unstable surface such as a BOSU trainer, a wobble board, or a stability or Swiss ball. Originally intended for rehabilitation and physical therapy programs, stability core training has made its way mainstream gyms and sports conditioning programs over the last decade with many

Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01408634447916643790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2073947322893219836.post-58565366746944407602009-06-16T15:33:00.002-04:002009-06-16T15:38:20.746-04:00

Regardless of what a person does in life, he or she engages in sport. It is not the traditional competitive sport we are all familiar with, but life is sport. So, when I approach fitness training with a new client, the trick is to figure out what form that sport is going to take and how to get my athlete off the bench and into the game. Our daily activities require us to have power, strength,

Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01408634447916643790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2073947322893219836.post-73607947517456488292009-05-10T10:33:00.015-04:002009-09-06T10:59:23.652-04:00

I recently read an article posted on Figure Athlete.com that I wanted to share. http://figureathlete.tmuscle.com/free_online_article/diet_and_nutrition/the_tools_for_total_fat_loss To summarize, there are two ways to lose fat that we have control over directly. Our exercise, and our diet. However, our hormones play a huge role in how much fat our bodies are going to let go of and/or store at

Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01408634447916643790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2073947322893219836.post-10699176768967352912009-04-24T16:53:00.010-04:002009-05-03T07:36:44.493-04:00

What the heck does THAT mean?The best way to go about training anyone, much less an athlete, is to approach it from the periodized, or cyclical training method. This is a step-wise method that ensures that the client first establishes a good foundation of both strength and conditioning. This foundational period uses mostly lighter weights and high repetitions to stimulate bone mineral density,

Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01408634447916643790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2073947322893219836.post-17674600516418611282009-04-15T16:51:00.002-04:002009-04-15T17:04:48.083-04:00

Who doesn't love beef? Well, vegans for one. But, its a great source of complete protein and when done on the grill, its fantastic. In step with my last post, I like to use a lot of flavor when I cook to satisfy the sensitivities of the palate. Here are two ways of preparing beef that utilize the sensual flavors of Asia that may keep you from even thinking about dessert. As an accompaniment,

Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01408634447916643790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2073947322893219836.post-69737114921438620842009-04-01T11:40:00.002-04:002009-04-01T11:45:03.675-04:00

Being at work all day used to make me hungry. Being around kids all day makes me hungry. Being bored makes me hungry. Being near chicken nuggets and a pantry full of crap makes me hungry. So, how do you keep from mindlessly eating all day long when you are trying to fuel your body the right way and still get lean? Well, the easy answer is stick to a clean diet of natural foods consisting of

Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01408634447916643790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2073947322893219836.post-15837005346893576002009-03-27T07:37:00.003-04:002009-03-31T18:37:44.827-04:00

Functional training has a variety of definitions in the fitness community. Sometimes it refers to the practice of balancing on boards and balls while using bands and balls to exercise various muscle groups with light resistance. Others use it to refer to the basic compound lifts and athletic training that more closely mimics the movement of the human body.I train in a Crossfit affiliate and

Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01408634447916643790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2073947322893219836.post-63094139404807516962009-03-22T13:29:00.000-04:002009-03-22T13:32:58.251-04:00

Sara Fleming, BA, MS, ISSA CFTStretching is generally viewed as beneficial. However, the type and timing of the stretch can have a positive or negative effect on the person doing the stretching depending on their activity. Dynamic stretching before a work out helps muscles warm up and increases their range of motion and elasticity prior to exercise. Static and/or

Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01408634447916643790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2073947322893219836.post-85264298687342371582009-03-22T13:09:00.000-04:002009-03-22T13:28:51.197-04:00

Performance NutritionSara Fleming, B.A., M.S., ISSA Certified Fitness Trainer*Sara is not a licensed or registered dieticianMost of us are exercising for one of two reasons: To get bigger, or to get smaller. Some of us are exercising for both of those reasons, ie increasing our lean body mass while getting rid of the flab. This task can seem quite daunting, but the truth is, changing our body

Sarahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01408634447916643790noreply@blogger.com0