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No matter your fitness goals, consistency is key. Adam Friedman, founder of Advanced Athletics in Los Angeles, recommends recording your progress to keep yourself on track. Friedman suggests interval training to
increase fat metabolism at rest. New York–based trainer Tony Molina recommends a routine based on his short-but-intense
Explosive Power techniques. Start slowly if you're recovering from injury, says yoga and spinning pro Mandy Ingber—don't force a stretch, and use the ground for support. Core-training pioneer Karl List says you can't reach your peak performance without taking
into account lifestyle aspects like
nutrition, sleep, and meditation. |
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What's your biggest fitness challenge? Seeing results? Busting through a plateau? Getting started after a lapse? Whether you are a weekend warrior or a triathlete, there is always room to improve. RL asked personal-fitness experts for their thoughts on striking the right balance among strength, flexibility, and cardio training, and how to get the best results from each session. Here's what they had to say.
Adam Friedman is the founder of Advanced Athletics in Los Angeles. In addition to having major-league hockey, baseball, and football clients, he also trains volleyball star Gabrielle Reece and three-time WNBA MVP Lisa Leslie. Here are his tips for staying on track with a training regimen.
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Keep a meal and exercise journal. Write down the types of food, the quantity, the time, how you felt before eating, and how you feel afterward. After your workout, record what you did: the number of sets, reps, and recovery time for weights; mode, duration, distance, intensity, and heart rates for cardio. |
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Interval training improves cardiovascular conditioning and increases fat metabolism at rest. If you are going to use exercise machines, the interval workout setting is sufficient, but for the maximum benefit, I recommend a mix of resistance training, plyometrics (exercises that emphasize a muscle-lengthening and shortening action in quick succession—say, squatting and jumping), and an active-recovery activity, such as jumping rope. |
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Moderate your calorie intake, but don't deprive yourself completely. Have the glass of wine with dinner instead of the baked potato. |
A featured trainer on VH1's Hollywood's Tightest Bodies, Tony Molina has created a unique results-driven fitness program based on his trademarked Multiple Planes of Resistance, or MPR, conditioning system. Here he outlines how his Explosive Power Training exercises, which use your body weight for resistance, can help you break through a plateau. At the end of each, return to the starting position and explode back up or out.
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Start out with a one-mile jog or eight minutes of jumping rope. |
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First, jump-pull-ups. Start in a squat position underneath the pull-up bar and jump up to the bar and immediately into a pull-up. As you are lowering yourself, release the pull-up bar and drop down into a squat. |
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Next, move to alternating jump-lunges. Starting in a lunge position with your right leg forward and your left leg lowered almost to the floor behind you, jump as high as you can into the air from the lunge, alternating the position of your right and left legs before you land. |
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On to clap-push-ups. Clap your hands at the top after you straighten your arms, but be sure to push yourself as far as possible into the air between each rep. |
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Finish with squat-thrusts. Squat down to the floor, placing your hands on the ground and tucking your knees to your chest, shift your body weight to your hands, and extend your body straight out behind you in one swift move. Then pull your knees back up underneath you and stand. |
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Conclude with five minutes of abdominal exercises and stretches. |
One of Los Angeles's most popular yoga and Spinning instructors, Mandy Ingber has developed a hybrid approach that combines yoga with traditional movements. She is credited with getting Jennifer Aniston, Brooke Shields, Woody Harrelson, and Helen Hunt in physical and mental shape for demanding roles—including the red carpet. Ingber shares her favorite was to relax and improve flexibility.
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Never force a stretch. If you are consistent and gentle, your body will increase in flexibility. It's better to do a little bit each day than to jam yourself into a pose once in a while. |
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Focus on the area that you are stretching and breathe into it for five to six counts. |
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Three easy poses for beginners are the butterfly, the plank, and the reverse warrior. |
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For people just starting a routine or returning from injury, it is best to use the ground for support. This will protect the lower back and spine. |
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Motivation comes when a person is connected to his or her emotions. Everything we are and feel brings us energy—that is our fuel—so even anger can become power. |
Karl List has been a personal trainer at the original Gold's Gym in Venice Beach for more than twenty years and is a core-training pioneer. If List's own record in natural competitive bodybuilding isn't evidence enough, the physiques of his clients, including world kickboxing champion Olivier Gruner, actor Paul Walker, and former NFL wide receiver Johnnie Morton, should resolve any doubt. List tells RL how the everyday jogger or weekend weight lifter can avoid injury and recover faster.
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Soothe the minor aches that can curtail your workouts with regular hot-water exposure, in a bath or a whirlpool. |
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Chronic muscle tension can lead to injuries, so it is a good idea to incorporate healing arts or mind-body disciplines into your routine. |
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Develop sound nutritional habits, get consistent and sufficient sleep, and practice meditative breathing. It may sound like common sense, but these aspects have a substantial impact on performance and recovery. |
Richard L. Dewey is a freelance writer based in London and Los Angeles. He frequently reviews concerts for Rolling Stone, and his previous adventures include attending the cannon funeral of Hunter S. Thompson, running with the bulls in Pamplona, and cruising around the world on a ship for 100 days.
Photography credits:
- Nicolas Russell
- Bjoern Kommerell/Courtesy Adam Friedman
- Cosimo Photography/Courtesy Tony Molina
- Javiera Estrada
- Courtesy Karl List
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