UM Personal Training

By Adam Toffan, M.Sc, NSCA-CSCS,  CSEP-CEP , Assistant Fitness Training and Assessment Coordinator, UM Recreation Services  Last week in our fitness framework, I discussed some fitness recommendations, including 10,000 steps in a day and 150min of moderate to vigorous exercise in a week. In part 2 of our fitness framework series, I want to focus on higher-intensity workouts. While getting 10,000 steps is a great way to move through the day, it does not address the upper levels of our aerobic/anaerobic systems. There is a massive trend towards short, intense workouts with different terminology that sometimes get misused. In this blog, I want to explain the different types of intense workouts and how they are meant to be executed.  Tabata  The first exercise I want to talk about is Tabata. Tabata is a variation of high-intensity interval training and generally is meant to be very intense. Tabata is a short circuit of about 4 minutes with 20-second work bouts followed b...

by  Adam Toffan , M.Sc, NSCA-CSCS,  CSEP-CEP  Assistant Fitness Training and Assessment Coordinator,  Recreation Services  at the University of Manitoba In recent decades, the average time that people are physically active has decreased dramatically in Western countries. Physical inactivity has been named a big, if not even the biggest, health problem of the twenty-first century. We know it's important to be active and get moving. However, it can be very overwhelming and confusing with so many different numbers and recommendations. Today, I want to explain some of the science behind these recommendations and the differences in some of the common terms being used.  Dose-response "Dose-response" is a common term in exercise science. It means how much of a given stimulus you need to achieve for a given result. This is the cornerstone of recommendations. Examples include 10,000 walking steps a day or 150 minutes of moderate-vigorous activity (as recommended by ...

by  Adam Toffan , M.Sc, NSCA-CSCS,  CSEP-CEP  Assistant Fitness Training and Assessment Coordinator,  Recreation Services  at the University of Manitoba This week we celebrate the love of fitness. Exercise has many similar hormonal responses to ones we have when falling in love. If you, or someone you know, has ever said they are in a relationship with the gym, they aren’t too far off. There are thought to be three stages of falling in love: lust, attraction and attachment. Each stage comes with different hormonal responses that you also see with exercise.  During the lust stage of a relationship, the body increases the production of testosterone and estrogen. From a relationship standpoint, this is critical for reproduction, a driving force in the chemical attraction between people. From a fitness perspective, we need these hormones for bone and muscle growth. They also have a positive effect on fat levels and mood. Exercise boosts the production of testos...

by  Adam Toffan , M.Sc, NSCA-CSCS,  CSEP-CEP  Assistant Fitness Training and Assessment Coordinator,  Recreation Services  at the University of Manitoba With fitness facilities still closed, many people have lost access to exercise equipment. Suffice it to say, developing a workout sans equipment can be quite overwhelming. This week, I will be highlighting alternatives to common gym machines or free-weight exercises that allow you to exercise all the major muscle groups without using gym equipment. We made a document that packages these examples into one full-body workout for you to try at home. Chest The first thing to consider when choosing an alternative exercise is the movements you’re doing and the muscles being worked. In the chest press, you have a few primary movements happening. Elbow extension (working the triceps) and horizontal adduction of the shoulder (working the pectoralis and anterior deltoid). This is probably one of the most intuitive exercise...