By Benjamin Petitpas, CSCS, CPT

How can I lose fat from my stomach and thighs?

Unfortunately, there is no such thing as spot reduction. I can’t just tell you to go do 1,000 crunches to lose your belly fat. Your muscles in that specific area would get stronger, but in the big picture the crunches won’t help you lose the fat surrounding your midsection.

What happens is that your body stores the excess calories that you consume through your diet as body fat to be used as a source of energy at a later time. If you are constantly consuming more calories than you are burning on a daily basis, your body will continue to store more and more calories as fat instead of using the fat as energy. Read the rest of this entry

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“I am doing the same workouts that has helped me lose 10 pounds initially, but I have not been able to lose any more weight.  How come I have stopped seeing results?”

This is a common question that I hear all of the time. This is something that can happen after a few months on the same program and doing the same thing every time you go to the gym.

One thing about the human body is that it has an amazing ability to adapt to whatever stresses that you put on it.

Initially, you may have seen some great results when you started your exercise program, because the exercises program was new.  Your body was not use to the new program and was under more stress that what its use was to.

In order to get stronger you must overload the muscles and give them more work that what they are use to. As a result the muscles will grow and become stronger as a way of adapting to the stimulus.

What happens in many cases is that most people begin an exercise program and initially they get instant result, but after a few months on the same program using the same amount of weight, sets, reps, time, or intensity levels the body adapts and you will hit a plateau and stop seeing results.

In order to get over this plateau you must change some of the variables. Here are a few changes to help you get over the hump so you can start getting results again quickly.

·         Change the exercises

·         Change the order of exercises

·         Change the weight

·         Change the sets

·         Change the reps

·         Change the rest time

·         Change the tempo

·         Change your program- circuit training, split routines, total body

This does not mean that you should switch your workout up every time that you come to the gym. No, the key is to give your muscles a chance to adapt before you switch up your program. Usually I will switch up the workouts every four weeks. This gives your muscles enough time to adapt and grow stronger from the new workout, but not enough time to for your muscles to hit a plateau.

By Benjamin Petitpas, CSCS

Personal Trainer Connecticut

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It seems as though most people feel like they need to spend an hour or two at the gym 7 days a week in order to get any real results. Well this simply is not true. The real problem is that people don’t know how to use their time efficiently in the gym.

This is the biggest problem I see at the gym. People walk around aimlessly doing a one set of an exercise and then spending the next 5 minutes resting or talking with friends before they do another set. No wonder why you can see the same people at the gym every day, but you never notice any changing in their bodies.

I am going to share a few of my training secrets with you so you can use manage your time more efficiently. This way you can spend less time in the gym and more of your time doing the things that you enjoy. The best part is that you will burn more fat, lose more weight, and get some serious results in less time.

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Working with a personal trainer in Connecticut has become increasingly more popular. More people are realizing the value of working one on one with a fitness expert to help lead them to their health and fitness goals.

It is important when looking for a personal trainer that you find one with a background in Exercise Science or Sports Medicine. It is also important that they have certifications from nationally recognized organizations, such as NSCA, NASM, and ASCM. Also, make sure you find one whom you are comfortable with and that you can trust.

These are a few questions that you should ask, before hiring a personal trainer:

1.    What is your educational background?

2.    How long have you been a personal trainer?

3.    Who are you certified through?

4.    What types of people are you experienced working with?

5.    Do you have any client testimonials or other proof of results?

These are important questions to ask because not all personal trainers are the same. Unfortunately, there is no industry standard for personal trainers and a result you see large commercial health clubs hiring personal trainers straight out of high school without any educational or work related experience. As a result I have heard horror stories from numerous people about their previous experiences working out with some of these amateur personal trainers.

Here at The Exercise and Nutrition Counseling Center you’re success is our success. We take pride in our programs and we strive for excellence. You will not find a more qualified staff of personal trainers anywhere.

Allow us to help you improve quality of your life!

Schedule Your FREE Fitness Consultation Today

By Benjamin Petitpas

Personal Trainer Connecticut

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Body fat is also known as adipose tissue. Body fat comes from the excess calories that we consume through our diets. Your body will store the extra calories as fat to be used as a source of energy later on. It does not make a difference where the sources of calories come from. Calories from carbohydrates, fats, protein, and even alcohol, all can be turned into fat. Your body will store the extra calories as fat to be used as a source of energy later on.

You have two different types of body fat

Essential Body Fat

We all have a certain percentage of essential body fat. Men carry approximately 3-4% body fat, while women carry approximately 10-12% body fat. Women carry more essential body fat than men, because of their hormones and reproductive system.

It is important for your body to carry a certain amount of essential body fat in order for it to function properly. This type of fat can be found surrounding your body’s vital organs as a layer of protection. It is also stored in the body’s organs, intestines, muscles and other tissues.

Storage Body Fat

Storage body fat is the type of fat that can be associated with love handles and flabby bellies. This is the type of fat that we need to lose. It is linked with all kinds of health risks like obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer.

 When we consume too much food are body will automatically store the extra calories as fat to be used as a source of energy at a later time as part of its survival mechanism. The problem is that if we continue to over eat we accumulate an excess storage of fat. This is why it is so important that we consume the right size food portions and remain active in order to use up the left over calories.

We all have a certain amount of fat cells in our bodies that we are genetically given at birth. These cells shrink and expand as your body fat is either stored or used as a source of energy. The more fat that your body stores the larger your fat cells will expand.

Fat is stored primarily in two categories: Subcutaneous fat and visceral fat. Subcutaneous fat is the type of fat located just underneath the skin, think flab. Visceral fat is the fat that is stored surrounding the body’s internal organs. Excess visceral fat is the most dangerous fat because of it puts you at a high risk for diabetes and heart disease. 

Measuring Body Fat Percentages

Body Fat can be measured in a few different ways. The two most common ways to measure body fat percentages are; Skin Fold measurements and Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BMI). These two methods are easy and cost effective. 

Skin fold measurements are done by using calipers to measure pinches of subcutaneous body fat, taken from a series of points on the body. These measurements are then converted into body fat percentages by using a mathematical formula.

Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis measures body fat percentages by sending a small electrical current through the body and recording the amount of time it takes for the signal to pass through the body.

The following chart from the American Council on Exercise puts body fat percentages into categories ranging from obese to athletic.

 Where do on this chart do you measure up?

Once you have your body fat percentage, you can calculate the amount of lean body mass and the amount of fat mass that you have.

(Body weight x Body Fat %) = Fat Mass

(Body weight – Fat mass) = Lean Body mass

Lean body mass is a measurement of muscle and bone structure in the body

Fat Mass is the amount of fat you have on your body.

Why is it important to know what your body fat percentage is?

It is important to know what your body fat percentage is so that you can understand what body fat category that you follow under. This information is important when you begin an exercise program. This information can be valuable for goal setting and as a way of monitoring the progress you’re making with your exercise and nutrition programs.

Whether I am working with my personal training clients, boot camp classes, or online training clients, we always have an initial fitness assessment prior to beginning a new exercise program. During this fitness assessment we will measure body fat, girth measurements, height, weight, and a few other fitness tests.

The reason for this is that these numbers give valuable information that we use for goal setting and exercise program planning.  Every 4-6 weeks I will continue to retest my clients as a way of monitoring their progress and motivating them.

If you have not had a fitness assessment done already I strongly recommend asking your doctor or local personal trainer to give you an assessment.  This way you can give yourself a starting point to work from.

You can also give yourself an assessment. All you need is a scale, tape measure, and a hand held bioelectrical impedance analysis devise.

More information on Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis

By Benjamin Petitpas, CSCS

Personal Trainer Connecticut

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Certified Personal Trainers located in Avon, Connecticut

Are you tired of looking at yourself in the mirror only to see the same old out of shape body? Are you looking for the motivation, support, and guidance to help you get your body back?

The Exercise and Nutrition Counseling Center of Avon, Connecticut is the Place to Help You make it Happen!!

  We provide nutrition counseling, personal training, semi-private training, fitness boot camps, and much more!

Dear Friend,

Hi, I am Benjamin Petitpas, co-founder of The Exercise and Nutrition Counseling Center located in Avon, Connecticut.  I wanted to thank you for your interest in our personal training services.

I know how exactly how frustrating it can be trying to lose weight and getting yourself back into great shape. After suffering an injury that ended my athletic career, I ended up gaining almost 45 pounds. I went through a difficult struggle myself, before I eventually lost all the weight. So I know how difficult it can be trying to do it all on your own and how hopeless it can sometimes feel when you don’t notice any changes in your body, even after you have spent countless hours in the gym working out.

If you are reading this right now, you may be going through a struggle similar to what I experienced right now.

You maybe asking yourself?

What am I doing wrong? I’m working out but not seeing any changes?

What exercises should I be doing? How many sets and reps? How often?

How much? How often? And what should I be eating?

Where do you begin? What source of information can you trust?

Let’s face it, there is so much conflicting information out there about weight loss and what’s the most effective method. For every fitness article and study that you read, there is another that says the opposite. To make things worse it seems that every month there is some type of new fad diet out there, weight loss supplement companies making ridiculous weight loss claims, and there are even infomercials on TV claiming how you can build muscle without doing anything at all.

Of course you are confused….

Here are 3 Weight Loss Facts that you Absolutely Must Know:

Fact # 1 – If you are trying to lose weight from diet alone, you can be sabotaging your own chances for long term weight loss success, because most of the weight you have lost could be made up mostly of muscle, rather than fat, which will only cause your metabolism to slow down, making it even harder for you to lose weight in the long run.

Fact # 2 – Are you considering using weight loss supplements or surgeries? These are only quick fixes and have been proven to be ineffective for permanent weight loss because they do not address the unhealthy behaviors that caused the weight gain in the first place. The unhealthy behaviors are the real problem preventing your weight loss and must be addressed first, before you will see any real permanent results. Sure you may lose some weight with surgery, but in the long run, you will only end up gaining all the weight you lost back if you don’t make the necessary changes.

Fact # 3 – Combining proper nutrition, strength training, cardiovascular training, and healthy lifestyle changes together, is the most effective way to burn fat, tone your body, get stronger, and lose weight and keep it off for good!

We make it easy for you,

·         By actually taking the time to sit down with you during your FREE Fitness Consultation and looking at everything you are doing right, what you are doing wrong, and addressing what changes are needed to be made.

·         We will set short term and long term goals for you and create a simple step by step plan for you follow to achieve these goals.  

·         Just taking you through a workout is not enough, as fitness professionals our job is also to educate you on living a healthy lifestyle.

Here is a look at what’s included in our personal training programs:

• Weekly Personal Training Sessions – You will receive personal instruction from a nationally certified personal trainer. Each workout will be carefully designed to get you results. Our exercise programs are based on the most current research, science, and by proven results.  
• Motivation – Your personal trainer will help you set goals for yourself and motivate and challenge you to achieve them. It’s much easier to achieve your goals when you having someone there to push and motivate you every step of the way. 
• Instruction – Not only will teach you exactly how to perform every exercise safe and correctly, we will also take the time to educate you on why we are using particular exercises and how they will help you get closer to achieving your goals. 
• Support – We understand that you will have some ups and downs along the way to getting yourself in great shape.  That is why our personal trainers are here to give you the support and encouragement you need to be successful. 
• Accountability – Having an appointment is one way of making sure you show up for your workout, sometimes just getting to the gym is the hardest part. We do much more than just make sure you show up for workouts, we set goals for you and hold you accountable for achieving them.  
• Nutritional Instruction – Dr. Judy Siegel’s nutrition program will help you end all confusion on what you should be eating and what you shouldn’t be eating.  She will help you discover why all of these fad diets are ineffective and what you should be doing instead to have permanent healthy nutrition habits. 
•  Fun & Effective Workouts – Each workout is designed with your results in mind by one of our nationally certified personal trainers. The workouts will be challenging, but at the same time we understand that if you don’t enjoy something you are less likely to stick with it, so we try to make it a fun and enjoyable experience for you. 
•  A push you when you need it – We all can use a little kick in the butt every now to get us going! We are here to give you a push when you need it, but we also know when ease back on the workout when you need it too. Either way, we will help you get the most out of every one of your workouts.

If you are serious about getting yourself in great shape, call us at (860) 676-0643 to Schedule your FREE Fitness Consultation

Since we are a small private facility we only have a limited number of spaces available to take on new clients, so don’t waste any more time and call us today!

Call us at (860) 676-0643 or fill in the contact form below to Schedule your FREE Fitness Consultaion Today!

Personal Trainer Connecticut, Personal Trainer Avon, Personal Trainer Bloomfield, Personal Trainer Canton, Personalt Trainer Farmington, Personal Trainer Simsbury, Personal Trainer West Hartford

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