Haddonfield Personal Trainer Jim Bompensa: Convenience Will Get You Back on Track

Haddonfield Personal Trainer Jim Bompensa: Convenience Will Get You Back on Track

Convenience is critical when you’re trying to get your fitness routine back on track. If you’re like a large number of the customers at my private training center in Haddonfield, NJ, your fitness routine took a little detour over the summer months. Many of our customers spend the summer at the beach, take multiple vacations, or get bogged down with family activities and summer parties. This hectic schedule introduces certain challenges that make it more difficult to keep your workout routine on course. If you’ve read my articles in the past, you’ve been exposed to my convenient workouts and how you can fit an effective workout into your schedule no matter what challenges you face. It’s my hope that most readers have taken my advice and completed workouts similar to those recommended during their busy times.

If you have just recently begun reading my articles or simply fell off the exercise wagon this summer, I am here to help. I’m going to give you the most important piece of advice to get your routine back on track. Not only will this help you get back in the groove, but it will help you avoid future workout interruptions. The most important tip to maintaining your fitness lifestyle is, “Keep it convenient.” It sounds simple, but many people fail to practice this philosophy. If your workouts are not convenient, you’ll inevitably fall off track. Your lifestyle will get in the way. Yes, it’s true that I view exercise as a very important component in my life. Yes, it’s true that I have not missed a workout in about 15 years and I workout on vacation. But, no, I don’t put exercise in front of those things that are more important. Nothing is more important than spending time with my family. There is no way I would let exercise pull me away from any important responsibility. How then do I stay on course with my fitness schedule? It’s simple. I keep it convenient. Follow my tips below to help simplify your fitness lifestyle. Use these tips now to get back on track and refer back to them next year when you face a challenging summer schedule and you’re contemplating ditching your workouts.

1) Consider keeping your workout in house with a treadmill, elliptical, or exercise video.
2) Join a gym that is close to home.
3) Look for activities that you can do with your child. Some possible choices are martial arts, dance classes, running outdoors with jogging stroller, or bike rides to the park.
4) Look for ways that you can exercise while your child is at their activity. I run while my daughter is at her Karate lessons. I don’t miss a thing because I run 50 yard sprints back and forth so I can look in the window. Be creative and you do not have to miss out on their activities or your workouts.
5) Consider fitting in super efficient short exercise burst like my In-7 Target Toning Series.
6) Bring the fitness center into the home with exercise accessories such as stability balls, pushup bars,kettle bells, or resistance bands.
7) Fit exercise into your daily routine by walking or riding your bike to work or using the stairs.

Best of luck and remember fitness is a lifelong commitment so use creative ideas like these to keep it in the schedule

Haddonfield Personal Trainer Jim Bompensa: WINTER WORKOUT TIPS FEATURING TABATA TRAINING!

Haddonfield Personal Trainer Jim Bompensa:

WINTER WORKOUT TIPS FEATURING TABATA TRAINING!

As winter rolls in, many people abandon exercise. I encourage my clients to use the winter as a time to switch up their workout routines and reap the benefits of cross training. If you already workout indoors, the winter months may not threaten your workout schedule. However, if you’re an outdoor runner or walker or participate in other outdoor activities, the change in weather may put a strain on your fitness regimen.

My blog post titled “Tips to Keep Your Family Active and Unified This Winter” offers some great ideas for winter fitness activities. Please check it out for various cold weather workouts. In addition to these suggested activities, I have put together an effective and efficient indoor winter exercise circuit. This routine utilizes Tabata Training. Tabata Training is based on 4 minutes of intense interval training. During those 4 minutes you alternate between 20 second high intensity intervals and 10 second rest intervals. This method has been proven to be more effective than traditional interval training which alternates longer rest periods with shorter high intensity periods. Tabata Training can be done with any type of exercise including squats, sprints and pushups. I use this training method periodically for many of my long time clients and it shakes up their routine every time.

When I use the Tabata Method, I like to include it as part of a full circuit workout. Try the following indoor exercise circuit which utilizes Tabata Training for an outstanding winter indoor workout blast.

1) 5 minute warm-up with your preferred cardio exercises.
2) 4 minute Tabata Squat (20 seconds of exercise followed by 10 second of rest repeated 8 times)
3) 4 minute Tabata Pushup (20 seconds of exercise followed by 10 second of rest repeated 8 times)
4) 4 minute Tabata Pull Ups or Bent Over Rows. (20 seconds of exercise followed by 10 second of rest repeated 8 times)
5) 2 minute Tabata Squat Jump (20 seconds of exercise followed by 10 second of rest repeated 4 times)
6) 4 minute Tabata Sit Up (20 seconds of exercise followed by 10 second of rest repeated 8 times)
7) 5 minute cool down with your preferred cardio exercises.

This 28 minute workout will give you a quick full body kick. It’s just the jolt you need to get your workout in gear this winter. Also remember you can use this method for any exercise. Feel free to utilize the format of this routine and replace the exercises with others that may be more specific to your goals. For example you can include bicep and tricep exercises or leg and glute exercises.

Don’t use the winter as an excuse to be lazy. Instead, get excited about new twists that can add benefit to your workout. I recommend the Tabata Method as a great start!