Workout Revival: Training with the 'Best of Philly'
Is your workout in need of a revival? Sick of the same old routine or losing interest in your current one? Philly trainers experienced in a variety of fitness styles give you workouts to rejuvenate your mind and body the next time you hit the gym.
Brian Maher has a bachelor's degree in exercise sports science, is a certified strength and conditioning specialist, and has a 'Best of Philly' award to his name courtesy of Philadelphia Magazine.
He has been a personal trainer for about nine years, juggling clients while pursing his degree at Elon University. While there he assisted the university's strength and conditioning coach with training the football and baseball teams.
Upon graduation and a move back to Philadelphia, Maher began training people in their homes before accumulating enough clientele to open his own studio. In September 2014, Philly Personal Training was born, infused with Maher's weight lifting principles and philosophy.
"We focus a lot on weight training," he said of his exercise style, "because having muscle is so important. One pound of muscle is actually smaller than one pound of fat, so if you gain more muscle and you lose fat, you could even weigh the same amount that you were before, but be a smaller pant size. It increases your metabolism and can prevent a lot of injuries."
Maher holds his studio and trainers to a higher standard. They are one of only a handful of gyms that not only require their trainers be certified, but also have a degree in exercise sport science.
Training with him means you can be sure you'll hit all of the muscle groups during your session. When designing a workout for a client, Maher begins with the larger muscle groups first and works his way down to the smaller ones. This way you'll have more energy to hit bigger muscles likes your quads or chest, rather than inadvertently fatiguing them while targeting secondary muscles like the triceps.
"Full body movements are more functional for everyday life. You're very rarely just using one part of your body, usually the whole body is working together," Maher said.
He also puts emphasis on the muscles that tend to be neglected. You know, the ones you might not be able to flex in the mirror.
"You need to work the abs and lower back. It can actually be really useful for people who are sitting all day, which the majority of people who have a job are sitting all day. That can help correct and posture issues or any back pain that you might have from sitting," he said.
Maher expressed concerns with the world of personal training, explaining that the pressure of trying to give a client a new, exciting workout every time can cause trainers to get too cute. While it's important to challenge clients, basic compound movements can still yield the best results. His workout below is a combination of both the classic and modern training styles he practices with his clients.
The results and testimonies are abundant.
"The physical transformation is great, but I love seeing the change in confidence," Maher said of why he enjoys being a personal trainer. "You just see them completely change as a person and you'd like to think that the confidence they got from looking so much better and feeling so much better about themselves had a big impact on their lives other than just looking good in a bathing suit."
Without further ado, Maher explains his total body workout:
In the workout provided below, Maher starts off using a TRX suspension trainer. If your gym doesn't having this equipment, don't fret, there are alternatives. A stability ball can be used as a substitute. Just place the ball between your back and the wall and squat down on one leg. The same goes for the atomic pushup. Place your feet on the ball, do a pushup and tuck your knees into your chest before pushing back out.
One leg TRX squats (3 x 15)
Main muscle groups worked: Quads, hamstrings and glutes.
Using the TRX suspension teaches you to stay back while squatting instead of leaning forward, causing the knees to go over the toes.
TRX atomic push ups (3 x 12)
Main muscle groups worked: Chest, shoulders and triceps
Wall sit (3 x 1 minute each)
Main muscles worked: Quads, hamstrings and glutes.
I like to add a Versa Band to the wall sit to work on the abductor muscles, which are common weak points, causing the knees to go in when squatting. Keep the Versa band around thighs, just above the knee and keep your feet shoulder width apart. While sitting against the wall, make sure to hold the knees apart since the band will be trying to pull them together.
Inverted row (3 x 12)
Main muscle groups worked: Lats, rhomboids, biceps
Put a barbell on the squat rack and grab the bar so you are pulling towards the rack (pulling away from the rack will cause the bar to be pulled off). With your hands shoulder width apart, squeeze the shoulder blades together as you pull your body up towards the bar, while keeping your body in a straight line. Alter the height of the barbell to increase or decrease the resistance.
Plank (3 x 1 minute each or as long as possible)
Main muscles worked: Abs
Back extensions on stability ball (3 x 20)
Main muscles worked: Lower back
The lower back is often neglected, not just by regular gym goers, but personal trainers as well. With more and more jobs requiring us to sit, it becomes increasingly important to keep the lower back strong.
If you have any questions or comments, you can always reach Brian at bmaher@phillypersonaltraining.com.
Read more Sports Doc for Sports Medicine and Fitness.