As many of you know, I am working hard so that our clients get the best possible equipment. In fact by the end of 2010 the Genesis Performance Center Gym will be upgraded with lots of new and better equipment. One reason that I am upgrading our dumbbells is that we want the dumbbells to be increment-able in 1kg jumps (instead of the usual 2.5 or 5kg jumps). This allows for more progressive loading and thus better improvement in strength. More strength means better fat burning, weight loss and athletic performance for our clients.

On a slightly selfish note, the new dumbbells will have weights up to 75kg. The heaviest in any Singapore Gym or fitness training center. Why? Simply because I have personally outgrown the ones we have now. We have sets up to 50kg and they are pretty easy to lift. So for my personal progress as an athlete, new, better and heavier dumbbells are necessary!

Here is a video of me pressing 50kg dumbbells easily.

As you can see, for my personal training clients, and for myself, there should be only the best possible equipment!

Hand phones are a big source of electro-magnetic radiation and even in “standby” mode weaken our bodies. At our Singapore personal training Gym I don’t allow clients to train with them in their pockets. It reduces the effectiveness of their weight loss, fat burning and mass building gym workouts. Thus wasting my time and theirs!

But they are a big part of our lives and here are 3 tips to reduce their impact on our brain and hormone function (I’m sure many of you guys have gotten headaches after long hand phone based conversations.)

1. Use your hand phone only when there is a strong signal. This means that your phone does not need to radiate alot of energy to pick up and send information.
2. Use a speaker/headset and keep the phone far away from your chest. Holding it away or at arms length is better
3. Practice your listening skills! Hand phones “know” when you are talking and transmit more powerfully when you are talking. So it’s both EQ and IQ wise, a good idea to practice being a good listener!

One thing that personal training and Singapore fitness bootcamp clients miss when trying to eat the right stuff for weight loss and fat burning, is desserts. While it can be hard at first, here is one suggestion for a dessert that is far less likely to add inches to your waistline. The reason for this is that the berries are low in glycimic index, glycimic load, and insulin load. This means that they don’t cause your body to turn on its fat storage mechanism. To make things better, I added heavy cream (sometimes called thickened cream) which is a source of healthy fats. The fats slow digestion even further so that they glycimic index is lowered further. Finally I added cinnamon which is a spice that increases insulin sensitivity. This means that your cells will receive the nutrients better – and not let them end up in the fat cells.

And best of all, it tastes yummy!

Do you think you would get a better workout in a park? Or at the best gym in Singapore?

Although the quality of the coach who designs your personal training or weight loss fitness program is the top priority, I would admit that the quality of your fitness program design is influenced by the tools available to the coach.

Imagine…If you only gave me a 5 kg dumbbell, I would run out of useful exercises faster than if you gave me a complete gym set up with the right mix of different dumbbells, varieties of barbells, lifting platforms, power racks, machines and accessories like gym balls, bands, lifting pins, grip training equipment, etc (oops that just describes my Gym in Singapore).

In my experience, it is almost impossible for a in home personal trainer or a fitness instructor who trains out of a condo gym or a hotel gym, or a community center gym, to match the results we get at the Genesis Performance Center.

Just think for a moment why this would be so?…They would need to match both my program design ability, knowledge of health, understanding of anatomy, thousands of hours of study and seminars, as well as have the right gym equipment to do the job! This is a problem because these gyms were not designed by a person with 16 years of drug-free training study and experience.

It is also hard for any outdoor boot camp in a park to match the results we get at our indoor fitness boot camp which fully utilizes all the equipment available to us. In fact one bootcamp member recently commented “I’ve tried all the other bootcamps in Singapore and yours is way more value” … well of course:) We only design good programs and will ALWAYS get the equipment needed to support it.

This year 2010 alone, I plan to spend much of our business budget on upgrading our equipment to continue to lead Singapore Gyms as the best equipped (with the most useful stuff!) so that I have the greatest variety of gym equipment, so that I can design the greatest variety of personal training fitness programs, so that I can help the greatest amount of people get the weight loss, mass gaining or sports performance goals they deserve.

When choosing a gym, like in the rest of life, there are three groups of people.

Those who read and make the right choice (check out the remainder of my Singapore fitness blog to read more!)

Those who observe others and make the right choice (check out our success stories on the Singapore fitness homepage, or the success stories page)

And those who “piss on the electric fence to learn for themselves” – unfortunately some people try other methods and places to try and get results but are disappointed, frustrated and upset. In the end, after some pain and unfortunate experiences, they end up at Singapore’s best Gym, The Genesis Performance Center.

Don’t be in the third group. Join our Singapore based personal training or fitness boot camp program today.

Whenever I work with Singapore weight loss or fat loss clients, one of the key components of their program is nutrition. I get them off all sugary, starchy, and refined foods. Yes this is harder to do for some than others, yes it takes a willingness to change, but YES it IS effective!

Not What God Intended Us To Put In

And now I read a study that was a waste of money. The University of Minesota has concluded that sweet drinks (and if they extended that study to sweet or starchy foods, I’m sure it would give the same results) cause cancer… OF COURSE THEY DO.

More sugar, more insulin needed, over work for the pancreas and thus more pancreatic cancer.

Here is the bad news. Pancreatic cancer is one of the hardest to kill. And sometimes the “methods” I have seen recommended are just madness. A relative of mine with cancer was asked to drink “Ensure” as part of his “nutrition” plan. Unbelievable. Ensure is 55-60% SUGAR!! That is a big part of what caused this mess in the first place and now its seen as a form of treatment.

Cancer cells like sugar! So starve them (and better still prevent them from happening) by not having refined carbohydrates in your diet (meat, veggies and healthy fats is the way to go), and protecting your DNA (antioxidants, trans-resveratrol and nutrients). Also detoxing yourself of any environmental poisons.

Part of coaching clients either in our Singapore personal training or fitness boot camp programs, is managing the emotions of fitness. Getting strong, or lean or looking good is incredibly emotional and as a coach we need to handle these emotions.

Every Client in singapore who wants to build muscle, burn fat, lose weight and get strong wants it NOW.

Our fitness coaching, nutritional, health building and performance boosting programs get you there as fast as possible… but there is still this instant gratification factor that kicks in sometimes.

One of my clients was upset and discouraged and wondered why he kept getting “weaker” during this phase of his training. All other signs were good, he was leaner, bigger and visibly improved in all areas! Just that he could not lift the weights he usually could.

Here is where coaching and knowledge comes in. He has been on leave lately and has been training more often and on a harder program than before. I explained that I am intentionally over-training him for these few weeks so that when he rebounds he will be stronger than before. Also, he has to understand that he is a fairly advanced trainee, and these guys will have “great” workouts where they set records more and more infrequently as they progress. And it takes more and more specialized training to progress.

After all, the best in the world, the Olympic champ, has a great workout only once every 4 years!

The same is true for fat burning. Assuming you are training hard and doing the right nutrition and supplementation for your genes and current fitness level, weight loss or fat burning tends to come in “bunches” not 500g/day but rather nothing for a week, then suddenly 1-2kg. Then again, I as a coach have to keep people on track during the “no-progress” times.

I will use myself as an example of not having great workouts often. Here is me… lifting 200kg x3 in the deadlift from a podium at 81kg bodyweight. This was a VERY draining attempt for me and I could not repeat this effort for more than 3 weeks after this set of exercise. I had a “great” workout only once in that MONTH! But its ok because it was a record that I had been training 6 weeks to get.

The key is to stay on track, stay in focus and never give up on your fat burning, muscle building or weight loss goals.