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How to Get Fit Like Adam Lambert

By SETH GOTTESDIENER

Adam and I started working together about 18 months ago to up his fitness game. He came to me with weight-loss goals and the desire to tone his entire body. I knew we'd be working together long-term, so we've gradually built a foundation.

Adam had a lot of overuse injuries in his shoulders, so we've had to modify certain exercises. Mostly focusing on stability and good form and posture, we try to hit only a couple of major muscle groups in a session. Lately, he's been lifting heavier and starting to have better muscle endurance, allowing us to keep pushing.

1. Consistency: Since I've started training Adam, he's been incredibly consistent, with very few lapses in our training cycle. He's said to me he might not always love going to the gym, but he knows he has to do it and always feels amazing afterwards. When it comes to going to the gym, I tell everyone that you'll always regret not going and never regret showing up.

2. Variation: Although there are definitely some muscle groups we will constantly hit, I try to provide variation in all of my workouts. We've done everything from heavy Olympic lifting to yoga with light hand weights and cardio drills in between. I also can't take all the credit, because Adam trains one on one with a private Pilates instructor. If you've never had a session on the reformer, I would recommend it to anyone! You'll feel muscles you didn't even know existed.

Also, a good rule of thumb for anyone getting bored with their specific gym regimen is to mix it up. Try a class or activity that has sparked your interest that you've never made the time to seek out before.

3. Eat a Plant-Based Diet: Adam prefers plants, and so should you. I'm in full support of people who choose to eat more plants instead of meats in their diets. Although I consume a bountiful amount of meat, I am trying to pack on calories and I still eat a variety of vegetables and grain.

My average client is trying to tone and slim, and eating less meat is definitely conducive to that goal. Going green has better effects on your health as well: Vegetarians generally weigh less and have a lower risk of heart disease and cancer than non-vegetarians. People who practice plant-based diets may also age better and live longer. Ayurvedic philosophy also believes that less meat is more when it comes to not only physical health, but also mental stability.

4. Cardio Kick: We always do a big cardio push in the beginning of each workout to try  and spike the heart rate and keep it up for the duration of the workout. If we've done a couple of slower functional exercises, I'll throw in a drill of burpees, mountain climbers or speed rope to try and bring the heart rate back up and go into our next superset of exercises.

5. Form and Function: One of the biggest challenges for any adult getting into a gym routine is breaking down bad learned behaviors and instilling new ones. There's a saying that you can't teach an old dog new tricks, but you can show them a thing or two about posture.

One of the biggest problems that my clients have is moderate to severe kyphosis, or exaggerated curvature of the thoracic vertebrae. One way to correct for this is an exercise called shoulder packing. You visualize and practice pulling your shoulder blades down and back during exercise and throughout the day.

However, the best way to correct this is simply by working the back muscles. Strengthening the rhomboids, traps and levator scapulae will help to prevent tight anterior chest muscles from rounding the shoulders inward. Always take a moment before you start any exercise to scan the body for imbalances or anything that feels out of place, and don't be afraid to take a minute to stretch.

6. Core-centric: Adam loves doing abs, especially obliques. If you have access to a BOSU ball, you can do this great exercise that targets the love handles.

You'll need a partner or a place you can secure both feet. Start off by lying on your side on top of the BOSU with one hip down on the middle. Bring your hands behind your head or across your chest and, with your partner holding your ankles or your feet wedged firmly underneath something stable, use your obliques to come all the way up and twist front and center. After about 10 to 15 of these, your obliques should be burning! Switch sides and repeat reps.

Need some inspiration? Try this playlist to get your pulse pounding:

--Seth

Seth Gottesdiener is an L.A.-based personal trainer, group fitness instructor and endurance athlete. Seth believes in a proper balance of exercise, diet and a mental-health regimen for the best results of well-being from a mind-body-spirit approach.


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