Saw this in the store, it’s a kids fitness set. All in all, it’s pretty good, except for one thing, the ankle/wrist weights. Unless it’s been specifically prescribed by your doctor, don’t put those on your kid. Well at the top of the leg and the arm is a ball and socket joint. Odds your kid doesn’t violently swing their arms or legs for fun while it’s on? Slim. Think of it in terms of a stick attached to a ball by string. Now, if you add weight to the bottom of that a swing it side to side continually, what’s going to happen? – strings stretch? – stick snaps? – strings break? – one string becomes looser than the other? – haven’t even discussed what may happen in the socket Think of that being your kids legs or arms… ah no. Everything has it’s place, but maybe stay away from the wrist and ankle weights for your kids.

Site icon
Saw this in the store, it’s a kids fitness set. All in all, it’s pretty good, except for one thing, the ankle/wrist weights. Unless it’s been specifically prescribed by your doctor, don’t put those on your kid. Well at the top of the leg and the arm is a ball and socket joint. Odds your kid doesn’t violently swing their arms or legs for fun while it’s on? Slim. Think of it in terms of a stick attached to a ball by string. Now, if you add weight to the bottom of that a swing it side to side continually, what’s going to happen? – strings stretch? – stick snaps? – strings break? – one string becomes looser than the other? – haven’t even discussed what may happen in the socket Think of that being your kids legs or arms… ah no. Everything has it’s place, but maybe stay away from the wrist and ankle weights for your kids.
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Shawna’s Weight Loss Blog

Shawna is an Iron Fit client, likely going through a lot of the same struggles you are.

September 4, 2020 

Hey all. I’m baaaaack. For those that don’t know me, I’m Shawna. I am a client of Mark Kay and off and on I have been his client for maybe 3-4 years. I really can’t remember anymore. I was doing a blog, for more than one reason. Mainly, when I was keeping this blog, it was keeping me accountable, because really, there is NOTHING WORSE than having to type to all your followers that you’re a phony.

Well, I really don’t remember where I was when I last “left” you all. I know I was losing weight pretty steadily. But then something caused me to just…stop. Maybe it was because of my finances. Maybe it was because of my work schedules. Maybe it was just my motivation that just stopped working. Who knows. But regardless…I am here. Again haha

Well, after I “quit” with Mark, I wish I could say I did well, but I didn’t. I not only ended up gaining weight, but I ended up gaining more. I ended up at my highest weight ever in life…a number that I vowed I would never ever EVER hit…I weighed in at 308! I told myself that I would never get to 300…but then I did.

I celebrated my wedding anniversary that year as a 300 (plus) pound woman. I use to joke to my husband that “you must like sleeping with a 300 pound woman” and he would laugh it off, thinking I was joking. He didn’t know my true weight at the time. (I later told him in a drunken weakness).

I’m going to fast forward to save you all the boring details.  December 31, 2019 I vowed that I can’t afford to be over 300 pounds anymore.  I was unhappy.  I had knee pain.  I was diagnosed with osteoarthritis in my knees, and while “skinny” people can also get arthritis, my doctor suggested that losing weight will help.  So, I decided once and for and all that this obese lifestyle was NOT for me.  Not anymore!!!! 

I started to eat healthy.  I started to exercise.  I went back on my treadmill again.  It was January…too cold to go outside.  We were having temps of -30s BEFORE windchill.  Whatever I was doing, was working. 

Then in February 2019 I went back to my doc to ask about weight loss surgery. He had suggested it a few times in the past but I didn’t listen.  But I was desperate.  So, he did put me on a wait list, which I am still on.  It’s a 2 year wait list and I’ve been on it for almost a year. 

Do I want surgery?  No.  But if I absolutely need it…I’ll do it.  I know a lot of people who have been successful with the surgery.  So, what do I have to lose, except my weight right? 

Well, fast forward a little bit more…I am proud to say that today I am 233.4 pounds.  I’m down 75 pounds since January 1.  And I feel great.  My knee pain has gone down a lot!!  The arthritis is still there but I can walk up and down the stairs “normally” and not as much like a toddler does – open stair at a time. 

It was about a month ago that I started back with Mark.  So far, it’s going well.  We meet either at his garage, my garage, or on zoom.  It’s going well, and I look forward to getting into the 220s…hopefully next week!!!!!   

Well that’s a lot of info…and thank you if you all; made it this far! 

I look forward to sharing my “new” journey with you all.

Kicking butt with some lateral hops
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Are You Doing It Wrong

Your look isn’t the most important thing you should be worrying about for your fitness goals. There, I said it. But we all want to look good for society you say. Yeah, that may be true. And society is definitely doing a terrible job of giving us self confidence and telling us what we should look like. But the key to your workouts should be something more long term. Something that’s going to affect you until you head to live with the ants.
There are a ton of reasons you workout. Most of them focus on the here and now. It’s like garnering RRSP’s, you always feel that there’s going to be time to save for old age. Until you get closer and realize, all those TV’s you bought could’ve led to a few months of no working in your retirement years. Working out is the same, we don’t think enough about what it’s doing to us as we get older.
As you get older, your muscles may go through a stage called sarcopenia. Sarcopenia is the loss of your muscle tissue as you age. Now that you know it’s not called “old muscles”, you can impress people with the proper name. As you get over the age of 50, you end up losing a percentage of your muscle every year. Every year, that’s crazy! I mean, you know it’s going to go at some point, but you never realize it’s that much.
You can help reverse and slow down this process by exercising. That’s right, something can actually be reversed in your old age. And it’s not that hard to do. 
If you are over 50 and haven’t done any form of resistance training, start. No matter what your age, it’s never too late. There’s a dramatic increase in muscle function when you perform resistance training. But it can’t be a one off. You need to incorporate it into your weekly schedule, and keep it going on your lifestyle. You don’t have to spend hours at the gym. The right program, designed by an Iron Fit Trainer, can help you along your path. It looks very scary, but trust us, it’s not.
If you’re younger, focus on doing exercises with proper form, and some small exercises that work the smaller muscles. Those cable machines & the TRX systems can be very helpful in hitting muscles you didn’t know you had. 
As hard as it may be, think of where you want to be in your 50’s & 60’s. Keep that in mind when you’re designing your workout plan. The right trainer will give you a long term outlook, and work on things you didn’t know could be improved. 
Mark Kay, NAIT – PFT, CSEP – CPT., MES, EIMC
Personal Fitness Trainer / Owner
Iron Fit Personal Training
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Stop Destroying Your Child

Pushups are destroying your child!!! 

So, you make your child do push-ups. Your goal is to get them active and moving. However, if all you’re doing is pushups, you’re creating more of a problem than you’re helping. We’ve trained many kids that we’ve had to help correct their posture.

Most kids, and people for that matter, have rolled shoulders. That means the shoulder are forward, leaving a bit of a rounded upper back. This is caused by many things. But desk work and excessive electronics usage are large contributes to this.

If you’re doing pushups, make sure you do something to strengthen the upper back/ rear deltoid muscles as well. Like my daughter Olivia is showing. This will help relieve future problems for your kids. As well as helping create a better overall workout for them.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Who Cares What You Lift?

Who Cares What You Lift?

Remember when you told people you worked out, and got asked “how much you lift” or “how much do you squat”?  Ya, you likely still get asked that. But in the long run, who cares?

The amount of weight you lift is almost irrelevant. That’s great that you can bench press 200 pounds. Going to be lifting a car anytime soon? I know in my regular everyday activities, I put 150lbs on my shoulders and squat. No you don’t, and no I don’t.

Your form and your reasoning for doing the exercises is more important than how much you lift. If you’re looking to be functional in your day to day life, knowing how much you can do on a cable pec fly while not having your back supported is much more important than knowing how much you can lie down and press. 

Weight training has come a long ways from using machines and doing everything as heavy as you can. Find and develop a program to suit YOUR lifestyle needs, not what you can brag about doing.

Did I lose you at what a cable pec fly was? Give us a call, we would be happy to help you out on your path to reach your health & fitness potential.

Mark Kay

Owner, Iron Fit Personal Training  

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Success Takes Time

We’ve all seen the infomercial showing how to “get a 6 pack in just ….. days”. Funny thing is, lots of those people are fitness models or competitors. Or, they have been told to gain a few pounds, to show easy before and after. Amazing isn’t it? However, how long does it really take to lose some weight? To gain the inches your looking for on bulking?
The average safe and effective weight loss per week is 1-3 pounds. Keep in mind, that’s the average, not the norm. Some people may lose 5 pounds a week, and some may lose 1/2 a pound. There’s no perfect science to say how much you’re going to lose.
Guess what, there’s going to be some weeks where you lose nothing, or you gain! Oh my word, you may gain? Yup. 
There will be ups and downs in your fitness journey. You will have some weeks where you kick some serious butt. You will then have weeks where your butt gets kicked by the world. That’s life. If everyone was perfect, there’d be no need to all this dieting and crazy workout stuff.
It’s all about setting realistic, attainable goals, and making sure that you have more up weeks than down weeks. We work with all of our clients to not let you get too high, and not let you get too low. It’s about adjusting to your personality & lifestyle. Iron Fit trainers can make it work for you. 
Mark Kay, NAIT – PFT, CSEP – CPT., MES, EIMC
Personal Fitness Trainer / Owner
Iron Fit Personal Training
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
← Older Posts
Newer Posts →
%d bloggers like this: