by Alex Awve, Fitness Director and NSCA-CSCS Certified Personal Trainer

We all slip from time to time! Progress isn't always linear and when we're working towards goals, it's expected that there will be occasional setbacks. Don't let your setbacks stop your from reaching your goals! Here are ten tips for getting back on track!

1. Only eat when you are feeling hungry (wait until your stomach is growling but not until you are starving). If you wait until your body goes into starvation mode your body will not burn as many calories...

How To Do A Box Squat by Casey Alger-Feser

This week I would like to take this opportunity to discuss the box squat. I will be going through an explanation on why the box squat can be beneficial to you, how to properly perform the squat, and a few other details regarding different training variables. A few great reasons to try out this squat are the fact that it will help reinforce proper form as well as help break through strength plateaus.

by Krystal Morgan-White, NSCA-CSCS Personal Trainer

Friends don’t let friends skip leg day! This has been my motto for a while now and I say it frequently at the club! I know leg day isn’t everyone’s favorite, and it doesn’t have to be, but it should be a part of your normal fitness routine.  Or maybe you don’t have leg “day,” but you incorporate some leg moves throughout your other workouts, which is great! Hopefully, you all know the benefits to including some leg exercises into your fitness regimen, but do you incorporate any single leg moves? Or know the benefits of them?

by Casey Alger-Feser, NASM Certified Personal Trainer

The sled pull is a dynamic move that will work on your legs, upper back, and grip strength, it's also good for getting your heart rate up. While these pulls do help with multiple muscle groups, this article will focus on the quads and why it is beneficial for your knees. In our gym, we set up the sled pull by attaching a TRX strap to our weighted sled in the carpet area between the cardio floor and weight room.

by Andy Gaustad, MS, NSCA-CSCS Certified Personal Trainer

Leg workouts are a tough day for anyone. They’re hard, they’re exhausting, they hurt in good ways and sometimes in bad ways. Knees, hips and back hurt occasionally. Most of the time, the pain part is short term. Oftentimes, it’s a lingering ache that we just ignore and keep pushing through. Muscle and joint pain are usually signs of dysfunction somewhere in the kinetic chain. Short and long term overuse, weakness, muscle imbalances, tightness, poor posture, among other issues are reasons behind lingering pain. When “leg day” pops up during the week, many of us experience pain stemming from these dysfunctions.

by Olivia LaPlante, ISSA Personal Trainer

One of my personal favorite leg day exercises is to do pistol squats. For those of you who do not know what a pistol squat is, it is a single leg squat that requires a great deal of balance. The idea of the pistol squat is, while standing on one leg, squat to the lowest point without letting yourself fall back or rest on the ground.
Benefits: Develop full range of muscle recruitment, isolation of each leg for balancing strength deficits, increases flexibility and mobility, increases ankle joint mobility and flexibility, and greatly improves balance.

by Dan Chojnacki, NETA Certified Personal Trainer, NETA Certified Group Exercise Instructor

In the current state of today’s world, it has become imperative that we take care of our bodies in order to stay healthy. Many of us are beginning to re-think or re-focus how we go about daily activities that would normally have never required a second thought. This attention to detail, which keeps us from getting sick, is a concept that can also help us stay healthy during our workouts.

by Casey Alger-Feser, NASM Certified Personal Trainer

Today I would like to discuss how increasing your ankle mobility can improve your squat form. While increased ankle mobility can help with multiple moves in and out of the gym, today we will key in on the squat. The first issue we need to address is some of the causes of poor ankle mobility. Some common causes include ankle sprains, high-heeled shoes, tight calves, arch pain and even genetics. When the joint and muscles around the ankle are tight and restrict your range of motion, your ankle will not be able to fully flex. This will inhibit your ability to get below parallel when you squat. Two ways to help improve this issue include self-myofascial release and static stretching...

by Dan Chojnacki, Assistant Group Fitness Director, Master Trainer

Goal setting is one of the most important aspects of our fitness lives. After all, how can we know what to do if we don’t know what we want to achieve? There are countless different goals that can be set, but there is one common way to reach them all: be SMART. I’m not necessarily talking about being intelligent, although that is certainly part of it. I’m talking about making our goals smart. They should be...

by Andy Gaustad, Personal Trainer

Tony Robbins said the secret to happiness in one word. ... “I always tell people if you want to know the secret to happiness, I can give it to you in one word: progress. Progress equals happiness.” That's because reaching a goal is satisfying, but only temporarily.

This week we asked each of our Personal Trainers to tell us a little bit more about their journeys to becoming PTs and training at Western. Learn more about what led them to this career, why they love it, and what makes training at Western special!