blog archive

Where to place the carrot - the difference between finishing and quitting

Several years ago I participated in the MS Tour For Cure. On the second day on the last half of the 75 mile ride I settled in with a small group of riders who were keeping up a blistering pace. We sailed past each of the rest stops. Toward the end it was all I could do to take my turn in the lead. I stayed with it because my odometer indicated that we only had a little over mile to go – the carrot (the end of the punishing pace) was very close.

I was really suffering. I wondered if others were suffering too. I found out. Someone in the group asked how much farther? Someone else replied: “Five miles to go” – that placed the carrot very far away. I knew that was wrong, but one of my co-riders Shane didn't know. Shane immediately fell off the pace.

Strength training better than aerobics for easing back pain

In a 16 week study using two different modalities to ease back pain one group performed aerobic training such as walking on a treadmill, jogging, and using an elliptical machine and another group exercised used barbells, dumbbells, and other load-bearing exercise equipment. The aerobic group experienced a 12 percent decrease in back pain, while the weight training group experienced a 60 percent decrease in back pain.

Fourth Anniversary for Kelly’s Austin Personal Training

Four years ago when we opened our doors to Kelly Personal Training in Austin I was new to Austin and did not know a soul. It was a scary being opened for business without a single customer.

Business was slow at first but it gradually picked up, and word of mouth helped the business to grow to include ten trainers. I like to thank my long time clients for those initial referrals, and the trainers for their dedication to their work.

In 28 days a 67 Percent Improvement in Strength

It is rare for a woman to do a single chin-up. It is rarer still for a tall woman to do a chin-up. Years ago I began working out a 5'9" woman who could do three chin-ups. Her routine had been to do three chin-ups followed by several demanding negative reps every Friday at 5:00 for more than a year. She worked hard but she never improved. She was not remotely close to conpleting a fourth repetition.

This woman would do a whole body strength training workout once or twice week and use the aerobic equipment other days.

Her trainer resigned and I began training her. On the first Friday she insisted on doing chin-ups. It told her she had nothing to lose by taking a week off from that one exercise. She reluctantly acquiesced. She came in the next Friday with a negative mindset, fully expecting to be weaker. She did four chin-ups. She was amazed. When I asked her to forgo chin-ups the week after that she complied.

Reverse Aging in Human Skeletal Muscle with Resistance Exercise

From this study Resistance Exercise Reverses Aging in Human Skeletal Muscle:

"Healthy older adults show evidence of mitochondrial impairment and muscle weakness, but that this can be partially reversed at the phenotypic level, and substantially reversed at the transcriptome level, following six months of resistance exercise training.”