Single leg squats at personal training facility Shape Up Fitness & Wellness Consulting

Why Single Side Exercises Can Give You Nicer….

butt, arms, shoulders, back….you name it. If you are expecting a rant against bilateral exercises, go look somewhere else. If you are looking for an explanation why you should include unilateral exercises in your fitness routine then you should read on. I am so used to including these exercises into my personal training client’s training routines…

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Training for older athletes at Shape Up Fitness & Wellness Consulting

Fitness beyond 50

I have been reading Joel Friel’s book “Fast After 5: How to Race Strong for the Rest of Your Life”. Friel who has been known in the triathlon and bicycling scene for his books explores fitness from the perspective of an aged athlete. It made me think. So much of our motivation can be closely…

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Silhouette woman run under blue sky with clouds

If You Run Don’t Lift Weights….If

Over the course of time I have seen many a runner who would claim that they either don’t need to lift weights or at least not train their legs because of their running. Of course over the last couple of years this mindset has changed. Nonetheless we still come across it on occasion. For that…

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Our environment influences our fitness success

Your Environment Can Determine Your Success!

Many of us think of ourselves as doers. As people who don’t need anyone. We take care of business. We handle our lives independently…or so we believe. It is time to wake up. The “Lone Ranger”, the person “Who Can Do Anything” is a myth, and the faster we stop believing our own bullsh**t, the…

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Shape Up Fitness & Wellness Consulting personal trainers can help when the scale does not budge

When the Scale Won’t Budge

In Short You might not be eating enough Your protein intake might be too low Exercise 5-7 hours/week for optimal fat loss Include strength training Leave steady state cardio behind Replace rice, potatoes, etc with non starchy vegetables You have been doing everything: You have exercised regularly. reduced your food intake and…. the damn scale…

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Personal Trainer Michael Anders running marathon

What I Learned From Quitting A Race

I am still processing this, I am probably still not quite right in the head (if I ever was). Today I ran the Myrtle Beach Marathon, or rather, I started, ran 20 miles and then quit at 20.36 miles. This blog post is as much for me as it is for you, since I am still…

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Functional Training at Shape Up Fitness & Wellness Consulting

5 Steps To Reduce Back Pain and Knee Pain

In short: Foam Rolling glutes, hamstrings & back can reduce adhesions in your back Stretching is not all that it claims to be in regards to back pain Your patella is not tracking badly, your glutes are not doing their job.  Hip stabilization & functional movement can reduce your pain Don’t load up dysfunction Foam…

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Muscular man suffering with shoulder pain on black background

Rotator Cuff – Shoulder Health – What You Can Do

A shoulder impingement is one of the most common diagnoses that is out there. It often means that we don’t know what is really going on. Diagnosing it is very tricky, and even an MRI often does not show the whole story. The rotator cuff consists of four muscles, the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor and subscapularis.…

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When Hopelessness Strikes

You are tired, you might feel like you have no energy. Your workouts suck, and you don’t feel like doing anything. You might have told yourself that you just need to get your act together and get over it. Despite all that, nothing happens, you are still there, in that seemingly dark, endless hole. Does…

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Muscular male body on black background

Having a hard time gaining lean muscle mass?

If your body type is similar to mine (lean, almost lanky) then you will have noticed one particular problem: Lean muscle mass is not easy to come by, quite the contrary: Every time you go out for a run you are jeopardizing the muscle mass you have already built up. Gaining Lean Muscle Mass as…

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