"From the Bay to the Blue Ridge"
By Ryan Unverzagt FitBall Ab Exchange This month’s exercise is the FitBall Abdominal (Ab) Exchange. This is a great exercise for the rectus abdominus. The start position is shown in Figure 1. The FitBall is held off the floor with your arms extended straight above the head. Notice how the feet are also held above […]
From the Trainer By Ryan Unverzagt Welcome back to another edition of From the Trainer! Hope everyone has enjoyed the summer so far with plenty of sunshine, heat, and humidity on the way. With the restrictions caused by the COVID 19 outbreak being lifted, we can finally get back to the gym. July has a […]
By Ryan Unverzagt Water, Water Everywhere…. This month officially marks the start of the summer season and I decided to dig out a previous column touching on hydration. For those of you who have missed going to the gym these last few months, I bet many of you have turned to outside activities. As the […]
By Ryan Unverzagt It’s time for the annual “Sweetheart” exercise advice. If you’ve been following any of my advice, you may have discovered that exercising with a friend is a fun way to get that not so easy “chore” done and over with. Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and would provide that perfect […]
By Ryan Unverzagt Get A “Leg Up” In the New Decade! Welcome to 2020 and a brand new decade! Hard to believe that I have been penning this column for well over 10 years! Each New Year brings exciting opportunities for all of us, especially in the world of fitness. A few words of advice […]
By Ryan Unverzagt This month’s exercise is the FitBall Leg Curl. This exercise focuses on the hamstrings, but also involves the glutes, low-back, and spinal extensor muscles. Begin by lying flat on your back with your legs straight. Position the center of the FitBall underneath your heels. Lift the hips up by contracting your glutes […]
By Ryan Unverzagt The Side Plank aka Hover Hopefully your summer has been filled with plenty of physical activities. This month’s exercise is an isometric one called the side plank or hover. The goal of an isometric exercise is to hold the position shown in figures 1 and 2 without any movement. This is a […]
From the Trainer By Ryan Unverzagt Hydration Tips This month officially marks the start of the summer season. I hope all of you have cool vacations planned that include lots of physical activities. As the temperatures rise through the summer, it becomes extremely important to monitor when, where and how much exercise you should be […]
From the Trainer By Ryan Unverzagt This month’s featured exercise is the Dead-lift. Now don’t let the name frighten you away. In the sport of power-lifting, the dead-lift is one of three exercises along with the squat and bench press. It is one of the most functional exercises to learn because its technique can be […]
By Ryan Unverzagt Keep Your Chin Up!! This month’s exercise is the chin-Up – the chin-up warrants an underhand grip (palms facing you) about six to eight inches apart. You might be wondering, “What’s the difference between a chin-up and pull-up?” The answer is in the grip. The pull-up has either an overhand grip (palms […]
