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 […]

By Ryan Unverzagt Welcome to another edition of From the Trainer! This month’s exercise is the Parallel Bar Dip. As I have mentioned in previous columns, body weight training can be just as effective as using dumbbells and weight plates for resistance. The dip is as “old school” as jumping jacks, sit-ups, pushups, and chin-ups. […]

By Ryan Unverzagt Exercise With Your Sweatheart 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 opportunity to exercise with […]

By Ryan Unverzagt Holiday Stress….What? December is a great time to exercise because exercise is a great way to relieve some holiday stress. This month’s exercise is the Cable Row. This is a machine resistance exercise which targets the back and spinal muscles, mainly the rhomboids, trapezius, latissimus dorsi, rear deltoids, and biceps. Many variations […]

Put down the Fork! By Ryan Unverzagt November can be a difficult month to control our eating habits with Thanksgiving being in the way. I agree with everything Nicole says in her Fitness column this month. We seem to let our eyes and stomach get the best of us and give into temptation. So what […]