Fitness, nutrition, and body shaping

Jason has made a lot of progress over 20 weeks.  He gets the "most improved" prize for changing his body composition.  He changed his life to include fitness, good nutrition and body shaping through proper strength training at SonomaXFitness.com. 

Attitude is key, and Jason has the right one: positive, good natured and polite.  Training him is a pleasure because he is on time and focused.  He trains like someone who has been doing it for a long time because in the short while he has been at SonomaXFitness.com he pays attention and integrates what he learns at every session. 

Replace Fat With Muscle

Mark has been coming to SonomaXFitness.com for a year and a half and has not missed a single workout.  He is committed and always on time.  He pays attention and integrates what he learns. As a result his form is improving and his body is showing dramatic results. Mark has replaced probably 20lbs of fat with muscle.  

Call me to schedule a visit to our gym to see what we do here.  It's a semi-private, clean and friendly place.  Small groups of 3-4 sometimes workout here.  So if your friends want to workout together, call me and let's talk about it. 

Pain and No Gain

Knowing when to stop

Don't train through sharp pain (like electric shocks).  As soon as you feel it, stop, you're done for the day.  Or keep going and it might set you back for months.  

Burning sensations, however, from challenging your muscles to grow doesn't feel like a shock, more like heat, and we strive to stay with that and work through.  Keep going and it pays off.  

Call me for a tour of SonomaXFitness!

Best Arm Workout

Big props to my man Doug at Sonoma X Gym. just had the most effective arm workout I have ever had. Forearms are blown out to say the least thanks Doug!

Billy Briscoe had an amazing arm workout today with old school exercises - free weights, 30 minutes, heavy, focused and mindful.  No swinging out of control - just careful and productive movements.  

Exercise Balls

Ergonomically good for sit-ups if you have a back issue, exercise balls shape to your body for support in a firm but gentle way while engaging your core.  

Just sitting on it -- and some people sit on them at their work desk -- engages your core muscles and supports sitting upright and comfortably.   

At SonomaXFitness we use exercise balls as part of a whole body routine in combination with light weights.  

Call me to schedule a tour!  I'd like to show you around. 

Preacher Curl

You can't really cheat with this one, making it one of the best biceps exercises at SonomaXFitness.  The support won't let your arm move keeping the exercise focused on the right muscles.  

This bench is sometime called the Scott Bench after Larry Scott, the first Mr. Olympia who had amazing biceps.  An old school exercise on this bench is called Teenty-Ones.  

Starting with 7 repetitions on the bottom half of the repetition range, followed by the top half for 7 repetitions and completing with 7 full range repetitions.  

This exercise shouldn't be done all the time but rather now and then to prompt the muscles to grow.   

Leg Press Machine and Free Motion Machine

Leg Press Machine

The Leg Press Machine is a favorite for many SonomaXFitness clients. It's smooth and the angle builds legs and glutes effectively.  The person who built it must have actually lifted weights and understood how muscles work.  The biggest error in use I see is overloading the machine with too much weight too soon.  It the weight can't be lifted 12 times it is probably too heavy. 

Free Motion Machine

The Free Motion Machine is the best machine ever built in my opinion and we use it extensively at SonomaXFitness for upper body development.  It seems to provide a safer workout for people with shoulder issues.  The angles of the machine can be customized to the exact needs of each client.  This gives us a range of possible ways to work around injuries and still build muscle smartly and efficiently.  

Don't Work Through Pain

Chuck - 54 Years Old

Chuck started with intense shoulder issues.  He couldn't lift his arm probably from repetitive motions at work.  So we worked around it by strengthening the muscles in the area.  We worked without doing any exercise that would bother his shoulder. 

Don't Work Through Pain

At SonomaXFitness we don't work through pain areas, we work around them to rebuild strength and flexibility.  Chuck's works out for 30 minutes, twice a week - and he is focused and high intensity when he is exercising.   That's why he looks amazing. 

NPC Contra Costa Championships

SonomaXfitness client Sam Jones is getting ready for the biggest bodybuilding show in Northern California.  At SonomaXfitness Sam has discovered the importance of right diet and is doing something he has never been able to do before, put on appropriate weight and see significant changes in his physique.