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.