James Douglas Personal Training

A good video from Focus Physio showing two different ways of squatting! Neither is wrong or unsafe, but they do employ different muscles and take advantage of different strengths. When I work with my clients, we learn about the different styles of squats and what situations each type works best. Sometimes it’s just personal preference, or you might need to work around a limitation in mobility, or your personal fitness goals might lead you towards a particular style. If you want to learn how to squat safely and effectively for you and for your goals, message me today and we can work on mastering that squat!

What does squatting with a straight spine mean? Many people confuse a “straight spine” to be vertically inclined. In this video, we show you the concept of a “straight spine” using a wooden dowel, where one pattern is more knee dominant, and the second pattern is more hip dominant. #squat #biomechanics #neutralspine https://www.focusphysio.co.nz/

Some kind words from one of my lunchtime class members! Keep up the good work Liesel!

If you want to hop in and join the team for our lunchtime class workout, send me a message or stop on by Monday Wednesday or Friday at 5:30am, 12pm, or 5:30pm and we’ll get started!

What’s your excuse? Here is some life changing transformation from a Lunchtime challange member 🫡

Breakfast! The most important meal of the day. Here are three different options I've made at home recently that serve different dietary preferences and work for different kinds of mornings.

1- Avocado toast with sprouts and oven roasted tomatoes, caramelized onion and potato hash, and fried eggs

2- Oatmeal bonanza- instant oats mixed with h**p seeds and chia seeds, topped with peanut butter, banana, honey, nuts and seeds

3- Mexi vegan breakfast- re-fried smoky black beans, tofu egg scramble, and oven fried potatoes.

All three meals provide a solid start to the day, albeit in different ways, and have a good mix of carbs, protein, and healthy fats to keep you going! If you want some diet advice DM me today and I can help you out with menu ideas, shopping strategies, and basic principles to eat healthy and stay fueled for your workouts!

Here's April's Tips of the Month!

This month is all about support- we're all on our own fitness journey, but that doesn't mean we have to be alone! Finding support from friends & family, and working to surround yourself with people who have the same goals as you is super important. Make sure you have a network of people who support you so that when you need a helping hand, you don't have far to reach!

Having a personal trainer can be a great way to jump start that support network at the gym. I know people who have been where you've been, and who have gotten to where you are going! I can introduce you to those people to help you build your support network. Of course, I'll also be there to help you stay motivated with your training if you hire me for 1 on 1 time 😎

Take a look at my tips for the month for some ways to use support to help you achieve your goals- and if you want some more advice DM me to get started today!

Tips of the Month: Planning Your Food!

Hey guys! I've noticed one of the things people ask me about the most is how to eat healthier and keep their energy up for workouts while they're changing their diet up and/or dieting. For me, what you eat is important but most people already know what healthy food is. The hard part is sticking to it and staying on track when things get hard! The biggest pitfall I've seen is people don't make a plan when it comes to healthy eating. A simple plan for your week when it comes to food can help you save time, money, and energy you can spend on exercising or just getting through the week!

A meal plan, mapping out AT LEAST your two biggest meals of the day for a week, can help you see what your missing in your diet, helps you plan ingredients to buy to save time and money, and brings awareness to what you are eating in a week. You can decide how complicated your meals are, eat the freshest ingredients early on in the week, and even plan out when and what to have for snacks in between meals.

A meal plan is nothing without a good shopping list though. The important thing is to stick to the list! Don't buy those tempting high calorie snacks that are on special or those frozen processed meals because if its convenient, tasty, and in the house, you WILL end up eating it instead of what you were supposed to! Don't give yourself the option of an easy out, and you won't take it!

Now, prepping some meals ahead of time can be a game changer when it comes to eating healthy. Some healthy foods take a long time to prepare, and if you have to spend hours a day chopping, cooking, and cleaning, eventually you start cheating a bit. Take all those hard tasks and condense them into one day when willpower is high! Ask family to help, it can even be fun to cook together! Food that can be reused as a side for multiple meals, entire dishes that can be eaten leftover, and meals that can be pre-portioned to be eaten or reheated later are serious time savers! AND you only have to do the dishes once, its a win-win!

If you need any help creating a meal plan, making a list, or even ideas for what to make, hit me up with a DM, email, or phone call, and we can start a conversation about nutrition! Hopefully you can take one of these tips with you this month and have more success improving your health and fitness!

Sometimes you need a little extra help to get the most out of your time spent in the gym, so here are some tips from me! I think the four things people struggle with the most are:

- Nutrition: eating the right foods and not eating too much
- Exercise: what movements to do and how to do them effectively
- Time Management: how to make sure the rest of your life doesn't become overwhelming so you have time to invest in the gym
- Motivation: keeping the psyche high!

I'll try and post tips in these four categories every month, so here are my tips for November!