March 4th, 2024 by Sarah Teczar

Personal Training Certificates vs. Certifications: Knowing the Difference and Why It Matters

Whether you’re looking to become a personal trainer or you want to start working with one, knowing the difference between a certificate and a certification is important. This is because one is simply a “piece of paper:” a badge of sorts that can be obtained online with no prior experience, and the other requires a […]

December 20th, 2023 by Sarah Teczar

5 Fun and Creative Ways to Exercise During the Holiday Season

The holiday season is one of the busiest times of the year, and it’s very easy to let your exercise routine lapse in the midst of all the planning, shopping, cooking, partying, and present-wrapping. And when it’s cold and dark outside, it can be even harder to motivate yourself to get up off the couch […]

November 15th, 2023 by Sarah Teczar

8 Questions to Ask Your Personal Trainer Before You Hire Them

Personal trainer helping client lift weights

It’s fall, which is a great time for fresh starts and, for many people, time to think about upping your workout routine before heading into the holidays. There are so many great reasons to hire a personal trainer: maybe you want to exercise but find the gym intimidating and have no idea where to start, […]

June 6th, 2023 by Mark Samara

The 1st Step in Successful (Long term) Weight Loss

Photo of proteins

Everyone wants to look good naked (and who could blame them?) Any trainer who works with the general population can attest to the fact that weight loss is by far the most common goal of anyone who decides to start a fitness routine.  With so many people pursuing this goal, you’d think that we would […]

March 23rd, 2023 by Mark Samara

Part two: 6-10 of 15 “Salt and Pepper” Techniques for Strength and Muscle Growth

A reminder of 1-5 of 15 Drop sets Mechanical Drop Set Rest pause Band Assist Band Resisted 6-10 of 15 “Salt and Pepper” Techniques for Strength and Muscle Growth 6) Tempo change Many lifters become married to the 1010 tempo (one count up, one count down, video).  Some will occasionally throw in a slow eccentric […]

March 23rd, 2023 by Mark Samara

Part one: 1-5 of 15 “Salt and Pepper” Techniques for Strength and Muscle Growth

Everyone who’s worked with weights is familiar with a straight set and rep scheme. You pick an exercise, choose a weight, and do the prescribed number of reps. This type of training can get you very far. It took me from a weightlifting newbie to winning my first few fitness competitions. But after a while, […]

March 6th, 2023 by Mark Samara

Top 4 Benefits of a Hands On Training Education

Picture this: you’re interviewing heart surgeons for an upcoming surgery.  You ask the surgeon about their qualifications.  They confidently reply,  “Well, I watched a bunch of youtube videos on surgery…and I look really good holding a scalpel.” This is what the world of personal training is like. I often tell the class at AAPT that […]

January 30th, 2023 by Mark Samara

8 Ways To Perk Yourself Up During The Day

It’s 3PM.  Lunchtime is long gone.  Your eyes are starting to glaze over.  You feel antsy, yet tired.  It’s becoming difficult to concentrate on your work and productivity is plummeting.  There’s still work to be done, but you just can’t muster the energy to perform your best.  What do you do? Fear not!  There  are […]

January 18th, 2023 by Mark Samara

An Elegant Solution for Robust Health and Well Being

What’s the best exercise to stay healthy?   A few months back I was standing in the never ending line at the bank.  I struck up a conversation with the friendly security guy.  Our talk turned towards fitness and training (as it not-so-coincidentally does quite often in my life).  He was a fairly fit gent at […]

December 27th, 2022 by Mark Samara

My Self Imposed Curfew for High Quality Sleep

My self imposed curfew for high quality sleep A short time ago I noticed that I was lacking my normal ‘pep in my step’ each morning.  It had been a gradual occurrence, but after some time became impossible to ignore.  In an ongoing quest to feel my very best each day I proceeded with some […]