Thinking of getting in shape? If you’re interested in working one-on-one with a personal trainer, the small fitness boutiques located in and around Santa Barbara provide a wealth of choice in both setting and training approaches presented at the different facilities. I recently visited several of these studios, looking for a new location to train my clients, and was amazed at what Santa Barbara has to offer.
Instead of the isolation machines typical of traditional gyms, most studios are filled with stability balls, medicine balls, bands, cables, foam rollers, and all sorts of other tools designed for a more functional approach to exercise. fitness. These facilities not only cater to athletes building strength; they are filled with everyone from young competitors looking to improve in sports, to seniors working to build stronger bones. After visiting some of the local hot spots and exploring some of their various training approaches, I zeroed in on some of the highlights.
The Gym on Middle Road
Platinum Fitness, located on Middle Road in Montecito, is a bustling little studio where you’ll find people of all shapes and sizes, including many highly-fit and highly competitive endurance athletes. Owner Peter Park competes at the elite level in running, cycling and triathlon, so it’s no surprise that his studio attracts many of the local endurance athletes, including Lance Armstrong when he’s in town. Platinum is an upbeat facility; Walk through the doors on any given day and you’ll be surrounded by a profusion of natural light, uplifting hip music, and a variety of energetic trainers who help clients achieve their goals through “functional training.”
Functional training, the latest trend in physical training, prepares you for the specific activities you do in your day to day. Perhaps your job requires you to do a lot of reaching, lifting, stooping, or standing, and your back, knees, or shoulders suffer. Or maybe you find yourself parked in front of a computer all day and your posture needs a little work. And again, you may be rehabbing from an injury and finding that you need a little help getting back to work and life successfully. Whatever you do in your daily life, functional training can make it easier.
Unlike the traditional approach of working one muscle at a time, functional training involves combining exercises to put all the muscles, from the calves to the shoulders, into action. Stepping onto a bench with dumbbells in your hands and then pushing the dumbbells overhead, for example, will prepare you to climb onto a chair and put a box on a shelf.
The idea is to work against resistance in such a way that the force gained from the exercise is “transferred” to the specific movement of your life.
If you want to improve your ability to get up from a chair, you can choose leg extensions to strengthen your legs. But the squat would be a much better exercise option because it is more like the actual movement of getting up from a chair. So the squat builds more functional strength in the legs.
Functional training also improves your performance in sports. If you’re a long-distance runner and would like to improve your 10K time, Peter Park recommends “strengthening your main engines so you don’t get as tired on long runs.” It puts its endurance athletes through a grueling workout designed specifically to improve strength and stamina, or muscular endurance, for competition.
Peter’s lower body program consists of a series of exercises performed back to back: a 25-rep set of squats, with bands (for constant tension); followed by a set of 25 repetitions of leg press, with bands; followed by a series of 15 repetitions of step ups; followed by three plyometric (jump) exercises of 12 to 15 different repetitions. And that’s just one round. He’ll make his athletes do that three times! As you can see, Peter’s program reflects both the movements and the volume of endurance competition…the functional approach to fitness.
The gym in the lower state
Perhaps the idea of training for activities of daily living is not enough to motivate you to start an exercise program. And you are more interested in sculpting your body to look spectacular in your swimsuit or bikini on the beaches of Santa Barbara. Then the “bodybuilding” approach to fitness may be more suitable for you.
Specifically designed to increase lean muscle mass and reduce body fat, this method has additional rewards… like increased confidence, increased sex appeal, reduced stress, and more energy for daily activities.
Key 2 Fitness, one of the city’s newest fitness studios, located on lower State, introduces the bodybuilding focus. Owned and operated by bodybuilders Jeff Harrison and Leif Tiahrt, Key 2 Fitness is packed with muscle isolation machines and free weights, and is ideal for the strength athlete looking for a place to “pack on some serious muscle,” according to Jeff Harrison. They also offer membership keys for people looking for a little camaraderie with other strength athletes in the community.
While the goal of bodybuilding is to develop a symmetrical physique, keep in mind that not everyone responds in the same way. Mother Nature, or your genetic makeup, largely determines how you react to any training program. Factors like the type of muscle fiber (strength or endurance), the ratio of testosterone to estrogen, and where your body fat is stored all influence your abilities. And as you consider your vision of the ideal physique, remember that you can’t hide from your body type. Are you a lean, small-boned ectomorph, a lean, muscular mesomorph, a heavy, big-boned endomorph, or a combination of all three?
Although these genetic factors affect both men and women, there are still a significant number of women who will not consider the bodybuilding approach for fear of growing too big. The truth is that most women build a relatively small amount of muscle, even with hard work and dedication, due to the ratio of estrogen to testosterone. Unfortunately, this fear of being too muscular prevents many women from reaping the benefits.
Many factors are involved in bodybuilding, but what really matters is that you gradually overload your muscles. Leif Tiahrt suggests using the “individual body part approach” and “maximizing exercises for each body part.” He advocates a three-day split where the individual does “push” exercises (chest, shoulders, and triceps) on Monday, “pull” exercises (back and biceps) and legs on Wednesday, and a full-body circuit. Complete, Friday. Use three to ten repetitions per set and finish each exercise with a descending set to failure.
Using moderate to heavy loads and moderate to high volume, Leif’s program effectively increases muscle size to create a more aesthetically pleasing physique…the ultimate goal of bodybuilding.
The Arlington Gym
Maybe you have gained some muscle through bodybuilding. And now you’re ready for a more refined approach to your training… one that takes into account the specific demands of your sport and your goals… like achieving peak performance. Following a well-designed “sport-specific” training program can help you reach those goals and achieve the success you desire.
To perform at your best in tennis, for example, you need enough aerobic endurance to maintain your stamina for a game that can last several hours; anaerobic endurance (energy is produced without oxygen) for a high-intensity rally that can last anywhere from 6 to 10 seconds; speed and agility so you can get into position to hit most of your shots; power for serves, forehands, backhands and volleys; and an element of prevention to avoid injury and overtraining.
Conditioning Specialists, located in a historic building just a few doors down from Arlington, presents the sport-specific training approach. Doug Holt, owner of Conditioning Specialists and SB Fitness Magazine, gained his experience in competitive sports through soccer, which he played at the college level. His studio looks like an upscale New York loft, featuring a personal training studio downstairs and private rooms for a MAT (muscle activation techniques) and massage therapist upstairs, plus an office for the magazine.
When asked about sport-specific training, Doug says, “It’s training for a particular goal…not only mimicking the actual demands of the sport, like hip abduction, knee flexion, but also the real demands of the sport.” energy demands”.
To prepare for the specific demands of the sport of tennis, the strength training program is divided into three phases, or mini-training programs, each designed to develop a specific type of strength with the ultimate goal of developing the sport-specific strength that demands tennis, power and muscular resistance.
In the first phase, “fundamental strength,” the goal is to build a solid, comprehensive foundation of strength and prepare the ligaments and tendons for the more demanding activity that will follow. The second phase is to develop “maximal strength,” a measure of how much weight you can lift for one repetition. If you can squat 225 pounds for one rep and your friend can only squat 205 pounds, then you have more max squat strength. The goal of the third phase is to convert the strength you previously developed into sport-specific “power” (a combination of strength and speed) and “muscular endurance.”
Just as preparation for the competitive season is divided into phases, the overall training program is divided into periods to promote long-term improvements in strength and avoid overtraining. This program, which is usually an annual plan, consists of the preparation period (pre-season), mentioned above; the competitive period (in season); and the transition period, when the season is closed.
By coordinating the phases of the training program with the different periods of the competitive season, you can maximize your strength and achieve peak performance just in time for competition.
In conclusion
So if you think you might be interested in working one-on-one with a personal trainer, explore the myriad of training studios in Santa Barbara to find the one that’s right for you. Be sure to keep in mind that while each facility may feature a particular training method, most studios hire a variety of personal trainers, each with their own unique training style and approach.