​Strength training isn’t just for competitive weightlifters, cross fitters, or your average gym goer. Strength training is also important for the endurance athlete. Runners can benefit from strength training because it is key to maintaining muscle mass which can improve everyday movements, fitness and athletic performance.
Strength training helps improve many areas of your running:

• Power
• Endurance
• Balance
• Injury Prevention

Some runners neglect strength training because they want to get their miles in. Coach Marta and Coach Tiffany at PPT are avid runners who can help you reach your sport specific goals safely. Runners see huge benefits in their performance once they incorporate consistent strength training routines.

1. Decrease your risk of injury: by having muscular strength and stability especially in your legs then your body can handle the demands placed on it.
2. Improve muscle activation: by strengthening muscles in isolation, progressing to running specific exercises so the correct muscles are being activated on your runs.
3. Improve biomechanics and running: by strengthening the muscles that keep your body in alignment will improve your movement patterns which means less energy wasted and faster running. You will have better running form and get the most out of your run.

The best exercises for runners are ones that will help strengthen the core, glutes and hips. Runners need a strong core to help with posture, stability and balance. Glutes are already underactive but these muscles need to be strengthened to provide power for your running. These exercises include planks, kettlebell swing, side steps with resistance bands, single leg deadlifts, goblet squats. Add these exercises into your running schedule and you will be on your way to being a stronger runner all while minimizing risk of injury.

You did it! You took control of your health. You started an exercise program and began paying attention to your diet. You're seeing results, you're getting stronger, you've dialed in your nutrition. Then something happens. You stop seeing results, and can even appear to be moving backwards. You've hit a plateau. It happens to everyone at some point in nearly every endeavor, especially in the journey of health. 

Don't worry, there are ways to address this phenomenon. Your body has been adapting for the entirety of your life. This is why exercise and proper nutrition works. You send a message to your body that this is what we need to get better at (working out, certain calorie threshold, sleep schedule, etc...) Your central nervous system takes it upon itself to adapt the body's functions to be more efficient at handling the stresses you put yourself through. So your body, at this point, has adapted so well that you have leveled off in your progress. We call this a plateau. The time has come to send the body a new signal, a new stimulus to advance the adaptation. There are a number of ways to send this new signal to the CNS, the central nervous system.

1) If you've been in a caloric deficit, maybe you need to pull back a little more. If you're hovering around 1200 calories daily this approach will not be for you as you don't want to dip below the 1200 calorie threshold. But if you have the space, pull back another 100-200 calories per day

2) Switch up your programming-a personal trainer is the perfect option for this!  Our bodies are very always searching for homeostasis and are good at adapting to stresses placed up on them. This happens with exercise too. Your body has gotten efficient at doing your exercises and is in need of a new stimulus. A trainer can safely push you beyond your normal threshold and is equipped with many different modalities. If you're doing dumbbell training switch to suspension training. If you're using machines try out the kettlebells. You're bound to see results because your body now has to learn to adapt to a new signal it's receiving.

3) How's your sleep? Getting consistent, good quality is crucial to health. If your sleep is lacking it can have negative effects on nearly every function of the body. You make poor diet decisions, you don't fully recover from exercise, your cognitive performance drops, and your metabolism wont function properly. Make sure the sleep you're getting is of great quality and quantity. 

4) Use some NEAT! NEAT stands for non exercise activity thermogenesis. Sounds fancy but it means doing things like gardening, going for a walk, using the stairs instead of an elevator. These activities can add up when you're looking to burn more calories without cramming another workout into your day. 

These tips can help you begin the process of getting you out of a health plateau. Making subtle changes to your routine, over time, can have a large impact on your results. Reflect on your situation and try to figure out what it may be that is causing your plateau. From there, choose the course of action that might best address what it is you think is causing this plateau. The journey to health is a long and winding road. Persistence is always rewarded on this journey. Bon voyage! ​

​- Coach Jeremy 

PerfectAmino® is comprised of pure Essential Amino Acids in an exact ratio that is 99% utilized to build new protein and collagen in the body – without the calories.1 serving (1 scoop or 5 tablets) is the protein equivalent of approximately 30 grams of whey, pea, soy and collagen, but instead of 120 calories, you only get 2.

For maximum utilization of PerfectAmino it’s best to take it 30 minutes before other fats or proteins, or 1-2 hours after. However, if this is not possible you will still get fantastic results and near 99% utilization – so don’t worry! Start with the following amounts for your body weight:

• Up to 110 lbs: Take 1 - 2 servings first thing in the morning or before bed.
• 110 - 140 lbs: Take 2 servings first thing in the morning or before bed.
• 140 - 170 lbs: Take at least 2 servings first thing in the morning and 1 before bed.
• 170 - 200+ lbs: Take at least 2 servings first thing in the morning 
  and 1-2 before bed.

If you take those amounts you should be noticing positive changes within a couple of weeks.

To improve performance, you may want to add 1-2 servings to the above. Take PerfectAmino before your workout as well as before bed, to enhance recovery. You will get the most for recovery taking PerfectAmino before bed. However, it can also be taken 20-30 minutes before a workout for maximum endurance and prevention of muscle loss, especially during fasted workouts. One would not then need to take more after the workout as the aminos will still be in your blood stream helping recovery. They will normallly be in the blood stream for about 2-3 hours.
If you are recovering from an illness:
Please note, if you are recovering from illness, surgery, or injury, or if you have a pre-existing medical condition, you probably shouldn’t be working out, or at least only at a reduced level, as this can put too much pressure on your bodily systems. And it is important that you are following the advice given to you by your physician.
In terms of using PerfectAmino for recovery, follow the 1-3 servings recommendation by body weight and add in an additional serving. Depending on your situation this may be enough or you may find you want to add in even one more serving. This is up to you, as every body truly is different. When you have fully recovered, you can then cut back if you feel that is best.
If you are an elite athlete your numbers could raise even more:
There are some professional triathletes, running Ironman Triathlons, who might take as much as 10-12 servings in a day to keep endurance and recovery up as they race and to ensure lessened soreness the next day despite the hammering they give their body. This is up to you, but we don’t recommend going above 6 servings (30 tablets or 6 scoops) unless you truly are doing extreme endurance sports.
Ketosis using PerfectAmino:
With the Keto diet many people have trouble taking away their body’s accustomed energy source (sugar) without, at the same time, giving it what it actually needed in the first place: usuable amino acids to build the body’s structure. When adding in PerfectAmino, most people who had trouble with their Keto diet or the “Keto Flu”, now find they are able to follow through with it. And adding in PerfectAmino will not add calories onto this or take them out of Ketosis, it will only enhance their gains.
Intermittent Fasting:
With Intermittent Fasting we are trying to do something very similar to Keto. We are trying to remove sugar from the bloodstream long enough to lower Insulin levels and turn back on Lipase for fat burning. This often happens after about 10-12 hours of fasting.
The problem has been that food sources that provide calories will break the fast. But, if you’re working out during this fast, you also risk losing muscle without the amino acids from protein.
PerfectAmino solves this. As 1 serving of PerfectAmino is only 2-4 calories, less than your fasting blood sugar levels, it will not break a fast. At the same time, it will give your muscles what they need in order to recover during and after a fasted workout, and so prevent muscle loss.
Many people who fast between dinner one day and lunch time the next day take 2 servings of PerfectAmino first thing in the morning. This gives them a perfect start to the day, with everything their body needs protein-wise, but also does not break the fast, so they are able to continue losing weight from it while maintaining lean muscle.
If you are trying to lose weight:
PerfectAmino can help in two ways:
First, it can help build lean muscle, which in turn burns fat. The more muscle you have on your body, the more fat it will burn to feed this muscle. Amino acids are also necessary to make Thyroid, Lipase, Glucogen and HGH, which each have a role in fat-burning.
The second way is by replacing low-utilization protein powders with PerfectAmino. Over 80% of protein powders are converted to sugar in the body, not protein. This sugar triggers a hormone called insulin to shuttle the sugar to the cells for energy production. But when there is more sugar than the body needs, the insulin converts the sugar into body fat (energy for later).
At the same time as all of the above, the insulin also suppresses the enzyme Lipase, which is responsible for burning body fat, effectively ensuring that fat is not burned while sugar is in the bloodstream and for about 10-12 hours thereafter.
Replacing these powders with PerfectAmino, which is 99% utilized as protein, gets you the same amount of protein or more, while cutting out the high sugar content and insulin spike. 
Counting macros:
Many people count calories and macros to ensure they are getting what their bodies need, while also keeping their diet in check. Depending on what they are trying to accomplish (bulking, cutting, cardio) these may be different amounts and ratios.
However, 1 serving of PerfectAmino contains only 2-4 calories. So if you switch it out with other proteins you will be getting the same amount (or more) of protein... but not the calories.
The problem has been that food sources that provide calories will break the fast. But, if you’re working out during this fast, you also risk losing muscle without the amino acids from protein.
If you are trying to lose weight this should be just fine, and replacing out protein powders with PerfectAmino will get your body exactly what it needs for muscle and recovery, but without the excess calories that may be converted to fat you would otherwise have to cut later on.
However, if you are also trying to maintain calories at a certain range, in order to bulk up, you may want to replace the calories lost with healthy fats and low-glycemic carbohydrates.
Replace other protein sources at the following rates:
Every protein source is different and provides a different amount of usable amino acids for your body to make new protein and collagen with, so let’s look at these.
Whey, Collagen, Pea and Soy: 30 grams converts to 1 serving of PerfectAmino
Meats, Fish and Poultry: 15 grams converts to 1 serving of PerfectAmino
Whole Eggs: 10 grams converts to 1 serving of PerfectAmino
BCAAs: Just get rid of these, they are almost entirely converted to sugar and will not help you except for a sugar boost (followed by a sugar low and potential mood swings).

If you're ready to boost your workout to the next level use our link to receive a special discounted rate. 
https://affiliates.bodyhealth.com/1085.htm
​

These are uncertain times.  In times like these I like to go back to the basics and the foundation of all health and well-being starts with what you eat. Even without the pandemic, stress levels are at an all time high.

At Perez Personal Training we are seeing this as an opportunity to reset, refuel and replenish. It’s so easy to neglect your diet when you’re juggling a million and one things. And what better time than a pandemic to focus on being the healthiest version of yourself, am I right?

To help you with the process, we’ve put together an immunity boosting and anti-inflammatory plan to help you fuel your body in the best way possible. Over the next 6 weeks, you can:

• Build a stronger immune system in just 42 days If you are what you eat, then your immune system is fueled by your diet.
• Jump start your health with anti-inflammatory foods that are nutritious and delicious.
• Easy to cook meals that are mouth watering good.
• Make sure your body is at your healthiest

This is not a diet. It’s a whole food adventure into the best tasting meals you’ve ever cooked. Yes, there are cookies in here and you will thank us for them.  More than a little concerned about your health these days? Us too. We believe now is the time to take charge of your health and your diet.  Join our 6 week nutrition plan with accountability and support or grab the one time download, the choice is yours: 
Healthy Plate 6 week meal plan

We are excited to share that Myzone is running a Global MEPs Challenge through the month of April. It’s simple, everyone is included, and anyone who earns 1300 MEPs in April will be entered into a prize draw to win cash prizes totaling USD $10,000. Selected at random, the first prize winner will collect USD $5,000, and the 10 runners up will collect USD $500.

If you don’t currently have a Myzone belt, no worries, you can still participate. Simply click the $50 discount link here https://buy.myzone.org/ship/?lang=enUS&voucher=PEREZUS001
and request a belt to be shipped to your house.    Your $50 discount code is PEREZUS001 

At this time of physical distancing, let’s remain socially connected, and stay healthy.

​Our first concern at Perez Personal Training is the safety and well-being of our clients and staff. We are a small business that is doing its best to continue to provide the best training possible. For these reasons, we are making every effort to continue to provide training and have different options based on clients needs and comfort level. 

If you are coming into the studio we continue to follow CDC guidelines to maintain the safest environment possible. 

• All equipment and workout areas are cleaned thoroughly after every use.
• Staff is required to take their temperature daily prior to entering our studio.
• We are requesting clients to also do a temperature check before entering our studio.
• If you have traveled in the past two weeks, we are asking you to refrain from coming into our office for two weeks.
• If you are feeling ill, STAY HOME. If you are showing ANY symptoms of Covid-19 (fever, dry cough, sore throat), please do not come into the clinic until there is a negative test or you have been symptom free for two weeks. If you have been in our studio and have tested positive, please notify us immediately.
• If you have come into close contact with anyone who is showing symptoms of Covid-19, please do not come into the studio until there is either a negative test result or it has been two weeks of being symptom free. 
• We are requiring clients to wash their hands thoroughly upon entering the studio and before leaving.
• Staff is required to wash their hands between every client.
• Clients will be seen on a one to one basis to limit exposure. We will also continue to limit the number of people allowed in the studio at one time.
• Clients are asked to please stick to their scheduled appointment times.

There is now a virtual option for your workouts. These visits will be one to one video visits with your coach, during which we can assess your progress and give recommendations for changes / progressions to your home programs. They will be scheduled as an in studio session and billed the same way we bill for studio sessions. You will be emailed a link from your PT for your visit. All you will need is internet access and a computer / tablet / phone with a microphone and video screen. If you are interested in virtual options, please schedule an appointment here:

info@perezpersonaltraining.com
​
We will continue to monitor the situation closely and follow CDC guidelines. This is new territory for us all and we are doing our best to continue to provide services to you. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Perez Personal Training

• Personal Training Services
• Injuries and Recovery
• Online Training

Deciding to embark on a path toward better overall physical fitness and wellness can be intimidating for almost anyone, and for a variety of different reasons. Anytime you make a big change to your normal routine, it can be a little scary at first. One of the main reasons that will stop people from making this life change is the intimidation factor some experience when working out in a crowded gym. At Perez Personal Training our clients workout and improve at their own pace, in a private studio environment. Our trainers are supportive and encouraging of your journey, and you are able to workout in a completely non-competitive setting. The only thing you have to focus on is you! ​