The fountain of youth ... Michelle Bridges believes weight training is key. Photo: Getty ImagesI have spent most of my working life passing on fitness advice to people, information that I have gathered over my two decades in the health and lifestyle industry. Over the years I've been fortunate to have worked with some amazing people, many of whom have passed on tips that have helped my own training enormously. In turn, I have been able to pass on similar advice to others to help them in their training.
As a personal trainer myself, I have a trainer who looks after me, particularly when I'm focusing on a goal like running a marathon, or preparing for another season of The Biggest Loser. This is not as strange as it might seem.
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Which brings me to the first, and possibly best, piece of advice I have ever been given: when you think you know it all, you don't. It's clichéd, I know, but there's always more to learn and understand. My grampsy passed that on to me at an early age, and it has served me well. Another great tip relates to exercise technique: the importance of keeping a "neutral spine" (in other words, perfect posture) before performing an exercise. This applies to any exercise you do.Before you start, go through a top-to-bottom checklist of your body: keep your neck long, draw in your chin, pull your shoulders back and down, and expand your chest. Separate your rib cage, and draw your belly button in towards your spine, narrowing your waist. If you're standing, bend your knees slightly.
The best advice I've been given about exercise generally, though, is to be consistent. Never worry about what you do, or when you do it. Don't fret about sets and reps, or cardio versus strength. Your top priority is to get out there and get stuck into it, day after day. Regularity is your friend.
The other invaluable lesson I took on board early in my career was to train with intensity. Now don't get me wrong – every training session doesn't have to be a gut-buster. But as a general rule you should be putting plenty of huff and puff into your weekly workout routine, with at least two of your exercise sessions resulting in your heart rate soaring.
Finally, someone once told me to train with weights because weight training is the fountain of youth. I'd have to say that, after years of watching exercisers and non-exercisers get older, that person was right. It's not that weight training is more important than any other training; it isn't, but it helps you look and stay younger.
Michelle's tip
Don't overthink your training. Unless you're deep in preparation for a marathon or a figure fitness competition, keep it simple and regular. So many of us suffer from "paralysis by analysis", where we get so caught up worrying about what we should be doing that we never get around to doing it.
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/lifestyle/wellbeing/fitness-lessons-learned-20110808-1ii51.html#ixzz1UQkX4loe
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