Yury's Corner

Optimal Training Schedule

One of the most common questions people ask us is "how often should I exercise?" The right answer is "on a regular basis" What exactly does this mean?

1. Exercise should be part of your weekly routine. Our body likes cycles (eating , sleeping, and such). It learns patterns and becomes more efficient in the functions it performs.

2. Cardiovascular (CV) training should be alternated or combined with strength training. Each should be done at least twice a week as a base. Normally it takes 48-72 hr. for your body to get "partially" recovered after the training. If the training is done only once a week your body would not "remember" it and would "over-recover," meaning that the training effect would be dissolved. 

3. Frequency and intensity of your program should depend on your fitness goal. If you are trying to lose weight, you should increase the CV portion of your training and focus more on the length of it rather than intensity. If building muscles mass is more important, you should add another weight training session or two to your routine.

Best of luck!

~Yury

Yury's Corner

Where can you go for advice, tips, and training information that comes directly from a former Olympic track coach? Right here of course! We're excited to introduce the new feature Yury's Corner here on the PTI blog. If you have a question you'd like answered on Yury's Corner send an email to info@personaltraininginternational.net . Here is this week's installment!

When Training Hard Is Not A Smart Thing

Most of our students-athletes are at the end/peak of their season. They have big races and matches coming up, and one of the most common questions we hear right now is "how hard should I train at this point?" To their surprise the answer is "very easy." In order to understand why you should know how our bodies process training. One of the major principals of exercise is principal of adaptation. In other words, it's how our bodies become more  physically efficient as you repeat the same type of movements and how long your athletic performance gets better from that training. It takes 4 to 6 weeks to get the best training benefits, which means that whatever you did 4-6 weeks ago effects your performance at the moment and what are you doing now will effect you in 4-6 weeks. Tapering off your training at the peak of the season is the best way to enhance your performance as it makes your body feel rested, fresh, and ready to go.  Good luck!

~Yury

Gracia Takes 3 Meter World Jr. Championship Title

Gracia Leydon-Mahoney continues to rack up the wins - this time by coming in first on the 3 Meter Springboard event at the Junior World Diving Championship in Australia! Tracey Bird, one of Gracia's diving coaches, sent us these photos from the event. Congratulations Gracia!!

Boston Globe Follows Gracia's Diving Exploits

A nice article appeared in the September 30th addition of the Boston Globe about Gracia and her trip to the FINA Junior World Championships, which will take place starting October 8th. In it Gracia says she's "gotten physically stronger" and is "more confident after experiencing a higher level of competition," both of which will help her as time draws closer to the 2016 Olympics. For now though she's excited about the upcoming Championships in Australia, saying, "I'm looking forward to having fun, doing my best, and the results will take care of themselves." Find the whole article at bostonglobe.com

Congradulations to Gracia!

Congratulations are in order for the amazingly talented Gracia Leydon-Mahoney; she recently won 2 National Junior titles and the 3 meters spring board senior National title! This is Gracia's first senior national title win, which she easily took with a score of 346.95 over the second place winner's 308.15. She is now qualified for the Junior World Championships in Australia this October.

PTI Athleats Move to the Finals!

Two PTI athleats had great performances this week that qualifies them for finals in their respective events!

Gracia Mahoney has made the finials for the US Olympic Diving Team in the 3 meter springboard, taking place Saturday, and 10 meter platform on Sunday. You can catch the action on TV this weekend as NBC and Versus will show coverage of finals. 

Anderson Koenig ran a 21.5 in the 200 meter dash at the Bay State Games this week, qualifying him for the July 14th finals. Even more impressive - 21.5 is a facility record!

Congratulations Gracia and Anderson and best of luck in the finals!

PTI supports Joining Forces

PTI is pleased to announce that we've partnered with the American Council on Exercise for the Joining Forces program! As a thank you for their service and dedication we've pledged 20 hours worth of free group exercise classes for military members and their immediate families! Each family can take two hours of group Wonderbarre or TRX; just sign up by clicking on the "Sign up for Wonderbarre or TRX" banner at the top of the page and bring your military ID with you to class. Learn more about the Joining Forces program at http://www.acefitness.org/joiningforces/