Jon gray is the Islands best kept Fit secret. He doesn’t advertise but has a waiting list of clients here in south jersey. When he isn’t training his exclusive clients in their homes or on location he is also well known for training beauty queens for the Miss USA Competition. What makes him unique as a trainer? Jon lives what he preaches and believes that fitness and living a healthy lifestyle should be fun. On any given day you can see Jon with his clients at the beach or a local park doing push ups off a slide or doing a full on workout with resistance bands on a stand up paddle board in the bay. He is constantly innovating and creating new ways to give his clients exciting and unique workouts. He believes that to truly make a lifelong change you keep it fresh and fun. He has worked with clients from all different fitness levels ranging in ages from 5-90. It’s never too early or too late to get motivated! Jon shared with us some of his most rewarding work comes from clients that have never worked out or participated in sports before. He recalls one of his clients who came to him around the age of 60 and had never thrown a baseball or played sports because he never had anyone to help build confidence or encourage him. Having low self esteem lead to a sedentary lifestyle which ultimately lead to weight gain over the years. After working with Jon, he is now a confident, new man who is in the best shape of his life. He works out 5x/week, plays tennis, basketball, golf, swims, SUP’s and lost about 100 lbs in the process. The real reward is not only changing the number on the scale but also their entire lifestyle and confidence level. People can be surprised of what they are capable of and I love walking my clients through that journey.
Total-Body Beach Workout
No equipment needed
5 challenging exercises that is really like 2 exercises combined into 1 for maximal efficiency
Always warm up and stretch out for a minimum 5-10 min.
Go for a walk/jog on beach and then stretch in preparation for the workout. The instability of the sand makes each exercise even more challenging so you need to be cautious
*Perform 2-3 sets of 10-12 repetitions of each exercise 3x/week
Rotational Push Up
Builds strength in your upper body and core as well as improves your motor coordination skills and balance.
Start in push-up position with your feet together and toes on the ground and your hands placed slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Draw-in your navel and contract your glutes.
With your back flat, slowly lower your body toward the floor, lowering and contracting your shoulder blades.
Push back up to starting position and rotate your body 90-degrees from the floor, fully extending both arms, one in the air and one on the floor. Reverse the movement of rotation to return to the starting position and repeat, alternating the direction of rotation.
Double Crunch
Increases core strength while targeting lower abdominal and hip flexor regions.
Lie flat on your back and place your hands behind your head.
Bring your feet close to your glutes so your knees are bent
With elbows flared to the side and hands at your ears, brace your core and lift your shoulders and upper back off the ground while bringing your knees to your elbows. Contract the core at top of movement, pause, then return to starting position.
Squat bicycle crunch
Builds strength in your lower body (calves, glutes, quadriceps) and your core (lower abdominals and obliques)
Start with your feet shoulder width apart. Begin the movement by sitting your hips back, bending your knees while keeping your chest up and head looking forwards at eye height. Your heels should stay in contact with the floor and your weight should be centered, mid-foot. Continue down until your hips are level with your knees and your thighs are as close to parallel as possible.
As you begin to stand back up into the starting position, lower your left elbow down and across your chest as you lift your right knee up and in to your chest so that your left elbow and right knee connect. As they touch, engage your abdominals. Then return your right foot to the floor and stand upright again. Repeat on the other side with your right elbow and left knee.
Lunge with rotation
Helps improve hip and ankle mobility while increasing strength in the quads, glutes, and hamstrings. It also improves core stability, balance, and rotational strength.
Step into a lunge while holding your arms out to your side at chest-height
Keep your back upright and core engaged, with feet pointing forward
Your front thigh should be almost parallel to the floor at the lowest point of the lunge
Rotate your body to one side keeping your arms out to your side
Return to facing forward before pushing off your front foot to return to the start position
On the next repetition, step with the opposite foot and rotate to the other side.
Side plank crunch
Increases core strength especially obliques, while strengthening your upper back and shoulders.
Start in a side elbow plank with your right elbow down and your left arm extended over your head.
Keep your whole body as straight as possible then simultaneously bring your left knee and left elbow towards each other bending at the waist trying to make contact.
Extend your left leg and left arm back to the starting position Repeat on other side
Summer Fitness Tips
Whether you’re on vacation or just enjoying the summer, LBI has so much to offer including great beaches, amazing food, entertainment and night life. Did I mention the wings, pizza, and ice cream? There are so many places to have fun and relax but summer can also shipwreck an otherwise healthy fitness routine. It can be very tempting to skip your workouts and eat poorly while enjoying everything summer has to offer. It doesn’t have to be this way! You can still enjoy some of the things you love, but just make sure you stay active and make the best choices available most of the time.
Here are 3 Summer Fitness Tips to help you stay on track.
1 Make a plan
Eating healthy doesn’t just happen. You need to plan ahead and know what you’re going to eat everyday. We often eat out of boredom, stress and what’s most convenient at the moment. You wouldn’t go on vacation without packing your clothes would you? Food is no different. You need to create a basic list of whole, healthy foods you will eat every day and then incorporate some of your favorite restuarants. A healthy eating plan emphasizes vegetables, fruits, whole grains and includes lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, and nuts. Once you have your list together, you can then pack your food for the day rather then making poor food choices you’ll only regret later on. You can add in those occasional cheat meals/desserts as long as you offset it with more activity like taking a walk with your family to the local ice cream shop. For more tips on eating healthier including free shopping lists, meal plans and recipes check out: www.cleaneatingmag.com
2 Drink more water
This is a must. Wherever you go, whatever you do make sure you always have water with you. Make it a point to carry a reusable water bottle with you all all times. If our bodies don’t get enough water it can actually make us feel like we are hungry which can lead to over eating and weight gain. Additionally, summers can be dangerously hot and humid so staying hydrated is a necessity. Some benefits of drinking plenty of water can help you feel more alert, make better food choices, aid in digestion, boost your metabolism and help your skins complexion. For for information on water consumption and a free personalized hydration plan visit:
www.rehydratepro.com/hydration-calculator
3 Use your body weight
In general, most people are more active in the summer. Whether it be boating with the family, surfing at the beach or playing a round of mini golf with your kids you want to spend as much time outside as possible doing the things you love. So why not bring your workout outside to the beach and enjoy the environment while getting your sweat on! Here is a super effective, time saving full body beach workout with 5 compound movements that will challenge and motivate you.