May 92012 Okay summer is coming, sweater weather has passed. It's time to shed the Winter coat and show some skin.

One group of Summer muscles that are often neglected are the abdominals. Abs are important muscles. A strong flat-lean midsection not only protects the spine, it also looks amazing!

This is an Abdominal Complex, meaning each exercise is done right after the one before without a break in between. There are 5 exercises, each done for 1 minute.

The exercises in order:
1. Toe/Foot Touch   2. Reverse Crunch   3. Cherry Pickers
4. Stir the Pot   5. Ab Rollout

(my clients know these well :)

*Do not use momentum on the Toe/Foot Touch and Reverse Crunch. Brace your abs and intensify the engagement when your legs and arms come together.

*Flat abs do not come from doing ab exercises. It takes a lowered body fat percentage which can only be achieved through diet and exercise.

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Apr 172012 Running is running, right? WRONG! It all depends on your goals. Jogging and sprinting are great, both strengthen your heart and make you a generally healthier person. The one itsy bitsy difference is your body's response to the training types. Plain and simple, your body will adapt to endurance training (jogging) a lot quicker than it does to high intensity training (sprinting).

After steady state cardio your metabolism returns to normal shortly after your run. Conversely, your metabolism will be elevated hours after sprint training. Your body burns 9x more subcutaneous fat than it would during steady state training.

A few small caveats: In order to safely and effectively do high intensity training you need to have a solid foundation of cardio and strength.

In the video below, I'm doing 40 yard sprints. 1/4 of the sprint is the drill and the remainder is the sprint. Rest no longer than 1 minute between sprints and try to keep it under 10 minutes for the entire round. ENJOY!!!


Tagged with: Personal Training • Running • Video • Workout
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Apr 112012 As Tim Vafides embarks on his fourth consecutive Boston marathon, he shares his unique perspective on marathoning with PPT. Tim is a native Bostonian currently training while living in Washington D.C.

In the final part of this three-part series, Tim shares with us why The Boston Marathon is such a special race.

If you'd like to track Tim's progress, text the word RUNNER to 345678. After entering his bib number (22987) you will receive 4 text messages on Tim's progress.

Good Luck, Tim!  


This will be my 4th consecutive Boston Marathon. It is THE ONLY marathon I have ever run. Now, most “educated” (ah hem, pompous) runners will be quick to point out that you must qualify to run the Boston Marathon or raise money for a charity. So, how on earth can this possibly be the only marathon I’ve ever run?...Read More


Tagged with: marathon • Running
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Mar 142012 There's a good reason they call Squats the "King of All Exercises". Squats work more of your body than any single exercise. Squats literally help you to run faster and jump higher, all while carving up your abs, increasing your balance and your body's ability to burn fat.

Sooooo many of my clients bitch and moan about me making them squat so often. I offer no apologies. Yeah, sorry for trying to make you AWESOME... sorry.

Form and technique of four different squats are demonstrated below; Back Squats, Front Squats, Sumo Squats, and Bulgarian Split Squats.

Check below the video for a few of the benefits of each variation.
Read More...


Tagged with: Personal Training • Training • Video
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