“I am not trying to scare you, but if you aren’t cautious with your exercise form, you may be injuring your lower back.” Joe Zhang Olive Branch Personal Trainer Today, Joe Zhang, personal trainer at Olive Branch, will show you some examples of basic exercises. Learn to keep your back straight! Back Squats Function: This is an awesome exercise for your whole body because not only does it enhance your strength and
Read more0
I have blogged on multiple occasions the need for everyone to do strength training (here, here, and here), so here is a basic article to get you started on the “King of All Exercises” - the squat (barbell back squat to be exact). If you’ve never performed a back squat before using a barbell, then please exercise with caution as you do not want to risk injury to your back, neck, knees or anywhere
Read more0
We’ve all been there. It’s been over 6 months since I’ve done any exercise and I’m out of shape, and out of motivation. Why is the first step getting into shape, so hard?! For some of us, starting to a new fitness routine can be as daunting as public speaking. It’s worse than going to see the dentist because at least that’s over in 1 hour and you don’t have to go back for
Read more0
Push-ups are arguably the most popular bodyweight exercise ever; and certainly the most common bodyweight chest exercise. THE BENEFITS OF PUSH-UPS: BUILDS STRENGTH: You will be lifting around 50% (knee push-ups) to 70% (toe push-ups) of your bodyweight during a proper push-up . Push-ups are an efficient way to build your strength for your upper body muscles, especially your chest (pectoralis major), triceps (triceps brachii) and your shoulders (anterior deltoid). They can also train your
Read more0
Continuing from last week’s blog post on how to do a proper push-up, this week’s blog is addressing the common mistakes that people make while doing push-ups. Keep your eye open for them - now you have the knowledge to do them better! Rotated Hand Position: Placing your hands on the ground incorrectly causes undue strain on the wrists and puts the elbow in an unstable position. Solution: Hands should be straight but slightly
Read more2
Survivorship Bias Similar, to my earlier blog Misconceptions: Swim, to have a swimmer’s body! this blog talks about the perils of the pervasive cognitive flaw - survivorship bias. Exercise programs that you frequently read on fitness magazines and social media platforms almost always depict a famous athlete giving his/her workout routine and telling you should follow it too if you want to get a big chest, skinny waistline, broad shoulders, slender legs, 6-pack abs,
Read more0
Six-Pack Secrets; Love Handle Erasers; The 5 Foods To Avoid If You Want A Six-Pack; 10 Core Exercises To Whittle Your Waist; Best Ab Moves If titles such as these still attract you to read them, then this blog post is for you! It’s for you, not because it’s going to help you get 6-pack abs, but rather to dispel all the false-promises articles with headings such as these make. Anytime you see fitness articles
Read more0What a month! It was not easy, but I’m glad I did it! I’d like to re-state the reasons why we did this. It’s to see what an effect doing Olive Branch classes, twice a week, for a month will do to our bodies while stopping weight training. We also want to showcase to our followers that we too, suffer and struggle in the classes. We are not superior beings with unlimited fitness capability, contrary
Read more0
First week of Call To ACTion! is over. I’m not going to lie - I did the TRX class and the Thursday ACT class last week, and it wasn’t easy! I can still remember after the first round of the conditioning circuit, I was barely able to walk. I had three and a half minutes of break before the second round starts and I was desperate to relieve the pain. The clock wound down, and
Read more0
Ladies & Gentlemen! Today is a a bit special for us as it is the first Olive Branch newsletter to be released on a leap day! So to mark the occasion, we are starting a new program that we hope will be inspiring for those of you trying to get back on track after Chinese New Year. The name of the program is (drum roll please).... Call To ACTion! The concept is simple. Your favourite Olive
Read more0