Author Archives: Samantha Jennings

This week I wanted to share my experience of tracking calories and macros over the past 7 days. The reason I keep bringing it up is because I don’t like wasting time. If I have a weight goal which I know I can achieve faster through 20 minutes of tracking a day versus months of guessingContinue reading “My 1 Week of Food Tracking”

In the last month or so I’ve spoken to almost all of my clients about food and the dietary changes they’d need to make to reach their goals. Workouts and daily activity are crucial for cardiac, bone and muscle health, but if we’re talking just strictly about weight loss then we need to acknowledge that theContinue reading “Higher-Value Foods”

A lot of us are all wearing various fitness trackers (Fitbit, Garmin, Apple Watch, MyZone, etc.) and they give us a lot of information that we might not fully understand. While I mostly see these used for weight loss, I want to give an overview of how the zones work so you can optimize yourContinue reading “Fat Burn Vs Cardio Zones”

Today’s topic is about volume – how much is the right amount of activity? In the DTS MasterClass last weekend we talked about training volume – how often programs need to be changed for each person’s level, overtraining and building habits. I wanted to share the key points with you all to help make workoutsContinue reading “Is everyday too much for beginners?”

We all know that sleep is good for us. When we get a quality full night’s sleep we see a host of benefits we feel immediately (“Wow! I actually feel rested today!”) and a whole bunch of other benefits working behind the scenes. I recently got a Fitbit for my birthday to track my sleepContinue reading “Sleep Observations”

As discussed last week we have our TDEE or Total Daily Energy Expenditure which is the total amount of energy (calories) we burn in a day through exercise, eating, walking around, doing chores, breathing, etc. The thermic effect of food is one of those ways our bodies use energy through the day (approximately 10%) andContinue reading “The Thermic Effect of Food”

Today I wanted to jump right into something you may not have heard of: N.E.A.T. It stands for “non-exercise activity thermogenesis” and is often an overlooked factor in gaining, maintaining or losing weight, as it can drastically impact our calories for the day in ways we might not pay attention to. We’ll plow through the science quickly and getContinue reading “The Secret of N.E.A.T.”

This week’s topic is range of motion! Before we get into it Range of Motion (ROM) is defined as:  – Range of motion is the capability of a joint to go through its complete spectrum of movements.– Range of motion of a joint can be passive or active.– Passive range of motion can be defined asContinue reading “Do I have to Squat to Parallel?”

After last week’s blog on rep ranges and which ones to pick for what goals, the next logical step is how to then use those rep ranges effectively (i.e. “I want to grow my legs so I should use the hypertrophy rep range, but how many times a week should I do that and when should I takeContinue reading “Supercompensation Cycle!”

The nice thing about having someone program for you is being told how many sets and reps to do for each exercise. But how does your coach know what to tell you to lift? Why does one person get a 5×5 at 80% of their 1RM and another gets 3×20 to failure? It all comesContinue reading “Determining Rep Ranges”