Workout World | The Fitness and Exercise Equipment Specialists - Q and A

Q and A - Andrew Simmons

The founder of Vision Personal Training, Andrew Simmons, shares words about workouts, meeting personal health and fitness goals and building the best personal training studio franchise in the world.

Q. What is your typical workout regime these days?
I am currently training for a Natural Body Building Competition in the first half of this year. I do cardio training on a cross trainer, stationery bike and treadmill for 60-90 minutes each morning and train with weights on three afternoons each week. Later this year I am running the New York marathon. Training for that will involve only three runs per week, two low impact cardio sessions and two weight training sessions per week. I will do at least two solid stretching sessions per week to remain injury free.

Q. How do you keep fit and healthy and what are your top tips for Australians keen to lose weight and get healthy?
Exercise really clears my head - I generally come up with my best ideas whilst I am training. I believe that 80% of your result comes from food, so if you don't get that right, you will struggle to lose weight. I avoid processed foods where possible, eat lean proteins at each meal along with water based fruit and vegetables. In our attempt to reduce fats from our foods, many of them are loaded in salt and sugar, which not only prevent you from burning fat, they make you retain fluid.

Q. What fitness equipment do you have in your PT studios and what equipment is getting the thumbs up by your PT team?
At Vision Personal Training we use Precor cardio and Avanti weight training equipment. We particularly love the Precor cardio range - the treadmills are extremely sturdy and smooth and the bikes are comfortable and easy to use. The new Adaptive Motion Trainer (AMT) range is very versatile which saves on space.

Q. Which machines do you personally enjoy using - and why?
I love riding a stationery bike. I raced triathlons for many years and the bike leg was always my strongest. The bike is low impact which is great for injury prevention. I particularly like being able to read my Personal Development books whilst training on my low intensity days.

Q. What should Australians look for when choosing a personal training studio?
Ensure that your trainers look after all 4 "E" factors: Emotions, Education, Eating and Exercise. Your trainers must be qualified and must practice what they preach. You should also check out the history of the business. Has it been there for a while? The average life span of a PT business is less than one year.

Q. What sets Vision PT studios apart from your competitors?
At Vision Personal Training, we have more than 20 years fitness industry and business experience. As a result, our businesses are sound, meaning that we can be here for our clients long-term. Vision Personal Training is the fastest growing and the largest personal training studio franchise in the country. Our focus on the 4 "E" factors: Emotions, Education, Eating and Exercise mean that our clients achieve amazing results.

Our focus on emotions enable us to truly understand why our clients want to achieve their goals and what their barriers are to either exercising and/or eating well. We do this by performing sit down "Goals Sessions" every nine weeks and set specific goals each week. We ensure that our clients are heavily involved in the goals setting process.

We educate our clients via seminars including "Eating to lose Fat fast - The 6 secrets you need to know" and Exercising to lose fat fast - the 5 secrets you need to know". Our shopping tours at each studio's local Coles or Woolworths store allow us to show our clients what foods to eat and avoid, as well as help them understand what is in the foods we eat.

Vision Personal Training studios provide specific nutrition sessions which allow us to personally assist our client in creating meal plans as well as continue to help them understand why they should eat, cut down or avoid certain foods. Our exercise sessions specifically target those areas that need the most attention for each client. Many people waste a great deal of time in the gym. Our 30 minute exercise sessions ensure that clients get maximum results in minimal time.

Q. What are some of the most commonly asked questions at your PT studios by your customers (and what answers do you give them)?
Which weight training exercises are best to help me lose fat?
Compound exercises are more time efficient. They stimulate more muscle, which in turn stimulates the release of testosterone and growth hormone. As a result, your metabolism will rise to help you burn more fat.

Why should I eat good fats?
Good fats help to balance blood sugar levels, manufacture sex and adrenal hormones, maintain body temperature and transport essential vitamins around the body (A, D, E, and K). They also satisfy hunger pangs, which in turn tends to stops us from over-consuming food, in particular carbohydrates.

What is the best overload technique during weight training? And why?
There is none. It depends on the training age of each client. Variety is also extremely important for motivational and injury prevention, hence changes at least every six weeks is essential.

Why are fit individuals more efficient at burning fat?
Fit individuals are able sustain higher workloads for longer. They also have the ability to utilise fat stores earlier during exercise than unfit individuals, as they can store fat on the muscle cells, which is more easily accessible.

After doing a hard aerobic workout, how long should I wait to eat and why?
Approximately one hour, to allow the fat burning process to continue. CHO ingestion will invoke an insulin response, stopping fat from being burnt if food is consumed.

Should I do weights before or after cardio and why?
Weights should be performed before a cardio session to ensure that the client is not too fatigued to perform well. Further, carbohydrates are used as the fuel source for weight training. Therefore, as the client’s carbohydrate stores deplete, they will burn a higher amount of fat during the cardio session.

How does alcohol affect my ability to lose body fat?
Alcohol is a toxin, so the body burn it before any other fuel source. As alcohol is almost twice as energy dense and carbohydrates and protein, it prevents your body from not only burning fat, but may cause any carbohydrates eaten to be converted into fat.

What are the benefits of low intensity exercise?
Low intensity exercise allows you to burn fat during a workout and helps the recovery process after hard sessions. For maximum fat burning effects, they should last for up to 90 minutes.

What are the benefits of high intensity exercise?
High intensity sessions cause a dramatic rise in the metabolism. Whilst not much fat is burnt during the sessions, more fat is burnt for hours after the session. They also help to increase your fitness and fat burning potential long-term. We recommend no more than three hard cardio sessions per week.

Why is resistance training important for fat loss?
It helps to increase the metabolism, so that you burn more energy throughout the day. It also helps to build muscle, which then allows you to store more carbohydrates which reduce the chance of them being turned into fat.

Q. When it comes to health and fitness, who inspires you?
I have always admired Lance Armstrong for making such a monumental comeback in one of the most gruelling sports in the world. I always admired Wayne Pearce (former rugby league player) for his commitment and training ethic. I admire him mostly because he has continued to stay in great shape and lead a healthy lifestyle since his retirement. He could have easily embraced the "drinking football culture" during and since his playing days, but he didn't.

Q. What is keeping you busy these days?
Away from my family commitments (raising three young children) and my training, I am committed to building the best Personal Training Studio franchise in the world. Our current Vision is to build the most reliable brand in the Australian Fitness Industry for delivering outstanding client results by 2010. Our goal is to have 52 studios throughout NSW and QLD by the end of 2009 and have a bigger 5 year goal of 225 studios in four countries. I think that will keep me pretty busy.