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Personal Training

Todd Cambio, certified personal trainer and owner of Precision Fitness in Warwick (goprecisionfitness.com), knows how easily people tire of their gym routine. So he’s developed his own fitness exercises using everyday objects including kegs and tractor tires. Below, his advice for fighting off a workout aversion and more. —C.A.

What’s the best way to get out of an exercise rut? Try something new. It doesn’t matter what it is, whether you take up cardio kickboxing, join a men’s or women’s softball league, or try volleyball, the important thing is to be doing something and to get away from the gym atmosphere for a while. 

What advice do you have for someone who is new to working out? Start slow. Don’t rush because that’s when you get hurt, or too sore, and when that happens motivation drops very quickly. I always tell people to come up with a plan for how often they want to exercise and then start with exercise they enjoy, whether that’s cardio or weight training or an aerobics class. 

How often should someone be exercising? It’s different for everybody, but the general rule of thumb is thirty minutes a day. If you can’t get done what you need to in thirty minutes, you’re just wasting time.

What’s more important for weight loss: diet or exercise? They go hand in hand. But when I work with new clients, I always start with cleaning up their nutrition. You eat every day and multiple times a day, and most people don’t exercise that often, so I think it’s more important to get control of nutrition first.

What do you recommend more of to your clients: cardio or weights? I generally advise doing a full body workout three times a week with weight lifting thirty minutes a day, if you have the proper muscle development to do that. For those that aren’t strong enough, any exercises using your own body weight—squats, lunges, crunches—are great. Then they can mix in cardio if they choose.

Is there any type of exercise you can recommend for people to do at home? I call this a playground workout: a set of ten to twelve squats, pushups and step-ups on a bench. See how many times you can do that mini circuit. And you can do that at a park, while you’re watching your kids play soccer, or at home.

What’s your thinking behind some of the unique equipment you use? People get bored. I’m just giving them something different; they’re just basic exercises with a flair. And they give a great core workout, where you’re working all the muscles. I have fifty-five-year-old female clients flipping tractor tires and loving it.