Hey Fusers!

Zak is a Bay Area Native who grew up right here in Kensington and attended Hilltop Elementary School.  The way that he became a Fitness Professional all started with his own fitness journey. He played sports growing up and due to numerous injuries from basketball, his path to recovery was through strength training.  Although he came from a sports background, Zak has been able to adapt his training style after consistently learning.  

A few words from Zak:

“Trial and error has helped me gain experience and become more specific with my plan. I’ve learned so much and have become much better at addressing goals and not using a cookie cutter approach.  The more I get to work with clients that have a wide range of fitness levels, the more it humbles me, because I came from a sports background.”

Through experience, he knows how daunting this journey can be for anyone just starting out; which is why he tries his best to help people with realistic expectations on how to achieve results.  He wants his clients to look at the big picture, instead of through just one workout. Zak believes that getting out of an outcome oriented mindset, creates more of a process mindset. Once a foundation is established, then you are able to build consistently from there.  This is what translates his passion for helping others.

Zak was introduced to us by way of a mutual dear friend, Julie Moore. Julie, who sadly passed away a year ago, was the owner of Circle Salon on Colusa Ave, and had cut Zak and his family’s hair since he was a little boy. Julie was one of the most warm, inviting and generous people we’ve ever met, and she welcomed us to the Colusa Circle right away when we first opened in Kensington. She took classes at Fuse and also did some personal training, often leaving beautiful, home-grown bouquets of flowers for us. 

As Zak was beginning his career as a personal trainer, Julie introduced Zak and Kristin, asking her to take him under her wing. And that was the beginning of a wonderful relationship with Zak. What Kristin immediately saw in Zak was a real, genuine desire to learn and ask questions, no ego involved. And what she appreciated was how he paid keen attention and always had great questions that were smart and thoughtful. Zak has truly developed into a great trainer over the last few years, creating his own unique style, and has a great rapport with his clients. 

Zak’s quote on what inspires him: 

“How life transforming fitness can be for people.  There's the working out itself, and it extrapolates out in every aspect of your life.  Your relationships improve with other people. It makes me want to impact more lives and just meet more people and continue to make the world a better place.”  

Fun Facts about Zak

Guilty Pleasures:

Pastries in the morning with coffee. Baked goods.  Pepperoni Pizza on fridays. 

What do you enjoy doing outside of work?

Hang out with my fiance. Netflix and chill with her every night.  Cooking. Fun activities with her such as dancing, cooking, and going to museums.  I love making music. I’m on Spotify. Open mic on Monday nights at Kava Kava bar at 9pm, and Tuesday nights at Starry Plough Pub. Workout, and play basketball and go to the movies. 

Favorite movie(s):  

Ferris Bueller’s day off. Zoolander.  

What is your training style?

Strength Training with a barbell, focusing on compound movements and finishing with a circuit to get the heart rate up.  I also have a class called “Six Pack with Zak”.

What does a typical training week look like for you?

Total body strength training on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. 

Wednesday and Saturday are my cardio days where I either run or play basketball. 

If you could be an animal which one would it be and why?

A zebra. My name is Zak and a zebra starts with a Z, and it’s always been my favorite animal growing up.  The zebra is the dopest looking animal; it looks very musical, sort of like a piano. I enjoy looking at zebras because of their pattern. 

Hi Fusers! Beverly guest-blogged for us this month to share the importance of strength training at the correct tempo. Thanks Beverly!

Time under tension, that is what weight training is all about. The benefits include:

• increased muscle growth
• greater body awareness and control
• better motor control of the lifts
• improved stability

But what about the tempo of a rep set, how fast or slow should you perform an exercise? There are varying opinions on this topic, but for the purposes of most Fuse Fitness members, here are our recommendations for using weights in class:

1.  Form is the most important part of lifting whether the tempo is fast or slow. A few tips:

• The mirrors and instructors are there for a reason; use both to get feedback on your form.
• Self monitor your own posture and become aware of how you are holding your body in space. Focus on your movements to create good mind-body awareness.
• Our bodies naturally wants to take “the path of least resistance” to make lifting easier. Often time, this means speeding up too much to make it go faster. Remember, always focus on quality over quantity.
• If an exercise is too easy, check your alignment and slow it down. A slight adjustment can make all of the difference.

2.  For the most part, the exercises we do in class are set up to be done slowly both                                           concentrically (shortening the muscle) and eccentrically (lengthening the muscle). This tempo of weight lifting is designed to increase muscle and strength. A few things to think about:

• Unless instructed otherwise, think of a three count to lengthen (eccentric) the muscle  with a one second pause. Then a three count to contract (concentric) the muscle with a one second pause at the end. This load is a 3-1-3-1 tempo which should be moderate to heavy. Momentum is not always your friend; powering through exercises can decrease the benefit and potentially harm your body.
• If the 3-1-3-1 load still seems too easy, chances are you are lifting too light for your ability or your posture is incorrect. If you know your posture is correct, then consider increasing the weight by 20% and slow down your movement - slow and controlled.
• When you increase the load you are lifting you might want to decrease the number of reps until your strength catches up. Don’t worry, it will catch up.

3.   Fast, explosive movements with weights (think about wall balls and kettlebell    swings) are intended to increase muscle reaction time and muscle power. For most people, a quick tempo with weights is challenging, so a light to moderate weight may be best.

Remember, always use the right amount of weight for the job. Make the most of your workout and practice good form and proper tempo with the right amount of weight to create the best results for you. If you have questions, talk to your instructors.

Thanks for listening!

Yours in health,

The Fuse Fitness