“I was nervous to start working out with a personal trainer. In the past anytime I would workout my knee hurt, my low back hurt, and my neck would tweak. Jeremy took the time to focus our workouts on those areas for the first two months. He built my foundation and now we are working out focusing on my goals and I feel great after workouts.”

This was awesome to hear from my personal training client a few weeks ago (and that he was telling coworkers about it!). He came to me with the typical fitness goals and was ready mentally to get right into the workouts. He did have some concerns about how his body would feel since he stopped being active a few years ago and the reason he stopped was because he kept getting hurt.

I told him I would not allow that to happen this time. We were going to take our time while still making progress but all while making sure his body felt better and moved better before increasing any intensity variables. This took months and it is still a work in progress. Now though his body is more stable, doesn’t hurt after training sessions, and 2 days later he is always feel energized and ready for another workout.

I understand that people want to get right into the workouts that will get them the best results right away. But if you spend years not being active or if you spend years being active in 1 single activity your body can not just flip a switch and train at high intensities. We need to work together to unravel some of those weaknesses, tightness, imbalances, habits, ect. I promise it will feel better and then your “goal oriented” high intensity workouts will feel better too!

Don’t overlook a foundational phase of training! All of my clients start with building a foundation.

To me it doesn’t matter if a client is inactive, active, in amazing shape, or an athlete. Everyone needs to be assessed, evaluated, and start a training program in a foundational stage. Of course, that doesn’t mean everyone starts with the same workout or same level on intensity. A foundational phase or workout does not mean it is easy or pointless. It simply means that together we work on some limitations or weaknesses in your body, movement, or current goals.

For one example lets say you are new to resistance training or new to physical activity. We cannot just start you out right in a workout that is 5 sets of 12 reps, getting close to failure, moving for 60 minutes, 2-3 times per week. No doubt we will get results and see changes in those first 4-6 weeks. But the likely hood of minor injuries in the joints is extremely high and we are also at an increased risk of serious injuries as well.

Another example is when someone is already active or training and they spend too much time in a specific phase of training geared towards their goals. Yes, the majority of their time should be spent in that training phase but they still need a well rounded program to prevent injuries.

No matter if you are new to training or been training for years time spent building a foundation or time spent revisiting your foundational weaknesses will result in better workouts and training during the high intensity phases yielding better healthier results as well.

3 Reasons Why You Need a Personal Trainer While on Ozempic (semaglutides)

1- Proper physical activity and training will maximize the weight loss results and build muscle mass

2- Long term weight loss maintenance by preserving muscle mass with proper training

3- Working with a trainer that has experience training clients on semaglutides and that understand the metabolic changes 

Have you been losing weight and taking semaglutides (Ozempic or others)? Have you been thinking about taking a semaglutide to help you lose weight?

Over the last year+ I have worked with many more clients on different versions on semaglutides like Ozempic. Over half of my newer clients have started working with me after months of taking their weekly shots. Some personal trainers and individuals around fitness see this as a bad thing, a fad, or something people should avoid. I see it as a great tool that can help people while they try to figure out what changes they need to make. I have clients with stories about how the semaglutide helped them start losing weight so they felt ready to workout again. Some felt self conscious working out until they lost the first 10-15lbs. Some lost a little weight and felt more energized and that motivated them to start working with a personal trainer. These are all great things if it is leading to a healthier life and future. While I do believe the semaglutides are a great tool to get someone started, help them lose large amounts of weight, buy them some time to figure out their eating habits, and help them start being physically active again. This still means action needs to be taken. That is when working with an experienced knowledgable trainer is helpful along the process of changing your life and losing weight. While the weight loss is HUGE we also need to make sure muscle mass is maintained or gained for better long term health and for better weight management once you are at your ideal body weight from the semaglutide.

My goal as a trainer is to always help my clients figure out healthy physical activity habits that work for them and are best for them.

I offer full body and health assessments prior to ever committing to any long term plans. To learn more visit my website and submit a contact form!

“I was able to go on vacation with my kids and had 0 back pain and never got tired or sore. We took a 12-13 hour flight, did a lot of walking, and daily we went on hikes in the mountains.”

This was an awesome success story from one of my personal training clients I have worked with for a little less than a year now.

This client did not have a weight loss goal, performance goal, strength goal, or muscle building goal. Their goal was, at 45 years old, to stop tweaking their back (pain/spasms), stop having random ankle injuries, stop having shoulder pain, and to just limit injuries as they age. With this type of goal we started personal training sessions with 3 days a week, then 2 days a week, to now 1 day a week and a few maintenance sessions. They do a great job of staying active on their own and at home so we can focus on the little things and a few things I can teach them to do on their own.

That is what I love doing with each client and why it is actually “personal training”. Physical activity can have many benefit and goals so together we figure out what you need and how I can help and build a plan from there!

“Less than two months working with Jeremy and I feel stronger, my posture has improved, I have lost 5lbs, and dropped a few pant sizes! I am so excited to keep building on the progress.”

This success story comes from a new personal training client who has only been reassed one time so far (2 months of working together). 

They were physically active prior to covid, but newer to resistance training sessions. Right away we were on the same page to start slow by building a very strong foundation prior to focusing on fitness goals. They fully committed to the small details and taking short steps in the beginning. 

We just now are ready to start transitioning out of what I consider the foundational phase. These are now when changes and fitness goals are suppose to actual start happening. But from this client’s commitment and focus as you can read they already started having progress. 

Now that we have all their new measurements after our first reassessment I am really excited to see how his body responds to workouts geared to making physical changes to his body. Our first goal was simply preparing his body to train, relieve any imbalance pain, and improve posture. Now it is time for us to get to work on his next goals! 

Nutrition habits take time. That is a good thing!

A lot of people hear about all the different diets and try them for a few weeks, few days, or few months. People feel overwhelmed by all the different dieting strategies. Sometimes they don’t see results fast enough or the diet is just not sustainable after they do see results.

To many of my personal training clients I never tell them not do to a diet (within reason). But I always stress to them to try it for a few weeks and stay very consistent. During that time make sure you take down notes of what worked, didn’t work, felt hard, felt easy, and when did you start to crave food or have a binge eating night/weekend. If it doesn’t work or it is not a diet strategy you can maintain for your new normal. Try another diet and continue with the same note taking method.

Yes, this is going to take time and will be a longer process. You will have successful weeks and hard weeks. But after months of doing this process you will be able to now combine different parts of different diets. Or at least commit to the diet you tried and worked 80% of the week/month.

I have clients who have been successful after doing this method and piecing together fasting, carb cycling, keto, point systems, ect.

“Train For Life Durability”

For all of the clients at Jeremy Paprocki Personal Training and Rehabilitation this is the foundation of all workouts and programs. No matter what their fitness, exercise, or performance goals are we always focus on injury prevention and durability for the long term.

This does start with different forms of mobility, balance, reactions, stamina, and joint strength. Then for all clients we progress to building muscle and building strength.

Of course, this looks different for every personal training client but the benefits to building strength for athletes is no different than aging individuals who want to stay active.

4 Common Protein Questions I Hear as a Personal Trainer

As a personal trainer I get asked the same 4 questions about protein all the time. These questions come from personal training clients, students, or people at the local gyms in Little Rock.

What kind of protein should I get? How much protein should I eat? When should I eat protein? How often or how much should I have with each meal?

The kind and daily amount (daily average 0.75-1.0g per pound) are VERY important and are things everyone should focus on when being active and resistance training.

But when it comes to when, how often, or how much with each meal those should be things you do not prioritize. Unless you are looking for a longer to do list or training for the Olympics and trying to win a race by 0.01 seconds. These factors of when you consume protein, how often during the day, or how much with each meal MIGHT impact your results by less than 1% (made up number, but research shows it is not a significant difference).

I have many successful personal training clients who eat 4 meals/2 snacks, 3 meals/3 snacks, 2 meals/2 snacks, etc. The timing of when they consume their protein doesn’t matter and there is no true window post workouts. The amount they eat with each meal doesn’t matter because their body will just take longer to digest the more protein you consume and your body will use what is needed. There is a slight benefit to consuming protein throughout your day and not 100g in one sitting, but again that should come way after thinking about what is easier for your schedule, what type of protein you can consume, and what your preference is for your meals/snacks that day.

Bottom line make sure to eat quality protein, 0.75-1.0g per pound daily, and get it in whatever way works best for you!

Jeremy is an amazing personal trainer. He first helped me reach my goal weight. Then he helped me build muscle. Now he has me feeling stronger. I never thought I would be in my 60s carrying 60lbs, squatting 50lbs, and pressing 40lbs!

This client came to me for personal training sessions wanting to lose a little weight but her main goal was actually to get over the fear of falling. She knew her balance was getting worse and her friends had all recently had significant falls leading to broken bones.

We took our time to first build her confidence moving and her balance in every day positions.

Then we focused on her weight loss to help alleviate some low back and knee pain.

Then for the last few months we changed the focus to making her stronger and her body more resilient (injury resistant).

She takes care of the details like showing up, regular walks outside, and nutrition. Now she is lifting weights 2-3 times a week and moving more weight than a lot of people I see daily at the gym.

Super impressive! Very proud to be her personal trainer.

Make sure to be aware of these 4 things while on a semaglutide and being physically active!

1 – Semaglutides help you lose weight by being in a calorie deficit. Being physically active in a calorie deficit will feel different compared to when you’re in a calorie surplus or maintenance phase. Training while in a calorie deficit should look different as well.

2 – Protein intake is even more important. While losing weight and being physically active we want to maintain as much lean muscle mass as possible, so keeping your protein intake high is important. Also, this will aid in recovery from the physical activity.

3 – Metabolism and digestion slow down. This means if you typically eat snacks 1 hour before being active/training or a meal 2-3 hours before, you may need to make adjustments. Since your digestion is slowing down you may need to consume food more like 2-4 hours before.

4 – Mood is impacted as well. This may lead to changes in how you feel before, during, and after physical activity compared to what it previously felt like.

While on a semaglutide you NEED to be physically active or maintain your activity level. This also means you may need to start a little slower or take a few steps back in your training to make some adjustments. Your body may feel different and recover differently, so have patience and make the proper adjustments to your training days.