George Pagan III
I run my business out of Miami Florida which I really enjoy. I have a Bachelors degree in Movement sciences/Sports Medicine and a CSCS. Outside of any professional and educational credentials I have always been excited about the challenges of exercise and fitness. I have worked in a variety of different areas within the fitness industry from strictly one on one to small group and also within a physical therapy office working on some post therapy planning. I found a great connection working with a population of people that are or were dealing with injury new or past. My favorite person to work with is anyone who is a beginner or novice to consistent fitness routines. I enjoy watching the process someone goes through when they re-ignite their self confidence and drive.
Separate from training is Fitlete is my newly formed Fitness Company that is aimed at filling some of the voids that I have found to be present in the industry today. My goal is to create a more united industry for the professionals within it, from the personal fitness side to the medical practice side by creating a community that allows the vast number of small businesses to flourish. The community offers everything from free membership discounts for products, continuing education and seminars to business technology and operation and networking.
Site: www.fitletes.com
Twitter: @fitletes
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"Stay Focused on your long term goals and not the struggles of those short term goals. ."
"You are training too much when training effects the quality of your life outside of the gym"
"My biggest mistakes were trying to impress someone else in the gym by doing more than I should have"
Download the free PDF version of this interview (and recieve also a free ebook "Loose weight without hunger"):
Free Interview PDF + Free Ebook
1 - How can I get motivated to start a healthy/active lifestyle?
Finding the true reason why you want to change your current lifestyle to an active one is the big secret. Everyone can recite the simple goal wanting to lose some weight, gaining some muscle or become “toned and fit” but, finding the deeply routed and personal reason is where the magic happens.
2 - What are your best tips to get a flat stomach?
Stay Focused on your long term goals and not the struggles of those short term goals. Achieving the goal of a flat stomach is more work them most think it is and your best friend is going to be staying focused and being consistent with your journey. There are no overnight success tricks that I can give except your Abs are muscles that require work the same way other muscles of your body do.
3 - Do I need to take supplements? Why?
Supplements are not a necessity to achieve goals in fitness and health. The Use of supplements should be used primarily to help fill the gaps within your real food diet based off your nutritional preferences. Secondarily, Supplements should be used to help you when life happens faster than we can prepare for it. Meal planning and task/ work scheduling all work amazing when each day goes perfectly. We all know life is more often than not a sloppy mess of hours that can catch us not only a little off guard but completely blind side us. Its those times when supplements can be literally the only option you have and there is nothing wrong with that.
4 - Do you think it's easier for guys to lose weight than it is for women? Why?
I think men have an easier time with seeing a weight loss measurement on the scale. I think if you look at general stereotypes of each gender related to exercise then men tend to over eat and women tend to under eat. So when a man does something as simple as placing a limitation on his caloric intake the initial reaction from the body is going to be some weight loss. Where as a women who under eats would not see that same reaction as their bodies have adapted to operating with a lower caloric intake and it can be difficult to convince a women that more food will promote positive changes in body composition when the popular media promotes caloric restrictions.
5 - What is the most underrated concept in fitness?
Training to increase Strength First! The majority of people who start a fitness journey as beginners who have struggled in the past and then stopped due to lack of anything from results, motivation, self confidence to instant gratification. While I think there is a shift this thinking I still think the popular media outlets promote the high intensity bootcamp style and workouts to exhaustion and sweating a lot as being the answers to the problem. I believe training for strength improvements is the key to fixing all of those issues usually seen when someone gets frustrated with slow progress. Gains in strength can be seen by the lifter within a couple of workouts due to better simple things like better technique, better coordination, more confidence and that instant gratification of completing a movement with weights that was nearly impossible in their mind can be the most empowering and motivating force keeping someone on board.
6 - How do you make exercise a more enjoyable activity?
I use a lot of set variables to make similar or the same movements seem and feel very different. It's often the constant repetition of the same type of sets and reps that makes something seem boring. So, switching the order or how a set is performed is huge in making things feel different. On the non technical side of things We have to remember that we are “Personal” trainers and being personable with each person is going to make all the difference. Personalities differ and motivational drivers can be just as different. Some people Like data to fuel their progress while others like gym related events, community or competition.
7 - How much is too much training?
You are training too much when training effects the quality of your life outside of the gym. Unless training is your your job or your genuine hobby then training is simply something done to make your life less stressful and less hectic. If training starts to become a burden or a stress that effects things like your mood, work, family and hobbies then you need to re-evaluate your training routine. Remember training is supposed to make things better not worse.
8 - Please, give us your best pre-workout tips
My best three tips pre workout are:
Stick to your training goals over just getting tired
Temporarily quiet your mind and separate from the stresses of your day
Prepare like this is going to be the best workout you ever had every day.
9 - What's a good exercise & diet routine?
Focus on full body workouts using high weekly frequency & low daily volume first. Regardless if you are a beginner or not, life happens fast and often times rest days will be scheduled for us because work and family often times are of higher priority. Make a plan as you go into every week as if you are going to train everyday in a row.
10 - What newbie mistakes did you make when you first started training?
My biggest mistakes were trying to impress someone else in the gym by doing more than I should have. I love lifting heavy weights but I had to learn to love doing it for myself instead of impressing the older football players when I started lifting in high school. They had more experience than I did but I wanted to fit in just like most high school freshman would. If you are a newbie then you need to understand that your progress is you own and using exercise for to gain popularity can foster some cloudy decision making skills.