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Good Energy
Professional Training Center

Good Energy Q&A

Below you will find answers to questions submitted by our website visitors. We encourage you to submit any question about training that you have. For your privacy, we will not publish your last name or email address. Not all questions will be published.

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Previously Answered Questions


Is it true that you are looking for personal trainers to join your staff?

      

It's True...
It does not seem possible, but Good Energy is getting busier. The economy might be struggling, but GE Performance Training is no longer a secret or a luxury - people want it.

That being said, we have posted an ad for Full Time & Part Time trainers both in The Bergen Record and on Monster.com to shake the trees for qualified and certified personal trainers who want to be a part of our TEAM.

Pictured is Taylor Ciali, a long time Good Energy client and Summer Trainer. Both Taylor & Andy Romans have done an exceptional job training our young athlete's this Summer and will be missed this fall when they hit the gridiron for their respective colleges.

Our Fall schedule is already being filled by Winter & Spring athlete's so we hope to service everyone properly with qualified, knowledgeable and motivating Fitness professionals.

Do not hesitate to contact us via this site or call 201-760-9900 if you would like to discuss possible employment at our facility.

This past February a father of a GE Client asked us if we were preparing his son for baseball or football?

      

There are no "Bad" questions, but my answer to this question threw the Dad for a loop.

I answered, "We were working on his son's FOCUS." To which he responded in front of a crowd of parent's whom also had son's that trained with GE, "I pay a LOT of $$$ for you to be working on my son's FOCUS."

Here is my point. His son often times came to GE tired and not ready or prepared to Work Hard. If you are training at GE, you need to have goals and a purpose before you enter the facility.

Now to answer the Dad's question specifically, we are training him to be a stronger & more explosive athlete - his son plays middle infield and skilled positions in football. Therefore training for both sports can be paralleled. He needs to work on Total Body Strength, Change of Direction & Acceleration. However, at GE we want the athlete's mind to be consistent with his work ethic. Don't assume you are going to improve your performance in your sport by "having a trainer" or performing training 3 hours per week.

Challenge yourself physically but be disciplined and focused mentally to Be the Best!

I have been wanting to try out your facility for a while, but I currently go to the YMCA and I am afraid that I won't be able to do your workout? Sharon, Ramsey

      

Sharon,
First, we are so glad that at least you wrote us your question so we could answer it and hopefully lessen some of your anxiety to train at Good Energy!

Pictured is Amy Roark who is exercising at 30+ weeks pregnant. We put this picture with our response because GE is not just for Athlete's and that our workouts can be scaled up or down dependent on your fitness goals and level of fitness.

In the past we have assisted many people who were just looking to figure out a "routine" for their workout because they were already members at health clubs but wanted to make sure they were performing the exercises correctly and they were training their entire body.

You first have to figure out what it is you want to get out of GOOD ENERGY! We have clients who train 3x per week or 1x week. In the Summer, some Athlete's perform GE every day to maximize their ability to PERFORM in the Fall.

We are fitness professionals and would enjoy the opportunity to outline a proper fitness protocol for you, even if it means you come to GE for one or two sessions to fine tune what you are already doing at your current facility and perhaps include some variations of exercises you are not familiar with. Our clients range from the absolute beginner to the Professional Athlete. We do have a significant amount of Athletes who do train here and our website conveys that. However, that does not mean that we don't enjoy our mornings with business professionals and homemakers because quite frankly the adults who train at GOOD ENERGY are serious about their exercise program and are here to incorporate fitness in their life and we are trying to instill a HEALTHY LIFESTYLE.

As we say to ALL our clients, "Don't be scared, Sharon!" Step outside the box, or the "Y" and give us a call, we know you will not be disappointed and who knows, you might decide to incorporate some GE into your lifestyle.

Thanks again for the question.

Do you find that a lot of your younger athlete's begin your program in poor condition? My son plays soccer and much of his team lacks proper cardiovascular conditioning! Ken, Ramsey

      

Thanks for your question, Ken.

I'm not sure how old your son is, but we generally introduce our program to 7th or 8th graders dependent on the athlete's focus, fitness goals and commitment to performing better.

I think most young athlete's are not "fueled" properly which does not set them up for proper conditioning or cardio output. Many young athlete's want to be the best, but do not realize the importance of proper nutrition and rest to perform at an intense capacity. Timing of meals and proper sleep patterns and rest prior to a practice or game can influence a young athlete's performance dramatically.

We recommend ALL our clients prepare for our workouts as if it is a hard practice or game. Therefore, athlete's should eat one hour prior to their workout and drink a sport's drink or water with their light meal.

Another big problem with young athlete's is laying around too much prior to competition so their body is not prepared for intense exertion.

However, that being said...the heart needs to get worked just like the entire kinetic chain, so you can't avoid cardio particulary if your sport requires endurance - i.e. soccer, lacrosse or hockey.

We believe in proper strength training, but you can't avoid cardiovascular training to produce a well-rounded athlete. I put a picture of the Tug-of-War at a TEAM TRAINING workout this summer, because we really received GREAT results from our Tug-of-War competitions this summer and ALL the winner's were EVERY athlete who gave 100% because selling out in the TUG-OF-WAR creates cardiovascular improvement and muscular exertion to the maximum.

I hope this answers your question. Good luck with your son's TEAM and its conditioning issue. Another great way to get more out of the young athlete's in a cardio capacity is performing obstacle courses or TEAM relay races because the kid's will TRY HARDER if they are competing!!

Good Luck and Thanks for the question.

I saw your Athlete of the Month article in the Town Journal. Is your gym only for Athlete's? Curious Allendale Mom

      

Great Question!

Our facility is for anyone with a fitness goal!

Amy Roark is in the picture performing lower abs while 30 weeks pregnant!

Now Amy did receive our Athlete of the Month because of her diligence to get into shape following her third child,...but she is a Mom of soon-to-be four and just loves exercise and being fit!

We train ALL our client's in a Athletic form of exercise because even the business professional needs to move his/her body in multiple plains of movement and with different volume and intensity of training to increase their heart rate and make the entire body physically work.

Therefore, the sedentary worker gets invigorated and feels better before or after a days work, and the non-athlete feels more self-confident in gym class or in the hallway.

We KNOW our program not only makes ELITE Athletes PERFORM BETTER, but makes the apprehensive client more athletic and increase their confidence! We are NOT miracle workers, but if YOU are open to a fitness program and willing to be coached by us, we can help you.

Do you REALLY have high school kids run on Saturday mornings? What time is the training? Father of a H.S. sophomore football player

      

We have had Saturday am Speed & Conditioning sessions EVERY Saturday since June and they are performed on Ramsey High School's FieldTURF at 7am.

In fact, our program has grown so much in just over three years, that we now have 6am Speed & Conditioning on Wednesdays and Saturdays for College Athletes as well as the above mentioned high school program on Saturdays.

Our program is open to Good Energy clients on a first call basis prior to Saturday because we limit the sessions to 10 clients. The session costs $30.00/hour.

We limit the size of the session so we can teach proper movement patterns and running mechanics to each athlete and we periodically mail home progress reports, so parent's stay informed as to their kid's progress in our program and we can work on each Athlete's weaknesses.

When I was asked this question I was taken back that this father was surprised that we had high school athlete's train early on Saturday morning, because we have had NO trouble this Summer filling our Speed & Conditioning program on Saturday mornings, and the few "no shows" lose a session by not attending the session.

Our clientele at Good Energy consists of committed, goal oriented and driven clients whether they are in 8th grade or they are business professionals.

We are serious about our profession and we expect our clients to be serious about training.

Thanks for the question and Good Luck with your son's high school career.

Someone told me yesterday that when the owner at Good Energy was asked who his competition was, he said point blank there is none? How can you say that when there are personal training facilities popping up everywhere in northern NJ?

      

First of all, you forgot to leave your name next to your question,...but GREAT question. Curious who it was who passed along my quote, but could have been alot of people so that is a mute point.

There is NO competition with Good Energy because of MANY reasons.

For one, Rob DeBrino and myself(Pete Ohnegian) played professionally in two different sports, baseball & football. In addition to playing at the highest level we were also GYM RATS, so we were in the trenches training the whole time we were playing. Strength & Conditioning is not a book we just started to read, but rather has been a major part in our everyday life since we were in middle school, i.e. early-mid 80's.

Secondly, we continue to educate ourselves via conferences, NEW certifications and we are constantly reading fitness literature both hard copy and on the web to maintain our training on the cutting edge of the industry.

Although we feel like our hands-on experience goes a lot further than many books or certifications, we make it a point to get in the classroom and listen to other leaders in the fitness & performance industry periodically each year, to get new ideas and approaches to not only training clients but running a successful PERSONAL training business.

Thirdly, despite being extremely busy this Summer we maintain a 2-1 ratio within the walls of GE therefore always having control over the session in order to cue and spot every client that enters our performance center and make injury prevention our #1 priority.

Our product is not watered down and because we not only played but have been training for over 30 years between us, we are coaches to many of our clients as well as positive role models. We don't have the thug in the beater tank top or sideways hat...at least not the hour our clients train with positive attitudes @ GE!

We live what we teach and perform similar workouts that we design for our clients. As seen in the picture, we can demonstrate all the the techniques we are teaching.

The High School Speed & Conditioning session at Ramsey High School is LIMITED to 10 people so we can micro-manage everyone's running mechanics to reinforce proper running form. We are NOT trying to make robots, but there IS a correct and incorrect way to athletically/dynamically move.

Thank you for asking this question. We take pride in our Customer Service and CARING about each client's fitness development and will NOT change our philosophy or GE PRINCIPLES despite how busy we get!

GO GE & have a nice Summer `07!

I looked through your site and didn't see any rates? How much does it cost to train with you and how do you charge for working out there?

      

Thanks for your question.

We charge for a PACKAGE of sessions based on 1on1 or 2on1 sessions or Speed & Conditioning programs.

I specifically do NOT put our pricing on the website because for some people it doesn't matter how much it costs --- if it's a popular place or "the place to be" they think they can just bring CASH, a credit card or check and sign up themselves or their son/daughter because they have the money and think we NEED the business.

At GOOD ENERGY we don't want anyone's money. We want people who have specific FITNESS GOALS. We care about everyone who walks in the door, so we don't want THAT person who just wants to say, "THEY have a personal trainer" or "they go to a POPULAR place to workout."

We want that Mom wanting to lose that last 10 pounds after giving birth, or the high school athlete trying to get a baseball scholarship or the professional who just WANTS more ENERGY during his/her busy work week.

WE want to meet you in person and get an understanding for what you are trying to achieve and see if it's a good fit... FOR BOTH OF US.

Hopefully you were referred to GE by a HAPPY Client who has seen RESULTS from our program and BELIEVES in how we approach EXERCISE.

WE take people with Positive Attitudes who believe that coming here to train is a Priority not a Luxury!

WE are committed to everyone who trains here and WE go the EXTRA mile for everyone who has GE!

Thank you for your understanding!

Pete Ohnegian, Owner
201-760-9900

My son is an elite 8th grade basketball player that is going to a parochial school next fall and plays on an AAU team in NJ. He currently gets up everyday and performs 300 different jumps in addition to training. What do you suggest he does on his own?

      

Wow! That is a "loaded" question. First of all, how tall is your son? Is he a Post player, Wing or point guard? How tall are you or your wife?

I say this, because I need to know what kind of athlete your son is and potentially how much might he grow or is presently growing.

For instance, I have a client who sounds exactly like your son - same age, and situation and for him I suggest REST and PROPER DIET!

Quite frankly if your son is already performing Strenth & Conditioning and is playing a lot of competetive basketball, it sounds like he NEEDS to rest.

Don't discount rest and FUELING your son's body properly. If he is performing strength training properly to increase muscle growth and working on muscle groups that are essential in moving better on the court, therefore becoming quicker and more powerful for basketball, then he doesn't need to get up EARLY and perform jumps.

He might be doing too much already!

Pictured is Taylor Barrise performing a Medicine Ball Lunge @ GE! Taylor is looking to increase his explosiveness on the court for his senior year at Northern Highlands.

Taylor was 1st Team All-League as a junior, but wants to get a scholarship next year...so we must bring his athleticism to the next level this Summer and next Fall.

We are focusing on overall body strength but specifically working his entire lower half and then parlaying that with specific movements that he will perform on the court like defensive slides and Change of Direction patterns. Just this past week Taylor performed an Acceleration workout to increase his ability to run past defenders and get past defenders to shoot the open 3-pointer!

Taylor also plays on an AAU team and plans on playing a lot of basketball at different camps in addition to visiting several interested colleges this summer where he will display his basketball talent.

We need to get him stronger, faster and more explosive while we have him at GE, but he must REST AND EAT while he has down time.

I hope that helps with your question and Good Luck to your son. Let us know if we can help in anyway.

Know your son, and know his sport and what demands are needed to make him perform at his best!

Thanks for the question!

My son is going to be a sophomore football player and he is already over 220 LBS and wants to gain more weight because he knows he will be a lineman and the coaches are telling him to gain more weight, what do you tell your clients? Thanks, Mrs. H.

      

Mrs. H,

Great question, and what great timing for me to answer this for you. We are in the process of hiring a Sport's Nutritionist and Registered Dietician for our clients who really want to take their performance to the next level.

At Good Energy we do not talk about "gaining weight" for the sake of the scale showing a larger number. We want our clients to put on lean muscle mass by eating a balanced diet and increasing their caloric intake with both protein and carbs.

It is important that you convey to your son that he should focus on training hard and eating well to get the most out of his strength and conditioning program. Fortunately, football has progressed to a game of Speed & Power. If he can't run and control his own body, it is no sense just "adding weight" to his frame.

Regardless of our Athlete's position in football, we want them to not only get stronger, but remain flexible and athletic. We are not concerned with weight but more with proper "fueling", REST and RECOVERY.

I hope this helps a little bit, but the thought of "just gaining weight" to be "heavier" is an archaic approach to Nutrition to fuel an athlete, and frankly gives weight training or strength and conditioning a black eye. A proper diet is so key in creating the best athlete by fueling properly and then maximizing his/her ability to exercise! I have the picture of this fruit, because we all should eat 2-3 pieces of fruit per day and it's so easy now that it is Summer and fruit is so readily available in every supermarket.

Good Luck to you and your son and thank you for your question.

It seems like you do a lot of "circuit" training - like in your IN-SEASON program. Why do you believe in CORE exercises? Thanks and nice site! Jim, Franklin Lakes

      

Thanks for the question, Jim... and don't forget to look at the photo gallery section because we try to continue to update our pictures to show folks like yourself that training is always evolving at Good Energy and we are constantly varying exercises and movements for our clients.

The benefits of core training!

The significant benefits of core training follow through to whatever you are involved in, because the area around your trunk and pelvis is where your center of gravity is located. A strong core gives you:

Better posture
More control
Improved, more powerful performance
Injury prevention and rehabilitation
Increased protection and "bracing" for your back
A more stable center of gravity
A more stable platform for sports movements
When you have good core stability, the muscles in your pelvis, lower back, hips and abdomen work in harmony. They provide support to your spine and help transmit increased power and performance for just about any activity.

A weak core makes you susceptible to lower back pain, poor posture and a whole host of muscle injuries. Strong core muscles provide the brace of support needed to help prevent such pain and injury -- and this discovery is why core training has become so popular among elite athletes.

We have found that the athletes that have trained at Good Energy for the past 2 or 3 years are so much more explosive during their sport because we are constantly cueing their posture and technique during their GE Training. The athletes have provided AWESOME feedback on how they have become more dynamic and it's not just getting stronger & faster; their bodies are actually working more efficiently because of Proper Movement Patterns!

Thanks for your question and for checking out our site!

How do I increase my cardio output or lung capacity in the swimming portion of a triathalon? Kara

      

Kara,
Thank you so much for your question! My initial thought was for you to get in the pool more and increase your volume during your swim workouts along with cross training to increase your relative strength and therefore be more powerful in the pool.

However, I decided to take the "high road" and ask Gary Flink, owner of EXCEL THERAPY and an ELITE ENDURANCE ATHLETE his advice on this topic. Gary had this to say;

"As for your swimmer…great question. The knee jerk response that most people would make is to simply have her spend more time in the pool. That isn’t the right answer…especially for a triathlete.

If a runner wants to improve their running fitness they simply need to run longer distances and times (in addition to proper speedwork).

If a cyclist wants to improve their cycling fitness they simply need to ride longer and further (again, in addition to proper speedwork and interval training).

Swimming, however, is all about technique, and the goal in triathlon racing is to exit the water with the least amount of energy expended so that the athlete will be able to cycle and run with the greatest strength and energy.

Most triathletes, since they do not come from a trained swimmers background, waste a tremendous amount of energy fighting the water due to poor body position and inefficient upper body, trunk and lower body technique. The best swimmers, on the other hand, “glide” through the water with very little energy and effort wasted and with very little kicking to aid their propulsion...i.e. they are extremely efficient in the water.
Before you have your athlete increase their yardage in the pool be sure they have done all they can to improve their technique…coaching, private lessons, group instruction clinics, etc.

If her technique is excellent, then adding interval training and increasing her training volume is appropriate…but most triathletes spend way too much time increasing their volume and way too little time improving their technique."

First of all, THANK YOU TO GARY FLINK for an Awesome answer and his expertise on this topic. Gary is a multi-IRONMAN finisher in Hawaii and treats countless Professional Athletes at EXCEL THERAPY in his three Therapy centers.

Secondly, I should have been more intuitive with my answer because that is what we preach all the time at GOOD ENERGY...

...TECHNIQUE, TECHNIQUE, TECHNIQUE...and proper posture and body alignment in order to create more efficiency during performance - regardless of whether it is on a field, a court or in water!

Kara - GOOD LUCK and I hope this answer helps.

How do I get my son to eat better so his training will work? Thanks, "frustrated Mom"

Dear Frustrated Mom,
Thank you so much for your question and checking out our site. Great question,...but you can help more than any trainer.

Think about it, trainers in general will spend 2-4 hours with your son per week...that's assuming that you have scheduled at least 2-4 sessions per week. You can start by bringing your son to the grocery store when you do your weekly
shopping and have him make healthy choices for snacks with you instead of you telling him what to eat. The last thing you want to do is force your son to eat a particular way so he rejects your advice and becomes a "closet snacker."

The 2nd bit of advice I always give to parents is make sure kids wake up early enough to have breakfast. Cereal, banana, oatmeal, bagel...juice....stop counting calories and carbs and allow your son to have a healthy yet sufficient breakfast to jumpstart his metabolism and so he does not go into lunch famished and consume his sandwich, chips and drink in less than five minutes and remain hungry until school lets out.

Exercise, play, run around. Convice your son to play something outdoors after school if he is not currently in a sport or activity that makes him exert energy. Too many kids are sedentary after school and think that having a trainer 2x per week satisfies "being healthy and fit."

I hope some of these statements will help you, but feel free to contact us at Good Energy to talk further about our Nutritional Advice we give to clients and our Sport's Nutrition and Wellness packets we pass on to our clients.

Best of Luck.
Pete

Do you JUST do Strength & Conditioning? Misc. Coach

I had to answer this one for the site!

Some miscellaneous "coach" had "heard" that we only did strength and conditioning at Good Energy and that it would be more beneficial for his player to go to a local speed facility to improve the girl's speed.

FALSE.

First of all, I just spoke to a high school basketball coach explaining how our methodology at Good Energy was to create stronger and more athletic clients through our variable training program. We include Speed, agility, strength training and Conditioning within our program and have been successful in making BETTER ATHLETES since our doors opened over 4 years ago.

Although we have just over 20 YDS in track space inside at Good Energy, we have ample space at local fields and in our parking lot to run a greater distance for athlete's who need more space.

In addition, we are big believers that increasing an athlete's Relative Strength will in turn maximize their ability to run faster and be more explosive changing directions based on increased strength and teaching proper movement patterns. At Good Energy along with having personal Professional PLAYING experience in both football and baseball, we also have the knowledge and background in TEACHING proper running mechanics and movement skills in maximizing our client's ATHLETICISM.

We base our Variable Training program on the Athlete's Seasonal neeeds - i.e. Preseason, In-Season & Off-Season. We can do a lot more with an Athlete who has an "off-season" and therefore can perform not only Strength training in a variety of exercises for every muscle group, but speed exercises, agilities & plyometrics as well as conditioning and "old school" exercises. I say "old school" because Strongman is used too frequently these days,...and at Good Energy we do so many different exercises that "old school" is more suitable.

I hope this answer is sufficient for everyone who is curious as to "what type of training we do at Good Energy"...the answer is we do everything possible to create more Athletic clients in a way that is specific and individualized for each client. Our training is different for each individual client and we assess each client for their weaknesses and improve on their strengths as well.

Try Good Energy and you will be convinced that our program will make you a better Athlete or improve your health depending on what your fitness goals are.

I have a 9th grade son who plays baseball -all year round- who I think needs to start a workout program. What are your programs and what do you suggest? Thank you, Susan R.

Susan,
Thank you so much for your question and I'm glad that you took a look at our site! First of all, we will sit down with your son and find out if "HE WANTS TO TRAIN MORE INTENSELY" and whether it is worth our time and your money for him to begin training at GOOD ENERGY!

Your son is part of the "IN-SEASON EPIDEMIC." That is, a young athlete who plays the SAME sport every season 12 months per year. Unless he has an extremely unusual GIFT, and even in that case it is so important for any athlete to have a high level of strength, agility, speed and conditioning to be the best. Unfortunately, when young athletes are channeled into playing the same sport 12 months per year, whether it is baseball, soccer or basketball to name a few cases, your son or daughter loses healthy "time off" (physically & mentally) from playing their sport and the ability to "cross-train" if you will. By cross-training, I mean getting stronger and becoming a more explosive athlete for their sport.

What type of program can do that? A program with numerous elements to create strength increases(muscle growth), speed skills and emphasis on conditioning.

At Good Energy, we do not wait for the athlete's "pre-season" in order to begin a proper conditioning routine. We try to maintain an athlete's level of conditioning within our Athlete's in Training program, and then ultimately practice or simulate the athletic movement patterns your child will perform for their sport.

Our programs are explained on this site and are introduced to the athlete once we know their goals and initial fitness/athletic level.

Thank you for your question, Susan and hopefully my answer helps you out. Good Energy to you, and give us a call 201-760-9900 if you have any further questions.

Pete Ohnegian & the Good Energy Staff

I saw that you recently had a banner saying that you had hockey specific training at your facility, do you have ice? Curious Hockey Mom

      

Thank you so much for your question. In fact, the "hockey specific workout" was only on the banner for one day, so I'm glad that you picked up on it.

In the Fall 2006 our staff decided to take our Sport Specific Ideas to the next level and contacted some peers north of the border in Canada to find out what some performance specialists did with their professional hockey players in the "off-season."

We are now utilizing "Hockey Movement" patterns in our facility to tie in with our Strength & Conditioning program.

Although we don't possess ICE at Good Energy we can simulate similar movement patterns therefore recruiting the same muscles our hockey players will use on the ice.

We look forward to the feedback our players will give us on their increased performance this winter thanks to PROPER training at Good Energy!

Good Luck to you and your hockey player!

Why do you believe in a Total Body workout for your In-Season Training Program? Mark, H.S. Soph. FB/LB

Mark, thanks for your question. At Good Energy, we answer this question all the time so hopefully we will not bore you with our answer. First of all, I will assume you are talking about football because you said you played FB/LB. Most high school teams have mandatory lifting the day following a game or in combination with game films early in the week. This workout is probably some type of total body program but is most likely after a recovery run or review of films. At Good Energy we base our program on every major muscle group because you use your whole body when you are giving 100% on gameday and therefore you want your whole body to recover, thus preventing injury and hopefully maintaining the strength you created in your pre-season program. Secondly, don't be misled that a TOTAL BODY Workout is an easy routine, because @ GOOD ENERGY our workout is very demanding in order to maintain maximum strength levels In-Season and to alleviate muscle soreness. Our football players find that they feel better at the end of their TOTAL BODY Workout which is hopefully their 2nd of two workouts per week during their In-Season program or the actual "recovery" workout following a game. Mark, REMEMBER, it makes little sense to lift hard in the off-season and not have the same intensity when it makes the most difference - DURING YOUR SEASON! Thanks for your question, and Good Luck! Good Energy Coaching Staff


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