Kiko Banal

Kiko Banal ACE Certified Personal Trainer

10/12/2025

I sprained my ankle terribly last January and I can still feel its effects to this day. Despite that, I'd say it's still recovering pretty well over the past months due to appropriate load management and gradual exposure to stress. Here are two easy-to-do exercises I do in my training that have helped me restore ankle dorsiflexion range of motion, proprioception, strength, and endurance.

I’m sure there are a lot of you coming into the new year motivated as ever to start your fitness journey, or perhaps tak...
06/01/2023

I’m sure there are a lot of you coming into the new year motivated as ever to start your fitness journey, or perhaps take your fitness to even greater heights. I’d like to share a set of tools you should start using this year (if you aren’t already) to kick off 2023 strong. But even if you’re not one to place much weight in these milestones that can create a “fresh start effect”, I’m certain you’d find this post just as useful as the new year resolutioners.

These tools are:
• A training journal (you can use pen and paper, the notes app on your phone, a spreadsheet, or a training log app)
• A camera (or a phone, since it seems like most phones have a camera these days)

Why a training journal? Having a record of what and how you did before can help you make informed decisions on what to do next time, which is essential for long-term success.

Why a camera? Filming and reviewing our performance can help us ensure we’re performing every rep consistently, regardless of how hard each set is.

The basic things to record in your training journal are:
• The date you completed the workout
• The exercises you did that day
• How many sets you did per exercise
• How many reps you did in each set
• How much load you used in each set

If you want to take it up a notch, you can log the following details as well:
• How hard each set was (RPE/RIR)
• Observations on your ex*****on
• How you were feeling before and/or during the session
• How much sleep you had and the quality of your sleep
• Your meal intake that day
• The start and end time of your workout
• What was going on in your life that day

How do you film your exercises?
• Capture your entire body
• You can film directly from the side, at an angle behind or in front of you
• You can use a tripod to elevate the camera and to keep it safe and steady
• If you’re training around other people, be mindful of where you place your camera

If you could only do one of these, I would suggest that you just use a training journal to track your progress.

If you found this useful or if you have any questions about this, let me know!

02/09/2022

Here’s how you can make training with resistance bands more effective for muscle growth!

31/08/2022

Fit With Just A Little Bit: Lower Body Training with Resistance Bands

26/08/2022

Fit With Just A Little Bit: Upper Body Training with Resistance Bands

20/08/2022

Fit With Just A Little Bit: Bodyweight Exercises For The Lower Body

06/08/2022

Progression and Regression for the Push Up and Inverted Row

01/08/2022

Fit With Just A Little Bit: Bodyweight Exercises For The Upper Body

17/07/2022

For perspective, 30 minutes dedicated to exercise is just 2% of the 24 hours you have in a day.

If your health and fitness is a priority (and I hope it is), you need to make time for it.

I hope this post helps you make time for exercise when you’re really busy!

09/07/2022

What’s the best program for you?

It’s the one you can adhere to. Sorry for the unsexy and boring answer. And I know it sounds obvious, but it’s not uncommon for people to forget such a crucial factor for their gains. I’ve been said people.

Back when I was still in school, I was putting in the absolute bare minimum just so I didn’t fail (sorry mama and papa). The time that probably should’ve been allocated for studying and working on requirements instead went to extra-curriculars, and a big chunk of that was lifting weights and playing basketball. Back then, being in the gym for 2-3 hours was a normal thing for me.

For quite some time after graduating, I hung on to that gym routine for some reason, even if I had more responsibilities on my plate. This led to increased stress and frustration. Other aspects of my life were compromised, and suddenly I wasn’t looking forward to working out that much anymore.

Fast forward to now, I make training fit into my life; my schedule does not revolve around a rigid training plan. I implement a plan that I can adhere to, and I’ve adopted a “something is better than nothing” mindset for times I have to devote more time to other priorities.

When it comes to creating/choosing the perfect plan for you, it really helps to sit down and spend some time thinking about what works best based on your work schedule, other commitments, and what you would enjoy doing. It’s also important to have a flexible mindset when you can’t follow your original plan, and to not confuse “complex” for “optimal”. Getting in better shape shouldn’t be too much of a headache!

02/07/2022

This doesn’t just apply to health and fitness.

Lately, I’ve been working on solidifying my mission of providing value in other people’s lives as a personal trainer, and in the broader sense as a human being. I would break down these “big picture” goals into actionable mini goals, then deconstruct it further until I identify the habits that, when done consistently enough, will allow me to fulfill my bigger goals.

Social support can go a long way too, so try to let people in on what you’re working on! There are a lot of awesome people out there who’d be happy to see you thrive.

What are your goals? Let me know in the comments section below.

Study referenced:

Oscarsson, M., Carlbring, P., Andersson, G., & Rozental, A. (2020). A large-scale experiment on New Year's resolutions: Approach-oriented goals are more successful than avoidance-oriented goals. PloS one, 15(12), e0234097. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0234097

30/05/2021

In this post you’ll see two other unilateral squats that I like to use for purposes different from what’s already been mentioned in the previous post. Additionally, the sissy squat gets a well-deserved spotlight because like the other options, you probably won’t need additional weight to increase the size and strength of your legs with this exercise. PS There’s really nothing sissy about it!

Here are a few key features and tips for each exercise:
1. Lateral Squat
• This one can be used for working your adductors (inner thigh) a bit more. To do so, make sure the foot and thigh of the bending leg are externally rotated. As a bonus, you can get a decent stretch in the adductors of the straight leg by keeping that foot facing forward.
2. Pistol Squat
• If the goal is building muscle, I prefer the previous squat variations since they’re a bit more stable (training close to or at failure is simpler, safer and more effective when stability isn’t a limiting factor). With that said, pistol squats may not be the most ideal choice if you’re serious about building muscle, but you can definitely use them for some variety from your muscle-building goals.
• Though this will still improve leg strength and size, you’ll mainly be training your dynamic balance. It’s a fun challenge to take on, and sometimes just having fun IS ideal!
• I like elevating the heels on the pistol squat as that allows me to maintain a neutral spine, but you can do these on flat ground as well.
3. Sissy Squat
• Aim to keep your hips extended, maintaining a straight line from your shoulder joint to your knee joint. When that’s in check, most of the movement should now just come from bending at the knees.
• You’ll be on the balls of your feet so this tends to be even harder to balance than the pistol squat. To make up for the small base of support, do these in between sturdy structures on which can hold on to for support.
• The pressure you apply with your hands should be a horizontal force (pushing out or pulling in) instead of a vertical force (pushing down or pulling up) so that your legs do most of the work.

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