Fitness

When it comes to fitness, it is no secret that people try to over complicate it. As soon as you think about going to the gym, you find a complicated workout regiment covered with men and women boasting ripped six pack abs. Then, you set out to conquer your “dream body” in a few weeks. Then what happens? At the end of the 2-3 weeks, you don’t have the “dream body,” so you give up. You decide exercise isn’t for you. You come up with this belief system that you just can’t do this, or that you just don’t have time. It happens to many people.

Why try to over-complicate things? A simple 30 minute walk will reduce your risk of heart disease (which kills 1:2 people) by 40%. If everybody did this, it would save $300 billion a year for our nation. Many people are working desk jobs all day and watching T.V. all evening. Simply put, it is killing them. Our human genetic code requires exercise. It’s how we are designed. So get out and get moving. Start slow and then build to a bigger, better, faster, leaner you.

Some Benefits of Exercise

• Massively reduced risk of disease
• Wards off cognitive decline with age
• Biologically keeps you younger
• Lose fat and gain muscle
• Improves mood
• Boosts energy and mental clarity
• Promotes better sleep

Key Tips and Strategies to Exercise

• In order to see good results, you must watch your diet. Exercise is 50% and Diet is 50%.
• Have good shoes to support proper structure and form
• Warm up properly to avoid injury
• Form over Ego! It is essential to maintain strict form on all movements. This starts by tightening your abs during all workouts, which stabilizes your body, conditions your abs, and saves your lower back from injury.
• It is important to rest between sets (30-60 seconds), but also important to have 2 rest days built into your week. Rest periods are crucial times for your body to recover.

Burst Training

Burst training (AKA high intensity interval training) has been scientifically proven to be very effective for weight loss.

For busy people who may have only 20 minutes to spend in the gym, this is the workout for you. Here is an example of what it looks like. You don’t even need any fancy weights, just you and gravity. Go all out for short bursts, and then rest. Here is an example of a burst training routine:

Run in place or Sprint – 30 seconds
Jump Squats – 30 seconds
30 second break!

Jumping Jacks – 30 seconds
Push-ups – 30 seconds (Remember to modify when necessary. These can be done on your knees.)
30 second break!

Jump Squats – 30 seconds
Sit-ups – 30 seconds
30 second break!

Burpies – 30 seconds
Tricep Dips – 30 seconds
30 second break and start over!

This set would be repeated 4 times, with maximum reps each time. This is simply an example so that you can get the idea. The great thing is that you can change each set to focus on whatever muscles you want to work on for that day!

There is also many benefits associated with strength training for muscle building and fat shedding. This is true for both men and women. Women do not need to worry about getting bulky from lifting weights either. Weight lifting is extremely helpful to lose fat and gain lean, tone muscle. Men will gain more muscle mass due to high testosterone levels.

I am all for training very hard as well. I personally do it myself so that I can compete at a higher level. If you are beyond the basics and need more detail on sports nutrition, testing, or workout strategies then either schedule a consult or apply to be a part of one of our health coaching programs designed to bring your body to its peak potential.