Diversity In Training

Earlier this week I talked about HIIT (high-intensity interval training) and how it can improve your fitness and help you blast past a plateau.  Diversity in training is much the same.  Again, our bodies adapt to the demands placed on them.  Swimming everyday for cardio is awesome for your heart and lungs but again, if done every day for several months, your body will become accustom to that specific exercise.  Now, take someone who swims and tell them to pound the pavement and run a few miles…it is quite astounding how their body will respond.  Although cardio health does jump from one form of exercise to another, muscle condition does not.  Swimming is an amazing exercise, causing no strict resistance, it safe for most people, running, not so much.  However, for this example, I am comparing the two for muscle use.

A swimmer would have a hard time keeping up with a runner and vice versa.  That is the specificity of training.  Your body becomes complacent when it is called upon to do the same activity over and over again.  Change it up.  Challenge yourself in new ways.  You will be amazed at how your body will respond!

HIIT

HIIT = High Intensity Interval Training

Have you been on point and working hard?  Do you ever wonder how to push past the plateau?  Our bodies adapt to our training.  Remember when things used to be so hard.  Like, getting through only 30 minutes of exercise and feeling drained?  After a while, doing the same things, our bodies begin to adapt and then those same exercises stop having a progressive effect on our
health and physique.  Sure, activity is always good.  MOVE people.  But beyond that, training needs to continue to challenge you, your body and your mind.  If it doesn't challenge you, it doesn't change you (health or body).

HIIT is an awesome way to blast past those plateaus!  Bumping up the intensity levels in intervals, whether that be Tabatas or circuits, switching things up and pushing past comfort for short burst really revs up your metabolism and elevates the demand you put on your body.

Hight Intensity INTERVAL Training 20-30 minutes a few times a week will really help you push past that spot you can get stuck in.  Try it.  It's hard, but, it's worth it!!

Lift Heavy

Do you ever wonder about reps, sets, weights and what it all means?  Sometimes it is hard to make sense of it all.  When faced with questions about how much to lift, how often, how many times…we can get a little frazzled.  No worries!  Let me spell it out for you!

Lift Heavy!  Lean muscle burns fat!!!  Mean can bulk, women will tone and build strength.  Baring supplements/additives aside (as in, don't take testosterone), a woman's body does not have the hormones it would require to actually bulk muscle.  With that knowledge, here is how you should lift…

5-8
Reps Muscle Building-Growth
This means, heavy weight, last rep being all-out effort of the muscle to move the weight.

10-12 reps Muscle Building-Toning
This means still a heavy weight, last two reps should take a great deal of effort and if you can lift two more reps past 12, you need to increase your weight!  It's not enough to challenge that muscle.

15+ reps Muscle Endurance
This means lighter weight to lift more times to build up your muscle's endurance…think distance running.

That's it in a nutshell!  Happy lifting.  And remember, lift heavy, your body will thank you for it!!

Haunted By Numbers...

What is our obsession with weight?  Do you know someone that is driven by the number they see on the scale?  Is that person you?  What does that number really tell us about our health?  What does it say about our body?  What really does that number mean?

Think about it.  Your body is made up of skin, organs, muscle, fat, bones, liquid.  The scale tells you how much you weigh as a whole.  It cannot tell you how healthy your heart and lungs are.  It can not tell you how strong your muscles are.  It cannot even tell you how much blood volume you have.  The weight shown the scale doesn't reflect anything about your fitness.  It is a number.  Unfortunately, that number haunts many people.

I challenge you, throw the scale away.  If you can't bear to pitch it all together, put that darn thing in a closet and don't step on it for 30 days.  Are you up for the challenge???

Now that the scale has found its rightful place (locked in a closet somewhere and forgotten), I challenge you to listen to your body.  What is it telling you?  How are your clothes fitting?  How do you feel?  Do you have energy?  Can you run around the yard with the kids or walk your dog and feel invigorated, rather than exhausted?  Start listening to what your body is telling you and forget about the rest!

We are more than just a number.   Our body is constantly checking itself and assessing our needs.  Tune in to YOU and begin shaping your life around that, not a number!!!