Training Intensity Trumps Everything

We’ve all seen the gym goers doing cardio while they're reading newspapers and watching the TV’s in the big chain gyms, training at an intensity that a sloth would be embarrassed about. 

 
But why do they do it?

 
My guess is as good as yours but my hunch would be they are part of the “more is better” team that regards exercise duration as the gold standard. In the words of Chandler, could they be any more wrong?

The biggest issue with long duration exercise is that the longer it goes, the lesser intensity you actually train at. You can train hard, but you can’t train hard for long.

Long duration exercise burns about 95% of its calories while you do it meaning to burn more calories and to burn that extra layer of belly fat means that you’ve actually got to run further and further each time making it longer and longer to complete.

I’m not sure how long you can stretch out your lunch break without your boss catching on but I think it’s best not to even test it.


Intensity refers to a relative level of your maximum output. So if you’re going at about a 7 out of 10 on your effort level scale then that would be about 70% intensity.


The absolute top notch reason to focus on intensity is the metabolism boost you get after high intensity training; where it can stay elevated for up to 33 hours post training. As well as promoting muscle mass increases and the actual breakdown of fatty acids (body fat).

So for the next 3 to 4 weeks try this training plug in instead of those endless Tan runs and 60 minute cardio machine sessions:

AM – Hill Sprints


Find a hill, any old hill, and run up it as fast as you can for 20 – 30 meters. Walk down, have a quick sip of your drink and repeat 5 times increasing 1 rep every week


PM – Step Burpees

In the confines of your own home do Burpees as hard and as fast as you can (but maintain technique) for 30 seconds then rest for 30 seconds. Start off with 3 rounds and increase to 4, 5, 6 each successive week. 

Add up the total reps you get each workout and beat it each session too.


So there you have it, 2 much shorter but more effective sessions that can fit into anyone’s day.


Intensify your intent!!

Get Your Arse into It!!

In a previous post regarding foam rolling, we talked a bit about muscle activation. 

For athletic purposes, by having all of your muscles activated and in working order, you can escape overuse injuries as you’ll have more muscles doing the work for you. For fat loss the more muscles you use the more output you’ll have and the more calories you’ll burn.


The muscle most common that requires activation is the gluteal muscles. With a major shift in the time spent in sitting positions at work and at home, the glutes are basically rendered useless by the nervous system and subsequently turned off to preserve energy.


When the glutes aren’t in use then you’ll shift a lot of stress to the anterior side of the body and adopt what is called a quadriceps dominant pattern in most things you do. 

Symptoms of a quad dominant pattern include a pelvis that sticks up at the back and down at the front (anterior pelvic tilt), a tendency to just break at the knees when lowering down to the floor and up the chain you'll have rounded shoulders. This can all lead to wear and tear and eventual pain to the lower back and knees.

Nothing works better then a visual so here's a before and after shot of an online client of mine with the photos being taken about 6 months apart. She is a 50-something year old mother who followed my recommendations to the tee.

You can view some of the exercises she used here as well as below:

                                    

   

                                   

Those jeans will fit a lot better with something to fill them out with!!

Fixing Your Fitness Interruptions

I read a quote the other day that read like this:

"...Commitment is to maintain the mood you were in when you made the decision to commit..."

What this means exactly is that if you can sustain the mood that you had the moment you decided to make a life change, you will successfully make that life change.

If, and usually when, this mood subsides is precisely the time the life change starts to be put down the pecking order of priority of things to attend to in your busy life.

Today when I left the house at 5:45am (yes AM), I had the slightest tinge of ice on my windscreen so I checked my phone and it said that it was a measly 4 degrees.

This almost made me go back inside and jump right back into our brand new king sized bed instead of going to make a living so it makes it an even easier choice to give your 6am training session the boot when you might not think there's much on the line whether you do or do not turn up.

Winter is a fitness killer!!!

Whatever momentum you built up prior to winter can be quickly derailed once the real cold stuff comes around which for us Melbournians has been the last 2 weeks.

I can't think of a better idea then to put yourself in the best position to succeed.

Make a list of things that are a pretty good chance of derailing your training output then also match that up with a point that fixes the problem.

Our boutique studio in Toorak Road, South Yarra has walls and a roof which has been keeping bad whether away for a good while now, making it an ideal destination to maintain your training output in all forms of weather.

If your mood has altered since you made the decision to finally get yourself organised enough to implement regular exercise into your lifestyle then a subtle change like moving indoors can bring the commitment level right back to where it was when you made the initial decision, where it should be.

To make this decision even easier we currently have a Winter Training Package that we have available from our main website that you should really get onto before we get rid of it.

If you're already a member of a gym or you have your own home gym then we've still got you covered as we can provide you with online training / fitness consultancy program.

Don't lose sight of your long term outlook this year like all the other years, use what we have to offer to your advantage.

Do This and You'll Succeed

Let's go back to January and look at your newly formed checklist for 2013.

Start eating more vegetables. Tick

Start drinking more water. Tick

Do more exercise. Tick.

A fail proof plan if I've ever seen one...said no one ever.

You make a page full of bullet points but if there is particular one missing, all the rest might as well in a foreign language because they won't matter.

COMMIT.

Don't just decide to do something - you've got to COMMIT to it.

COMMIT to eating more vegetables.

COMMIT to drinking more water.

COMMIT to doing more exercise.

If you don't COMMIT yourself to YOUR OWN goals, then how will you reach them? Goal setting is easy. Goal Reaching is not. It's near impossible without commitment.

It's now June. You didn't commit in January. You still didn't commit in March. And here we are.

It's June (already).

If you want to make that change you aimed to achieve in January then you still can.

All you gotta do is COMMIT to something. Something has to change and it has to stay changed.

You want something to COMMIT to this winter?

COMMIT to this then:

http://fullcirclefitness.com.au/_mgxroot/page_10794.html

So let us know what you'll COMMIT to for the rest of this year and let us know if we can help.

Supplementation Done Right

I bet when you think of supplementation you think of something like this bad tans, bad make up and stringy get ups.

This is supplementation taken to the extreme.

Tanning yourself orange is cool but at Full Circle Fitness, we focus on supplementing the right way.

The right way means supplementing valuable vitamins and minerals that cater to everyday activities done by everyday people. People like you!!

Now it is definitely true that you can get all the vitamins and minerals you need from a balanced diet but there's probably no one in the world who has the perfectly balanced diet. Couple this with poor absorption rates with tampered food from supermarkets and it makes it even harder to attain.

We have introduced the selling of vitamins in the studio as of this week so here's a short list of some of the most common vitamins that the general population should really think about supplementing.

Omega 3 Complex – helps maintain cell membranes and supports healthy cholesterol levels...contains essential fatty acids not manufactured in the body...helps relieve pain from arthritis...vitamin E to combat oxidation

Concentrated Fruits – great for total well being and vitality...contains phytonutrients equivalent to 10 serves of fruit and veg in only 2 tablets...rich in plant compounds and antioxidants...helps maintain eye health

Daily Multivitamin – 12 key vitamins and 11 minerals (including iron)...helps relieve nervous tension and stress...a potent and convenient way to help fill in the gaps in your daily diet

Vitamin C – extended release over 8 hours for maximum effect...helps relieve allergies...helps boost immunity during cold and flu season

Calcium Magnesium – for diets lacking in dairy and dark leafy veg...particularly beneficial to pregnant, breastfeeding or menopausal  women, adolescents and the elderly...magnesium aids in calcium absorption for healthier bones...may help prevent osteoporosis

B Vitamin Complex – combat energy exhaustion and the effects of smoking, alcohol and poor dieting...can help relieve nervous tension, stress and mild anxiety when the pressure is building...as vitamin B is water soluble and highly essential that requires regular replenishment

Iron – women (particularly during pregnancy), teenage girls, athletes and vegetarians are at risk of low iron intake...supports the immune system... contains a highly absorbable form of iron, ferrous lactose

Protein Bars – low GI snack packed with 22g of protein...mixed berry smoothie, fudgy brownie, caramel vanilla and roasted peanut flavours

Fibre – soluble and insoluble fibre aids digestion and helps maintain healthy digestive function

Vitamin Drinks – includes B vitamins  and folic acid that release energy from fats, carbs and proteins

The wife has been taking a bunch of these vitamins, which are all organic by the way, for the last 3 or 4 months now and has seen a great improvement in energy levels and vitality, and this is from a women with an auto immune disease so if they can help her imagine what they could do for you.

Get on board the health train!!

Veg Out...And Get Lean!!

I guarantee I could look at anyone's diet (yes, including you) and find at least 3 meals or feedings where veggies could easily replace the sub-par option that currently exists there.

They aren’t exciting but they are full of everything-goodness of which your body will thank you greatly for by not getting sick all the time and providing you more energy at work and at home.

Much like water, I’m not going to put a number of serves or anything on this because that’s when people think “7 serves is too much for me to do’ and don’t actually do anything.

We’re all about solutions people!!

So what I want you to do is first write out everything you eat for a whole 7 day period including all food, drinks and everything in between, good and bad. Then go through the 7 days and circle everything you think wasn’t the best option it could have been.

Each circle represents an opportunity that veggies can be added into your diet and that something not-so-great, can be eliminated = 2 major wins on the getting ready for spring/summer front. Check out this handy table to assist you in your choice and portion size of your new "vego" nutrition plan.

Again similar to water, if you’re eating a lot of veggies then A – they will fill you up for longer and discourage potential overeating and B – if you’re eating veggies then you’re not eating sweets and pastries (hopefully).

Over 3 – 4 weeks try and add veggies to 80% of your meals over a period of 7 days whether they be cooked or raw.

Veg out and lean out!!

Andrew Jobling Health and Nutrition Seminar Wrap Up

Last Thursday evening we hosted our very first in studio seminar. Rather then it focus on anything specific we tried to cover a broad spectrum of issues relating to all things health and fitness.

We bought in a highly regarded guest speaker Andrew Jobling who is an ex-AFL footballer, personal trainer and now professional speaker, writer and author who focuses on helping people believe in their own power and potential to expand their boundaries and to create positive long term change to live a happier, healthier and more dynamic life.


Some of the main points those in attendance took away were:


Decide Not Just What You Want, But Why You Want It - only when you really find a real world reason to want change will you truly seek it. Andrew was using the example that for a very office worker to fit exercise in their busy schedule, they will need to train at 5am. With a few of these types in attendance it didn't really agree with them but the point being made was that if just fitting in some exercise is not worth getting up at 5am for then find something that is like running on the beach with your grand kids who haven't even been born yet.


The Power of Metabolism in Body Composition - up to 90% of all calories burnt are through your metabolism which is effected by exercise but even more so through nutrition. Processed foods have little to zero nutritional quality to them meaning they don't require any energy to digest. Now place this next to a steak that can use up to 70% of it's OWN calories in just eating it!! So if you're trying to lose some bodyfat, and who isn't, chewable foods is the best place to start because of the 'negative" calorie balance they can provide but also chewable foods are generally the best foods.


Managing Blood Sugar Levels - we've all heard of the Glycemic Index (GI) but I bet if I asked you how it actually worked in the body over a course of a day then you'd probably find that you didn't really know as much about it as you should. In a nut shell when we sleep we go into a "fast" and we wake up our blood sugar levels are low. A great idea is chomp on a piece of moderate to high GI fruit to get a quick blood sugar spike and get us back to "even". Your goal for the rest of the day is stay as close to even as you can. This can be done through frequent feedings throughout the day of small to moderate portion sizes. The most important part is what you decide to eat at these times. The general rule is that sugar will raise your blood sugar and protein and fat will stabilise it so if you have fruit, muesli and yogurt all at the same time, then be prepared for a pretty dramatic drop in blood sugar in an hour 2. Split that sugar up through several meals throughout the day instead.


So there you have it. Not my usual laugh-your-arse-off type of post but an extremely informative one.