Strickland Fitness

Training for that Beachin Bod!

Now is the time most people have changed their fitness goals from shedding the winter coat to primping the bathing suit ready body! The question I get is how to do this as fast as possible. The formula is simple and the execution of it is also simple. The hard part is the discipline of keeping to the formula.

So what is the formula: In no particular order….

• Have a low fat (consisting of only good fats: Olive oil, almonds, avocados, etc.) high lean protein (poultry, fish, lean beef), and good carb (legumes, veggies, etc.) eating plan.
• Cut down on alcohol intake. Tough during the summer months, but a beachin body requires discipline.
• Intensify your workouts. Besides eating right, the two other components of a low fat firmed body are cardio and resistance training.
• Concentrate on doing intervals for cardio (read my post about this) as it is much more intense than steady state cardio and burns way more calories and fat.
• Go for it in your workouts. Add a couple pounds to the normal weights you use to exercise or do another set. You should be exhausted after working out.
• Be as active as possible.
• Try creating a fitness competition with a friend. That extra edge will fuel your workouts and you will get the much closer to you goals that much faster. Ahhh, the spirit of human competition!

Is one of your New Year’s resolutions to lose weight? The best way to conquer this goal is to slowly change your lifestyle. What most people do is immediately go on a diet. Let’s just say the diet works and you reach your ideal weight. What do you do then? Most will fall back to old habits and gain all the weight back. That is why they don’t work in the long run. Diets are just a short term solution. If your resolution is to lose weight, try changing it to lose weight and keep it off.

Losing weight and keeping it off comes from changing your lifestyle. Healthy eating habits, getting plenty of rest, having a consistent cardio and resistance program, and keeping stresses down are all the components of a healthy lifestyle. These are the things that will help you lose weight, keep it off, and live a healthy life for good. You will feel great and you will look great.

How do you successfully change your lifestyle? The answer is to set yourself up for success. Most people use the New Year to try and change everything all at once. This is a very difficult thing to do. The best way is to make small changes over time to give you and your body the time to adapt and implement them into daily life. Make a list of all the things you need to do or change in order to meet your goal. Then start with one. Once this change has become part of your new lifestyle, move to the next one. Move through each change as the previous one becomes normal to you. Over time, all the changes you have made will not feel like changes anymore because they will be part of your lifestyle. Have you ever noticed how gyms get really crowded at the beginning of the year and then taper off to normal crowds by March? This is a perfect example of people trying too much all at once. They give up because they say it’s too hard to do all the things needed to reach their goal. This may not be the fastest way to lose weight, but it will have the longest success.

Interval Training

There is a lot of talk about the differences between interval and cardiovascular or aerobic training. People are unsure which is better in terms of calorie burning. Studies have shown that interval training is the most optimal method for burning calories.

So what is interval training?

Interval training is a process of raising and lowering your heart rate between two pre-set numbers. This can be done by running, rowing, riding a stationary bike, or any other apparatus that can raise your heart rate.

There are many different formulas used to find your minimum and maximum heart rate. One of the most effective formulas is the Karvonen Formula. First, determine your maximum heart rate (MHR). 220-your age = maximum heart rate. Next, determine the intensity at which you plan to train. Beginners or a low level of fitness should train at 40-70% of MHR. Intermediate levels of fitness should train between 50-80% of MHR. High or advanced level of fitness should train between 60-85% of MHR. Lastly, find your resting heart rate (RHR). The Karvonen Formula is as follows: (MHR-RHR) x intensity + RHR = training heart rate. So for an intermediate fitness level, you would train at a minimum heart rate of 50% and a maximum heart rate of 80%.

Let’s put the formula into place and do an interval. We will use running for this example of how to interval train. John is 30, has a resting heart rate of 75 and has an intermediate fitness level. His MHR would be 190 (220-age). 190-75 (MHR-RHR) = 115. 115 x .50 (intensity) = 58 + 75   (RHR) = 133. This would be John’s minimum heart rate. His maximum heart rate would be 115 (MHR-RHR) x .80 (intensity) = 92 + 75 (RHR) = 167. John’s maximum heart rate would be 167. John would interval train between a heart rate of 133 and 167. Let’s take John to the track. After a good warm up, John starts his intervals. He runs as fast as possible until his heart rate hits 167. He then stops and slowly walks until his heart rate hits 133. Once it hits 133, he starts sprinting again until his heart rate hits 167. He stops and walks until 133 and goes again. This is interval training. After 8 of these sprints, John is exhausted.

Extras:

The best way to monitor your heart rate would be to get a heart rate monitor. It is much easier than trying to take your pulse while working out.

If you are new to fitness, try walking or jogging for the first 2 weeks before starting to interval train.

You can run, bike, row, or step for interval training.

Remember to consult a physician before beginning any fitness program.

Interval training is far more effective and time efficient than static exercise. You will burn far more calories in a less amount of time and you will continue to burn calories even after you have finished.

If you have any questions or need more info about interval training, please email me.

Thanksgiving is over and more holidays are coming. Are you worried about gaining a few extra pounds or losing the shape you’ve worked hard to obtain? Take these few tips through the rest of the year and you will continue taking steps toward your goals instead of leaps away.

When the holidays come, our activity level seems to drop while our appetite seems to grow. Well, if you want to keep the pounds dropping, keep active. If you are eating more but doing less, then your calorie intake will far exceed your calorie output. This leads to weight gain. The more you eat the more activity you will have to do. Try and keep your workouts regular or even increase it.

With the holidays comes lots of tasty food. I will not say that you can’t have any of it. What I will say is be smart about how much and when you have it. Some people believe that if they don’t eat during the day, they can save the calories for a big dinner. This does not work. Not eating throughout the day will slow your metabolism and make it harder to burn that meal off. We need food for energy. There is no reason to have dinner be the biggest energy giver when the evening is the time we need the least amount of energy. If you have supplied yourself with healthy energy throughout the day, your body will not feel the need for lots of calories come dinner time.

This time of year doesn’t have to be the time you gain weight. If you keep your activity level high and watch your calorie consumption, there will not be the need for that famous New Year’s resolution.

If you are like most, the thought of “bulking up” from lifting weights while trying to lose weight is scary. Well let me be the one to ease your worries. It is very hard to bulk up. Most body builders need twice as much time to put on half as much muscle weight than others need to lose in body fat. To gain a lot of muscle or bulk up, you need to lift very heavy weights and consume more calories than normally needed. Lifting weights will help you to lose body fat. In fact, it is essential.

For people who are trying to lose weight: When we lift weights, we burn calories. When we burn calories, we burn fat calories. When we burn fat calories, we lose weight. Of course, it’s not that easy. This is what happens over time. Lifting weights also puts on lean muscle. This lean muscle continues that fat burning process because fat burns in the muscle. So the more muscle you put on, the more fat you burn.

Don’t be afraid of bulking up while weight lifting. Unless that is what you are trying to do, it is much harder than you think. Don’t forget, if you are not eating healthy, you are already working against yourself.