Happy Valentine’s Day
February 14, 2010 by Deb · Leave a Comment
Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone that has ever loved or been loved before…that means YOU! You were created for this very thing!!
This day has become more than just a “Hallmark” holiday; it has opened the door to invite sincere words…words that truly tell how we care and feel about those that are close to us. It’s even more important to show those people in our life how we care and feel about them. Simple acts of kindness go a long way!
Unfortunately, the ”busyness” of life tends to rob many people of the exercise in sharing heartfelt words and emotions with those that deserve to hear it often. When we allow the true essence of love from within to shine then it offers a domino effect to all those we encounter. Share your warm, kind heart with many this Valentine’s Day…this day and EVERYDAY!
If you want to do a workout that you and your sweetheart can do, I have included one for you to try! Working out together can draw you closer as well as burn a few good calories! Have fun!
Many Blessings,
Deb 
Partners Band workout 1:00 minute each
1. One partner squats down and up holding the band
Other partner presses and pulls bands
Partners are facing each other
2. One partner hold loop part of band and does alt. reverse lunges
Other partner pulls handles down by hips alt.
Partners are facing each other
3. One partner holds looped band and holds down in a squat
Other partner does fast bicep curls with elbows up away from the body
Partners face each other
4. One partner holds looped band at chest level
Other partner does scissor arms
Partners are both facing sideways….at ½ way switch facing direction so switches arms
5. Shoulder presses alternating
Other partner is down on one knee leaning forward
Partners are facing away from each other….also switch knee ½ way!
Each partner does 1 exercise for 1 minute and then they switch and do 2nd exercise. Will take 10 to go thru one time go thru exercises 2x for 20 minute workout!
Superbowl Workout
February 5, 2010 by Deb · Leave a Comment
Burn fat and improve your athleticism with a training routine you can do anywhere. All you need is your body weight. And since the workout is a speedy 5-minute circuit (a group of exercises performed consecutively, without rest), you can do it anytime. Customize it for you:
- Perform this 5-minute circuit as time allows. So if you only have 15 minutes to train at lunch, do it twice with a dynamic warm-up. If you have a half hour, aim for 4 or 5 rounds.
- If you’re just getting back into exercise, rest for 30 seconds between movements, but decrease your rest time every workout until you’re performing the full circuit without breaks.
- If you only have time for two circuits, perform them back-to-back with no rest. This approach saves time and it’s more challenging.
Training
Although there’s no equipment used in this workout, each of the five exercises challenges your body in a unique way: The wall sit is isometric, meaning it challenges your glutes, hamstrings, and quadriceps muscles by holding a bent-knee position; the push up improves muscular endurance by doing as many reps as you can in 60 seconds; the single leg squat improves balance; the jumping jacks increase your heart rate; and the plank challenges your core stability.
Perform each move in succession, minimizing your rest periods between moves. Once you’ve completed each exercise, rest 60 to 120 seconds before repeating the circuit. Decrease your rest between circuits by 10 to 15 seconds each time you complete this workout. And when you return to the gym, be sure to incorporate extra pull-ups or rows since this fast routine is short on upper body pulling movements.
The 5 Minute Body weight Circuit
Warm up 3 minutes
Push Ups- 60 seconds
Wall Sits – 60 seconds
Squat – Single Leg Balance – 30 seconds each leg
Jumping Jacks – 60 seconds
Plank Hold - Single Arm Lift with Wide Feet – 30 seconds each arm
Hopefully you can do this circuit a few times throughout the game….it can help counter affect the intake of the few extra calories you may be getting!
Enjoy and I hope YOUR team wins!
Deb:)
Building Functional Abdominal Strength
January 28, 2010 by Luke Carlson · Leave a Comment
Those that have wash board abs did not get them by doing sit ups or crunches. They did not get them by doing any of the infomercial ab machines that are out there. They got them because functionally they use their abs all day long (and they have a low body fat so that they can be seen). If you do not use your abs when you walk, reach, push, pull or lift throughout the day then you will not have ripped abs. If you don’t use them functionally you will lose them.
Now, something that is even more important than having a wash board stomach is have a body that protects itself from injury. If your abs are not being used throughout the day with walking, pushing, pulling or lifting then you are at a high risk of injuring your back, shoulders, hips or knees. Our abs are a huge group of muscles that consistof four layers. They function in all three planes of motion. Because we are a society that does not highly move in all three planes of motion each and every day our abs have a tendency to get turned off (if you don’t use it you lose it). This is one reason why we are seeing a high rate of increased injuries to the back, hips, shoulders and knees. It is much more involved biomechanically involved then I want to discuss in this blog, but the basis is that the abs are the crossroads between the upper and lower trunk. It is the connection that creates stability when we reach, lift, push or pull between the upper body and the lower body. When we lose that connection the body is forced to compensate somewhere else and try to get it from another body part that is not designed to perform a specific activity without help from the abs. Hence, over time we break down.
How do we turn on our abs? One of the best ways is with walking or running. But it must be done correctly. We must get a good pelvic turn that is matched by a good upper trunk turn. We can accomplish this by taking a good long stride that is matched by our opposite side arm swinging forward. I can’t tell you how many people I see every day that walk incorrectly. I can tell you that I rarely see someone who walks correctly. For most of us it takes practice to get it right. Seek out a good personal trainer or friend that can help you if you think your gait is incorrect. If you still need help, try seeing a physical therapist. The one thing that you should notice if you pay attention is that you should feel your abs working when you are walking correctly.
There are many other ways of turning on our abs, but the best ways to help prevent injuries are the ab exercises in standing. When we strengthen our abs on our backs we over stabilize our pelvis which takes the functional components out creating a potential for injury to occur. Almost every exercise that uses arms and legs together will activate your abs. If you have more questions on other ab exercises talk to anyone of us at Crosstrain Fitness and we would be glad to help you out.
Oh the Weather Outside is Frightful!
January 6, 2010 by Deb · Leave a Comment
It’s winter here in good ole Iowa and we are getting slammed with yet another snow storm!
Just because you can’t get out and workout at the gym doesn’t mean you can’t workout!
You can always check out the exercise videos that are posted and exercise with one of those, or I have put a format below that requires only YOU! It’s a classic total body workout using only body weight based exercises so you can do it right in your living room! Give it a try and let me know if you liked it!
I’m sure if you do this you won’t have to be worried about staying WARM!
Winter Storm Home Workout-40/20 Intervals
1. Split squats (L)-regular or rear foot elevated on couch or chair@ 40 seconds of maximum effort, followed by 20 seconds of rest and transition.
2. Split squats (R)-regular or rear foot elevated @ 40 seconds max effort, followed by 20 seconds rest and transition.
3. Spiderman push ups-hands elevated, flat or feet elevated, do a push up and when you go down take leg out to side like scaling a wall. Do 40 seconds max effort, followed by 20 seconds of rest and transition.
4. Side Plank T-spine extensions and rotations (L) extend arm up and then bring down and rotate arm under torso @ 40 seconds max effort followed by 20 seconds rest and transition.
5. Repeat #4 on Right side.
Then rest for 60 seconds and repeat this 6 minute cylce up to 5x for a 30 minute workout! If you only can go through this 2-3x it will still give you a great fat buring high intensity workout!
Now, wrap up in your favorite blanket, get a hot glass of green tea, and watch the beautiful snow coming down!
Enjoy!
Deb
Don’t sabotage your results by taking the weekend off!
November 13, 2009 by Deb · Leave a Comment
The weekend represents almost 1/3 of our week (29%), so if you work hard during the week to nail your workouts and watch your nutrition and then slack off all weekend, you end up not really getting anywhere. It is like taking 3 steps forward during the week and then taking 2 or 3 steps back each weekend and the result is no or minimum results.
Don’t give yourself the “it’s the weekend” excuse to blow off your workouts and to eat badly. You are better than that and you are doing too much quality work during the week to let this happen anymore. Today is a new day and this weekend should be the first weekend that does not set you back. No Excuses!
This weekend may be one of our last nice weekends, so take your workout outside. If you haven’t tried a HIIT workout yet, try a sprint/recover. Sprint as fast as you can for 30 seconds followed by walking for 30 seconds to recover. Repeat that 1 minute interval up to 20 times for an awesome kick booty workout! Don’t forget to warm up and cool down and last but not least STRETCH!
Train Hard & Expect Results,
Deb
Today is a New Day and a Beautiful Day!
October 31, 2009 by Deb · 4 Comments
Hello gang,
I’m finally finished with my packing and sense it is technically already Saturday I thought I’d say my final farewells. I hope that several of you will be participating in our 1st BYOP (Bring Your Own Pumpkin) High Intensity Interval workout today! I’m praying that there will be no rain and that it’s not too cold.
Tomorrow by this time I will be getting ready to set sail. I’m looking forward to going to classes as a participant and hope to return with some new fresh ideas!
Thanks to all my wonderful CT family for helping me get ready this week and for stepping it up and filling in for me when I’m gone….I am so greatful and feel so Blessed to work with each and every one of you and that includes all you members too!
I hope you all have a great week and continue to HIIT those workouts hard….even when the bootcamp inteval queen isn’t around to blow her whistle or scream just 10 more!
Keep this in mind as you start this new day…..
Regardless of what happened yesterday, last week or last year, today is a new day. Head into today staying positive and looking at the day as an opportunity to do great things for your health.
Once today is over it is gone and you can’t get it back. So treat today as a gift – do something fun, bless your body and your head by moving, SMILE AND BE THANKFUL YOU ARE HEALTHY ENOUGH TO WALK!
Remember, you don’t need to be a Rock Star within 1 or 2 weeks of starting your exercise habit, you just need to take baby steps, make healthy choices and take it one day at a time.
See you all in a week…..Bon Voyage!
Deb
Don’t let yesterday’s missteps rob you of today and tomorrow’s victories. Today is a new and beautiful day so use it as the gift it is and drink your water, eat every 2 to 3 hours, nail your Workout and be proud!
BOOTCAMP-HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING POWERED BY: WORKOUT MUSE
October 29, 2009 by Deb · 2 Comments
Interval Training consists of alternating between bouts of all-out high-intensity effort and low-to-moderate intensity active recovery periods.
Interval Training has long been proven in both scientific research and real world case studies to be the most effective way to maximize fat loss AND improve overall conditioning while taking less than half the time of the long, slow, and boring steady-state aerobic training alternative.
It’s not about time… IT’S ALL ABOUT INTENSITY!
The key to our Rapid Fat Loss Boot Camp Workouts is INTENSITY. In both scientific research and real world studies, time and time again one thing is clear: Intensity is truly the only thing that makes your body change! Intensity is the key to ripping off unwanted body fat and gaining lean, muscle.
As much as we’d love to claim we’ve reinvented the wheel here, this intensity principle is nothing new in the fitness world. Even as far back as 1994 in the Metabolism Journal researchers discovered the following: each calorie you expend during high-intensity exercise burns 9 times more fat than the same calorie expended during steady state aerobic exercise!
The Role of HIGH-Intensity Exercise
- Embraces the Carb-Burning Zone: High-Intensity exercise rapidly reducing muscle glycogen (stored sugar) during training which promotes enhanced total body fat-burning at all other times of day.
- Burns a TON of Calories Both During AND After Exercise: This phenomenon is due to the post-workout “AFTERBURN” know as EPOC which describes the number of calories your body expends in the recovery of your metabolism back to pre-exercise levels from high-intensity training. The best part about EPOC is that you control it, meaning that the harder you work during training the more calories your body will burn BOTH during your workout AND for up to 24-48 hours after completing your workout!
- Creates the Optimal Hormonal Environment for Fat Loss: High-Intensity exercise puts your body in a “fight or flight” mode that forces your body to CHANGE as a means of survival. More specifically, your body releases catecholamines (primarily adrenaline) in response to interval training that directly mobilizes stored body fat so that it can be burnt off as energy during activity.
Traditional resistance training prescribes performing straight sets where you perform one set of an exercise, rest for 2-3 minutes, and the repeat for the designated number of sets before moving on to the next exercise in your workout. Metabolic Resistance Training combines the muscle building effects of resistance training with the cardiovascular benefits of interval training by using alternating sets of non-competing exercises. For example, you will perform one set of a lower body exercise for 60 s, rest for 20 s, perform one set of an upper body exercise for 60s, rest for 20 s, perform one set of a core exercise for 60 s, rest for 20 s, and then repeat this sequence for the designated number of rounds. Using this alternating set format, by the time you return to the lower body exercise you will still have nearly 3 minutes of recovery from that exercise as in the straight set format, but instead of doing nothing, you have been working your upper body and your core while technically “resting.”
This time-efficient approach provides the optimal fat-burning effect by keeping your heart rate elevated throughout the entire workout as if you were performing cardio while allowing you to perform each resistance training exercise at peak intensity for the optimal muscle-building stimulus. “Strength Cardio” provides the biggest bang-for-your-buck so that you can simultaneously build lean muscle mass AND melt body fat. Essentially you will be performing interval training with classic resistance training exercises like push-ups, squats, lunges, etc.
Perform Total Body Workouts: For best results, you need to perform 3 total body resistance training workout per week with at least one day of rest between sessions. By working every muscle in your body each and every workout you will provide the optimal stimulus for both fat loss AND muscle growth. Not only do you maximize the number of calories burned during your workout, but you also maximize the number of calories your body expends recovering from your workout. These short-term increases in metabolism last anywhere from 24 to 48 hours after your workout. In addition, by gaining muscle, you will promote long-term increases in metabolism as it requires significantly more energy for you body to maintain new, hard-earned muscle mass. This is how you build a faster metabolism and become a fat-burning machine 24-7-365.
This week we will offer FREE sample classes for you to try. See schedule for times.
This class is designed for those who want to take their fitness to a new level and for those who want to get an awesome workout done in a short amount of time! In order for this class to be effective you MUST get heart rate into the proper training rates and therefore we encourage the use of a belted heart rate monitor. * Class is NOT designed for the beginner. Modifications can be made however a good base cardiovascular system and heart rate monitor are highly recommended.
We will be offering Bootcamp six times weekly. You will sign up for either morning or evening classes. A class session will be eight weeks long making it a total of 24 classes. This class will come with a body composition and goal setting, measurements, and weekly self weigh- ins on Saturdays.
Pre-registration is required as class size is limited!
November Class Offerings:
Tuesday/Thursdays 5:15am-5:45am Saturdays 6:30am-7:00am
Monday/Wednesdays 6:15pm-6:45pm Saturdays 7:15am-7:45am
Hope you all have gotten a chance to try a class! I also have some HIIT formats on the circuit side for you to try!
Crank it!
Deb
Feeling SAD as the days grow shorter?
October 29, 2009 by Deb · Leave a Comment
Have you ever noticed how a gray, rainy day makes you feel gloomy and tired, but a sunny day can leave you feeling cheerful and energized? Well, there’s a scientific reason for this. Insufficient exposure to sunlight has been associated with low levels of melatonin and serotonin, carbohydrate craving, weight gain, and sleep disturbance.
Some of you may have also noticed that you find a seasonal fluctuation in your moods, feeling depressed only in the winter months. Take a look at your calendar and you’ll soon see why. Each year on June 21 we experience the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. With our longest hours of sunlight in the middle of summer it’s no wonder we’re happier this time of year. After this date, however, the days progressively get shorter until the winter solstice on December 21, the shortest day.
Is it any accident then that so many of us run for the hills when the holidays roll around? With our serotonin in such short supply, the added stresses of living up to our images of the picture-perfect holiday are just too much. The medical term for the season-long malaise that we fall into is Winter Depression, Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD.
Signs and Symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder
The symptoms of SAD occur cyclically with a return of symptoms each year during the winter months. These symptoms tend to be the atypical symptoms of depression, including:
- increased sleep
- increased appetite and carbohydrate cravings
- weight gain
- irritability
- interpersonal difficulties (especially rejection sensitivity), and a heavy, leaden feeling in the arms or legs.
Causes of Seasonal Affective Disorder
SAD is believed to be caused by a disturbance in the normal circadian rhythm of the body. Light entering through the eyes influences this rhythm. When it is dark, the pineal gland produces a substance called melatonin which is responsible for the drowsiness we feel each day after dusk. Light entering the eyes at dawn shuts off the production of melatonin. During the shorter days of winter, when people may rise before dawn or not leave their offices until after sunset, these normal rhythms may become disrupted, producing the symptoms of SAD.
There is also evidence linking SAD to a reduced amount of the neurotransmitter serotonin. Serotonin is the feel-good substance that is increased by antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). This decrease in serotonin production may be responsible for many of the symptoms of SAD, such as depression and carbohydrate cravings.
A natural way to increase your serotonin is EXERCISE! Get moving and get feeling better!
Deb
Workout Excuses Busted
October 29, 2009 by Deb · 1 Comment
At least once a week I hear all kinds of reasons why I haven’t seen a member for awhile….. I’ll ask where they have been the last couple months, and that’s when the excuses start…
Perhaps it was that they had a special assignment at work and have been “too busy” to work out lately.
- Or perhaps it was that they had a shoulder or arm injury so they thought that they couldn’t work out during this time
- Or perhaps they had a knee, ankle, or leg injury so they thought they couldn’t work out.
- Or perhaps they were busy with house renovations, or family issues, or too busy with the kids, etc, etc, etc… excuse, excuse, excuse
Either you want it, or you don’t, and it’s either going to be a priority in your life, or it’s not!
Here’s what I say:
Excuse #1 – Too busy at work:
Ok, so why don’t you squeeze in really brief but really intense 5 minute workouts before and after work each day… after all, that’s only 10 minutes of your time, and most people have 10 minutes. Busted!
Excuse #2 – Shoulder or arm injuries so haven’t worked out:
Bum shoulder… so what… are you saying your legs and abs don’t work all of the sudden just because your arm or shoulder is hurt? After all, most of your fat loss and metabolism-boosting results come from lower body based exercises anyway, as they burn more calories due to the larger muscle groups involved. Busted!
Excuse #3 – Knee, ankle, or leg injuries so haven’t worked out:
Ok, so now you’re saying that just because you have a leg injury, that somehow your upper body no longer works? Even if you need to walk in there on crutches, and then do nothing but seated upper body exercises, that’s a lot better than doing nothing and letting your entire body get weak and soft during while your leg heals. I do personal training with a man who has NO legs and he has to work harder to even get to the gym than most people do at the gym….sorry I can’t accept this one!
Excuse #4 – Too busy with the house, family, kids, etc:
Once again we need to get back to priorities. If your house and kids are priorities, why wouldn’t your health and fitness be top priorities also, so that you can enjoy your life and everything and everyone in it!
I know I take a hard-nosed approach with this stuff, but if finally getting into shape is important to you, nothing less will do, than to adopt a true fitness lifestyle and mindset.
New Year’s Day is only 10 weeks away! You can accomplish amazing results (weight loss, energy, health, etc.) by getting on the Wellness train TODAY.
You can lose 10 to 20 pounds (a healthy 1 to 2 pounds per week) by the end of the year. Think of how much better you would feel and how much energy you would have by making your health a top priority starting today!
Don’t let the following quote come true for you:
“A year from now you will wish you had started today.” – Karen Lamb
Deb
The Real Reasons I listen to Fast Loud Music!
October 21, 2009 by Deb · 5 Comments
Why the Right Music Means a Better Workout!
It was back in 1995 that I started to run into a real problem with workout music. My fitness business was exploding and I found myself working with large groups of 15-60 plus people at each workout……whew!
So what was the problem?
Well, many of my group exercise classes consisted of several people at several different fitness levels….this always the case in group fitness classes! For some of my classes I needed slower music that allowed me to count slowly and do slow reps of exercises…..this worked great in my toning type classes but it was when I wanted to teach group interval classes that I ran into big problems. Timed sets of various interval work best when you have a wide variety of fitness levels. This allows everyone to work at their own pace within the same workout. If you’re trying to run a professional program that starts and ends at the same time every time, interval training is the way to go for the workouts. It’s also cheaper on the pocketbook as you don’t have to buy special equipment for each participant, you can purchase 5-6 and then simply rotate the people through the exercises using stations.
But interval training is a bit of a catch 22. Sure my classes were running well, but I felt like I wasn’t able to provide as much client supervision since I was constantly having to look at the clock and be the human stopwatch announcing “go… halfway… stop, switch.”
So, I knew I had to find a solution and I tried several options like timers, bells, whistles, and alarms. None of them worked the way I wanted them to. Then here just recently I found the solution I was looking for. It’s a program that allows me to offer interval workout music to automate my classes with the simple click of a button. YEAH!!
This interval music has made me a much better trainer/instructor because the music tells my clients exactly what to do so I can do what I do best: coach, motivate, and supervise my clients.
But it’s more than just the extra supervision that drastically reduces the risk of injury from an intensive group exercise program (which is alone a huge improvement to any training program). It’s about the impact the right music can have on your workouts.
According to scientists at Dalhousie University in Canada, music not only motivates but it can make you stronger. These researchers recently discovered that people who listened to workout music during training showed significantly greater strength gains in 4 weeks time than those who wore noise-cancellation headphones. According to study author Jo M. Welch, Ph.D, the explanation for this increase in performance most likely lies in the music causing a reduction in perceived exertion during the workout, thus allowing the trainee to work harder. Furthermore, she explained that the key was listening to the tunes that motivate you the most, whatever musical genre that may be.
In the past I had clients bring in their favorite music and that never really worked out that well- some liked it and some didn’t, and some songs were too slow and some were too fast. I then tried my best to bring in an eclectic mix of music to please everyone, but that was even more of a disaster. It’s a real pain in the butt to have to constantly search for and buy new music that people always would complain about anyways, or the lyrics are so bad I wouldn’t play them in the gym. After all, music is just like politics and religion- everyone has their own personal tastes and preferences.
So for our new BOOTCAMP (HIIT) classes we will start in November we will be offering the interval workout music powered by Workout Muse. It features instrumental-only tracks with the only vocals being the audio updates that I used to have to announce myself. In using this program with my personal training clients and some sample classes, I immediately saw the power of the right music in my classes. Bottom line, people worked harder and cranked out more reps during each work set and subsequently took less rest and transition between exercises. You don’t need to be an extreme athlete to know that increased intensity and density within each workout leads to better results!
Another study from the University of Western Ontario in Canada supports what I have seen in the real world with hundreds of people from all walks of life- cranking up the volume jacks up the intensity of the training session. Janet McMordie, the author of the study, discovered that louder music during a workout resulted in better performance due to both a surge of mood-enhancing hormones (primarily adrenaline) and, just like the previous study, a sonic distraction that prevents you from realizing how tired you are so you can work harder for longer. So, yes even my 5:15 am classes will have rockin’ loud music!!
The 18 women in the study listened to their favorite music soundtracks of different decibel levels while performing various exercise tasks: cycling sprints, max reps on the leg press, and max reps on the bench press. She discovered the rep total increased by 46% on average at the loudest music volume when compared to listening to no music at all. Plus, across the board, even the lowest volume level resulted in significant performance gains further proving that listening to motivating workout music at any volume helps you push past your comfort zone to get the best training effect.
The most groundbreaking study on the effect of music on exercise and performance was done by Dr. Costas Karageorghis in Karageorghis & Terry, 1997, where he discovered the following:
1.) Music reduces perceived exertion by distracting the exerciser from exercise-induced fatigue so they can work harder for longer.
2.) Music can either psyche-up an athlete pre-workout/competition or relax an athlete pre-workout/competition depending on the tone of music and the consistency of the selected song lyrics.
3.) Music is the perfect marriage between the inherent similarities of rhythm and human movement- “the synchronization of music with exercise consistently demonstrates increased levels of work output among exercise participants (see Karageorghis & Terry, 1997, for review).”
4.) Music can aid in learning new movements and in learning how to move better- “music can enhance the acquisition of motor skills and create a better learning environment. There is evidence from both gymnastics and swimming in support of this (Chen, 1985; Jernberg, 1981).”
5.) Music can get you in the zone for optimal focus on the task at hand- “Our most recent research (Karageorghis & Terry, 1998) has revealed an interesting link between music and the attainment of flow state during aerobic dance exercise. Flow involves an altered state of awareness during physical activity in which the mind and body function on ‘auto-pilot’ with minimal conscious effort. Some coaches refer to this as being ‘in the zone’; it is an almost trance-like or hypnotic state. Flow has been associated with optimal psychological state and represents complete enjoyment of and immersion in physical activity.”
He also discovered four key factors that determine how motivating music can be, with internal factors being the most important:
Internal Factors:
1.) Rhythm
2.) Musicality: Melody and Harmony
External Factors:
3.) Cultural Impact
4.) Extra Musical Associations
These factors are best summarized in Dr. Karageorghis’s own words: “We have developed and validated a questionnaire to rate the motivational qualities of music which is called the Brunel Music Rating Inventory (BMRI: Karageorghis et al., 1997). For a piece of music to truly inspire the listener, it must have strong rhythmic qualities that match the activity at hand and also a tempo which matches the predicted heart rate. The melody and harmony of the music should promote a positive mood state; that is, they should energize the listener and increase vigor. The music should also stem from the listener’s socio-cultural background and comply with their preferences. Finally, it is ideal that for the music to be associated with physical activity either through the lyrics, e.g., Work Your Body, or its association with other media such as film or TV. A classic example of such a track would be Survivor’s ‘Eye of the Tiger’, which was a theme from the Rocky series.”
It’s important to note the importance of choosing music of the right tempo or beats per minute (bmp) to elicit the desired movement response. During high-intensity cardio interval training, target heart rate tends to fall in the range of 140-160 bpm during the work periods and 100-120 bpm during the active recovery periods. During circuit training, heart rate tends to be elevated throughout the duration of the workout between 120-140 bpm. Thus, selecting workout music with the appropriate bpm for a specific fitness activity will set the proper pace for a more effective workout. This has always been drilled into ALL of my fitness education classes….the music sets the pace of any class!!
In summary, for a better workout you must choose the right workout music. When it comes to selecting the right music the two most important factors are listening to workout tunes with the appropriate tempo for your selected activity of choice and then building a play list that falls within your preferred musical genre(s).
So give it a try…..crank up your favorite tunes and see how great your workouts can feel! Better yet come to one of our BOOTCAMP classes and get a high intensity interval workout & great music that will take your workouts to a new level!! Crank it up!!
Next week we will be running FREE sample classes of BOOTCAMP….be sure to give it a try!
Deb