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 
5 Reasons “Slow-go” Cardio is NOT the way to go!
May 21, 2009 by Deb · Leave a Comment
I have seen so many people lately at the gym spending mindless hours doing the long low intensity workouts thinking they are doing such a great workout, yet they can’t understand why they don’t reach their weight loss goals! I have to clear this up now before anyone else wastes another precious hour of their life! Let me refer to the definition of “insanity”….doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result….to me that’s exactly what slow-go/low intensity cardio is….INSANE!!
Here’s the deal: if you’re looking to achieve maximal benefit from the time you put into your workouts, long duration “slow-go” cardio is NOT the way to go, and for many reasons.
Here are my top 5:
1. Minimal calories burned — 45 minutes on the treadmill may burn a whopping 300 calories if you’re lucky, the equivalent of ONE TENTH of a pound of fat. Exercise ten hours a week and you might just lose a pound!
This brings me to my next point:
2. Way too much time involved — I don’t know about you, but I don’t have hours and hours of my time to pour into working out each week. In fact, TIME is the number one reason people say they don’t workout out or quit working out! Beyond that, slow-go cardio is:
3. BORING as heck — Sitting on an exercise bike, treadmill, or elliptical staring at the wall in front of me for 45-60 minutes? No thanks.
But perhaps even worse is the fact that slow-go cardio provides:
4. No prolonged metabolic benefit — Did you know that with higher intensity exercise it is possible to continue to burn calories for up to 48 hours post workout? It’s true (and we’ll be discussing this “afterburn” effect in another post very soon). But you know what else is true? Long duration, low intensity cardio provides virtually NO prolonged elevation in metabolism. In fact, with slow-go cardio, metabolism returns to baseline almost IMMEDIATELY following the exercise session.
And finally, the reason that trumps all the others:
5. Minimal fat loss — Minimal calories burned during the session and virtually no additional calories burned afterward = minimal, if any fat loss results. And let’s be honest, the only reason anyone is doing cardio is for the “result”.
So if slow-go cardio isn’t a great solution, what is?
Short duration, high-intensity exercise, that’s what!! Less time, faster results — THAT’S what it’s all about.
And keep in mind, “high intensity” is relative to you. I don’t care if you’re already in great shape or if you’re 40 lbs overweight, you can exercise with intensity.
Moral of the story: sprinting is more effective for fat loss vs. low intensity walking or cycling for hours on end. It also frees up a heck of a lot of time to get home and recover! ….don’t waste your time, get in and get it done and get on with your life…you will be amazed at how these shorter more intense workouts help you to actually reach your goals!
Watch for some sample high intensity interval workouts coming up next blog. I will share with you three of my favorite intervals that I have used on several clients whom I do personal training with. They will be the first to tell you these workouts are fast and furious and get FAST results!! If you have some interval workouts that you have used that have helped you, please share with us…..one can never have too many interval workouts!! Be sure to let me know if you make the switch, and be sure to tell us your results!!
Train Hard and Expect Results,
Deb
Water can boost your metabolism and help you shed pounds
May 14, 2009 by Deb · Leave a Comment
I consider water to be the greatest weight-loss drink in the world. Why? Much of what we perceive as hunger, driving us to overeat, is actually thirst. So for over a decade now I’ve been recommending that clients calculate the number of ounces of water they should drink daily by taking their weight and dividing by 2.
But I confess there wasn’t a lot of research to back up what most of us trainers knew intuitively. Now we have some!
In two studies published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, researchers found that within 10 minutes of drinking about a pint of water, metabolic rates in both men and women begin to increase by as much as 24 to 30 percent. Other drinks tested didn’t have the same effect. Based on these study results, drinking this much water every day could burn 17,400 calories a year, for a loss of five pounds. Now granted, that’s not a lot of weight, but added to all the other benefits of water, the little bit of weight loss is a bonus!!
Remember start drinking your water first thing in the morning and continue drinking all day long. If you are not drinking 1/2 your body weight in ounces, start slowly and increase amount drinking until your body gets used it and you reach that desired amount. Your body will adjust and get used to drinking that much water and you will feel great! Drink up!
Deb
