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5k in 5 Weeks: Week 1 and Again…and Again

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If all had gone as planned, I’d have completed two intense weeks of training for my 5k race by now.  Unfortunately, as usual, I have been unable to stick with a routine that involves a commitment to long cardio sessions.  So, two weeks in, I’m pretty much in the same shape as I was when I made this pledge.  Here’s why.

Week 1

Monday:  Set my alarm, assuming my birthday celebration hangover would be gone by day two…it wasn’t.  I turned off my alarm.

Tuesday:  No longer hungover but still sluggish.  My workout time consisted of watching Real Housewives of Beverly Hills as I “recovered” from sets of 10 pushups or 20 crunches.  (I really think Vicki looked better before her plastic surgery…and Tamara looks great this season, she’s anti-carb, it seems to be working…)

Wednesday:  Early in to work, no time

Thursday: Feeling lazy, 30 minutes of treadmill walking

Friday:  The week is already  a wash…no reason to wake up.

Not likely to be running a 5k at this rate, time to start over.

Week 2

Monday:  Insomnia kept me up most of the night, turned off my alarm.

Tuesday:  Middle of the night visits from both of my children and again, I’m up for hours.  Turned off my alarm…again.

Wednesday:  Finally, success!  Thirty minutes of cardio with a total of one mile of running (well, jogging).

Thursday:  Forty five minutes of interval training, I’ll do anything not to stay off the treadmill. 

Friday:  Thirty minutes of cardio, again alternating between half mile walking and jogging.  So far, I sustain a half-mile at a slow jog.  I’m not feeling ready to move on to week 2, particularly since the schedule suggests not moving on until you can run 2 miles without stopping.

Well there it is.  Two weeks into my forties and I’ve not accomplished much.  I once had a college professor who was trying to encourage us to pursue post-graduate degrees.  She said, “Five years will come and go and either you will have accomplished something or you’ll be in the same place you are today.”  I always think of those words as I find myself stagnating in the same place for too long.   Two weeks have come and gone and here I am in the same place.  If I’m not careful, five weeks will come and go and I’ll still be here.  So tomorrow, I’ll try again.  Week 1 take 3.

Short on Time? Cardio or Weights?

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Every week I hear from a client, “I don’t have enough time to get in my cardio and weight training this week, which one should I skip, which one is most important?” My response, “Don’t skip either, both are important and need to be done with consistency.”

If you are on a mission to lose weight, the cardio is going to help you burn off that stored energy, otherwise known as body fat. The strength training can’t be skipped either, your muscles need to be stimulated weekly in order to promote proper growth and development so your muscles become stronger and shapelier.

When you are short on time, the best way to get in your cardio and strength training is through what I call High Intensity Circuit Training (HICT). This type of circuit training involves high intensity cardio bouts mixed in with weight training. What makes this type of training great for people with little time, which is most of us, is that you combine your cardiovascular conditioning with resistance training. This will give you a total body workout. You’re not only burning calories and body fat, but you are also strengthening your heart and improving your muscular strength and endurance. High Intensity Circuit Training can be accomplished many ways with no equipment, minimal equipment, or with a fully loaded gym.

My favorite way to train clients is by incorporating basic calesthetics with strength training. You must first get your heart rate up high, at the upper end of your target heart rate zone, in a short period of time, usually 45-60 seconds. Once the heart rate is up, continue on to a 3 to 4 exercise strength training circuit. For example, do 60 seconds of jumping jacks, then, with no rest, move on to 15 push-ups, then on to 20 jump squats, then on to 15 ball push-ups, then do 20 lunges. Repeat the circuit 2 more times. Now this is just a very basic example of HICT, but nevertheless you are accomplishing your cardio and strength training in a short, very intense period of time. I have several of my advanced clients doing up to 16 different exercises in one circuit and burning over 700 calories in 60 minutes (I typically have clients do three sets for each circuit).

When choosing high intensity cardio bouts, you can’t go wrong with calesthetics such as jumping jacks, scissor jumps with jabs, squat thrusts, or mountain climbers. All of these will get your heart rate up very high in a very short period of time. The cardio bouts don’t have to be calesthetics. You can also incorporate cardio equipment such as the treadmill, elliptical, and stationary bike. However, I find that a high intensity cardio bout on a piece of equipment takes a little more time to get the heart rate up. So you might want to increase the time to 2-3 minutes rather than 45-60 seconds. You must be going as fast and as hard as you can on the piece of equipment you choose at the time.

The weight training circuit following the cardio bout can be set up in a variety of ways. This is where you have to be creative and piece together a total body circuit, or just lower or upper body combinations or super sets. If you want to view some great examples of this, go to my YouTube Channel. There are currently 4 circuits posted that will guide you through a variety of High Intensity Circuit Training.

High Intensity Circuit Training may not be for everyone. This is an option for more intermediate to advanced trainees that are short on time. However, beginners can go slow and at a lower intensity to accomplish such training. Remember to always check with a doctor or fitness professional to be sure this type of training is right for you.

Your options are endless when it comes to High Intensity Circuit Training. The combinations of exercises for your entire body will continue to grow if you are thoughtful in setting up your circuits. So, don’t skip weights or cardio when you have a busy schedule. Take advantage of what little time you have to exercise and maximize every minute of your workout by doing High Intensity Circuit Training.

 

5lbs for 5k: A Birthday Gift to Myself

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Well, my fortieth birthday is upon me and those pesky 5 pounds are still hanging around.  Sigh…so…I guess I could set a new goal:  swimsuit season.  I could spend the next two months meticulously counting calories; I could even try a fast.  I could continue to get on the scale every morning, celebrate if I’ve lost .3 lbs since yesterday and spend my day frustrated if the reverse is true.  In other words, do what I’ve been doing for the last decade.

It was Steven Tyler who sang, “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.”  (Actually Mark Twain said it first, and he used proper grammar, but I like Steven Tyler’s version much better.)  Inspired by that memorable Aerosmith lyric, I decided to give myself a birthday gift.  I’m not going to spend my birthday feeling bad or complaining about the 5 pounds I didn’t lose.  Instead, I’m going to trade in my obsession with losing 5 pounds for a better goal.  In 5 weeks, I’ll be able to run a 5k.

Honestly, it is a relief to give myself a break from the endless mental energy I spend thinking about how to lose weight.  But maybe it is not just a gift of a more peaceful mind; perhaps it will also be a gift of better overall health.  A 5 pound weight loss for most of us has little effect on overall health.  However, preparing to run a 5k by doing 30 minutes of cardio 4-5 days a week can have several positive effects.  I will reduce my risk of heart disease, increase endurance, and help make me happier.  These things are more important than fitting into skinny jeans…right?

It’s not that I don’t exercise, I do.  In fact, I ran a very sluggish 5k race last summer.  But in the winter, I normally avoid 30 minutes of sustained cardio.  I’d rather do cardio bouts or circuit training.  Racking up 3.2 miles on a treadmill is not my idea of a good time.  But now that spring is here, and I can run (ok, slowly jog) outside, I can commit to being ready to achieve a respectable time in a 5k race to be run on July 4.  I do well with rules and programs.  A training schedule like this, I can follow.

So starting next week, (sorry, this week I’m busy “celebrating” being a 40 year old) I will begin week one of my five week training schedule.  And I will exchange a rather meaningless 5-related goal to one that really matters.  A 5k in 5 weeks.  Who’s with me?

Rest and Recovery After Exercise

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I find that many of my clients tend to overtrain and not give their bodies the well deserved rest it needs. Rest and recovery are key in helping to keep your body strong and fit. Resting also helps to prevent overtraining injuries from occurring. Believe it or not, rest and recovery is just as important as exercising.

In order to increase your fitness level, make improvements in your favorite sport, or just to be healthy, your body must be exposed to stresses such as strength training and cardio conditioning. Once stress is applied, your body then needs time to adapt to the stresses. This is when recovery time takes place to help your body grow and develop properly, without injury.

If you are just beginning an exercise program, it’s very important to start off slow. Your body needs to adapt to the exercise you have started and the stress overload on your body. Taking a day off from training every other day will help keep your energy levels high and body feeling strong. Without rest, your body will begin to fatigue easily, motivation may slip, increased risk of injury may occur, which leads to the possibility of dropping out of your program.

Muscle soreness and stiffness is very common when exercising, for beginners and more advanced fitness enthusiasts. When muscles are sore, it is most important to rest that muscle group until the pain is gone without an anti-inflammatory. Don’t let muscle soreness get you down. Your body will need time to recover, thus making you stronger with proper rest. I always tell my clients that if the body hurts, then you should not train. Training sore muscles does nothing good for you. It only slows down your body’s growing process and increases risk of injuries.

I’m providing to you the most important rules of rest and recovery. The following recommendations will help you to cope with your sore muscles and may help expedite your recovery process.

You must get adequate sleep.

Sleep is most important in your rest and recovery period. Your body goes through a healing and growing process during this time. Eight hours of sleep is what is recommended for good quality rest.  For the best sleeping conditions, make sure the room is dark, cool, and quiet. To ensure you are getting the best sleep you can, do not exercise, drink alcohol, watch television, or eat right before going to bed.

Proper nutrition and hydration are keys to recovery after training.

In order to stay hydrated, you must replenish lost fluids and electrolytes after training. So drink water and consume the proper foods to replenish diminished energy stores. It is most important to consume the proper carbohydrates and proteins, the macronutrients, and vitamins and minerals, the micronutrients, within 30 minutes of finishing your training session. This will ensure proper growth and development of the muscle tissue you’ve broken down.

Stretching will help to keep muscles loose but will not prevent muscle soreness.

Stretching immediately after exercise, such as resistance training and cardiovascular conditioning, is very important. Stretching will keep tight muscles loose and flexible which may help to prevent injuries. However, stretching will not prevent muscle soreness. Muscle soreness primarily comes from the break down of muscle fibers or micro-tears in the muscle itself.

Massages are a favorite of many of my clients.

A good massage has several benefits. Massages help to increase blood to your muscles which enhances oxygen and nutrient delivery for faster recovery. Massages also help to rid the muscle of lactic acid, a chemical biproduct that forms in the muscle during exercise. Lactic acid is what causes the burning sensation you may feel when training with weights or doing isolation abdominal movements. Additionally, the warming and stretching of muscles during a massage may increase flexibility and can remove knots and help adhesions to feel better. Research shows that massages also improve one’s mood, reduce fatigue, and increase relaxation. Overall, massages are great for your physical and mental well-being.  Locally, we recommend Spa Mariana for Sports Massage and a variety of other treatments.

So take time and get your rest. Your body will feel stronger and perform better!

Fat-Free and Everything After: The Disappointing Truth

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Jeff Angel

 

Oh how I miss the fat-free diet days.  Purchase an extra-large bag of Gummie Bears before ENG 200 and eat the whole thing during the three hour lecture.  Dine on an entire box of pasta but top it with caution because spaghetti sauce has one gram of fat per serving.  Eat the meatball?  No way!  But pass that fat-free box of wine.

It was during this “health-craze” that my friend ironically complained, “I can’t lose weight no matter how many fat-free cookies I eat.”  We found it surprising that despite the extra large portions of fat-free snacks, dinners, and alcohol, we had both packed on the freshman 15 and then some.  At the time I chalked this up to the idea that diets don’t work for me.  I decided I was just one of those unlucky people who can’t lose weight.

I had a similar problem when I was pregnant for my first child and gaining weight rapidly.  By week twenty I was up 30 pounds.  My doctor, so rudely, questioned me about my weight gain.  So, I explained to him that I had been eating really healthy: whole grain muffins, full-fat yogurt, lots of cheese.  His response, “Well, if you eat two bushels of apples a day, you’re going to gain weight.  It’s still calories.”  Not the wisest thing to say to a fat and crabby pregnant lady, but I got the point.

As much as I may wish it was otherwise, calories count.  The fat-free diet was yet another example of me wanting an entire fat-free cake and eating it, too.  I want to be able to over indulge without consequence.  If fat was the enemy, then I could gorge myself as long as I avoided it.  Or, when carbs became the problem, I happily lived on brie and filet mignon.   But really, did I honestly think that was the answer?

As disappointing as it is, eliminating any one food group will not magically result in weight loss.  So here’s the TRAINER’S TIP:  EVERYTHING IN MODERATION.  At first I found this punishing. (“You mean I can’t eat this sleeve of reduced fat Chips Ahoy before bed?”)  But now I see this philosophy is actually liberating.  That’s because the word EVERYTHING comes right before MODERATION.  So instead of focusing on the limit, I can choose to enjoy the variety.  A small slice of a homemade brownie is so much better than an entire fat-free one wrapped in plastic.  So the trick is to embrace the joy of really eating whatever you want…just not as much as you may want.

Busting 4 Workout Myths

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Over these 15 years of personal training I have experienced several workout myths that people truly believe. Myths that sound very true however are the furthest from the truth. The following 4 myths are the ones I hear the most.

Myth #1: Working out for less than an hour doesn’t do you any good.

Fact:

All physical activity is good for your body, even if it is 10 minutes. The American Heart Association recommends getting 150 minutes of moderate physical activity a week, 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity, or a combination of the two. Research has shown that 30 minutes of physical activity, even if broken up into 3 ten minute segments throughout the day, has tremendous health benefits such as reducing blood pressure, decreased risk of diabetes, lower cholesterol levels, stronger immunity, and decreased stress.

Myth #2: Spot reduction is possible.

Fact:

Reducing body fat in one particular area of your body by doing certain exercises CANNOT burn body fat in that area. For example, I have clients that still insist on doing hundreds of crunches to burn abdominal fat. Granted, these crunches may be strengthening the abdominal muscles, however the fat around the midsection is not being burned from the crunches. In order to burn body fat, one must perform cardiovascular exercises and do strength training to increase muscle mass. Individuals’ bodies are different and body fat will be burned according to each person’s genetic make-up. Some of you may hold on to fat at the hips, while others tend to carry fat in the midsection. The key is to be consistent with aerobic conditioning and strength training in order to decrease reduction of one’s total body fat percentage.

Myth #3: I need to be sweating to have a good workout.

Fact:

Everyone sweats differently. This is part of your body’s thermostat and it’s way of cooling you off. So sweating is not a good way to determine if you are getting in a good workout. Keeping track of your target heart rate and also administering the “talk test” are good ways to make sure your workout is strenuous enough for you. Find out what the “talk test” is and determine your target heart rate zone by visiting the Aerobic Conditioning Page.

Myth #4: Aerobic exercise is the only exercise you need in order to loose weight and be healthy.

Fact:

Aerobic exercise helps to keep your heart strong and burn calories, however, strength training helps to keep your entire body strong. Having muscle mass is important for all daily activities and for keeping your metabolism high. Strength training has several other benefits including reducing blood pressure, preventing osteoporosis, and decreasing cholesterol levels. Everyone should participate in a weekly strength training program in addition to daily aerobic exercise.

 

 

 

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