Today I would like to examine the physiological benefits of circuit training. There are many forms of circuit training, from machine-based static circuits, to boot camp style workouts and even kickboxing workouts. But what is circuit training and how can we put it to the best possible use?
Many gyms offer standard cookie-cutter circuit training programs, which are sometimes prescribed by the in-house personal trainer and recommended by other lazy staff members. The circuit is set up in some back room with a timer alarm to tell you when to move to the next station. Should you use this system or put together your own free weight circuit or join a boot camp?
What does circuit training actually offer you?
What are the physiological benefits and who is best suited to participate in circuit training?
There are several theoretical benefits of circuit training that are disseminated online.
Summer in Australia is known to be filled with tons of fun activities and beautiful sights to see. Famous for the Bondi Beach and the Gold Coast, there is no shortage of beautiful places to visit in the summer warmth of Australia. Appreciating the summer festivities in Australia is not just limited to vacationers and tourists. Even health-conscious individuals can continue working on staying fit while immersing themselves in the Australian summer heat.
When it comes to cardio, there’s one thing no one can deny: cardio is the ideal stress relief after a hard day of work and stress. Whether you prefer riding the stationary bike or running on the treadmill, cardio can make all your worries go away, at least for some time.
Cardio is also great for your heart, which is how it got its name in the first place. But the reason people most frequently turn to cardio is to burn those pesky calories and excess weight. And while most of the benefits of cardio exercise cannot be denied, there are a lot of myths and false truths that if you believe too blindly might lead to disappointment in the end.
The thing is, there are a variety of different classes and exercises you can enroll in at your local gym, and the best one is usually the one that makes you feel most comfortable. That said, even if you enjoy doing cardio the most, you need to know the truth about these 5 persistent myths if nothing just to adjust your expectations accordingly. (more…)
It takes a lot of commitment to strength training to see consistent muscle growth. To be able to fit training into their schedule, people often cut corners. While some neglect to properly warm up before slamming the weight plates on a barbell, most decide to skip their post-workout mobility session when pressed for time.
While mobility training can be time-consuming, tedious, and uncomfortable, it is also extremely important to incorporate into your strength training routine. When it comes to hitting the weights, here are a few reasons why mobility matters.
Every athlete worth their salt has hit a plateau. You all know the feeling — suddenly gym sessions feel less productive, gains slow to a crawl, and you start to feel stuck.
Often, the natural response is to train harder and longer, assuming that plateaus can just be powered through, but pushing your body harder when it might actually need to slow down is asking for injury. Injuries aren’t fun for anyone, but if you’re preparing for a competition, race, or big game, it can be a death knell for your training.
Why Am I Hitting a Plateau?
While some plateaus are part of the natural training cycle, others are due to improper training. It’s all too easy to get wrapped up in your own drive and push too hard for too long. The result is a burned-out athlete whose body is breaking down instead of building up.
Avoiding bad training habits seems like it should be common sense, but it’s easier said than done. Everyone wants to be the best, and you get there by training, right? So what’s the difference between pushing and pushing too hard? And how do you toe the line without long-jumping over it?
Unfortunately, there’s no perfect formula for everyone, but with an updated training strategy, it’s a little easier to navigate the minefield of training fatigue. As with most athletic advice, this comes with a strong dose of “listen to your body.”
Plateaus and training fatigue generally stem from overdoing it every time you’re in the gym or under-recovering after you go home. (more…)
I started taking pre workout supplements for women after a job change. The only time I could make it to the gym was 5:30am. I’m not a morning person! It was hard to find energy to work out to my full capacity.
For real gains, you’ve got to train hard! Pre workouts helped me do that.
Despite how popular they are, not every woman should take pre supplements. And if you do decide to give yourself that extra boost, you need to make sure you are taking it correctly. To get the best results, make sure you know these 5 facts about pre workouts for women first.
Squeezing a workout into a busy day can be near impossible, but whether because we need the reliable rush of endorphins or because our resolve cannot be challenged, we end up fitting it in there. Despite all the days where we don’t feel 100 percent, completing a grueling workout can turn around our mood for the better. As fitness becomes a habit and a lifestyle, the question shifts from “Will I work out?” to “How will I work out?”
Now, designing a routine takes a lot of research and effort, but if you’re not careful, you’ll overlook a very important step. Before you can maximize your workout, you have to know what equipment is available to you, and before you know what equipment is available to you, you need to know where you’re working out. Ultimately, your choices are an outside gym or creating one in your own home.
Running can help achieve that fit body you’re aiming for. Today, we will explain to you how running can be good in the battle for weight loss!
Many people strive to have a body that will impress. However, the path going there isn’t a simple battle. Many challenges will hinder you from making progress. The first thing that you should ask yourself is, are you up to the challenge?
Although running sounds like a simple exercise, its benefits will amaze you. Running has many advantages including better health, uplifted emotions, weight loss, and improved focus. (more…)
If you’re looking to keep your cardio fitness levels running high throughout the year regardless of weather conditions or other hindrances, then the incline treadmill workout is the best training option.
Incline workouts offer many benefits.
For starters, it’ll help you simulate hill running, thus burn off colossal amounts of calories without having to go outside and stomach the bad weather. In addition, incline workouts are great boredom busters, hence if you dread indoor cardio training, use the incline to your advantage and make your workout more challenging and fun.
As a result, if you’re not doing an incline workout—at least once per week—then you’re doing yourself a big disservice.
Looking back in my archives, I found this post from 2008; roughly 2 home relocations ago. About 8 years have passed, the ‘kids’ are teenagers now, the beach is in the backyard now instead of across the street, I still have those Powerblocks, and still love sprinting.
Today however it’s about 30°F out, 3 days before Christmas, and it’s snowing. Sprints will be much more difficult, biking is nearly impossible, and the unheated garage is freeeeeezing! I’ve been working diligently as a personal garage gym builder though, and now I also have a doorway pull up bar, push up equipment, an ab roller, springs, and big ole rubber tubes that work great for dynamic resistance training.
If you’ve no idea what I’m talking about, read the follow piece that details my thoughts on active recovery in 2008 and what I accomplished on a warm sunny day in June. I still feel the same way about active recovery, and if you’re not using it on the occasional rest day you’re missing out on fun activities that can help engage your friends and family, burn extra calories, and improve the recovery process from your strenuous gym workouts.
Even medical journals documenting active recovery research have found that, “active recovery can be prescribed and still retain performance benefits over passive recoveries”. Don’t you miss out!
Yesterday I went for a serious bike ride and it was good. I jumped on my mountain bike with my buddy Kevin and we hit the trails. After all, bike riding is a great cardio and I am in constant need of exercise. Now don’t get me wrong, this isn’t the best mountain bike in the world – it’s a $200 Walmart special – but it works for me!
The Great Ride
Now, I am not a hardcore mountain biker by any means. In fact, I haven’t been riding at all lately and quite frankly I am out of shape when it comes to my bike. One might say I’m a novice bike rider but sometimes I just like to get out there and act like a warrior.
I sort of knew what I was in store for but refused to admit it, gazing at my bike with a somewhat incredulous stare. The bike held my stare, as it so often does, with its cold, hard, metallic callousness.
In cold weather climates, many runners log a large number of kilometers on the treadmill, and most of them complain that treadmill workout is rather boring. If you have the same problem and want to beat boredom while running on a treadmill, try the following tips. They will certainly make your treadmill running more fun.
Run with friends
If you have a friend who also trains on the treadmill in the same gym, you need to get her/him next to you. This way you will likely motivate each other as well as provide distraction in order to make your workout more efficient and faster. You do not have to run at the same pace with your friend(s).
One of the biggest problems in our society today is obesity. This is caused due to a variety of different problems, and this is also leading to a number of different treatment options. As such, finding the best weight loss Westchester NY has to offer depends on a variety of factors. Either way, we must accept that obesity is a true epidemic and that it requires more than a quick fad diet in order to be resolved. Not only must we come up with ways to help the people who are obese, we must also make sure that we prevent further people from becoming obese.
We know that obesity is dangerous. We know that it is a huge health risk. Yet we still don’t seem to truly understand what it all means.
When Does Obesity Happen?
Obesity can happen at any point during your life. It can, sometimes, escalate very quickly, and take on truly dramatic proportions. This is known as ‘malignant obesity’. Malignant obesity usually occurs after the early 20’s when we have stopped growing up, get too ‘busy’ to exercise, and when we still aren’t paying attention to what we’re putting in our bodies. (more…)
What is High Intensity Resistance Training (HIRT)?
High Intensity Resistance Training (HIRT) is essentially resistance training for fat loss, and like HIIT, it really is a big deal. HIRT training is the most effective way to increase your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), increase your Exercise Post Oxygen Consumption (EPOC), and burn calories at the same time.
When using HIRT you will execute several exercises together (sometimes called a super-set or giant-set), for a certain number of reps per set, for a certain number of minutes, without rest.
Along with HIIT, HIRT is a useful tool when avoiding endurance cardio while trying to lose fat, and it actually increases muscle mass more effectively than HIIT. HIRT training will give you the following benefits:
Increase metabolism for up to 36 hours post-workout
Outperform aerobic exercise in fat loss studies
Maintain muscle mass on a low calorie diet
Build muscle mass on a moderate to high calorie diet
HIRT workouts help maintain muscle mass when following a low calorie diet
HIRT workouts outperform diet and aerobic exercise in fat loss studies
HIRT workouts increase metabolism for up to 36 hours
The principles of HIRT are:
Full body workouts using sets of 5 to 15 reps
Pushing through the lactic acid burn
Utilizing a variety of combo-sets (super-sets, tri-sets, giant-sets, etc…)
Utilizing compound exercises
Focusing on the largest muscle groups
Most important, we have to stay true to the two rules of HIRT:
Rule #1 about HIRT: Don’t talk about HIRT. er… no, that’s a rule for a different club I attend on Saturday nights… ah, I’ve already said too much…
Seriously though, HIRT is all about maximizing intensity – you will get out of HIRT what you put into it.
You must maximize the intensity of each set. That means pushing it until you collapse or complete the drill. No resting or slowing down before the time limit is up.
You must maximize the intensity of each workout. Use all the time available to you, to complete as much work as possible. This is the only way to realize the maximum metabolic and muscle retention benefits of HIRT.
BMR and EPOC
As I mentioned before, along with burning calories through exercise, two of the most important factors in exercising to lose fat, are increasing BMR over the long term, and increasing EPOC per workout. Let’s learn a little more about BMR and EPOC, shall we?
Why do we care about BMR?
Your BMR describes the base metabolic rate for your body. It tells us how many calories your body burns at rest. Burning more calories at rest means you will lose fat faster or gain fat slower (if your daily calorie intake is too high). Improving BMR is simple: when you have more muscle mass, your body has a higher BMR.
Increasing your BMR will help you burn more calories over the long term.
Why do we care about EPOC?
Your EPOC describes how quickly your metabolism returns to your BMR after exercise. Because it deals more with the aerobic energy system, HIIT is more effective at increasing EPOC than HIRT, but not by very much. When targeting fat loss, we want to focus on workouts that increase EPOC as well as BMR.
The higher we can pump the EPOC after each workout, the more calories we will burn in the short term.
Who Can Benefit From HIRT
Anyone who wants to lose body fat while keeping all of their hard earned muscle mass, or anyone who wants to minimize fat gain while attempting to gain muscle mass. Alongside HIIT, HIRT should be a vital component to any serious fat loss plan.
HIRT would be useful for people who:
are looking to elevate their metabolism (BMR) long term
are looking to maximize short term fat loss through resistance training
are looking to keep as muscle as possible during a cutting phase
are looking to minimize fat gain during a bulking phase
are looking to increase aerobic endurance
are looking to increase anaerobic endurance
are looking to burn more calories on a daily basis
are looking to supplement their HIIT workouts with additional fat burning exercise
are athletes who participate in a sport such as boxing, MMA, soccer, basketball, football, wrestling, etc…, who need to increase muscular endurance in 5-10 minute bursts, while minimizing body fat
Who Should Avoid HIRT
Unlike HIIT, there are virtually no people who should avoid HIRT. Grasping at straws, the few people for whom HIRT might not be the best solution include those who:
are not cleared by their doctor to begin a high intensity exercise routine. Check with your doctor before starting HIRT.
are overzealous. You can’t use HIRT 3-4 times a week, and strength training or HIIT 3-4 times a week. Even though HIRT is not neurologically as taxing as HIIT or strength training, you still must rest between workouts.
are looking to maximize strength gains. Excessive HIRT and HIIT workouts will slow down strength gains.
are looking to increase speed. Because no sprints or max effort attempts are included in HIRT, speed will probably not be affected.
Designing a HIRT Training Routine
HIRT can be used for either cutting or bulking, usually maintain muscle mass while decreasing bodyfat, but also to minimize fat gains while increasing muscle mass. HIRT is also somewhat effective at improving aerobic endurance and even more effective at increasing anaerobic endurance.
As always, your diet is still 75% responsible for determining how these goals are achieved. Manipulate calorie intake and macronutrient ratios to gain muscle or lose fat according to your goals.
These are the guidelines I will use for creating a HIRT workout:
Each HIRT workout must be a full body routine.
Sets of 5 to 15 reps will be used. Lower reps to focus on muscle gain, higher reps to focus on muscular endurance.
Each HIRT workout will use super-sets, tri-sets, or giant-sets.
Each HIRT exercise will be a compound exercise focusing on the largest muscle groups.
Each super-set should last 8-10 minutes.
60-90 seconds rest between super-sets.
No rest within a super-set.
All exercises should be executed explosively – meaning as fast as possible while maintaining good form.
Three Sample H.I.R.T. Training Splits
There are thousands of ways you can integrate HIRT into your workout routine. You can use full body workouts, a 5 day split with HIRT at the end of your strength training, you can go HIIT-less to avoid sprinting, you can focus solely on HIIT and HIRT for max fat loss. You are only limited by your own imagination.
You can choose to implement several kinds of HIRT splits:
Priority: fat lossDay 1: 45 minutes of HIRT
goal – maximal intensity resistance and endurance trainingDay 2: 25 minutes of HIIT
goal – maximal intensity cardiovascular trainingDay 3: 45 minutes of endurance cardio
goal – anaerobic recovery and aerobic endurance training
Day 4: 45 minutes of HIRT
goal – maximal intensity resistance and endurance training
Day 5: 25 minutes of HIIT
goal – maximal intensity cardiovascular training
Day 6 & 7: Off
Priority: fat loss, but maximize muscle retentionDay 1: 45 minutes of full body resistance training
goal – maximal strength resistance trainingDay 2: 30 minutes of HIIT
goal – maximal intensity interval trainingDay 3: Off
goal – recovery
Day 4: 45 minutes of HIRT
goal – maximal intensity resistance and endurance training
Day 5: 30 minutes of full body resistance training plus 20 minutes of HIIT
goal – maximal strength resistance training and maximal intensity interval training
Day 6 & 7: Off
Priority: gain muscle and attempt to lose fat at the same timeDay 1: 45 minutes of full body resistance training
goal – maximal strength resistance trainingDay 2: 30 minutes of HIRT plus 20 minutes of HIIT
goal – maximal intensity cardiovascular training and maximal intensity interval trainingDay 3: Off
goal – recovery
Day 4: 45 minutes of full body resistance training
goal – maximal strength resistance training
Day 5: 30 minutes of HIRT plus 20 minutes of HIIT
goal – maximal intensity cardiovascular training and maximal intensity interval training
Day 6 & 7: Off
Priority: gain muscleDay 1: 45 minutes of full body resistance training
goal – maximal strength resistance trainingDay 2: 30 minutes of HIRT
goal – maximal intensity cardiovascular trainingDay 3: 45 minutes of full body resistance training
goal – maximal strength resistance training
Day 4: 30 minutes of HIRT
goal – maximal intensity interval training
Day 5: 45 minutes of full body resistance training
goal – maximal strength resistance training
Day 6 & 7: Off
Three Sample H.I.R.T. Workout Routines
Sample HIRT workout #1
For this workout, you will have to change equipment and/or stations to move to each new exercise, so your best bet will be to plan ahead and keep all the equipment you will need for the super-set at one station. This will keep rest down between sets.
Execute each super-set for 10 minutes without rest.
Rest for 180 seconds between super-sets.
The workout should take 45 minutes including a 5 minute warm-up and stretching after the workout.
Super-set A:
For this workout, you will have to change equipment and/or stations to move to each new exercise, so your best bet will be to plan ahead and keep all the equipment you will need for the super-set at one station. This will keep rest down between sets.
Execute each super-set for 10 minutes without rest.
Rest for 180 seconds between super-sets.
The workout should take 45 minutes including a 5 minute warm-up and stretching after the workout.
Super-set A:
5 push ups
5 inverted rows
5 jump squats
5 cable crunches
Super-set B:
5 chin ups
5 pistol (or one leg) squats
5 Russian twists with a medicine ball
5 push ups on the medicine ball
Super-set C:
10 skipping lunges
5 ab wheel roll outs
5 dumbbell or kettlebell swings with each arm
5 neutral grip one arm dumbbell or kettlebell rows
Olympic HIRT Workout
For this workout, you will move from one exercise to the next without any rest at all, since you won’t have to change equipment. Each movement will set you up to transition to the next movement, so that you are only executing one rep of each exercise per set and then flowing directly into the next rep of the next exercise.
This workout mainly utilizes Olympic lifts. Use really light weight or you might die, but you will probably puke anyway.
Execute each super-set for 10 minutes without rest.
Rest for 180 seconds between super-sets.
The workout should take 45 minutes including a 5 minute warm-up and stretching after the workout.
Super-set A:
Among the top pre workout supplements, Citrulline Malate is a supplement that provides amazing benefits in the world of athletes and bodybuilders. This supplement originates from the vital amino acid citrulline, which is produced when amino acid ornithine and carbamoyl phosphate is combined. This process occurs when the body disposes of nitrogen waste. On the other hand, malate (or malic acid) is a salt compound found in some fruits. This combination makes up citrulline malate.
Using Citrulline Malate Pre Workout
When citrulline malate is taken 20-40 minutes before a workout or weight training session, it improves overall performance and increased stamina. A citrulline malate study done by the Journal of Strength and Conditional Research shows a significant increase in strength a quarter of the way through a workout by 18%. Toward the end of the workout, participants’ strength increased by 53%. This enhances overall performance and allows for swift recovery in between workouts and many other benefits.
Benefits of Using Citrulline Malate During Workouts
Additional benefits of Citrulline Malate include reduced fatigue and improved aerobic performance. European studies show an increased reduction in physical and mental fatigue. This supplement allows for more intense training as it provides energy (increases ATP production by up to 30%) and a metabolism boost for heavy work-out sessions and fast recovery. Citrulline malate relaxes the blood vessels which leads to fuller looking muscles. It’s been clinically shown to help support lean muscle mass gains. It also includes the ability to decrease overall body fat. Some additional benefits include improved memory, increased mental alertness and overall clarity. It has the tendency to leave users feeling strong, well-relaxed and have an overall sense of well-being. (more…)
I don’t HATE endurance cardio. I’m trying to give it a chance, albeit a slim chance.
It has its purpose in workout routines, especially for those who are untrained, obese, or have health complications that make high intensity training dangerous. But I can’t just blow off the continually mounting evidence (for the past 15 years) that high intensity interval training is optimal for fat loss and for developing speed, power, muscle, and even endurance!
For many years now, hardcore trainers have been touting the superior effectiveness of high intensity intervals for fat loss. But still, trainers, athletes, housewives, couch potatoes, televangelists, martial arts instructors, teachers, doctors, and pretty much anyone outside of the ‘hardcore trainer’ group suggests that if you want to lose weight you have to either walk everyday or jog for at least an hour a day 4-5 times a week. Wake up people!
CrossFit is a great way to increase your level of health and fitness and stay in shape. It can help you to condition your body, build muscle, and improve cardiopulmonary function. Because it combines aerobics, gymnastics, weight training, and dynamic exercises into one comprehensive routine, you’ll get all the benefits of hitting multiple stations at the gym.
The diverse array of exercises can be tailored to your specific wants and needs, offering you the ability to reach your fitness goals more quickly than you might with traditional types of workouts, as well as keep the process fun and interesting thanks to changing routines.
Like any form of physical fitness, the practice of CrossFit isn’t without its risks for accident and injury, which means you need to observe proper safety tips when participating in such exercises. But also, because you perform so many different exercises, there are many movements to master. Performing them awkwardly for the first time, could land you will a sprain or strain.
Here are just a few tips to help you stay safe and ensure that you don’t get set back by injuries.
One of the best things that you should consider when you want to stay healthy and fit is your workout routines. You should not only focus in the food that you are consuming because the body needs some activities that can help regulate the blood and strengthen the muscles.
Being fit means having the ability to perform different things without getting tired easily. On the other side, being healthy means being able to live everyday with the absence of different sicknesses. Many people are living without knowing that they are no longer healthy because they do not have active lifestyles.
If you try to get away from the daily routine and try to engage yourself in different activities that requires strength and agility, you will notice that you are not fitted for such activities because you lack the needed strength for such activities.
Simple Exercises for Conditioning
With the scenario given above, you will realize that being healthy is not just about being able to survive. In order for you to know that you are truly healthy, you should be able to function well no matter what type of activity you face.
In order to make sure that you are healthy and fit, you should look for the exercises that you can do regularly. Here are two of the best workout routines that you can choose from:
How to ramp up the speed for better fat loss and fitness gains
If you want to run faster, then you need to start running faster. This may sound as a cliché but because it’s true.
Speedwork—in all its forms—is key for unlocking your full potential as a runner. Not only that, speedwork will make you fitter, enhance the range of movement in your joints, boost power and drive in your lower body, and it will eventually help you to run harder for longer.
Furthermore, Speedwork is key for weight loss. According to many studies, interval running—a form of speed work— burns up to three times more calories than sticking to a steady and easy pace. Of course, long runs at a low intensity have their benefits, but when it comes to burning the flab, speedwork wins the race.
When it comes to exercise, people often find one type of workout they like and focus on it almost exclusively. For some people this means jogging until they can run a marathon. Others engage in weight training in order to build muscles, bulk up, or bench press their own body weight. Still others rely on yoga and Pilates to help them increase flexibility and muscle tone while restoring a mind-body connection or adding a spiritual element to their workout routine.
The point is that it’s easy to get stuck in a rut with one type of exercise. Sometimes we’re seeking specific results, but more often than not we simply end up doing what we like. But this may not be the best way to increase your overall fitness since the practice tends to focus on only one benefit of exercise at the expense of others.
So if you’re looking to improve both your strength and balance, here are a few tips that can help you to reach your fitness goals.
