Research supports the notion that moderate-intensity aerobic training alone is not the best way of burning body fat. You should include a resistance training programme to help build muscle in order to burn body fat, even at rest.
A 1994 landmark study proved that including a resistance programme to your exercise routine was better then performing aerobic training alone. It compared resistance with aerobic training and found that dispite only exercising for 15 weeks against the aerobic group's 20 the resistance group had lost 9 times more body fat then the aerobic group!
Add to this the added benefits of resistance training such as increased strength, bone density, blood flow to limbs, longer-lasting drop in blood pressure compared to aerobic exercises and better posture, you can see why resistance training should be included in your exercise routine.
Get in touch if you want to know more regarding resistance and free weight training exercises.
Friday, 25 March 2011
Wednesday, 9 March 2011
Sports Drinks
Anyone thinking of using sports or energy drinks such as Lucozade sport, Powerade and Red Bull as part of their training rountine should consider if these are really needed for their fitness goals.
In an age of image and the power of advertising it's easy to think that these drinks are always needed as part of a fitness programme but this isn't always the case.
As we get closer to the London 2012 Olympics, sports drinks such as the above will be advertising their wares, giving the suggestion that because most of the athletes will be using their products then it's considered healthy and everyone regardless of the amount of exercise they do will benefit.
However these drinks by their very nature are loaded with sugar in the form of glucose, the body's preferred energy source, in order to give the body extra energy to perform exercise. This is fine if your body uses this sugar for energy but if it isn't converted into energy due to the exercise not being intense or long enough it will be converted into fat intead and stored on the body.
The body has about 1-1.5 hours of energy levels before it needs to be fed again and so if your work out is around this duration then water is better. However after this time the body will start to get tried and performance will start to decline, this is when sports drinks will come into their own.
So to recap if your fitness rountine involves performing for longer then 1.5 hours, such as long distance running then sports drinks can be a good thing to use. However if you are training for less and your main goal is fat loss, avoid these drinks at all costs and stick to water.
In an age of image and the power of advertising it's easy to think that these drinks are always needed as part of a fitness programme but this isn't always the case.
As we get closer to the London 2012 Olympics, sports drinks such as the above will be advertising their wares, giving the suggestion that because most of the athletes will be using their products then it's considered healthy and everyone regardless of the amount of exercise they do will benefit.
However these drinks by their very nature are loaded with sugar in the form of glucose, the body's preferred energy source, in order to give the body extra energy to perform exercise. This is fine if your body uses this sugar for energy but if it isn't converted into energy due to the exercise not being intense or long enough it will be converted into fat intead and stored on the body.
The body has about 1-1.5 hours of energy levels before it needs to be fed again and so if your work out is around this duration then water is better. However after this time the body will start to get tried and performance will start to decline, this is when sports drinks will come into their own.
So to recap if your fitness rountine involves performing for longer then 1.5 hours, such as long distance running then sports drinks can be a good thing to use. However if you are training for less and your main goal is fat loss, avoid these drinks at all costs and stick to water.
Sunday, 6 March 2011
Free Weights-be careful!
A recent study has shown an alarming rise of 50% in the last 18 years in the number of weight-training injuries.
More than 970,000 weight-training related injuries were treated in US hospital emergency departments. This report which was published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine, showed that 90% of these injuries were caused by free weights, with the most common injury being caused by dropping the weight on a person (65%).
The study also revealed that while the highest injuries occured among males, there was a larger increase in the incidence of injury among females. This is most likely due to it becoming much more popular for females to do weight training then some years ago.
This research shows that although weight training is benificial to health, caution must be taken to reduce the risk of injury.
The things you can do to reduce the risks are to have a warm up and stretch before lifting weights. If you're new to weight training, ensure you start on the resistance machines until you get used to the movement of each exercise and are shown the correct techinque by a fitness professional, rather then Jim your mate! Once you have mastered the movements then you can move onto free weights. Again ensure you are shown correct technique and form by a fitness professional.
Remember that the weight you can lift on the machines will be less with free weights due to the fact that the machines give you some support compared with free weights.
Lastly if you're going heavy with free weights on exercises such as bench press it's wise to have a spotter (a person who can keep an eye on you and can take the weight from you if you reach muscle failure).
Enjoy your work outs and here's to injury free weight training.
If anyone needs some more advice regarding this or any other exercise topic- drop me a line.
More than 970,000 weight-training related injuries were treated in US hospital emergency departments. This report which was published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine, showed that 90% of these injuries were caused by free weights, with the most common injury being caused by dropping the weight on a person (65%).
The study also revealed that while the highest injuries occured among males, there was a larger increase in the incidence of injury among females. This is most likely due to it becoming much more popular for females to do weight training then some years ago.
This research shows that although weight training is benificial to health, caution must be taken to reduce the risk of injury.
The things you can do to reduce the risks are to have a warm up and stretch before lifting weights. If you're new to weight training, ensure you start on the resistance machines until you get used to the movement of each exercise and are shown the correct techinque by a fitness professional, rather then Jim your mate! Once you have mastered the movements then you can move onto free weights. Again ensure you are shown correct technique and form by a fitness professional.
Remember that the weight you can lift on the machines will be less with free weights due to the fact that the machines give you some support compared with free weights.
Lastly if you're going heavy with free weights on exercises such as bench press it's wise to have a spotter (a person who can keep an eye on you and can take the weight from you if you reach muscle failure).
Enjoy your work outs and here's to injury free weight training.
If anyone needs some more advice regarding this or any other exercise topic- drop me a line.
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