When Fitness is a Lifestyle

Hopefully, you have already taken the first step to being in the best shape of your life as discussed in last month's newsletter. Let’s review the first step:
Know and understand your metabolism. Also, keep an accurate record of what you are eating.

Our bodies want to stay in homeostasis. That means our bodies like the status quo. For example, if you are cold your body shivers, or if you’re hot, your body sweats. What does this have to do with weight? If you are not conscious of the amount of calories you're taking in, I believe that you will consume the number of calories to maintain the same weight or gain without really thinking about it. Without making a concerted change, you will be stuck at the same weight and percentage of body fat your energy in and energy out equal themselves out.

Step 2. EXERCISE More importantly strength training Why is strength training the king of all exercise?

1. Increases your metabolism (long term),
2. More useful for everyday activities (carrying groceries, household chores),
3. Strengthens ligaments, tendons and joints,
4. Improves balance and coordination,
5. Improves posture,
6. Helps prevent osteoporosis,
7. Decreases the chance for injury,
8. Does not require a lot of time to perform the exercises,
9. Everyone can strength train, regardless of age or ability.

In order to maintain your current level of strength, you need to strength train once per week. If you want to gain strength, it is better to strength train two or more times per week.

I am often asked how many sets and reps should be done? The answer depends on what your goals are: Maximum strength 1-7 reps.
Hypertrophy (size) 6-12 reps .
Muscular Endurance 15 or more reps .

The number of sets depends on the number of repetitions. If you are doing very heavy weight, the number of sets would need to increase to achieve your desired goal. It can be complicated, but that is why I can help you with your training goals and figure out the best course of action.

Cardiovascular training has benefits as well. The problem is that so many people seem to think, "that if a little cardio is good then a lot is better". If you want to do one marathon or an iron man, that is generally OK. However our body was not designed to run 26 miles on a regular basis. Think about our genetics, did the caveman chase the bunny rabbit for 10 miles? No, he chased him (short sprints) climbed trees and so forth. In the eight years that I have been in the fitness industry, the number of people with over use injuries have one thing in common - all they would do is cardio. They have trouble with their knees and hips, feet and ankles, shoulders and back. If you are going to spend hours and hours doing cardio, then you need to cross train.

For my birthday I got a pair of roller blades. Talk about kicking my butt!!! I was sweating like a pig in a bacon factory after about 20 minutes. The last time I was on roller-skates was in middle school. Our school would have skate night at Skate City in Aurora. I liked to go so I could skate with the girls…Now I look like I have had about six beers on my roller blades. I know with time it will get better. I also take our two dogs for a brisk 40 minute walk each day. They enjoy it and the puppy needs to drain some energy. If you have a dog, PLEASE take it for walks on a regular basis! Our dogs are much better behaved than before we became consistent with the daily walk.

I can't stand it when someone tells me they don't have time to exercise! That is a weak excuse. Americans watch an average of 4 ½ hours of television everyday. How many hours do we surf the internet? When you do something you like, then you will MAKE the time. Maybe you enjoy dancing or yoga or whatever, if it elevates your heart rate and you like it, then do it!!! If you are in a workout slump and need a new routine, please give us a call we are more than willing to help you get into the best shape of your life.

The bottom line is to do activities that you enjoy. Here are some things to try:

• Fitness boxing (at Functional Conditioning)
• Jumping rope
• Hiking
• Biking
• Yoga
• Pilates
• Dance classes
• Yard work
• Adult sport leagues (Be sure you have been exercising ahead of time. I have seen too many hamstring softball injuries.)
• Skiing
• Rollerblading (B sure you have all the protective gear.)
• Swimming
• Aerobic classes
• Golf
• Exercise videos

Client of the Month

Kris has been coming in to Functional Conditioning since May. In that time, she has improved her overall fitness level by 35%.  Check out her stats!

 ^*Lower the number, the better.
^{**Each kg is 2.2 pounds.}