Get in shape for the summer
This article is brought to you by my friend Darren Anderson, Masters of Science and Education in Clinical Exercise Physiology. His website is Fitness Prescriptions
You’re sitting behind your office desk staring out the window daydreaming about summer, hanging around the pool, checking out new potentials, and tipping back a Corona. You set your empty beer bottle down on the end table and stand up from your lounge chair to get another. As you sashay your way, pool side, to the cooler, you notice a few discrete eyes checking you out over the tops of sunglasses. You came prepared packing two guns and a six pack (big biceps and defined abdominals). Then you snap out of it and realize you are still in your office and that you wearing a swim suit turn stomachs not heads.
Summer is around the corner and you haven’t even begun planning a new exercise program or nutrition regimen. There are so many exercise trends and fad diets, you’re overwhelmed by all the choices. Which one will give you the best results in the shortest time? Which one will require the least amount of work? If this isn’t challenging enough you also have to deal with living in a society that strives to exert zero energy and eat large quantities of food. From my personal experience, I would guess that 80% of people beginning a new exercise and nutrition routine will fail. Sounds futile? Changing the way we look takes time, patience, drive, and hard work!
The first step is to define your goal. The type of goal you set will determine the type of plan. Everyone may have the same goal in mind but the actions that are undertaken to reach there goals will be quite different. Here are a few questions to ask yourself to help determine your goal:
Do I want to lose body fat, gain muscle, or both and how much?
What time frame do I have?
How much time am I willing to set aside to make the change?
Am I willing to change eating habits?
What is my current fitness level?
What is my current health status?
Once a goal is decided upon there are three components that will need to be addressed. These components include resistance training, cardiovascular exercise, and nutrition. Each of these components needs to be uniquely tailored to fit your goal and your characteristics. It is very important that every component be utilized. Each component is equally important and without one or the other you greatly decrease you ability to succeed.
Resistance training includes lifting free weights with barbells, dumbbells, weight resisted machines, or resistance bands. Resistance training is beneficial for increasing lean muscle mass. Increasing lean muscle mass can be both cosmetically beneficial and help to increase resting metabolism. Muscle is one of the most energy demanding tissue in the body. The more that we are carrying the more calories we will burn throughout the day.
When resistance training, muscle groups should be trained 1-3 times per week with at least 48 hours rest between workouts. This time allows for proper recovery and minimizes injury. Your muscles are improving and growing during these rest periods and not during the workout. The workout is merely the stimulus for muscle change. Exercises should be kept below 5 sets and 12 repetitions. There are no proven benefits produced with more sets and repetitions. A set is a group of 1-15 repetitions of the exercise. Repetitions are defined as the complete movement of an exercise from start to finish.
Different repetition schemes will produce different results. So again, it is important that you have a clear understanding which to utilize to produce the desired results. To increase muscular size weight should be low and reps high between 8 and 12. To increase strength weight should be medium and reps should be maintained between 4 and 6. To increase power; weight should be high and reps low between 1 and 3. Past theories suggested that high weight and low reps produced the best results for increasing muscular size, but newer research has suggests otherwise. Higher numbers or reps with lower weight produce higher workloads (workload = weight x #sets x #reps) and larger hormonal responses, thus a better stimulus for increasing muscle growth.
The next important component of the equation is cardiovascular exercise. Cardiovascular exercise includes any activity that stresses the heart, lungs, and circulatory systems. Cardiovascular exercise is continuous activity that keeps your heart rate elevated. Examples of cardiovascular exercises include walking, running, swimming, or biking. Benefits include improved endurance, strengthened heart and circulatory system, increased metabolism, and better ability to burning fat during exercise rather than sugar. No matter what your goals, cardiovascular exercise should be performed a minimum or 3 days per week 30 min at time. The American Collage of Sports Medicine recommends moderate to vigorous cardiovascular activity 7 days per week for 30min. Keep in mind that this frequency and duration is great for improving cardiovascular fitness, if that is your goal, but can greatly compromise your ability to increase muscle mass. This is why you never see marathon runners built like Arnold Schwarzenegger. If your goal is to increase your muscular physique it is best recommended that you only incorporate light cardiovascular exercise 3-5 days a week into your routine.
The last and most important component in a new fitness routine is nutrition. This is the biggest determining factor for your success! It doesn’t matter how many hours you spend sweating in the gym if you fail to modify your eating habits. Poor food choices and amounts will bring your progress to a screeching halt. With too many calories you may gain fat, but restricting calories too much you could arrest muscular growth. The right proportions of protein, carbohydrates, and fat are just as important as the number of calories you consume. A runner has different protein requirements than a bodybuilder, and a bodybuilder different than a power lifter. It is very important to have the correct percentages of these nutrients. Your goal determines your nutritional needs. It would be in your best interest to find and invest in a registered or certified dietitian. You may attempt this on your own but a dietitian can prescribe a nutritional guideline that is specific to your goals and can identify your nutritional needs.
There is no such thing as the one magic workout or diet because everyone has different requirements. To achieve results in the shortest time possible, it is important that you implement resistance training, cardiovascular exercise, and nutrition into your routine. Each is an essential component to your success. It is up to you to take proactive steps in educating and motivating yourself to achieve your goals.
If you would like to alleviate some of the burden of trying to design a fitness routine hire a personal trainer and a nutritionist in your area. Set up a consultation and pick their brain, or better yet pay them to write up a program so all you have to do is follow what they say. Make sure the personal trainer or nutritionist has a nationally recognize certification or degree in a related field. A certification proves that they have the basic minimal knowledge to develop a safe and effective exercise program. The knowledge that you will gain is priceless tool that you can use to build a healthier lifestyle, so next year you won’t feel so frazzled.
You’re sitting behind your office desk staring out the window daydreaming about summer, hanging around the pool, checking out new potentials, and tipping back a Corona. You set your empty beer bottle down on the end table and stand up from your lounge chair to get another. As you sashay your way, pool side, to the cooler, you notice a few discrete eyes checking you out over the tops of sunglasses. You came prepared packing two guns and a six pack (big biceps and defined abdominals). Then you snap out of it and realize you are still in your office and that you wearing a swim suit turn stomachs not heads.
Summer is around the corner and you haven’t even begun planning a new exercise program or nutrition regimen. There are so many exercise trends and fad diets, you’re overwhelmed by all the choices. Which one will give you the best results in the shortest time? Which one will require the least amount of work? If this isn’t challenging enough you also have to deal with living in a society that strives to exert zero energy and eat large quantities of food. From my personal experience, I would guess that 80% of people beginning a new exercise and nutrition routine will fail. Sounds futile? Changing the way we look takes time, patience, drive, and hard work!
The first step is to define your goal. The type of goal you set will determine the type of plan. Everyone may have the same goal in mind but the actions that are undertaken to reach there goals will be quite different. Here are a few questions to ask yourself to help determine your goal:
Do I want to lose body fat, gain muscle, or both and how much?
What time frame do I have?
How much time am I willing to set aside to make the change?
Am I willing to change eating habits?
What is my current fitness level?
What is my current health status?
Once a goal is decided upon there are three components that will need to be addressed. These components include resistance training, cardiovascular exercise, and nutrition. Each of these components needs to be uniquely tailored to fit your goal and your characteristics. It is very important that every component be utilized. Each component is equally important and without one or the other you greatly decrease you ability to succeed.
Resistance training includes lifting free weights with barbells, dumbbells, weight resisted machines, or resistance bands. Resistance training is beneficial for increasing lean muscle mass. Increasing lean muscle mass can be both cosmetically beneficial and help to increase resting metabolism. Muscle is one of the most energy demanding tissue in the body. The more that we are carrying the more calories we will burn throughout the day.
When resistance training, muscle groups should be trained 1-3 times per week with at least 48 hours rest between workouts. This time allows for proper recovery and minimizes injury. Your muscles are improving and growing during these rest periods and not during the workout. The workout is merely the stimulus for muscle change. Exercises should be kept below 5 sets and 12 repetitions. There are no proven benefits produced with more sets and repetitions. A set is a group of 1-15 repetitions of the exercise. Repetitions are defined as the complete movement of an exercise from start to finish.
Different repetition schemes will produce different results. So again, it is important that you have a clear understanding which to utilize to produce the desired results. To increase muscular size weight should be low and reps high between 8 and 12. To increase strength weight should be medium and reps should be maintained between 4 and 6. To increase power; weight should be high and reps low between 1 and 3. Past theories suggested that high weight and low reps produced the best results for increasing muscular size, but newer research has suggests otherwise. Higher numbers or reps with lower weight produce higher workloads (workload = weight x #sets x #reps) and larger hormonal responses, thus a better stimulus for increasing muscle growth.
The next important component of the equation is cardiovascular exercise. Cardiovascular exercise includes any activity that stresses the heart, lungs, and circulatory systems. Cardiovascular exercise is continuous activity that keeps your heart rate elevated. Examples of cardiovascular exercises include walking, running, swimming, or biking. Benefits include improved endurance, strengthened heart and circulatory system, increased metabolism, and better ability to burning fat during exercise rather than sugar. No matter what your goals, cardiovascular exercise should be performed a minimum or 3 days per week 30 min at time. The American Collage of Sports Medicine recommends moderate to vigorous cardiovascular activity 7 days per week for 30min. Keep in mind that this frequency and duration is great for improving cardiovascular fitness, if that is your goal, but can greatly compromise your ability to increase muscle mass. This is why you never see marathon runners built like Arnold Schwarzenegger. If your goal is to increase your muscular physique it is best recommended that you only incorporate light cardiovascular exercise 3-5 days a week into your routine.
The last and most important component in a new fitness routine is nutrition. This is the biggest determining factor for your success! It doesn’t matter how many hours you spend sweating in the gym if you fail to modify your eating habits. Poor food choices and amounts will bring your progress to a screeching halt. With too many calories you may gain fat, but restricting calories too much you could arrest muscular growth. The right proportions of protein, carbohydrates, and fat are just as important as the number of calories you consume. A runner has different protein requirements than a bodybuilder, and a bodybuilder different than a power lifter. It is very important to have the correct percentages of these nutrients. Your goal determines your nutritional needs. It would be in your best interest to find and invest in a registered or certified dietitian. You may attempt this on your own but a dietitian can prescribe a nutritional guideline that is specific to your goals and can identify your nutritional needs.
There is no such thing as the one magic workout or diet because everyone has different requirements. To achieve results in the shortest time possible, it is important that you implement resistance training, cardiovascular exercise, and nutrition into your routine. Each is an essential component to your success. It is up to you to take proactive steps in educating and motivating yourself to achieve your goals.
If you would like to alleviate some of the burden of trying to design a fitness routine hire a personal trainer and a nutritionist in your area. Set up a consultation and pick their brain, or better yet pay them to write up a program so all you have to do is follow what they say. Make sure the personal trainer or nutritionist has a nationally recognize certification or degree in a related field. A certification proves that they have the basic minimal knowledge to develop a safe and effective exercise program. The knowledge that you will gain is priceless tool that you can use to build a healthier lifestyle, so next year you won’t feel so frazzled.
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