Mud-Run Training - Where to Start

Final entry from our trainer, James "Max" Clark.

It's the season for Mudruns and all different kinds of events. Being able to run the minimum 5k can be the least of your challenges when participating in one of these races. They include jumping, crawling, climbing and even balance obstacles that can make preparing for them more difficult than you might imagine. If you have never done one before here is an example of workout regiment to get you started.

Start out with 4 workout days a week, preferably Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. Make sure to warm-up with stretching both before AND AFTER each workout.

Monday, Wednesday, Friday

Intermittent running and exercises-Start with a set time to run or walk at an incline if you have never been a runner.  Start by doing 3 minutes and working your way up to 5 minutes. In between the running, pick an upper body, lower body and core exercise to do submaximal exhaustion with for a time period of 30 to 60 seconds each.  Examples could be: burpees, pushup, pullups, high jump, plank to a pushup, mountain climbers, lunges, inverted rows, squats, overhead press, Turkish get-ups, etc… Repeat this process for a set number of rounds or until you reach a desired total distance on the runs.

Saturday

This is going to be your long run day. You can either choose a distance, but personally I prefer time. Again for those who are just beginning running, start at 1 mile and work your way up to the total distance of your race. This is the part that is going to take planning because you can’t increase the distance too quickly without risk of injury or breakdown.  Make sure to give yourself enough time and plan out the increments to give your body time to compensate and recover before the date of your race. I suggest not doing this on a treadmill, but instead go to a park or some outside venue that is not paved, after all most mudruns are cross-country!

Happy Training and have fun!

Resting Metabolic Rate

Here is the final blog entry from our guest blogger, Caitlin Massey.

It seems that the phrase "metabolic rate" is a common household term.  You know that keeping it high is the best way to lose unwanted weight and maintain a healthy weight, but do you know what the most effective means of doing that is?  There are many diets out there that claim they have the right combination of foods or a new "eastern secret" to speed up your metabolism, but the truth is most effective way to do this is through a high-activity level.  In a nut shell, your metabolism is the amount of calories it takes your body to create and break down cells, and the energy it takes for those cells to carry out their specific functions.  The rate at which this happens stays relatively constant and is contingent upon genetics, age, gender, body fat percentage, height, diet, body temperature, glands, and exercise.  Most of those factors we don't have much control over, but the ones that we have the most control over are diet, body fat percentage, and exercise.

As was mentioned before, there is no magic food that will raise your metabolism, but the amount of food you eat does have a significant effect on your metabolic rate.  Low calorie and starvation diets (diets consisting of less than 1200 calories per day) have been shown to DECREASE your metabolic rate by up to 30%.  Conversely, exercise and overall daily activity level have been shown to INCREASE your metabolism.  So what is the best kind of exercise?  Although it is tempting to plunk down on a piece of cardio equipment for an hour because the machine says you burn 500 calories, don't let that trick you into thinking you are doing yourself too many favors.  High-intensity interval training (cardiovascular and with weights) will do more good than steady-paced cardio alone. The reason is, with this type of training your body takes a longer period of time to recover (using more energy over a longer period of time) and you build muscle mass.  Fat uses no energy to sustain but muscle does so the more muscle mass you have the more energy you use at a resting state.  

Remember that your metabolism is the rate at which your cells build up, break down, and function...so the more cells you break down in your workout (with strength training) the more cells you have to build back up post-workout.  Simultaneously adding in a cardiovascular component forces your body to do this under more stress, meaning it needs more energy to do the same work, burning more calories throughout the rest of the day.  So if you want to spike your metabolism fuel your body with the right amount of calories and maximize your workouts by cranking up the intensity!

Still seem a little confusing to you?  Talk with a degreed, certified fitness professional for more help.  Schedule an appointment with one of our trainers and get a feel for what a high-intensity, interval training workout feels like!

Reasons Why Your Workout Just Isn't Cutting It

You workout on a regular basis...you are at the gym 3-4 days per week....you attend group exercise classes and sweat away your stress...you show up for all of your personal training appointments as scheduled.  So why aren't you seeing the results?  Weight loss shouldn't be this hard...should it?  Let's look at some reasons why you may not be seeing the results you expected.

You aren't working hard enough.

Is going to the gym a social event for you?  Is it time to catch up with your buddies and talk about the game last night?  Maybe you come in and have been doing the same exercises and are feeling "comfortable" with the routine.  Now is the time to kick it up a notch.  While it's OK to chat with your buddies at the gym, try to limit it to before or after your workout.  Keep your mind focused on the activity at hand.  Many times we fail to push ourselves to do exercises to failure.  Whether it's the fear of working that hard or just not knowing how your body will respond, you should attempt to push yourself with each workout.  Therefore, it's not how much weight you lift but how hard you push yourself.  Once you catch your breath, it's time to move on to the next exercise.

You are working out too hard.

What??  Didn't I just say you had to push yourself during your workouts?  Well it is possible to work too hard or "overtrain".  Are you in the gym 5-7 days a week?  Do you go "all-out" in every workout?  Do you take all the group exercise classes plus workout on your own?  You actually are doing your body more harm than good.  The body needs time to rest and repair itself and if you are always working out and not allowing the body any "down time", your body will rebel.  You may experience headaches, insomnia, exhaustion, even weight gain.  Although we love to see your faces in the gym, it is important to take a day or two off so you can get adequate rest.

You aren't eating enough.

OK, so now you think I've totally lost my mind.  If you haven't read our previous blog, "Are You Eating Enough", then take a moment to go back and read it.  Remember, you have to consume enough calories to meet the needs of basic body functions like breathing, standing, and moving, PLUS you need to have enough energy to do your workouts.  There's a fine line there and if you don't consume enough to meet those needs, where is your body going to get the energy from??  You guessed it, your muscle tissue.  You will actually break down muscle tissue so the body can use it for energy.  Ultimately resulting in weight loss but the WRONG kind of weight loss.  Remember, weight loss is 20% exercise and 80% nutrition.

You are spending too much time at the gym.

Stay with me folks...I have a good point to make!  Are you spending 1-2 hours in the gym?  Do you perform your strength routine, then hit the cardio machines?  Do you think longer workouts will help lose the fat and build the muscle you are looking for?  Probably not.  In a study published by the School of Kinesiology at the University of Western Ontario, researchers compared effects of short, intense strength/cardio training with those of longer bouts of moderate exercise. In this study, both groups ran three times per week for six weeks. One group ran as hard as they could for 30 seconds and then rested for four minutes and repeated this three to five times for a total workout time of 18 to 27 minutes. The second group jogged for up to 60 minutes at a moderate pace.  Those in the sprint group saw their total body fat decrease by 12.4 percent, while the other runners lost less than half that much!  

So where do you go from here?  First, try doing more intense workouts for shorter durations.  For example, get your workout done in 30 minutes.  You'll tend to push yourself harder if you know you only have 30 minutes to get it done!  Next, take a look at your nutritional habits.  There are lots of great programs on the internet to track your food intake and calorie consumption/burn.  Check these out.  Remember, I've said it before and I'll say it again, we have a nutritional specialist on staff here at PROMATx Health Club.  We can help you with the dietary part of weight loss.  Don't try to fight it on your own!!  Finally, it's not quantity at the gym but more about quality.  I'm sure your significant other and family members would love to see you a little more often.  You don't have to live at the gym to lose weight and be healthy.  Just be smart and follow our advice.  It is possible to un-do what you have done to your body throughout the past years.

Come in and see us.  We'll guide you, we'll push you, we'll help you!!

Time to Get Your Groove On with Zumba!

Zumba Fitness^® is the only Latin-inspired dance-fitness program that blends red-hot international music, created by Grammy Award-winning producers, and contagious steps to form a "fitness-party" that is downright addictive.  Have you tried it yet?

There are a lot of benefits to participating in Zumba.  Since it is a "dance-fitness" class your heart and lungs will reap the benefits.  This aerobic activity elevates the heart rate, burns calories, and increases oxygen consumption.  Also, because it is a weight-bearing activity, your bones and connective tissue will become stronger.  With breaks in the music and dances, Zumba also becomes an interval training method.  Heart rate will lower slightly, then increase as movement increases.

How many calories can you burn in a typical Zumba class?  Just as an example, a 150-pound person can burn more than 450 calories in a 50-minute class at a moderate intensity level.  Obviously the higher the intensity level the more calories burned.  The use of Zumba toning sticks can increase the calorie burn to as much as 1,000 calories!!!

Ready to get moving and have fun?  Come in and try a class at PROMATx Health Club.  Be ready to sweat, smile, and move those hips!!