absolute fitness Tip#14

How To Avoid Common Fitness Pitfalls This New Year!

The New Year can bring many new fitness and health related goals and ambitions. One way to ensure your 2010 fitness ambitions don’t crash and burn before they’ve even had chance to take flight is to know, and avoid the many pitfalls associated with ‘getting fit’!

Whilst exercising and getting in shape isn’t over complicated, it’s very easy to make mistakes. Often, these mistakes are made due to lack of knowledge, or because the lack of proper technique hinders progression or simply due to rushing ahead to get the workout completed in time available. Regardless of the reason for the mistakes, they can lead to injuries or at the very least be counter-productive to your fitness goals.

Of course it’s most important to know specifically what to do to be successful at achieving your health and fitness goals, but it is also crucial to understand what not to do. So, take note of the following common mistakes and how to avoid them. These tips will help ensure your workout time is effective, maximises results and is proactive towards helping prevent injuries.

Hanging Out Instead Of Working Out
Just showing up at the gym is not going to help you get more fit. Socialising while leaning on a weight machine won’t build muscles. It’s important to enjoy your exercise time but make sure that the focus remains on physical activity. It’s surprising to know how many people just join a gym a never use it! A membership card or the “I have a Personal Trainer” scenario won’t get the hard work done – you need to make sure you use them!

Too Much, Too Soon
Many new exercisers try to lose weight or tone up too quickly, by exercising too frequently or trying exercise programs that are too difficult for their fitness level. Be sure to start with an exercise plan that takes your current fitness ability and time (or lack of) into account. Too many ‘good intentions’ fall due to being unrealistic in achievements within a certain timeframe.

‘Pigs Might Fly’ Goals
Despite what many advertisers and promotions would like you to believe, it’s unrealistic to think you can lose 30 pounds in 30 days or that you can have Hollywood abs simply by doing 10 minutes of crunches a day. This just does not happen! These types of results do take time and effort to achieve, so be ready to graft for it. It’s good to set goals but be sure they aren’t too aggressive and realise it’s okay to periodically re-define them.

Ignoring Professional Advice
It’s amazing to see how many people ignore complimentary advise fitness professionals give out. It’s also interesting to know how many ‘gym goers’ don’t realise how much study, and continued professional development they need to do to stay ahead of the game. This free information is vital towards achieving real results. So, next time a fitness professional or Personal Trainer advises something, listen, absorb, and use it! Working with a fitness professional is great to learn proper technique, how to avoid injuries and to receive the latest fitness information and knowledge.

Over-Exercising
If you start to feel overwhelmed, neglect other important daily activities in order to work out or repeatedly get injured, then it might be due to over-exercising. Realise the importance of balance and that more is not always better. Consider reducing the frequency of your workouts or the intensity of some of them and periodically resting for a few days or a week.

Incorrect Breathing
Sure, breathing is an involuntary bodily function; something that most individuals tend to ignore. But, correct breathing during fitness sessions is very important. Incorrect breathing can lead to lack of oxygen and even faintness. When working out ensure that you don’t breathe too shallowly and try to breathe through the nose and out the mouth.

Selecting The Wrong Size
Choosing the proper weight size when strength training is trickier than it sounds. Lifting weights that are too heavy for you can lead to improper form and ultimately to injuries. Use weights that are too light and the exercise session can be ineffective. If possible consult a fitness trainer to determine the correct amount of weight for your size, strength and goals. A trainer can also help you develop a plan for safely progressing forward on weight sizes.

Not Staying Hydrated
Drinking enough water on a daily basis is important. When you exercise you need to consume even more water. You should drink 1 litre of water for every hour of exercise you complete. Plus you should try to consume 1-2 cups of water about 30 minutes before you begin working out. Hydration plays a key role in all bodily functions, so, carry your 2 litre bottle around with you during the day – and drink it!

Eating Too Little
No, that’s not a typo. Not eating enough can be as detrimental as eating too much. When the body is not fed consistently, it goes into a starvation mode. Five to six smaller meals evenly spaced throughout the day helps keep the metabolism running smoothly. It’s like keeping the furnace ablaze, you need to dribble a bit of fuel in there regularly to keep it burning. Just be sure to control portion sizes.

Fixating On The Scale
If you think the scale doesn’t lie, consider this. Many professional athletes would be considered obese based on their weight alone. In order to realise where you are going, and where you have been, you need to take a number of measurements as a benchmark for progress. Consider a variety of; body measurements, body fat %, fitness levels, strength levels, resting heart rate, blood pressure, clothes sizes, confidence levels, knowledge gains and much more to assess your improvements.

So, now you know a few of the reasons why people fall short of their fitness goals. There are more, but at least if you implement some strategies to avoid some of these common pitfalls, you be going some way to ensure you achieve your goals.

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Get An Effective Workout In Your Own Home

Many people think that creating a home workout gym is either too intimidating or too costly. So, often they instead invest their money in a health club membership not realising that for the same amount of money (or even less) they can create a very effective gym right in their own home.

For an effective home gym, all that is required is a little bit of planning. Don’t fall into the trap of purchasing random fitness equipment because of fancy advertising for the latest gizmo or the great “sale” at your local fitness store. That type of purchasing leads to a house littered with equipment that’s only use is as a clothes hanger or dust collector. This often happens because the equipment is either useless, poorly constructed or quickly loses its value because it doesn’t progress with your fitness level.

To avoid having a basement filled with expensive dust-collecting equipment, keep these points in mind when making a purchase:

1) What are your fitness goals?

2) How often do you realistically think you will use the equipment?

3) What fitness level do you expect to be at in 3, 6, 9 months?

4) Will the equipment meet your needs as you get more fit (at the 3, 6, and 9-month marks)?

5) Does the equipment offer enough variations in use that you can change your workouts frequently to prevent your body from hitting a plateau?

6) Will you enjoy the exercises or will you quickly grow bored of them?

7) And, of course how much can you afford?

Once you have answered all of the above questions then you are ready to make some purchasing decisions. Of course, how much you can afford to spend may dictate what you can actually purchase. Don’t get discouraged. You can create a varied and effective home style workout that doesn’t need any equipment, but, for as little as £100, you can have a very effective total strength training home gym. Even for as little as £40, you can create an effective workout that will tone your entire body.

Regardless of what your fitness goals are, there are a plethora of equipment options to consider. For building muscles and/or toning-up you can choose from free weights, selectorised machines, resistance bands, benches and even no-equipment. For cardiovascular improvements (e.g. running, walking, etc), there are even more options. They range from treadmills, to elliptical trainers, to bikes and beyond.

To help make your decision easier, below are several recommendations based on costs and needs, along with benefits of the exercise equipment.

If you want to create a gym that will provide you with a total body workout (cardio, strength and flexibility) and you have a budget of at least £1000, consider the following recommendations:

• Treadmill – The best option for cardiovascular equipment because it can be used for running, walking, and even some leg strength training. Plus, workouts can continually be varied based on speed, incline, even direction. And, it easily progresses as fitness levels improve.
• Full dumbbell set with weights ranging from 5 pounds to 50+ pounds. – Great for light toning, to intermediate strength training to building muscles. Less expensive than selectorised machines and usually provides more flexibility and variety in workouts. You can buy 1 set of adjustable dumbbells which holds up to 13 sets in 1.
• 1 or 2 Kettlebells – provide an overall body workout, with strength and cardio benefits, great fun with lots of variety
• Fitness/Stability Ball – Provides exercise options for toning, strengthening and stretching.
• Resistance Band – Provides another option for strength training. Can alternate use with free weights for a great challenge that will help prevent plateaus.
• Step Bench – Can be used for both cardio workouts and strength training workouts.

If you want a home gym specifically for building muscles (or just can’t afford cardio equipment), and can afford at least £100, consider the following recommendations:

• Dumbbell set
• Kettlebell
• Fitness Ball
• Resistance Band
• Jump Rope – Offers very challenging cardiovascular fitness workouts at a very low price.

If you want a total body home gym but can only afford less than £100, consider the following recommendations:

• Three dumbbells sizes (e.g. 5, 10 and 15 pounds)
• Resistance Band
• Jump Rope

If you are limited to purchasing just one very affordable piece of equipment, consider buying a Fitness Ball. As mentioned above, it provides many different exercise options. With the ball you can get an upper body workout, a lower body workout, very challenging abdominal workout and a stretching/flexibility workout. And, you can get all of this for around £20.

Kettlebells are really affordable, and do not take up any space as you can easily store them in the wardrobe or under the bed ready for a quick morning workout! These range in price dependent on the size but can start from as little as £15.

Also, don’t underestimate what you can do with things that are already in your house, like stairs, a chair, milk jugs and others. There are a lot of exercises that require no equipment at all. For example, push-ups, tricep dips, squats, calf raises, etc. You can even create your own “weights” through milk jugs filled with water or sand or sturdy bags with cans in each.

As you can see, there are a lot of options available for creating a home gym that will meet your individual needs and will provide a lot of workout variety. Even on a shoestring budget, you can still make a wise purchase that will be invaluable in helping you get more fit and healthy. And, you’ll enjoy all the benefits of working out at home.

So, what are the benefits of working out at home? Well, here are some highlights:

• No wasted time driving to and from a fitness club
• No waiting in line to use the equipment
• Workout on your schedule, rather than just when the health club is open
• No expensive monthly membership fees or long-term contracts
• Motivation to workout as you pass by the equipment every day

Of course, you will need previous knowledge of how to use your home equipment or you will have to be willing to learn. But, it’s not difficult. Most equipment will come with basic instructions and a few sample exercises. You may want to enlist the help of a professional Personal Trainer to provide additional exercise options and guidance that will ensure that you get the most out of your fitness equipment through every fitness level stage, and with the extra money your saving from no gym memberships, you can train with a Trainer more often to really optimise results.

If you need help planning out and researching or purchasing your home gym equipment, why not consider speaking to a Personal Trainer who has prior knowledge and experience in this area like absolute fitness – we are more than happy to help you make the right choices.

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absolute fitness Tip#12

Strength Training Secrets #2

Most women exercise with the avoidance of moving anywhere near the resistance section in the gym, and the thought of free weights training instills fear of massive gains in strength and size. If you're a woman, it's important to not be afraid of strength training. This form of exercise has many health benefits associated with it, including improved health, muscular endurance, improved tone, stronger joints and bones, increased metabolism to name just a few. You won't bulk up (unless you are really trying to). And, resistance training is easy to start. With professional guidance and direction, you can quickly learn how to train properly without the risk of injury, and optimising your valued training time effectively.

Be sure you are training with the proper resistance size and repetition range. Ideally, you should choose a size that fatigues you after 10-12 reps. Remember, strength gains and muscle size are more achieved by volume of training in comparison to worrying too much about completing the correct sets and reps.

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absolute fitness Tip#11

Spice Up Your Workouts With Interval Training

There’s been a lot of buzz about Interval Training. So, you may be wondering what it really is and, more importantly, why you should incorporate it in your fitness workouts. Well, if you want a workout that can help propel you to the next fitness level, burn more calories, increase your speed, improve your power and more, then it’s time to learn more about this effective training technique.

A simple definition of Interval Training is: short, high-intensity exercise periods alternated with periods of rest. These higher and lower intensity periods are repeated several times to form a complete workout . Here’s a basic example: walk for 5 minutes at 3.5mph, walk for 1 minute at 4.2mph and then repeat this sequence several times.

Most people spend their workout time only performing continuous training exercises. These are exercises where the intensity level is basically constant throughout. An example of this is walking at 3.5mph, at 0% incline for 30 minutes.

Continuous training is very effective and should not be eliminated from your weekly workouts. However, it’s recommended that you include both Interval Training and continuous training sessions as part of your fitness regime.

Why should you include Interval Training? As previously mentioned, there are many benefits to this type of training and execution is relatively simple. Interval Training can help you improve cardiovascular fitness, increase speed, improve overall aerobic power, burn more calories, break-through a plateau, increase workout duration, reach new exercise levels, expand your workout options and increase your workout threshold – just to name a few.

Plus, this training method has useful applications for beginners, intermediate exercisers and even conditioned athletes. There are two basic types of Interval Training. For the majority of exercisers (novices and intermediate) Fitness Interval Training methods are recommended. Athletes can choose a more advanced technique known as Performance Interval Training.

The Fitness training method utilizes periodic increases in intensity. Typically the higher-intensity levels range from 2-5 minutes in duration and are followed by lower-intensity periods that also range from 2-5 minutes. And, a critical element in Fitness Interval Training is determining the appropriate level for the higher-intensity periods. This level should not exceed the anaerobic threshold (which is usually reached below 85% heart rate reserve).

On the flip side, the Performance training technique involves periods of near maximal or even maximal intensity (e.g. >85% heart rate reserve – even reaching 100%). The higher-intensity levels can range from 2-15 minutes in duration and are followed by lower-intensity periods that also can range from 2-15 minutes in duration.

Don’t let the two types of training and their ranges confuse you. Incorporating Interval Training methods into your exercise routine is actually quite easy. Since the majority of exercisers fall into either the beginner or intermediate category, we’ll focus on getting started with those techniques.

To begin, choose the type of exercise: walking, jogging, x-training, swimming, biking, etc. Next determine your lower-intensity level. This is usually somewhere between 50-65% target heart rate. This will be your baseline, lower-level intensity. Then simply increase the intensity-level up to where you feel like you are working hard to very hard, but avoid reaching a level over 85% target heart rate. If monitoring your heart is not feasible, instead use the RPE scale where 1 is basically at rest and 10 is working extremely hard. For example, if you find that when you are exercising at a comfortable level you rank a 5, then bump up to a 7 for the higher-intensity intervals.

You may choose to systematically raise and lower your intensity (e.g. 2 minutes lower intensity followed by 1 minute higher intensity and repeat) or you can alternate more randomly by raising and lowering the level at your discretion. To increase your intensity, you may choose to change the speed, incline, or some other variable.

Interval Training can be especially helpful in situations where you are trying a new form of exercise. For example, this can be very beneficial when first learning to jog. If you attempt to jog continuously without building up to it, you will probably fatigue quickly and even give up. However, if you begin with intervals of walking interspersed with jogging periods, the workout will be much more enjoyable and effective. Also, you will be more likely to stick with the program and achieve the end result – continuous jogging.

Now that you know the benefits of Interval Training and the basic techniques for it, why not give it a try for yourself. Not only will it provide health benefits and improved fitness levels but it is also a great way to avoid workout boredom. Plus, with Interval Training workouts often are more enjoyable, go by quicker, and improvement results come faster. So why not try spicing up a stale, run-of-the-mill workout with Interval options? You may even find yourself excelling in an activity you were sceptical of even trying.

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absolute FitnessCamp - November 2009

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absolute fitness Tip#10

Overcoming Work Out Plateaus

Humans are habitual and enjoy consistency. They strive on routine and rituals. While it’s true that routine can provide a sense of ease, comfort and security, I think we’d all agree that the same old, same old can also turn to major boredom. And when it comes to working out, routine can be downright toxic and the downfall of many a programme.

New exercisers often see quick fitness results such as weight loss and increased muscle strength while engaging in the same new workout day after day. However, after several weeks following their fitness routines they often become frustrated as the gains begin to dwindle away. Eventually dieters scales become frozen on the same number or weight lifters are stuck at the same weight size. They hit a plateau!

A plateau typically is the direct consequence of a fitness rut – when an exerciser performs the same workout over and over. The human body is very efficient and quickly adapts to work. Once the body practices the same activity repeatedly, it grows more proficient at performing those moves. So that means it requires less energy and therefore also burns less calories.

Instead of celebrating their body’s improved fitness capabilities, exercisers often abandon their workouts. And who can blame them? After all, they are no longer seeing the results they desire and become increasingly bored with their workouts. Plus, hitting a plateau not only halts fitness gains, but it can even reverse previous successes. But, with just a few simple steps, exercisers can easily break-through that brick wall and continue to reap all the rewards of regular physical activity.

Dodging the dreaded plateau is actually very easy. Variety is the key ingredient to continual fitness success. To avoid hitting a workout plateau, follow these recommendations.

To begin with, every workout routine should be changed about every 4-6 weeks. However, the modification doesn’t have to be dramatic. A totally new exercise regime is a possible option, but alteration of a current exercise programme can be just as effective.

A simple way to determine how to transform your current workout is using the F.I.T.T principle. F.I.T.T. stands for frequency, intensity, time and type. This strategy can be adopted for both cardio and resistance training.

Frequency – increase or decrease how often you workout.

Intensity – increase or decrease the difficulty or level at which you workout.

Time – increase or decrease how long your workout sessions last.

Type – change the type of exercises you perform.

Frequency and Time are limited by an individual’s schedule as well as appropriate rest time to ensure maximum efficiency and safety. But Intensity and Type are really only limited by creativity and planning.

Cardio exercise intensity can easily be varied through speed, incline, distance, height, etc. And of course the types of exercises are practically endless, so exercisers should never have the excuse that they’ve exhausted their exercise options. Good cardio examples include: walking, jogging, skipping, swimming, biking, hiking, and more. In addition, combining several of these exercises into one workout session can be very effective. Try 10 minutes each of 3-4 unique exercises.

Strength training intensity can also easily be altered with changes in resistance size, number of reps, rest time, number of sets and more. Even simply switching the sequence of the exercises can prove effective. There are also numerous strength training exercise options. Unfortunately, most exercisers are unaware of the plethora of training techniques and equipment options. They often get stuck performing the same 10 exercises over and over. Yet, there are hundreds of unique options. Simply utilising new types of training equipment every 4-6 weeks can result in big improvements because each type of equipment will work the muscle groups in a slightly different manner. Equipment options include: free weights, body bars, selectorised machines, body weight, resistance bands, kettlebells and fitness balls – just to name a few.

So, to reduce your chances of hitting a plateau remember the F.I.T.T. principle. And approximately every 4-6 weeks choose one or more element of the principle to change (or even all four components). Incorporating this strategy will enable you to progress further and attain even higher fitness levels and more importantly, remain focussed and enthused on your fitness programme. It’s just that easy!

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