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Posted: 03-Oct-2008; Updated: 20-Nov-2008
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
U.S. fat and getting fatter
"Adult obesity rates increased in 23 states and did not decrease in a single state in the past year, according to F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies Are Failing in America 2009, a report released today by the Trust for America's Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF)"
With adult activity levels ranging from 16.3% (Minnesota) to 31.8% (Mississippi) no one should be surprised that obesity levels are continuing to rise. (2009 Trust for America's Health)
What makes the problem worse, at least from my perspective, is the overwhelming amount of misinformation about how to loose or even maintain weight properly. From FitFlops "the flip-flop with the gym built in" to the often repeated weight loss advice that says exercising at the aerobic training zone is the best way to loose fat, even when someone is sincere about wanting to loose body fat, coming by accurate knowledge about how to do so is difficult if not impossible for the average person.
To be fair, if you are completely inactive, exercising in the "aerobic" training zone will most likely provide you with some benefit, but then again, so will any activity.
Exercise for fat loss is not all that complicated. The harder you work the more you get out of you time exercising. (Assuming, proper form, appropriate weight, proper rest periods, etc.) It is all those little details that a knowledgeable, experienced, and educated professional can teach you. A good trainer will most likely be able to teach you new exercises, new ways to do old exercises, and how to design your workouts to make the most of your time in the gym.
There is no such thing as a quick fix. It takes a long time to get fat and it takes a long time to loose it.
What it comes down to is simple, when you exercise you have to put effort into it. If it is not hard then you are probably not doing it right.
With adult activity levels ranging from 16.3% (Minnesota) to 31.8% (Mississippi) no one should be surprised that obesity levels are continuing to rise. (2009 Trust for America's Health)
What makes the problem worse, at least from my perspective, is the overwhelming amount of misinformation about how to loose or even maintain weight properly. From FitFlops "the flip-flop with the gym built in" to the often repeated weight loss advice that says exercising at the aerobic training zone is the best way to loose fat, even when someone is sincere about wanting to loose body fat, coming by accurate knowledge about how to do so is difficult if not impossible for the average person.
To be fair, if you are completely inactive, exercising in the "aerobic" training zone will most likely provide you with some benefit, but then again, so will any activity.
Exercise for fat loss is not all that complicated. The harder you work the more you get out of you time exercising. (Assuming, proper form, appropriate weight, proper rest periods, etc.) It is all those little details that a knowledgeable, experienced, and educated professional can teach you. A good trainer will most likely be able to teach you new exercises, new ways to do old exercises, and how to design your workouts to make the most of your time in the gym.
There is no such thing as a quick fix. It takes a long time to get fat and it takes a long time to loose it.
What it comes down to is simple, when you exercise you have to put effort into it. If it is not hard then you are probably not doing it right.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Fit Flops??? Really???
Here is a portion of the review for Fit Flops.
Here are some other things that produce tension in the muscles of the foot and leg, walking, jogging, running, and the elliptical trainer. Almost any time you use your legs to produce motion there in a constant tension in your muscles. First, the primary muscle groups that produce movement are working, and second, multiple supporting muscle groups help you to stay balanced and direct the force from the primary muscle groups in the direction you want.
"It activates the slow-twitch muscle fibres in the legs and that muscles fibres which are the fat burners in your legs."
Again, any motion activates the slow twitch muscle fibres in your legs. However, you are not activating the muscle fibers at a high enough intensity to cause any skeletal muscle adaptation. To put it another way, unless you are so deconditioned that you consider a walk to your mail box high intensity exercise you will not get any fat burning benefit from wearing a sandal, and then it would be the same benefit that you would get from any walking.
If fat loss is your goal, you have to make changes to your diet (eat 5-6 balanced meal/day, etc.) and exercise (with sufficient intensity). Wearing sandals is not going to help you loose fat.
"A new footwear, invented in the UK, does not only protect our feet, but can also do wonders too nowadays - to improves posture, tone calf muscle, trim and firm up butt.
Sound too good to be true? Read on.
A company in the UK has creatively created this unique footwear called FitFlop. By wearing it on your feet, you are actually working out your legs and butts when you walk. The company even has the tag line “It’s the flip flop with a gym built in“."
I'm not really sure where to start with the FitFlop. If you believe that these sandals can help get you in shape and improve your fitness any more than any other footwear (and probably less than a good pair of running shoes) than I'm not sure that I can dissuade you of your opinion. But let me try anyway.
"Fit Flop has a multi-density midsole. It slightly destabilizes the foot as one walks, making a continuous tension in the muscles of the foot and leg.Here are some other things that produce tension in the muscles of the foot and leg, walking, jogging, running, and the elliptical trainer. Almost any time you use your legs to produce motion there in a constant tension in your muscles. First, the primary muscle groups that produce movement are working, and second, multiple supporting muscle groups help you to stay balanced and direct the force from the primary muscle groups in the direction you want.
"It activates the slow-twitch muscle fibres in the legs and that muscles fibres which are the fat burners in your legs."
Again, any motion activates the slow twitch muscle fibres in your legs. However, you are not activating the muscle fibers at a high enough intensity to cause any skeletal muscle adaptation. To put it another way, unless you are so deconditioned that you consider a walk to your mail box high intensity exercise you will not get any fat burning benefit from wearing a sandal, and then it would be the same benefit that you would get from any walking.
If fat loss is your goal, you have to make changes to your diet (eat 5-6 balanced meal/day, etc.) and exercise (with sufficient intensity). Wearing sandals is not going to help you loose fat.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Aerobic Interval Training
To loose fat you have to increase the intensity of your workout. If you are getting on the treadmill, or elliptical trainer, or whatever you use for aerobic work and you are able to read or hold a conversation while you are doing it then you are not working hard enough.
To get the best results from purely aerobic exercise you need to be doing intervals. (You will get better results with high intensity anaerobic exercise.) That means that you must exercise as intensely as possible for a short period then slow down for a period of active recovery. You can spend less time exercising and get the results that you want.
An interval workout will look something like this:
5 minute warm up
20 minute intervals
20-30 second sprint
60-90 second recovery
5 minute cool down
30 minutes of intervals will get you better results than 60 minutes of regular cardio. (60% of max heart rate, or being able to hold a conversation while exercising) When you exercise at high intensity you increase your metabolic rate. You actually burn fewer calories during your exercise session but continue to burn calories at an elevated rate after you are done exercising. There is also some evidence that high intensity exercise helps the body break down fat, a benefit that lower intensity exercise does not have.
To get the best results from purely aerobic exercise you need to be doing intervals. (You will get better results with high intensity anaerobic exercise.) That means that you must exercise as intensely as possible for a short period then slow down for a period of active recovery. You can spend less time exercising and get the results that you want.
An interval workout will look something like this:
5 minute warm up
20 minute intervals
20-30 second sprint
60-90 second recovery
5 minute cool down
30 minutes of intervals will get you better results than 60 minutes of regular cardio. (60% of max heart rate, or being able to hold a conversation while exercising) When you exercise at high intensity you increase your metabolic rate. You actually burn fewer calories during your exercise session but continue to burn calories at an elevated rate after you are done exercising. There is also some evidence that high intensity exercise helps the body break down fat, a benefit that lower intensity exercise does not have.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
No more boring cardio to lose weight
I no longer feel guilty about not doing my cardio. Turns out, it does little if anything for you.
When studies were done comparing two groups of people, one who changed their diet and did not exercise and a second group who changed their diet and did cardio (specific amount varied by study), there was no significant difference in weight loss after 3 or 6 months between the two groups. After a year there was a small difference, 3.6lbs over the course of a year! That was with 6 - 60 minute sessions of cardio every week for a year. Traditional Cardio does not work! Not for weight loss, not for conditioning. If you are doing no exercise, getting up and moving is still better than sitting on the couch, but if you are already exercising, getting on the treadmill or elliptical trainer for 30 minutes does not do anything for you.
The best exercises in order of effectiveness for weight loss are:
1. Strength training (high intensity types of strength training), and metabolic acceleration resistance training.
2. Intervals
3. High intensity aerobic exercise
4. Low intensity aerobic exercise (least effective- does little if anything for weight loss)
Get off the treadmill, pick up the weights and increase your intensity.
Just got back from a Strength and Conditioning conference and I'm still trying to mentally file all the new information and research. More on this later.
When studies were done comparing two groups of people, one who changed their diet and did not exercise and a second group who changed their diet and did cardio (specific amount varied by study), there was no significant difference in weight loss after 3 or 6 months between the two groups. After a year there was a small difference, 3.6lbs over the course of a year! That was with 6 - 60 minute sessions of cardio every week for a year. Traditional Cardio does not work! Not for weight loss, not for conditioning. If you are doing no exercise, getting up and moving is still better than sitting on the couch, but if you are already exercising, getting on the treadmill or elliptical trainer for 30 minutes does not do anything for you.
The best exercises in order of effectiveness for weight loss are:
1. Strength training (high intensity types of strength training), and metabolic acceleration resistance training.
2. Intervals
3. High intensity aerobic exercise
4. Low intensity aerobic exercise (least effective- does little if anything for weight loss)
Get off the treadmill, pick up the weights and increase your intensity.
Just got back from a Strength and Conditioning conference and I'm still trying to mentally file all the new information and research. More on this later.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Check out eat this not that over at Men's Health and see what's really in the food you've been eating.
Eat This Not That
Eat This Not That
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