Personal Training

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Ready 4 Fall Fitness


13 days and counting… Labor Day is just around the corner. Yup, the arrival of September marks the end of summer. Although, the Fall season won’t start till September 22, 2010; many people may already be in denial though (depending on where you live).

Looking back (some stats from several years) it seems as if September is usually a busy month in the fitness industry, perhaps the busiest month right after January. A lot of people kind of add “get fit” to their “to do” list and recommit to fitness.

It makes sense, kids are back to school, and routines are back on track so it seems right to use the time to get back in shape! Whether you have kids or not, in the end September always is a month when people establish new habits and patterns that will determine how the rest of the year will look like.

My question is: how will you look by the end of the year?

Are you one of those who will create healthy habits with your exercise and nutrition program, along with the rest of your life?

One thing is for sure, the arrival of September opens the door for you to focus on YOU! 

It’s time to get your sexy back, be in great shape, look good and feel good before the holidays, whether you’re a guy or a woman this is the perfect time for you.

Where to start? Maybe you are 10 to 15 lbs away from your ideal weight. If that’s the case a few weeks of a dedicated training program and monitored nutrition plan will do the trick. If you have more to lose the principle is the same but you may need more coaching & motivation, and may be looking at a few more weeks into the end of the year.

Either way your program should be focus on intensity and progressive overload (meaning weight, challenging exercises or the speed at which you complete each workout).

A sample workout should be a 3 to 4 a days of 30 to 50 minutes of resistance training, combined with core training and Plyometrics. You should also add a 3 to 5 days of high-intensity interval training cardio.

Focus on the exercises that challenges your body and speeds the fat loss process such as squats, lunges, deadlift, chest press or push ups, rows for your back and proper core training; which means challenge your body with more than just crunches, such as planks, hip extensions, bridges on a stability ball, etc.

Your high-intensity interval training cardio should be performed in series of 20 minutes workouts twice a week.

1. Start by performing sprints at an Intensity Level of 8-9 on The Perceived Exertion Scale of 1-10 (10 being maximum effort), for about 2 minutes.
2.Rest for about 1:30 minutes or till your heart rate is down to your normal rate (usually you are able to perceive this is you can carry out a conversation without hyperventilating).
3.Start again sprinting for 2 more minutes and continue this trend till you finish your 20 minutes cardio workout.

Also you may want to perform a twice a week cardio routine at a steady pace or fat burning zone (low to moderate intensity Level of 5 on The Perceived Exertion Scale of 1-10 (10 being maximum effort) for about 40 to 60 minutes.

This is by no means the only way to get in shape, but it sure is a great start on journey to a new you this fall.

Go hiking, ride a bike, take your workouts outside while you still have some good lighting, join a boot camp format class or join the gym… the idea is that you get started on a good plan that will keep you focused and ensured you get the results you are looking for.

Let me know what you’ll be doing this Fall..

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