This week I thought that I would enhance your understanding of exercises and what exactly it can do for you. I decided to explore the three main types of exercises; Cardio, weight training, and core. Although diet is somewhat more important than exercise, (Fitness experts believe it’s at about a 70:30 ratio), exercise does come in to play when one wants to improve their cardiovascular fitness, toning, muscle mass or just want to burn off that naughty chocolate bar.

Firstly, I will break down exactly what “fitness” really is, and what athletes pay attention to when maintaining their amazing bodies.

Remember: They key to fitness and amazing physique is variation! Sticking to one kind of exercise can often hinder your progress or create an injury

Cardiovascular fitness

For more information on what cardio is, refer to my previous blog.

If you want to lose weight, you should aim to do 4 or more days a week involving 30+ minute sessions.

Cardiovascular fitness carries a wide range of benefits which create both short and long term benefits, including:

- Strengthening respiratory muscles (lungs)

- Strengthening your heart, improving its efficiency and lowering resting heart rate

- Improves circulation

- Reduces blood pressure

- Improves mental health

- Stimulates muscle growth

- Burns fat if done for over 20 minutes

Cardio gym classes

Bodyattack HIGH IMPACT

This class is an aerobic workout designed to build up strength and stamina. The high energy, interval training class lasts for one hour and will leave you gasping for air!

Great for a cardiovascular workout, endurance strength, fat burning

How many calories does this class burn?

Anywhere from 600 – 900 calories, depending on your weight, age, sex and effort put in

Bodycombat HIGH IMPACT

This class is an energetic, fast paced class, which is inspired by martial arts.

Great for a cardiovascular workout, muscle strength, posture, fat burning

How many calories does this class burn?

500 – 600 calories

Spin/RPM class NO IMPACT

Often lasting between 45 minutes – an hour, Spin is an aerobic exercise on a stationary bike. You’re in complete control of the classes intensity as you can adjust the resistance on your bike at any time.

Spin is a great low impact exercise, which is recommended for those with injuries.

Benefits include cardiovascular fitness, leg, butt, thigh, hip toning

How many calories does this class burn?

400 – 800 calories

Body Step HIGH IMPACT

Body Step is a choreographed program which aims to improve fitness and wellbeing. The class is set to music and involves aerobics on a step.

Benefits include cardiovascular activity, toning for butt and thighs, fat burner

How many calories does this class burn?

400 – 700 calories

Boxing LOW IMPACT

This combat sport comes in many forms, such as kick boxing and thump boxing. All boxing classes offered at gyms combine intervals of boxing with plyometric and ab workouts.

Benefits include cardiovascular activity, increased co-ordination, fat burning, muscle tone (especially in your arms!)

How many calories does this class burn?

400 – 700 calories

What other exercises enable for me to get a cardiovascular workout?

- Stair Climbing, Biking, Jogging, Swimming, Jumping rope.

Muscle/Weight training

Weight training is enables for your body to develop strength

This training is used to develop and strength the size of your skeletal muscles. Weight training involves a variety of weights and equipment to target specific areas of your body.

Weight training carries many benefits, including

- muscle toning

- raises metabolic rate

- strengthens bones

- increases endurance

- makes you strong

NOTE: You must have at least 24 hours between weight training sessions, as your muscles need to recover. That burning sensation in your muscles are the fibers tearing, so training on torn muscles will make it worse rather than stronger!

Gym glasses offered for weight training includes:

Bodypump NON-IMPACT

This class is a weight-based fitness program, which is debated to be the quickest way to get in shape. The 55 minute long program involves a set of tracks, each targeting individual muscle groups.

The benefits include muscle toning and conditioning, increased metabolism, fat burning

What other exercises enable for me to get a muscular workout?

Weight reps, weight machines

Core strength

Core strength and stability is often overlooked by people. Although a perfectly toned stomach may seem like the ideal, these muscles are only superficial, and thus require inner core/back strength to prevent poor posture. All these exercises are injury friendly.

Yoga LOW IMPACT

This peaceful exercise involves physical poses and postures, uniting mind, body and spirit.

Increases flexibility, massages muscles, lubricates joints, tendons

Pilates LOW IMPACT

A class designed to develop control over muscles. The class focuses on core muscles which helps keep your body balanced, and aids with awareness of breath and spinal allingment.

Benefits include core strength, tones muscles, stability, strength, postural correction

The most important thing to remember about exercise is that you must stretch afterwards! Stretching prevents injury and improves flexibility.

If you have any further questions about which exercise is right for you, e-mail me at Nixish16@gmail.com

Next week: What are you really eating?

Ref:

Mills, L. (2009). Les Mills classes. Available: www.lesmills.com. Last accessed 22 Dec 2009.

First off i would just like to say that getting that bikini bod you want does require some work, (sorry!) but as my friend says, “Being thin tastes better than junk food”. In order for you to fully grasp my fitness plan i will break it down for you into sections.

SECTION ONE: FOOD

The absolute most important part of losing weight/keeping it off is your diet. Exercise is more so “the cherry on top”, rather than the main part. A balanced diet is key to any weight loss.

The number one rule is that you must eat every 3 hours. You will actually lose more weight if your body is constantly digesting, rather than going into starvation mode and retaining fat. The suggested food plan is 3 medium sized meals and 2 snacks per day. Also, 3 serves of fruit and 5 of vegetables is very important.

REFINED CARBS:

What are they?

White bread, White rice, White pasta, Corn syrup, Lollies, White flour, soft drinks

Stop eating them. A refined carb is a carb which has been tampered with by companies, eg having sugar added and the nutrients taken out. Our bodies weren’t meant to digest these, and as a result, they often create weight gain/unwanted stomach fat. However, if you find it hard to eliminate them altogether, it is okay to have them once or twice a week. But, if you are serious about eliminating all stomach fat asap, stop!

Alternatives

Wholemeal/Multigrain bread, Brown rice, Wholemeal pasta, Wholemeal flour

CARBOHYDRATES

What are they?

All foods contain carbs. But ones which are necessarily high in them include: Potatoes, Corn, Bread, Pasta

Despite what you may hear, you do need some carbohydrates in your diet, otherwise you will die. Carbohydrates literally means energy, so if you burn the amount of carbs that you consume them you are fine. Carbs keep you fuller for longer, so eating them for breakfast will keep you from unnecessary snacking.

However, try and limit your carbs at dinner time unless you plan on working out afterward, otherwise they will just sit in your stomach as you sleep and be stored as fat!

PROTEIN

What are they?

Eggs, Meat, Dairy, Nuts, Tofu, Tuna, Peanut Butter

Protein is literally food for your muscles. If you are doing weight training you should have some kind of protein hit within 30 minutes of your workout. Your meals should be high in protein as they also keep you fuller for longer.

CALCIUM

What are they?

Milk, Yoghurt, Cheese, Tofu, Spinach, Broccoli

Calcium is very important in a healthy diet. It is known to keep your bones and teeth strong, which is important during physical activity. Calcium deficiency can make you prone to fractures, broken bones, osteoporosis and problems with bone density.

WATER

You must drink 8 glasses of water a day. Not only does it prevent bladder cancer, but it detoxifies, keeps you hydrated and has been proven to aid in weightloss. And most importantly it’s calorie free!

JUNK FOOD

One word. No.

Any foods high in sugar, fat, oil is terrible for you. Not only is it hurting your physical appearance, but it is blocking your arteries and upsetting your body.

However, it is okay to treat yourself once in a while, maybe a chocolate or an ice-cream once every 5 or 6 days is okay. Because much like your body, your self control needs rest, so if you don’t give in once in a while you will most likely end up eating your weight in candy and feeling bad about it later!

THE NIGHT TIME BINGE

The evil night time binge. Whether it’s after a late night out or just a lazy night at home, most of us feel the urge to eat right before we go to bed. Your body struggles to digest food during your sleep, so eating whilst in bed/just beforehand is a bad idea. You should have your last bit of food 2 hours before you go to sleep, and it should idealy be a non-carbohydrate.

If you ever find yourself in a situation where you feel hungry, try drinking a glass of water or tea (caffiene free), and eating a piece of fruit.

SECTION TWO: EXERCISE

Although exercise isn’t as important as diet, it does play a vital role in fitness and weight loss.

CARDIO

Cardiovascular activity is vital in the weight loss and fitness process. Cardio exercise burns fat whilst strengthening your heart, lungs and muscles. Sweating from these activities also aids in ridding your body of toxins. Yes ladies, you’ll feel better if you exercise through period pain!

You should try and do at least 3 cardio sessions of at least an hour a week. If you are intending on just keeping fit rather than dramatic weight loss, 20 minute sessions 4 times a week is recommended.

Which exercises are considered cardio?

Running, Swimming, Spin Class, Bodyattack, Bodycombat, Stair climbing, basically anything that gets your heart rate up and makes you sweat

WEIGHT TRAINING

Although weight training is great in achieving tonage and muscles, you need to do sufficient cardio in order to strip the fat off that is covering the muscle. If you are more interested in weight training, you should allow yourself at least a 24 hour break between training to let your muscles rest, otherwise you will be fatigued during your next workout or cause injury.

Which exercises are considered weight training?

Weight sets, Bodypump

LOW IMPACT

These types of exercises are for those who want to achieve a strong core, are disabled in some way or just want to do low impact exercise. These kinds of exercises often help in strengthening and controlling breathing.

Which exercises are considered low impact?

Pilates, Yoga, Bodybalance, Yogalaties

My typical workout schedule: (Although at this point in time i am injured, typically i would do this:

Tuesday: Bodypump, Wednesday: BodyAttack, Thursday: Bodypump, Friday: Pilates, Saturday: Spin/Abs blast, Sunday: Bodypump or Spin. Mondays are my rest day.

It is imperative that you have at least one day a week involving little to no physical activity.

However, if you are starting out from never having trained i recommend building up your intensity, otherwise you will end up injured.

CONCLUSION: Burning more kilojoules/calories than you consume will allow for weight loss. Sufficient rest between workout periods (about 24 hours) is vital.

Good luck! :)

I decided to create this blog after a test run on a third party website went successfully. My aim is to help you along your fitness journey, minus all of the exercise and diet jargon.

At this point i am sure many of you are wondering, “How would you know anything?”

- The fact that I lost all the weight i wanted to in a very short amount of time

- Had a trainer guiding me for 9 months

- A mother as a dietician,

- And a thirst for knowledge in health and physical fitness has allowed me to be the educated person i am today.

I plan on breaking everything down for you, making it a whole lot easier and less intimidating, and hopefully get you motivated!

If you ever have any questions about anything, feel free to e-mail me at nixish16@gmail.com