Personal Training in Australia » Weight Loss

The Best General Tips for Losing Weight and Getting Fit

jason — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 16:34:10 +0000

There’s a lot of information out there about keeping the body fit and healthy. But the million-dollar question is how much of it is accurate and up-to-date? At Fitness Crew, we’ve taken the guess work out, and even done the hard yards for you to find the following information on “The best general tips for losing weight and getting fit “. Our team is pleased to pass-on these independent articles as beneficial reading into this subject. Fitness Crew.

1. Get into the habit of being active. Don’t just rely on your “exercise” to keep you fit. Use the stairs, walk to the shop, go for a bike ride with your family, go for a walk at lunch, etc… eg. A one hour well paced walk with the dog is an exercise session!

2. Vary your training. There is a need to constantly vary your training and modify the intensity. If you train at one thing and never increase the time or intensity, your body will adapt to it, and your fitness will not improve. Consider that training should continuously challenge your body past it’s current capabilities; this is how we get fitter. Also, you won’t get bored!

3. Cut down on high sugar and high fat processed foods. These are generally the single biggest problem in the Western diet. Foods that are dense in energy (calories) generally provide you with more calories than you need and can be eaten rapidly. See dietary guidelines on page 4 for a list of foods to avoid/minimise.

4. Educate yourself. Don’t use the excuse, “I didn’t know that x food was high in fat”. Read the labels, ask your trainer, do whatever it takes to learn about what you are eating. The same goes for exercise, don’t use the excuse of I didn’t know what to do? Ask your on-line trainer, read a fitness magazine, do whatever it takes.

5. Don’t make excuses. Occasionally, there may be a reason why you can’t fit in your exercise or eat well, but most of the time, it is an excuse. Make eating well and exercising a priority. Not to say that you have to exercise 10 times a week and eat perfectly all the time, but don’t make excuses for not doing what you set out to do at the start of the week. People who constantly make excuses, don’t achieve their goals.

6. Set goals and be realistic. Be realistic about your goals and about how much exercise you are prepared to do. Set your goals realistically and break them down into small goals. The goal can be activity based, it doesn’t have to be result based. Ie one goal might be – I will exercise 4 times this week, as opposed to I will lose 1 kg this week. Focus on the process, not on the result.

7. Rest and Listen to your body. Make sure you get enough sleep every night so that your body can recover and rejuvenate. Don’t push yourself to exhaustion day in day out. For your body to be efficient as possible it needs adequate rest.

8. Have fun and enjoy. If you are not enjoying your exercise and the feeling you get, you will not keep it up. Find something you enjoy. If you don’t enjoy the food you eat, you will not keep eating it. Find a good balance of food you enjoy that is nutritious, and go for it. Treat yourself in moderation, there is no need for total abstinence.

The Real Basics of Weight Loss

jason — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 16:26:44 +0000

The team at Fitness Crew has carefully scoured the internet in an effort to seek out only the best and most up-to-date information about Monitoring Your ” The real basics of weight loss “. In doing so, we are pleased to promote the following resource to help you discover more about this topic. We trust you will find it of great interest. Fitness Crew.

The basic concept of weight loss is very easy. In order to lose weight you

need to consume fewer kilojoules (kJ’s) than your body burns. We gain fat by taking in

more kJ’s than our body can get rid of.

The same goes for losing weight. We lose weight by consuming fewer kilojoules

than our body burns. One kilogram of body fat is equal to 32,100 kilojoules (7700 calories).

All foods contain kilojoules, and the reason eating too much food leads to

weight gain is because you are consuming more kJ’s than your body is burning

The simple Formula for Weight Loss is:

• The number of kJ’s eaten – The number of kJ’s burned = Fat

In order to lose weight, the “Fat” value must be a negative number.

There are several ways to create a calorie deficit and those include:

• Eating fewer calories

• Aerobic exercise

• Weight training

It is this basic. There is no other magic formula for losing weight, it is simply Input versus output. Do not fall into the trap of fad diets, pills, and machines that promise the world (and deliver little).

Just remember Input – Output!

The Importance of Strength Weight Training

jason — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 16:19:34 +0000

In a bid to help you find the most accurate and latest information, Fitness Crew is pleased to offer the following articles on “The importance of strength weight training” for your perusal. Our team has invested much time and effort in researching available information on this topic and thanks to the authors, we are confident you will find the following resources worthy reading. Fitness Crew.

The final method of weight loss I would like to talk about is weight training. Yes,

you can lose all the weight you want without weight training; however, to totally

reinvent your body you need to add this to your regime.

I see so many people doing plenty of cardio exercise, and eating very well. They

do end up losing some weight; however, they may have started their program

shaped like a large pear. Several months later they have lost a good amount of

weight but are simply shaped like a smaller pear.

If you want to obtain your ideal body you will need to incorporate weight training

into the mix. You must remember this, if you decide to slack off on the cardio, then

don’t waste your time lifting weights. You will only get bulky.

It’s a shame to see people spend so much time in the gym, but only to get more

bulky and take on the appearance of a wrestler. You must not slack off on the

cardio if you want to lose weight.

How Long Should I Spend in the Gym?

There has been a very big debate as to how many days you should spend weight

training. From many years of trial and error I’ve found that 3 days of weight

training is all you need to build muscle and lose fat. Granted, you must really push

yourself during those three days to see maximum results.

if we don’t work out we lose muscle mass as we get older? At age 25 our metabolism begins to slow down and we start to see a rise in our bodyfat levels.

Cardio and strength training – partners

If you are trying to lose weight and look thinner, and only plan to lift weights, you’re wasting your time. The reason is as you are lifting weights you are tearing your muscles down, like I

said earlier. The week goes by and your muscles have time to repair themselves

and are stronger than the previous week, which is what you want.

However, the muscle is now lying under a layer of fat. As the muscles get stronger and firmer

it begins to push out the fat, thus making you look larger than before. So although

you are stronger than the previous week, all you have managed to do is make

yourself appear bigger than before.

You must perform cardiovascular exercise as well as train with weights. You must burn the fat off while you are building muscle underneath the fat.

Increase Fitness and Lose Weight

jason — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 16:11:43 +0000

What Aerobic Exercise can I perform to assist in weight loss

jason — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 16:04:17 +0000

High Intensity Cardio for Maximum Fat Loss

jason — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 17:03:55 +0000

At Fitness Crew, we know that knowledge is a powerful tool. In saying that, we believe offering our clients valuable and accurate information is vital to their health and wellbeing. Having searched the internet, the team at Fitness Crew is proud to offer the following articles on “High Intensity Cardio for Maximum Fat Loss” as independent information beneficial to your own research on this topic. Fitness Crew.

The higher the intensity of a work out appears to correspond with the amount of calories burned during a given workout. This is important because a high intensity cardio workout may take half as long as a low intensity workout to accomplish the same (calories burning) goal. Burning calories seems to be the most significant factor in fat loss. Another benefit of using a high intensity cardio workout is that it may increase your metabolism. High intensity cardio with all of its benefits and advantages are not recommended for people who are just beginning to exercise, or for those that have heart problems or other certain other health problems. It’s a good idea to check with your health care provider before beginning a high intensity cardio workout program.

High intensity cardio’s ability to boost metabolism has been implicated in its fat burning power. The human body in its efforts to recover from a high intensity cardio workout keeps burning calories after the workout is done and over.

High Intensity cardio exercises should be approached gradually, by integrating it into your routine. There are many activities that work nicely as a means to accomplishing a good high intensity workout. For example, Stationary bike, stair masters, running, or walking all can be incorporated into a great fat loss regiment. The important factor here seems to be finding an activity that is enjoyable and that fits into the lifestyle of the person doing the high intensity workouts.

Some of the benefits of high intensity cardio are the rapid results in fat loss; the increased in overall metabolism and that high intensity cardio also appears to increase aerobic capacity. Spending just twenty minutes doing high intensity workouts may be equal to a 45-minute low intensity workout. For people who have a busy lifestyle, high intensity workouts may make the difference between having time for an exercise regiment and not. Another thing that seems to be a key factor for some people is that low intensity workouts get boring, while High intensity cardio is not.

Metabolism is positively affected by high intensity cardio because fat is burned, as are calories from glycogen. As the body replenishes needed glycogen by subsequent meals, the glycogen will replenish your body’s reserves instead of turning to fat. Low intensity workouts don’t provide this benefit. This adds up to health benefits well beyond the workout session and means that calories are melting away after the workout and that adds up to maximum fat loss.

Another apparent benefit of the high intensity cardio work out is that it seems to help the body increase its lactic acid threshold. When an individual works out lactic acid floods the body to help the muscles answer the demand. Lactic acid can be felt in the muscles as a burning sensation. Excessive levels of lactic acid result in fatigued. High intensity cardio seems to increase the body’s ability to flush out excess lactic acid; this means that its possible to exercise more frequently and effectively because of this increase in lactic acid threshold.

High Intensity cardio is based on the idea that intense short bursts of effort will yield quick and effective results. It is not advisable to exert that much effort for prolonged periods of time. Evidence suggests that high intensity cardio workouts are a good way to jazz up a workout to provide many health benefits. Getting reliable advice from a trained professional may be the best way to begin integrating high intensity into an exercise routine. High intensity cardio can burn fat quick, boost metabolism and improve recovery time and so it has many advantages over other training methods.

Working out at home with dumbbells

jason — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:51:46 +0000

The team at Fitness Crew has carefully scoured the internet in an effort to seek out only the best and most up-to-date information about Monitoring Your “Working out at home with dumbbells” . In doing so, we are pleased to promote the following resource to help you discover more about this topic. We trust you will find it of great interest. Fitness Crew.

A dumbbell exercise program is effective with the right equipment These days, more so that in decades gone by,dumbbells are growing in popularity in fitness centers and health clubs across the United States.

In addition, they are increasingly being purchased by people who want to include them in their personal gyms at home so they can conduct a dumbbell exercise program in the comfort of their own home when it suits them best.

Rubber encased dumbbells are usually the most popular choice of dumbbells as they offer a myriad of benefits to the user.

While they may be made from high quality cast iron material to give the desired weight effect, they are coated with rubber for added protection, comfort during the dumbell arm workouts and style – the rubber is available in different colors.

Not only are rubber encased dumbbells comfortable to use and safe to use but if you accidentally drop one of them on the floor they will not damage the floor or other equipment because of the rubber exterior. Similarly they will also make a softer thud as opposed to a loud crash with an iron dumbbell.

Iron weights can make a loud continuous clanking sound and can be distracting if you are counting repetitions where as rubber dumbbells allow you to use dumbbells in any way and even drop them on the floor without making much noise.

This is ideal for conducting dumbell arm workouts in the home.
The rubber used on rubber encased dumbbells is usually of a very high quality, is odorless, does not crack and is designed to be extremely durable, so the need for
maintenance is almost non existent.

On the other hand, chrome dumbbells will also be a welcome addition to any personal fitness room.
These dumbbells and the dumbbell weights are usually polished with high grade chrome to give optimum functionality.

Chrome adjustable dumbbells are usually sold in 5 pound increments so you can build and decrease your dumbbell weights as your fitness program changes.
These adjustable dumbbells give you the flexibility to quickly and easily perform a variety of exercises according to what you are doing with your strength exercises.

Dumbbells – whether they are rubber encased or chrome adjustable dumbbells -can be purchased easily and usually cheaply from stores or catalogs selling exercise equipment online.

Online prices are generally lower than those of the traditional stores and the dumbbells can be sent directly to your home -sometimes even with free shipping and insurance.

Find out why dumbbells are the best type of free weight exercises.

Can I run on the treadmill instead of outdoors?

jason — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 11:44:44 +0000

The short answer is YES. However if you are training for an outdoor run you should do a lot of your running outdoors in the elements (especially the wind) and on varying terrains. The upsides of training on a treadmill are that you can get a consistent pace/incline, weather and daylight won’t stop you from running, and there are no cars, dogs, etc… The downsides of treadmill training are boredom, overheating (no cooling breeze), lack of experience in dealing with difficult terrain and weather conditions, and in general it is probably not as challenging as running outdoors.

Getting Started

jason — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 15:53:43 +0000

So you finally want to get fit? The first step is always the hardest. Fear of aches, pains and injuries keeps many would-be exercisers from lacing up their runners and heading out.

The solution is simply to be realistic about your fitness goals. Push yourself too hard and you’ll wind up sore and discouraged. Exercise sensibly and you’ll gradually build strength and endurance without getting hurt. Also:

• Have a complete physical examination. It should include a stress test – also called a treadmill test or stress ECG – which measures how the heart responds to exertion. This usually involves walking on a treadmill or stairs, pedalling a stationary bike at increasing levels of difficulty while a technician monitors your heart rate and blood pressure. It’s also wise to ask your doctor or an exercise specialist which types of exercises would be best for you, especially if you are over 40, if you are overweight, or if you have a history of smoking or heart disease.

• Don’t take up a sport to get into shape; get into shape and then take up a sport. For example, someone who is 15 kg overweight and has arthritic knees should focus on strengthening the thigh and leg muscles so they can withstand the stress of the sport before taking up tennis or jogging.

• Start with one day of working out followed by one day of rest. Your eventual aim should be to exercise five (or more!) days a week, alternating harder workouts (vigorous aerobic exercise) with easier ones (stretching and/or light weight lifting).

• Always warm up and cool down. Warming up gets your muscles ready and your heart pumping so that you can exercise without straining anything or depriving your muscles of oxygen. Stretch all of your muscles and do some deep breathing. Cooling down should include the same things – stretching to get the muscles back to their resting length and deep breathing to slow your heart rate and keep the oxygen flowing to all your organs.

• Wear the right clothing. Keep in mind that your sensations of cold and heat will change as you work out. Exercise, which produces heat, increases both sweating and blood flow to the skin. Avoid exercise in high humidity or high temperatures as serious health problems can develop. If the humidity is low, your body can lose a lot of heat when sweat evaporates. Put on extra layers of clothing in cold weather to keep from losing too much body heat. Wear silk or another nonabsorbent fabric next to your skin. On a cold day, a sweat-drenched T-shirt will chill you through and through. Layered clothing will also keep you comfortable on cool days; just shed a garment when you start to feel warm.

• Drink up. Sip water before, during and after exercise, especially when exercising in warm conditions. (Don’t wait until you feel thirsty – by then, some of your body organs are already under stress.) Otherwise, you may become dehydrated, which makes your body less effective at cooling itself. Dehydration also ‘thickens’ the blood, increasing the workload on a heart already working overtime to keep you moving at a faster-than-normal pace.

No Pain, No Gain? Think Again!

jason — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 15:49:31 +0000

Given all the benefits of exercise, you may be ready to run out and train for a triathlon. If a moderate workout is good, more must be better. Right? Wrong. In fact, heavy exercise may weaken the immune system and leave you vulnerable to illness.

Researchers in Toronto, Canada, compared two groups of sedentary but healthy young men. All performed 40 minutes of aerobic activity, but one group exercised three days a week and the other five days a week. Blood tests determined that heavier exercise actually decreased the levels of the cells that produce antibodies. While both the lighter and heavier programs increased some immune activity, the lighter program was more effective for strengthening the immune system.

Today, the idea that if you don’t push yourself to the limit, your efforts are pretty much a waste of time, has been thrown out, thanks partly to studies showing that marathon runners are five times more likely to be sick with an infection a week after a big race than runners who trained for the event but did not compete.

Running for three hours at a marathon pace is known to depress an athlete’s immune system – as measured by levels of NK-cells – by up to 65 per cent for several hours. If a marathoner encounters someone with a cold just after finishing a three-hour run, the runner is highly likely to develop a cold, too.

Pay attention to pain

If you feel good after you exercise, you’re probably doing things right. Pain is never appropriate. In fact, fitness researchers say, the exact opposite is true. If something hurts, stop what you’re doing and assess the situation to prevent further damage.

• Look for signs of injury. Swelling, redness, tenderness or pain that persists whether you’re moving or not mean that you may have damaged a muscle or joint. Likewise immobility, weakness and popping or snapping sounds in joints.

• Immediately try ‘RICE’ – Rest-Ice-Compression-Elevation. If you fall, twist an ankle, or jam a finger, cool the injured area with ice or a cold pack, wrap an elastic bandage around it and elevate it above the level of the heart. Application of cold is generally the first step in treating exercise-related injuries. Sports Medicine Australia recommends applying ice (but do not apply directly to the skin) for 20 minutes of every two hours for the first 48 hours. Ice constricts the blood vessels and inhibits the blood flow to the injured area, which decreases any swelling. Reduced swelling means that the inflammation is under control, so healing will be more rapid. But leave off the ice or cold packs if you have arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) or poor blood circulation.

• Consider consulting a doctor after beginning RICE. If you have severe pain that seems to originate in a joint or bone, or pain of any intensity that persists for more than two weeks, see a doctor. Also get medical care for any wound that shows signs of being infected – oozing, pus, red streaks, swollen lymph nodes, or fever are all indications.

• Avoid heat if there is swelling. A hot bath may feel good, but it is not a good idea. The heat will relax the walls of your blood vessels, increasing the flow of blood and fluid to the injured area, thereby making the inflammation worse.

• Use aspirin, ibuprofen, or naproxen to reduce inflammation and pain. Aspirin, ibuprofen and naproxen (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) are generally the best bets for managing sports injuries. But use them sparingly, following instructions on the package to the letter unless your doctor tells you to do otherwise. Aspirin and similar drugs inhibit the body’s release of chemicals called prostaglandins. Do not use any of these drugs if you have had a reaction to them. They are dangerous for asthmatics because they can cause a severe attack in susceptible people.

Risks of intense workouts

Working out too heavily can do more than dampen the
immune response – it can make even dedicated, very fit
people ill. The reasons are:

• Increased exposure to germs. If you travel interstate or overseas to compete in a race or participate in a bike-a-thon, you’ll encounter lots of viruses in the new area with which your immune system is unfamiliar. If one of these viruses winds up in your body and you are already stressed by the competition, you stand a good chance of getting sick.

• Nutrient deficiencies. People who take exercise very seriously sometimes try unproven diets to build their strength and/or endurance. Such diets may lead to deficiencies of important nutrients, such as essential fatty acids or vitamin E. It is well recognised that such deficiencies can impair immune function.

• Muscle damage. Repeatedly tearing muscle tissue during excessive exercise can trigger acute immune reactions in injured areas and throughout the body. In the short term, this immune activation serves to repair damaged tissue. However, repeatedly deploying immune cells to damaged muscle fibres may decrease your resistance to infection, since it directs much of the body’s defensive force to one task rather than keeping it at the ready.

• Environmental drains. Running, bicycling or even walking long distances in extremely hot or cold weather places extra strain on the immune system. If your route goes through a city and you’re committed to covering a set number of kilometres in a certain number of days, you’re adding more stresses – namely, gulping polluted air and, if you fall behind schedule, going without enough sleep.

What you can do

It may sound too simple, but serious athletes should be especially keen on careful hand washing, especially before meals. Hand contact is a major route for transmitting respiratory viruses, which are responsible for most of the illnesses that pass from person to person. Since immunosuppression seems to be linked to harsh exertion, don’t overtrain. Other helpful pointers:

• Eat a varied diet for a good balance of nutrients.

• Avoid unnecessary bugs by staying clear of crowds.

• Consider antioxidant supplements. There’s no conclusive proof that supplements help you perform better or stay well, but some specialists recommend that athletes take 1000 mg of vitamin C and 400 IU of vitamin E each day.

• Keep vaccinations current. Get a flu shot each year and consider extra inoculations against the viruses that may be encountered during travel