Tag: campbell fitness trainer

Campbell Boot Camp: The Most Effective Fat Loss Exercises

May 17, 2010

What’s The Most Effective Exercise Method?

It depends!  I don’t say this to be sarcastic.  It really does depend on what your goal is.  Some people want to lose weight.  Others want to “tone up” and feel stronger.  Some people want big, defined muscles. While others want to run faster, or jump higher. Technically speaking,  these goals dictate different training programs.

At lifeSport Fitness, my experience over the years has taught me that the majority of people we work with want fat loss, although they may not say it this way.  They tell us they want to lose weight, lose inches and/or develop muscles that are firmer and less jiggly. We also hear a lot about wanting to decrease “belly fat”.   This all points to “fat loss”.  We try to avoid the term “weight loss”, as it doesn’t really tell the whole story.

In a well-designed fat loss program, inches will be lost, and muscle mass will be maintained or improved, thereby giving people the feeling that their muscles are firmer and more toned. In some, but not all cases, scale weight will be lost as well (this depends on whether an individual has a lot of excess body fat).

With fat loss/muscle strengthening in mind, then, what is the most effective exercise method to achieve these results?   Lucky for the participants in our boot camps in San Jose and Campbell, they’re doing the right stuff for fat loss in every camp workout.  I’ll outline below what studies have found with regard to effective programs so that you’ll have ideas on how to design your own workouts during the week.

Intensity matters. Higher intensity exercise has been shown to facilitate better fat loss results than lower intensity or moderate intensity exercise.  This is why we include high intensity activities such as Tabata intervals into some classes, and why we coach our boot campers to work hard on the cardio segments during our cardio/ strength circuit and partner drills.

Functional exercises are superior to isolation exercises.  Strength training exercises utilizing several joints and/or large muscle groups (think push ups, rows, squats, lunges, dead lifts, squat to press, and lunges with medicine balls) have been shown to elicit hormonal shifts that favor fat loss more than single joint exercises such as biceps curls or leg extensions. We still have campers using smaller muscle isolation exercises in our classes on occasion, but we mainly incorporate exercises that utilize multiple joints at once for maximum calorie burn and to help the body function better as a whole.

Interval training is superior to steady intensity training.   Studies show that high intensity interval training trumps lower level, steady intensity endurance training for fat loss.  Interval training creates a kind of turbulence in your body.  It takes more energy to perform, and requires more energy (calories) from your body after the fact.  In the hours after a good, high intensity interval training workout, your body tends to utilize stored fat for fuel.

High intensity circuit training creates a “best of both worlds” situation for strength gain and fat loss. A 2010 study indicated that strength training done in a high intensity circuit format created better strength gains than a low intensity circuit format, and better fat loss gains than traditional endurance training.  Two major health benefits in ONE workout!  Yes !  Performed properly, the cardio/strength circuit we use in our fitness boot camps gives you the benefits of interval training, with the strength benefits of circuit training.

High intensity workouts hit you in the belly.  A 2008 study found that high intensity exercise was more effective for reducing total abdominal fat in women than lower intensity exercise.

In our boot camp programs in San Jose and Campbell,  we formulate the workouts to be a mix of cardiovascular interval training (like Tabata intervals), circuit training (our cardio/strength circuit) and functional training (many of the strength exercises in our circuit).  We think it affords our customers the most effective mix of exercise training for fat loss and muscle gain/maintenance.

Want to experience one of the best workouts in the Bay Area?  You’re invited to a FREE one week trial at one of our boot camps!  Try an early morning workout in Downtown San Jose or Almaden, or an evening workout in Campbell or Los Gatos.  Our camps are co-ed and all fitness levels are welcome.  Log on to:  www.lifesportbootcamp.com to reserve a spot for a free trial!

What have you got to lose but some unwanted fat???

Committed to your success,

Becky

Easy Weight Loss Tip for San Jose Residents

May 11, 2010

I’ve been a fitness trainer in Campbell, San Jose and Saratoga for many years.  One of the toughest jobs I have is helping people eat healthier, yet not allowing them to “diet” (e.g., eat next to nothing). The concept of eating well is simple, but it’s not always easy for people with bad eating habits to put healthy eating into practice.  Rather than take a cold turkey approach and change everything all at once, I usually advocate changing things a little bit at a time.

One  of the first tips I give to my new San Jose personal training clients if they’re trying to lose weight is to increase their fiber intake.  It’s such an easy change for most people.

When you’re trying to increase your fiber intake, you’re often adding something to your menu as opposed to taking something away! How cool is that?? The great thing about increasing your fiber intake is that you’re likely to fill up on good-for-you foods like beans, fruits, veggies and whole grain products. So it ends up being a positive situation in several ways:  you eat fresh, more healthful foods, you eat more fiber, and, you’re probably going to lose some weight (not to mention decrease your risk for heart disease, stroke, and some cancers).  What a deal!

Why can increasing your fiber intake help you lose weight? By eating foods high in fiber, you are likely to eat fewer calories.  Fiber helps you to feel fuller faster and satisfied longer because it moves through your body more slowly than highly processed foods.  It is estimated that most of us consume less than half of the recommended 25 grams of fiber per day.

Here are some foods you can add to your eating plan to increase fiber:

• Fruit (higher fiber fruits include berries, apples and pears)

• Vegetables (higher fiber veggies include broccoli, artichokes, avocados, and sweet potatoes)

• Beans/Legumes (higher fiber beans/legumes include soybeans, chickpeas, lentils, split peas and black beans)

• Whole grains (use barley, oats and whole wheat products in place of processed white flour products).

The moral of this story:  Eat more fiber, feel fuller longer, weigh less.  That’s it in a nutshell.

Committed to your success,

Becky