A quick chat about interval training

This week I have started doing some HIIT cardio training.

HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training, and I started it this week because I designed an information board for the gym on this subject, and some of the research was very interesting.

According to studies, you can lose 2% body fat in eight weeks, or up to six times more body fat than if you stuck to a steady-state cardio regime, and burn 100 more calories over the following 24 hours.

So I'm doing intervals to test it out! If you fancy joining me, I'm using a stationary bike. I can usually cycle for 30 minutes at level 12 (on our make of bike - 25 is the maximum level). So I chose levels 10 and 14 - you will need to change the levels to suit your circumstances.

Make sure you warm up! And - disclaimer - if you feel sick or dizzy or faint, please slow down, stop and take a drink! You may need to build up to the speeds and intensities I've suggested. If you don't do too much exercise at the moment, only increase the level by 2 for the intense sets.

• Cycle for one minute at level 10 at a pretty easy speed- ie. 65 rpm
• Then 1 minute at level 14, 75-80 rpm
• Then 1 further minute at level 14, trying to hit 95-100 rpm
• Repeat 6 times, taking 21 minutes altogether

I don't have any expectations, I just thought it would be an interesting experiment, and I had nothing else to post today!

I'll let you know how I get on!

Do you feel you're wasting your time at the gym?

If there is one piece of advice I wish everyone would listen to it's:

train like you mean it!

But what does that really mean?

It means:

• don't be like those people who coast through their workout without breaking a sweat (Apologies if you're one of these women, but my heart sinks when I induct someone and they're wearing full makeup. If I trained in makeup it would be all down my face in about 10 minutes!)
• don't stick to your favourite machine, on your favourite level, and definitely don't read your favourite book!
• don't spend the hour in deep conversation with your friend, or use the time to phone your mum
• don't grab the first (pink) weight you see, do some half-hearted bicep curls, and think you've completed your strength training for the session.

[source] Some of these guys are working harder than others!

Train like you mean it

means:

• have a programme to follow - either designed for you by an instructor, or one that you find online/in a magazine (and I'm always happy to help out, too) - and stick to it
• put your full effort into each workout - if you can say more than a single sentence when you're on a cardio machine without pausing to catch your breath, you could probably put the level up
• listen to music to keep your speed up, rather than watching TV - it's easy to get sidetracked by your favourite show, and end up watching instead of working (I've seen people stop cycling entirely so they don't miss that really important scene in Hollyoaks!)
• when you strength train:
• choose a weight that's heavy enough - usually one that will fatigue your muscles at somewhere between 8 - 15 reps (depending on your goals and programme)
• watch that your rest times don't last too long - 30-60 seconds is long enough for most general training
• make sure your form is perfect - get an instructor to check, if you're unsure - make every rep count

Happy training!

I love food...

My birthday presents 2013 :-)

... and I really love chocolate.

So, I work out a lot, and then go home and eat a lot.

This is probably not the best way to achieve my goals. One of my goals is to look like I lift weights - because I do lift weights, honestly!

Over the last six months or so, I've realised that my protein intake, especially, was not as good as it ought to be. I was working hard, and becoming stronger, but when I flexed my muscles in front of my kids, they laughed. Now I know I'm stronger than my kids, because I can deadlift them. In fact, it was when I deadlifted my eldest child that I realised I should be lifting more than that at the gym!

So I finally succumbed to MyFitnessPal to figure out where I was going wrong - in short, carbs too high, protein too low, and far too much fat. Probably, if I cut out the chocolate and ate more chicken, I'd solve all of those problems at once - but I'm a realist, and although I like to work out, and like to be strong, I don't want it enough to cut out chocolate completely.

Instead, I'm making small changes:

• more tuna
• nuts instead of crisps
• boiled egg instead of fruit loaf

Small changes work best in the long term, because as soon as those become the norm, I can make another change.

Have you made changes to your diet?
Are they sustainable? Are they working?

New year, new post!

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Happy New Year, to my blog and to my faithful blog followers!

I have finally figured out what's wrong with this blog, what I want to achieve, and what's missing from all the other blogs out there. 

I don't expect you to believe me... I have proven myself to be a bit flaky with this blog - it's just a blessing I'm not quite so flaky with my fitness!

My revelation came when I realised, when reading other people's blogs, that I fall between the cracks. There are basically two types of blogs aimed at women who lift weights:

1. Blogs for beginners (ie. articles about why weights are good to lift)
2. Blogs for women who can lift three times their body weight and want to do more (okay, a slight exaggeration) 

I'm fully in the middle:

• I cannot do a pull-up
• I can barely do a press-up do to an annoying shoulder weakness
• I love eating chocolate
• I do not want to be a fitness model or compete on stage
• I do not want to eat endless meals of chicken and broccoli (although I love both, three meals a day based on the same food makes me want chocolate even more)
• I sometimes choose not to go to the gym because it's raining, I'm meeting a friend, I'm working (as an author, work strikes at random times and there's nothing I can do about it)
• I am at my ideal weight, although I'd like to lower my body fat by 2-4%
• I want to have the perfect body... but I don't want it that much! 

If any of this sounds like you, this might be the blog for you. I am going to use this blog to write about me and my training, things I've overheard in my gym, to share tips and links that will be useful.

And most of all, I'm going to get out there and find more followers - hopefully that will give me to incentive to keep this blog up and running (this time). My plan will be to post once a week... that's achievable, right? Even I can do that... Let's find out together!

Have a very Happy New Year and I'll be back next Saturday...

Personal progress

I've been working out hard over the last few months, I've added more protein to my diet (I was going to write that I'd changed my diet, but that would infer less chocolate and wine... and that hasn't happened), and I've hit some pretty fantastic personal bests.

Unfortunately, my body hasn't got the memo that I've been trying really hard - so my weight, body fat percentage and muscle mass (all determined by my scales) have stayed resolutely the same. Even my waist and hip measurements have remained the same as they were in April.

I tell people all the time that if they put in the work, their bodies have no choice but to respond. My body, however, seems to be choosing. Ain't that typical!

So, what's going on?

Well... my deadlift has gone from 30kg x 10 reps to 52.5kg x 5 reps and my pulldown has gone from 32.5kg x 6 reps to 40kg x 5 reps since the beginning of the year, with the majority of the extra weight being added on in the last couple of months - which coincides with my extra protein intake.

Therefore, I have to conclude (and I would tell my clients this) I am making progress. My body is concentrating on getting stronger, I'm just not seeing the results in the mirror.

It's at this point, if you are a three-times-a-week/lose-weight-and-tone-up gym member, that you might despair and say that the gym doesn't work, exercise doesn't work and stop coming.

Don't do that!!

In a couple of months I have every confidence that my body fat percentage will be on the move again, in the right direction, and yours will too!

How to get over this slight slump:

• Make new exercise goals - short term and long term - that have nothing to do with weight/body fat loss. Want to leg press the entire stack? Want to train for a triathlon?
• Add in a new variation of one of the lifts you do - sumo squat instead of normal squat, walking lunges instead of the leg press, press ups instead of bench. Make sure you've got a couple of really good compound exercises in your routine (ie. lifts that use more than one joint/muscle)
• Do a bit of extra cardio
• Try something completely different - fancy kayaking, football, tennis, cycling, Tough Mudder?
• Make sure you're having fun!

So, how's your training going?

The Plank world record

What's the longest time you can hold a plank position? I can hold it for about a minute. A lot of people can hold it for longer.

55 year old George Hood, created a new world record in April of 3 hours, 7 minutes and 15 seconds.

Check out the article here, and feel your abs ache at the thought of it.

Going backwards?

By U.S. Navy photo by
Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Joshua Valcarcel
[Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Last night, while I was working, I overheard a father telling his son that he had to go backwards on the cross/elliptical trainer to work his muscles in a different way. This was a popular idea a few years ago, and although there are a few people still advocating it (I did a little Google search) this has moved more into the myth category.

I was never actually convinced by going backwards, although a few years ago - before I became an instructor - part of my programme was to do backwards intervals on this machine. I don't think I did it for long.

Reasons for not going backwards on the cross trainer:

• First and foremost, the cross trainer is a cardio machine - you are trying to raise and maintain your heart rate. Going backwards slows you down and lowers your heart rate.
• If you want to work your leg muscles, do some leg weight exercises - squats and lunges are awesome.
• Our legs are designed to propel us forward, it makes no sense to train them to go backwards.
• Current research suggests the same muscles are working backwards and forwards, there is no extra benefit, but it may put extra stress on the knees.
• If you really want to work your muscles harder, letting go of the handles works well. Your abs and inner thighs work harder to keep you upright, and your glutes work harder because you can't cheat and lean over the machine.

Do you use the cross trainer backwards?

How do you find it?

Will you give no holding on a go?