Follow These Health and Fitness Rules - You’ll Love your Beach Body this Summer!
By Jen Zuba
1. Ditch The Cardio
Shocking?! Let me re-phrase this. Ditch the steady state cardio. We all know those cardio bunnies who believe that a good workout is jumping from the elliptical to the stairs to the treadmill… Heck, I use to be one. Cardio alone will not change your body. The real benefit of cardio training is not the calories you burn from the time spent sweating - but from the EPOC, or Excess Post Oxygen Consumption. Our bodies are brilliant, and adapt very quickly if we do not keep it in a state of confusion. This is where interval training comes into play.
To make cardio work for you hours after your training session and REALLY affect your metabolism, you want to elicit EPOC. To do this, you need to work outside your comfort zone and challenge your heart rate! Take a 20 minute cardio session and break it into intervals. A 30 second balls to the wall, all out, hard core interval and a recovery interval. The recovery interval is typically 2x the length of the hard core interval, but make sure you listen to your body and give it more recovery time if need be between hard core intervals. Good examples of this are bouts of Sprints, Hill Runs, and Stair Running.
2. Train Like an Athlete with Multi-joint Movements
Want to spend less time in the gym and more time in the sun? Train smarter and get with the times people! Switch up your old school split routine (chest on Monday, legs on Tuesday, blah blah blah) to multi -joint Interval circuit training. Multi-joint exercises are those that require you to use a variety of movements and utilize multiple joints. In other words, work more than one body part at a time. Multi-joint movements are also functional to everyday life. How often do we use 1 muscle at a time?
Create a total body circuit by combining 5-6 multi-joint movements. Good examples of these movements are: squats, pushups, lunge to overhead press, dead lifts. Perform each in succession with limited rest and proper form 3 times a week on non consecutive days - and you will be well on your way to rocking that Victoria’s Secret mono-kini or those boardshorts sans shirt! Keep in mind: Form is the key to success! Consult a qualified personal trainer to be sure that your form is right on.
3. Say Ciao to Dieting
That is right! Hallelujah! Naturally lean people do not count calories! Tune into your hunger cues and satiety and eat intuitively. Deprivation and attention to consumption can lead to dysfunctional eating. Yuck! Eat when you are hungry, stop before you’re full, focus on whole foods, and fuel yourselves for your workouts! Be kind to your body. Listen to its cues. Focus on foods that once could fly, swim, come from a tree, or the ground! Eat Locally and Fresh!
Follow these rules for a few months and I promise you will be slim, strong, sexy, and confidant on the beach this summer.
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Jennifer Zuba lives in Hampton and is married with two small children. She is a NASM certified personal trainer and Plyo Power X-Factor Athlete. Trainer and instructor at Genetix in Seabrook NH. Owner of The Traveling Trainer. Extensive study in Weight Management and Optimum Training Principles for Youth, Prenatal, and Senior Populations. Specialist in Cardio and Strength Training Program Design for Sports and Fitness Goals. Specialist in Speed, Agility, and Quickness Training. Contact her at: 603-682-8869 www.genetixfit.com www.travelingtrainer.com |