Posted by Angie Quehl on Thu, Aug 26, 2010 @ 09:42 AM
In the past, few women would have considered joining a fitness boot camp as an answer to their weight loss and fitness problems. However, today the obvious benefits of these boot camps workouts have made many women reconsider the advantages of using a fitness boot camp to improve their fitness. Many women have discovered that regardless of their current fitness and exercise level, it is very hard to beat the health and fitness benefits of consistent and regular boot camp workouts.
An important reason motivating women to choose a fitness boot camp is that the fitness boot camps offer one of the best workouts for rapid weight loss. Even women that have had difficultly losing weight in the past or following through on an exercise program have found great results after joining a boot camp class. A well-designed boot camp class will offer a progression of each exercise for novice, intermediate and advanced boot camp participants. As you gain fitness and strength, the progressive difficulty of each exercise will continue to challenge you.
One reason that boot camp workouts work so well for weight loss and toning muscle is that these fitness workouts are based on exercise science and physiology, using the proven techniques of resistance and cardiovascular training, as well as specific weight training exercises. Building muscle is essential to boosting the body's metabolism and effectively and efficiently losing weight by burning more calories throughout the day.
Another reason that fitness boot camps are such a great way to get into shape and lose weight is that they provide structure and consistency. Without having structure to your fitness program, and consistently participating, your chances of reaching your goal of having a great looking and fit body are greatly reduced. With a fitness boot camp, not only are the workouts intense enough to provide you with the results you want, but you will find that the personal trainers and instructors help provide the necessary motivation to keep you consistent.
Fitness boot camps also provide significant health benefits. One of the most important health concerns for women is heart disease; so cardiovascular health should be one of the main goals when choosing an exercise program. Boot camp workouts provide enough cardio exercise to help keep a heart healthy and reducing the chance of suffering a heart attack or stroke. Another benefit of the boot camp classes is the decreasing risk of osteoporosis by improving bone density. The weight-bearing exercises often found in a boot camp workout are important in increasing a woman's bone density.
Another added benefit of fitness boot camp workouts for women is time management. In many cases its possible to get a full body workout in a brief 45 to 60 minute workout while burning over 600 calories. These fitness boot camps are typically far better than other workout programs which can often take much longer to burn the same number of calories. These high-intensity, fat-burning and muscle toning workouts can be a time savings to the busy professional woman.
Women from many fitness and health backgrounds can benefit from fitness boot camps specifically for women. Signing up for a fitness boot camp may be one of the best ways to get in shape and lose weight.
Adpated from an article by John M. Martinez, M.D. and Greg Griffin
Posted by Angie Quehl on Mon, Aug 02, 2010 @ 02:02 PM
1. Warm up before a strength training session Warming up increases blood flow to muscles by about 55%, giving you better muscle contraction. You’ll sweat earlier, which helps to regulate your body temperature. Just 5 minutes of walking or cycling will meet this requirement.
2. Vary your cardio exercises – Alternate between two or more cardiovascular activities like walking and cycling or kickboxing and step aerobics. This will help to optimally develop your cardiovascular fitness, maintain the element of fun in exercise, help you avoid over-training, as well as injury. Bottom line, you will expend more calories.
3. Incorporate several cardio techniques - Changing techniques forces your body to adapt and become more efficient. Vary the intensity and modify impact styles. For example, if you have been walking the same path at the same pace every day, begin to incorporate bursts of speed intermittently. The underlying principle is that change is what keeps the body progressing, making improvements and burning fat.
4. Circuit Train – Perform several strengthening exercises interspersed with a short cardio segments. For example perform a leg press, lateral pull down and abdominal crunch followed by 3 minutes of cycling. Then repeat another 3 strength exercises followed by 3 minutes of walking. Circuit training has a lower dropout rate (which means you will stick with it longer), is an efficient calorie burner, increases muscular strength and decreases body fat.
5. Strength Train with Multi Joint exercises – Choose exercises that work compound muscle groups – meaning more than one muscle group at a time. This will give you the most bang for your buck. Examples include squats, lunges, and push ups. For every pound of muscle on your body you need 35 to 50 calories per day to sustain it, while every pound of fat on your body requires only a modest 2 calories per day.
6. Exercise first thing in the morning – Morning exercisers have a higher likelihood of showing up. Later in the day, the odds that you’ll skip your workout increase as interruptions things come up and fatigue sets in. Morning exercise also helps regulate your hormone response, telling your body to release fat and kick start your metabolism.
7. Eat a “primer” meal prior to working out – Having a small balanced meal prior to exercise will help you burn fat. After you eat, your blood sugar rises and exercise acts like insulin to help regulate blood glucose. Eating will also give you the energy for a more intense workout – you will therefore burn more calories.
8. Eat 5 to 6 small meals a day – Food has a thermic effect, meaning it takes energy (calories) for your body to digest the food you eat. Eating several times throughout the day increases the thermic effect, so you burn more calories. Eating more often also keeps you from feeling like you are being deprived of food and prevents hunger from setting in, which can cause you to binge eat. Learning to eat smart is and essential part of any weight loss program for women.
9. Train with intensity – To get the full benefits of exercise for women, you must graduate from the “pink weights” and moderate walking. Do not be afraid to increase your resistance and challenge your muscles and cardiovascular system. In order to change, you have to push your physical limits beyond what you are accustomed to.
*Adapted from an article by fitness expert and certified personal trainer Kelli Callabrese
Posted by Angie Quehl on Mon, Jul 26, 2010 @ 03:38 PM
Tighten up that backside with this foundation move!
Targeting your core and your lower body, this move is a great way to bump up the intensity of a traditional squat according to Meredith Chiapello, who leads the personal training department here at The Women's Club. She cites this exercise for women as a way to kick things up a notch by modifying a move that most people already know.
Let's get started!
1. Begin by bending your elbows and clasping your hands in front of you as you bend your knees and assume the squat position.
2. Step your left foot out to the left side, keeping your core engaged and maintaining the squat position.
3. Then follow with your right foot and place it directly next to your left foot.
4. Continue moving yourself across the room in this fashion. Once you reach the other side, swtich directions and travel to the right, leadng with your right foot. Move slowly and stay controlled.
Chiapello says this move is effective because is works several muscle groups simultaneously. "This movement will increase your heart rate AND target your thighs, backside, legs and midsection all at the same time."
So what are you waiting for?
Get out there and get moving!