Archive for the 'Core Performance' Category

Total Body Circuit Fat Burner

August 31, 2007
By Josh Perez

If your looking for a total body circuit fat burner in under 30 minutes that can be done practically anywhere and burn fat faster, the answer is a total body circuit fat burning circuit. What women love especially about this type of training is that it maximizes your time in the gym by making it more efficient.

What the total body circuit does is that it works multiple muscle groups all in one time and it increases the effectiveness of getting results quickly. It also breaks up the monotony of doing the same traditional exercises.

Total body circuits come with non stop benefits. You can hit more major muscle groups with each workout versus isolating them with a split routine. Instead of just exercising your quadriceps or hamstrings once per week or four times a month, total circuit training will allow you to hit them three to four times a week pending of how many times you hit the gym.

This will reduce of the risk of over-training since your are recruiting more muscle mass with each training session. Which basically means the more energy expenditure, the more faster fat loss results.

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The magic trick is too add balance movements to your routine – Its that simple

For one you will:

  • Strengthen your Core
  • Prevent Injuries
  • Improve your Posture

These balance movements need to be included in your workout routine a minimum of 3x per week. Always remember to maintain Neutral Spinal Position or simply keep your abs tight throughout each movement.

Here is one great exercise DVD regarding balance training that I recommend to my clients. Also, what is awesome about balance training, is that it can be performed inside the privacy of your own home, and more importantly; you burn twice as many calories. Which now you involve multiple muscle groups besides that one muscle you use with a machine.

:08 Min Core Workouts: Abs, Arms, Thighs, Buns and Stretch:08 Min Core Workouts: Abs, Arms, Thighs, Buns and Stretch

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The Importance Of Balance Training

July 8, 2007
By Josh Perez

In the gym today you will see some of the members standing on one foot or simply performing an exercise with one hand and perhaps with their eyes closed. It is a functional movement because we do walk with one leg in front of the other in everyday life, and we do reach for those dinner plates with one arm.

Balance is defined as the ability of the central nervous system and muscular system to work together to sustain or return the body’s center of mass or gravity over its base of support. Balance is the major component of all movement because it involves the core, and is dominated by strength, endurance, speed and flexibility.

Balance helps to burn tons of calories because we are involving multiple muscle groups as opposed to one by sitting on that machine. If we want to make ourselves more efficient with weight training and weight loss, then we must involve balance training as a part of our workout regimen.

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The “Fat Burning Zone”

July 1, 2007
By Josh Perez

There are many health benefits associated with performing cardiovascular activity. It is very important that you implement the right program for your goal, and know your starting abilities. If your using it like you should and performing it properly, regular cardiovascular work can reduce the risk of:

  • Heart disease
  • Hypertension
  • Diabetes
  • Osteoporosis
  • Overweight
  • Obesity

Physical activity can increase ones heart rate , and what we are looking for is for you to be in the target heart rate zone or better known as the “Fat Burning Zone.” In order to find your own specific fat burning zone you need to use the Karvonen Formula. Once determined you can easily find the zone by holding onto the metal strips of the cardio equipment or invest into a Heart Rate Monitor.

All you have to do is throw on the heart monitor and strap it around your chest and connect the watch to your wrist, and in a few moments you will have the number of beats for your heart. From there you can determine if you need to slow down or pick up the pace.

The Karvonen Formula is as follows:

  • 220-Age-Resting Pulse=XX(.60)= Low end Heart Rate
  • 220-Age-Resting Pulse=XX(.75)=High end Heart Rate

If you are a health risk and just started your zone is 50%-60%. The general members zone is from 60%-75%. If your an endurance athlete looking to compete or shock it up your zone is 75%-85%. The use of a heart rate monitor is a extremely accurate method of measuring your pulse rate. One of the most accurate models include a chest and wrist unit. Monitors that attach to your ear or finger react to many movements and may provide inaccurate measurements. With your heart rate you want it to be as dead on as possible especially during intense exercises.

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How Do You Know When Your Over-Trained?

June 28, 2007
By Josh Perez

Over-training generally comes from high intensities of working out which has an important factor in affecting performance, motivation, and results. Over-training is the stress of excessive training that can exceed the body’s ability to recover and adapt which could lead to breakdown of muscle as opposed to anabolism.

How do you know when your Over-trained? First you must listen to your body mentally and physically. The are a number symptoms that can be recognized during ones own workout.

For example here are some Physiological Symptoms of Over-training:

  • Elevated Morning Resting Heart Rate
  • Increase in Injuries-Chronic Muscle Soreness
  • Weight Loss-Frequent Minor Infections
  • Appetite loss
  • Fatigue

Some examples of Psychological Symptoms of Over-Training:

  • Reduced Concentration
  • Loss of Competitive Desire
  • Loss of Enthusiasm for the Sport
  • Altered Sleep Patterns
  • Moody
  • Depression
  • Easily Irritated

The one real way to prevent Over-training is simply by getting enough rest to recover the body. I say the minimum amount of hours should get is at least 7, however, 8-10 hours of sleep is optimal. You should consume a nutrition plan of higher complex carbs, increase your fluid intake, and supplement well in particular with a multivitamin and a anti-oxidant.

Once you have recovered you can gradually increase the intensities of your workout and this way you can keep progressing throughout your goal. But one more recommendation I can give is also to reduce the other stresses in your life such as: fix any nutritional gaps, take off at least one week of working out, and remove any physical and mental stress that can demotivate you in any way. Which is why it is always important to make changes in your workouts and life.

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The Body Mass Index Formula

June 27, 2007
By Josh Perez

BMI= body weight in pounds(X) 705/ Height in inches

-Individuals with a BMI greater than 30 are considered obese. However, the BMI does not indicate the exact proportion of one’s weight that is muscle and/or fat and is not accurate for all populations such as: athletes and pregnant women.

-Which is why individuals with a BMI greater than 30 and a body-fat measurement greater than 25% in males and 33% in females is considered obese.

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Postural Analysis

June 25, 2007
By Josh Perez

In any workout program that exists in the world today always begins with posture! Why is posture so important? Well its generally a problem that practically exists in the entire world, and which is muscle imbalances. What a muscle imbalance is; is an alteration in the length of muscle surrounding a joint. Muscles can be either shortened, lengthened, inhibited or weakened!

Where this all comes from is derived from poor Posture. Muscle imbalances can occur from physical stress, emotional, a pattern overload, or a repetitive movement. The best example I can give is someone who over trains their chest or in anatomy their pectorals. More than not it results in a forward head or a protracted shoulder girdle and this repetition of movement can create those imbalances that could lead to injury or the worst thing in the gym…NO RESULTS!!!

Many people in the world have the most common muscle imbalance which is the forward head. This simply comes from technology! We sit down 8-12 hours a day at a desk using a computer, talking on the phone, or performing research. And I’m sure most of you wonder why when you train chest, legs, or any other major muscle group your joints hurt. Or your sore in places that you didn’t think you would be, not because its the secondary muscle being used, but its the incorrect one that should have no bearing in the exercise at all or should take the majority of the load.

The good new is that it may take a lifetime to damage but it only takes 4-6 weeks to correct with corrective exercises and a flexibility program. Regardless of the goal, every person should have a flexibility program to make sure the body is in proper postural alignment in order to maximize benefit from the gym and everyday life!

An example of stretching I can give is, 1-3 SETS of 20-30 SECONDS of DURATION of multiple body parts. The specific body parts will be determined by the user because everyone is not average, and people have their own thumb print which makes the exercises unique.

Then of course after 4-6 weeks of corrective stretches you can proceed to the next milestone in the program which will be active stretching! One of the best modalities for corrective stretching that I can recommend is the foam rolls. Its equivalent to a swedish deep tissue massage. I have them listed below:
Full Round Foam Roller White 6

foam-rolls

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