High-Intensity Interval Training

Looking for a way to add variety to your exercise plan while taking your fitness to the next level? High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a cardiorespiratory training technique that alternates brief speed and recovery intervals to increase the overall intensity of your workout. HIIT is used by athletes and everyday exercise enthusiasts to reach performance goals and enhance fitness and well-being.

How does it work?
Most endurance workouts, such as walking, running, or stair-climbing—are performed at a moderate intensity, or an exertion level of 5-6 on a scale of 0-10. High-intensity intervals are done at an exertion level of 7 or higher, and are typically sustained for 30 seconds to 3 minutes, although they can be as short as 8-10 seconds or as long as 5 minutes; the higher the intensity, the shorter the speed interval. Recovery intervals are equal to or longer than the speed intervals.

High-intensity interval training is done at a submaximal level; around 80-95% of maximal aerobic capacity. Sprint interval training (SIT) is a type of high-intensity interval training that pushes beyond this level to 100% or more of maximal aerobic capacity, or an exertion level of 10.

What are the benefits of HIIT?
The payoffs of pushing yourself with HIIT are plentiful, and include:

Significantly increased aerobic and anaerobic fitnessDecreased fasting insulin and increased insulin sensitivityReduced abdominal and subcutaneous (just under the skin) fat

The surprising thing about HIIT is that it involves such a small total amount of exercise. By including HIIT in your exercise plan, you can realize remarkable results in a short amount of time, which is good news for busy people.

Is HIIT safe?
High-intensity exercise of any type brings with it a higher risk of musculoskeletal injury and cardiac events. But along with healthy subjects, HIIT has been studied as a training method for people with heart disease and congestive heart failure. Under clinical supervision, subjects were able to tolerate high-intensity intervals without negative effects. Most importantly, they experienced bigger improvements in cardiovascular function compared to those undergoing continuous moderate-intensity training.

The bottom line? HIIT may or may not be safe for you. Check with your health care provider before adding it to your exercise plan.

How can I get started with HIIT?
Choose an aerobic exercise—like stationary bicycling. Warm up for 5 minutes, and perform just a few alternating speed and recovery intervals; 3-4 of each should be plenty and will give you a feel for it; finish with an easy cool down. Here’s an example:

HIIT protocols vary widely. There’s no one best single way to structure them. Experiment with shorter and longer speed and recovery intervals to find what works best for you.

Gradually work up to 8-10 or more speed intervals, depending on your fitness goals. Keep in mind that the most common mistake made with interval training is making the recovery intervals too short.

Perform HIIT workouts 1-2 times a week at most to reduce your risk of injury. This high-intensity training method is best used periodically for up to 6 weeks or so to enhance regular training rather than as a year-round fitness strategy.

For best results, work with a certified fitness professional to create a personalized HIIT training plan. HIIT requires a big, sweaty effort, but if you stick with it, chances are you’ll be rewarded with impressive results.

Additional Resources
For All-Day Metabolism Boost, Try Interval Training — American College of Sports Medicine
Interval Training Advantages — IDEA Health and Fitness Association
A Healthy Mix of Rest and Motion — The New York Times

View the original article here

Alcohol Eats Away at Muscle Mass

If increasing muscle mass is one of your goals, then think twice before you go out for a night of heavy drinking. Consuming alcohol in large quantities has a direct effect on your metabolism, causing fat to be stored instead of being utilized as an energy source. Alcohol contains seven “empty” calories per gram, meaning that these calories don’t provide you with any of the essential nutrients you need to build that muscle mass you desire.

Muscles—Reduces blood flow to the muscles, causing weakness and deteriorationHormones—Reduces testosterone in your blood and increases conversion of testosterone to estrogen, causing increased fat depositing and fluid retentionLiver—Creates imbalances that can cause hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), fatty liver and hyperlipidemia (build-up of fats in the bloodstream)Brain—Cuts off the supply of oxygen to the brain, resulting in a “blackout” caused by a lack of oxygen supply to the brain that can kill tens of thousands of brain cells

Alcohol is a known depressant that suppresses the brain’s ability to function. Even though you may feel a “high” after several cocktails, the truth is that your reaction time, accuracy, balance, hand-eye coordination and endurance all decrease dramatically. Furthermore, the after-effects of a night of excessive drinking can be detrimental to your fitness goals. Alcohol is a diuretic that may result in dehydration. This dehydration is known to decrease physical performance, so that previous night of drinking will continue to affect you the following day.

Alcohol consumption can cause sleep disorders by disrupting the sequence and duration of sleep states and by altering total sleep time and the time required to fall asleep. It is popularly believed that a drink before bedtime can help a person fall asleep. However, alcohol’s affect on sleep patterns results in increased fatigue and physical stress to the body. Therefore, alcohol consumption indirectly affects a person’s strength-training ability due to increased fatigue and a lack of healthy reparative sleep.

Alcohol inhibits the breakdown of nutrients into usable substances by decreasing the secretion of digestive enzymes from the pancreas. Regular alcohol consumption also impairs nutrient absorption by damaging the cells lining the stomach and intestines and disabling transport of some nutrients into the blood. In addition, nutritional deficiencies themselves may lead to further absorption problems. For example, folate deficiency alters the cells lining the small intestine, which in turn impairs the absorption of water and nutrients, including glucose, sodium and additional folate. Such interference of nutrient breakdown and absorption may impair the physical performance and recovery required to build and maintain muscle mass.

Many people under the influence experience “drunk munchies” that can result in the consumption of several hundred extra calories for the day. A study examining how alcohol affects caloric intake found that subjects who drank wine with their lunch consumed an additional 200 calories and did not compensate for those calories by cutting back at dinner.

Now that you know some of the negative effects of excessive alcohol consumption, you might be scared to have that glass of wine with dinner. Don’t be. When alcohol is consumed in moderation (no more than one drink per day for women and no more than two drinks per day for men), it has been shown to have some positive effects:

Increased HDL cholesterol (“good” cholesterol) within one to two weeksReduced stress levelsReduced insulin resistance

In conclusion, if you want to increase muscle mass, decrease fat or improve general health, make sure alcohol is only consumed in moderation. Next time you are asked to go out socially, be the designated driver. Not only will your friends appreciate it and be much safer, but you will be one step closer to your fitness goals.

12 ounces of beer = ~150 calories
5 ounces of wine = ~100 calories
1.5-ounces of distilled spirits = ~100 calories

National Institutes of Health—Alcohol Consumption: www.health.nih.gov/topic/AlcoholConsumption
National Strength & Conditioning Association—Alcohol Consumption and its Effect on Performance: www.nsca-lift.org/perform/article.asp?ArticleID=204

View the original article here

Couch Potatoes Arise

When most of us think of ways to improve our health and lower our risk for disease, activities like aerobic exercise and resistance training come to mind. But that’s really only part of the story. Recently, scientists have begun to recognize that the time we spend doing sedentary things can also have a significant and direct impact on our health.

Specifically, recent studies suggest that adults who exercise regularly, but spend most of their days sitting, whether at work or on the couch, have greater health risks than active people who are more likely to be walking or moving throughout the day.

Recent data from the Nielsen Organization report that a typical American adult watches more than 151 hours of television per month. They also spend 27 hours surfing the Internet monthly and seven hours watching time-shifted television (i.e., DVR, TiVo). And most adults drive their cars to work and sit behind a desk all day. It is clear that all of this time spent doing sedentary activities may partially explain the obesity epidemic in the U.S.

It is becoming clear that even people who have found a way to incorporate regular vigorous activity into their lives should look for strategies to reduce the time they spend sitting or relaxing. Research suggests that people who spend long, uninterrupted periods doing sedentary activities are at the greatest risk. So it may be helpful to look for strategies to break up the time spent in a low-energy state. Setting an hourly alarm to prompt you to go for a brief walk may help.

Additional studies have found that for some people, watching television can also be a cue to snack and mindlessly consume unneeded calories. Furthermore, those who watch more television report consuming fewer fruits and vegetables than those who spend less time channel surfing. That’s why it’s a good idea to plan ahead and stock up on healthy snacks to nibble on while watching your favorite shows, sporting events or movies. Or better yet, skip the snacks and get up and move around during commercial breaks (just don’t head to the fridge).

You might also consider setting daily television and Internet allowances, which has proven to be effective in reducing sedentary time. After all, many of us may watch shows that are of little interest—or drive others crazy by constantly changing the channel—while waiting for something interesting or entertaining to come on. Instead, an evening walk or bike ride would prove to be more enjoyable—and certainly more healthful—alternative to lounging on the couch.

6 Ways to Be More Active While Watching Television

Throw the remote away and get up to change the channels.Walk up and down the stairs (or around the room) during commercialsPerform exercises using resistance tubing.*Get a treadmill, exercycle or other equipment so you can exercise while you watchStand up and iron your clothesSit on a stability ball instead of the couch

* see Additional Resources

Resistance Tubing Workout
How to Design Your Own Home Gym

View the original article here

Diggin’ in the Dirt

Ever notice your neighbor’s well-kept yard? The details are hard to miss: grass that never strays taller than two inches, bright flowers that go unthreatened by overzealous weeds, colorful vegetables that peek out of bushes arranged in straight rows and, yes, the gardener with the smiling face and the well-developed muscles to show for it.

That’s right—muscles. Gardening can burn an average of 300 calories per hour and is an effective form of resistance training.

Never would have thought it? Most people say they garden for the fun of it. However, according to the experts, moderate-intensity exercises such as gardening and walking, done most days of the week, provide a sufficient amount of physical activity to lower your risk for heart disease, cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure.

Whether your goal is a manicured lawn or to be able to walk out your back door and pick the vegetables for dinner, there are a number of books in your local library and bookstore that can tell you what and how to plant and how to feed and maintain your garden or yard. Once that step is done, you can focus on getting both you and the ground in shape.

Remind yourself that the tasks of gardening require the use of muscles that may not have been active for awhile. But if you start off slowly, you can avoid the back strains and soreness that come from repeating the same motion for hours at a time.

Plan on gardening three times per week for 30 minutes to an hour. To work on your upper body, try turning your compost pile and pulling weeds by hand. Raking and hoeing trains your upper arms, shoulders, chest and back, while digging targets your thighs and glutes.

And you can get your heart pumping by taking a turn or two around the yard with a push mower.

A little prevention goes a long way when it comes to avoiding sore gardening muscles.

It is essential that you use proper form when gardening. Start by warming up with a short 10-minute walk to prepare your body. Next, remember to use good posture and positioning to avoid injury, and keep all of your motions smooth and steady.

No matter what activity you are performing, always keep your abdominals firm to help maintain good back alignment.

An aching back is a common post-gardening complaint. This can be remedied by using your legs, not your back, and keeping your knees flexed when lifting wheelbarrows or heavy planters.

When digging with a shovel, don’t twist your back. Instead, lift your front foot, point it in the right direction, and turn your body. Keep your knees bent and alternate which foot you lead with to help you focus on your movements.

Concentrate on your breathing as well. Don’t hold your breath and be sure to exhale as you exert force. For example, exhale as you lift a heavy load and inhale as you lower it.

Gardening is something you can enjoy throughout your life. Go back to that image of your gardening neighbor. Remember the smile?

Gardening is an activity that feeds the mind. So get outdoors, breathe fresh air, feel creative, tone your muscles and cleanse your thoughts.

You’re sure to reap the boundless rewards offered by the sight of the first blooms, or the taste of the vine-ripened vegetables you’ve nurtured to maturity.

CBS News—Gardening as Exercise: www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/07/12/earlyshow/contributors/minnalessig/main515010.shtml
National Gardening Association—Eating Well: www.nationalgardenmonth.org/index.php?page=storyline03
About.com: www.exercise.about.com/b/2008/05/07/getting-ready-for-yard-work.htm

View the original article here

Healthy Hydration

Water is one of the most essential components of the human body. Water regulates the body’s temperature, cushions and protects vital organs and aids the digestive system. Water not only composes 75% of all muscle tissue and about 10% of fatty tissue, but it also acts within each cell to transport nutrients and dispel waste. And, because water composes more than half of the human body, it is impossible to sustain life for more than a week without it.

Necessary to the healthy function of all internal organs, water must be consumed to replace the amount lost each day during basic activities. According to the Food and Nutrition Board, it is recommended that women consume 2.7 liters (91 oz) daily and men consume 3.7 liters (125 oz) through various beverages (80%) or in food (20%). Active individuals need even more, particularly if they’re exercising in hot weather. This is especially important during the 24 hours prior to vigorous exercise. You can meet your body’s water needs over the course of a day through a variety of fluids and foods, including juices, soda, smoothies, tea, lemonade, soups, fruits and vegetables.

In one hour of exercise the body can lose more than a quart of water, depending on exercise intensity and air temperature. If there is not enough water for the body to cool itself through perspiration, the body enters a state of dehydration.

For regular exercisers, maintaining a constant supply of water in the body is essential to performance. Dehydration leads to muscle fatigue and loss of coordination. Even small amounts of water loss may hinder athletic performance.

In a dehydrated state the body is unable to cool itself efficiently, leading to heat exhaustion and possibly heat stroke. Without an adequate supply of water, the body will lack energy and muscles may develop cramps.

To prevent dehydration, exercisers must drink before, during and after each workout.

It is important to drink even before signs of thirst appear. One way to check your hydration level is to monitor your urine. It should be plentiful and pale yellow unless you are taking supplements, which will darken the color for several hours after consumption.

During exercise, water is the best fluid replenisher for most individuals, although sports drinks help replace lost electrolytes during high-intensity exercise exceeding 45 to 60 minutes. Individuals who sweat profusely during exercise and whose sweat contains a high amount of sodium (you may notice salt stains/rings on your athletic wear) should choose sports drinks and ensure that their diet contains adequate sodium to prevent hyponatremia (water intoxication). Contrary to popular belief, scientific evidence suggests that moderate caffeine intake does not compromise exercise performance or hydration status. However, alcohol consumption can interfere with muscle recovery from exercise and negatively affect a variety of performance variables.

It is easy to prevent dehydration with a variety of refreshing beverages, so drink up!

Drink 17 to 20 ounces of water two hours before the start of exercise.Drink 7 to 10 ounces of fluid every 10 to 20 minutes during exercise.Drink 16 to 24 ounces of fluid for every pound of body weight lost after exercise.

Hint: Rehydration occurs faster in the presence of sodium, regardless of whether it is
provided in a sports drink.

Institutes of Medicine—Dietary Reference Intakes: www.iom.edu/CMS/3788/4574.aspx
About.com: www.sportsmedicine.about.com/cs/hydration/a/022504.htm

View the original article here

Eat Well to Stay Motivated and Energized

Do you have trouble exercising at noon or after work, even though you’re truly committed to exercise and it’s the only time you have to work out? Do you feel so exhausted that you just can’t face the gym?

Your diet—rather than simple sloth—may be the problem. If you tend to skip meals in an attempt to save calories, you may be robbing yourself of important fuel for your workouts. While skipping meals may temporarily make your stomach feel flatter, doing so can also leave you feeling tired, irritable and unfocused. Then you’ll be tempted to forego your noontime workout, or go home, eat and stretch out on the couch in front of the TV after work. If, however, you follow some simple, sensible dietary practices throughout your day, you’ll get that workout done. And rather than feeling lightheaded and exhausted afterward, you’ll be energized and refreshed.

One key to staying motivated to exercise is to keep the amount of sugar in your blood—and thus, your energy level—stable. You can best do that by eating a series of small meals throughout the day—as many as five or six—that are composed of complex carbohydrates such as whole-grain breads or crackers, beans and other vegetables and fruit.

If you plan ahead and make time for grocery shopping, you can easily pack some simple meals and snacks to take to work with you. Eating complex carbohydrates helps keep your blood sugar stable because they are digested and absorbed slowly into the blood and don’t require your pancreas to produce much insulin.

Refined carbohydrates, such as potato chips, doughnuts and cookies, are absorbed very quickly and trigger the pancreas to produce large amounts of insulin. So, while they may give you an initial boost, your energy will drop off quickly, and your mood will follow.

The amount of sugar in your blood is also related to the amount of serotonin in your brain. Serotonin is an important chemical called a neurotransmitter that helps to regulate mood. If your level of serotonin is where it should be, you’ll have a sense of well-being nd confidence—and feel ready to tackle the treadmill. Should it drop, you may feel tired and depressed. If you often experience a craving for carbs, this may be your brain’s way of telling you it needs more serotonin.

What about caffeine? Good question. Many athletes rely on caffeine for the initial kick it can provide. Remember, though, that caffeine can also affect the amount of insulin, and thus, sugar, in your blood. Further, excessive intake of caffeine can cause dehydration, which can also sap your energy.

While drinking a caffeinated beverage may help get you to the gym, within an hour you may feel tired and too lightheaded to complete your workout, or to do it well. If you plan to engage in running or another highly vigorous activity, remember that some forms of caffeine, coffee in particular, can lead to mild gastronomical distress, as can some bulky foods.

So, you’d be wise to limit the amount of coffee, tea and soda that you drink for a number of reasons. Suppose you’re an early bird, and your best time to work out is in the morning before you go to work. For quick energy, drink some juice upon rising and avoid coffee.

Once you’ve completed your workout, have a more solid breakfast of whole-wheat cereal or toast and fruit to fuel your concentration for the morning’s work. If you work out and eat too lightly, chances are you’ll get “the drowsies” by 2 p.m., if not sooner.

Keep in mind that finding the right combination of food and drink to energize your workout—whatever time of day you choose—may take some experimenting. It all depends upon your individual tastes and your metabolism. With a little patience, an open mind and a little creativity, you’ll determine which foods suit you best.

You’ll keep your motivation to exercise if you:

Have a glass of juice to boost your energy before a morning workoutEat a breakfast that includes whole grains and fruit or fruit juiceEat small, frequent small meals and snacks during the day to maintain your blood sugarMake sure to have a light, healthy snack an hour before your noon or after-work workoutStay hydrated, keeping a water bottle at your desk at workLimit—or eliminate—the amount of caffeine in your diet

American College of Sports Medicine Current Comment—Caffeine and Exercise Performance: www.acsm.org

View the original article here