Only a small post today. I've been very busy at work (+50 hours) the last couple of weeks, so sorry I haven't been around much.
This tip was inspired to me earlier today.
A lady at the gym told me she was hitting a plateau in her fat loss, and asked me for advice. So, naturally I asked her to outline her general routine. Here it was:
1. 20 mins on tradmill, on an incline interval program (speeds set randomly each workout)
2. 10 minutes on rower, sometimes 29 (?) floors, sometimes less, depending on how she feels on the day
3. 15 minutes on the bike, as fast as possible for entire duration
4. 10-20 minutes on the rower, slow for 5 mins, fast for 5 mins.
Needless to say it wasn't hard to see where she was going wrong. She had the right intent, but the wrong application.
My advice was to Keep It Simple. The more simple your program is, the easier it is to see measureable results in your fitness levels.
(This goes for any fitness quality, whether it is metabolic endurance, strength, or aerobic endurance)
So, I spent the session with her and we reshuffled everything as follows:
1. Treadmill. 10 minutes. Speed 4.0 (warm up)
2. Stepper (Main exercise)
Perform 30 floors as quick as possible. She did this in 8 minutes exactly, at an average speed of 4 floors per minute.
The next session, she will set the Floors Per Minute to 4.5, and aim to get to 30 floors in less than 8 minutes. This will continue until she cuts her time down by 50% (Yes, it can be done).
3. Rower (Second Main Exercise)
60 seconds high-intensity (SPM must be kept above 40) / 120 seconds low intensity. 5 Rounds total (No warm up or cool down needed)
1 round added per week for 4 weeks.
4. Bike. 10 minutes. Low intesity (Cool down).
Simple and Measurable. In a few weeks her capacity for anaerobic (and therefore aerobic) endurance on the stepper and rower will definately be increased, no two-ways about it.
As I mentioned, this goes for any quality you are trying to improve.
For example, if trying to build strength with free weights I commonly use this protocol with great and reliable results:
1. Deadlift 5 x 5
2a. DB Bench Press 5 x 5
2b. Chin Up / Lat Pulldown 5 x 5
Use the same weight for each set of an exercise. When you can perform 5 sets of 5 repetitions, up the weight and start over.
Like that meercat on TV says....
Seemples!
This tip was inspired to me earlier today.
A lady at the gym told me she was hitting a plateau in her fat loss, and asked me for advice. So, naturally I asked her to outline her general routine. Here it was:
1. 20 mins on tradmill, on an incline interval program (speeds set randomly each workout)
2. 10 minutes on rower, sometimes 29 (?) floors, sometimes less, depending on how she feels on the day
3. 15 minutes on the bike, as fast as possible for entire duration
4. 10-20 minutes on the rower, slow for 5 mins, fast for 5 mins.
Needless to say it wasn't hard to see where she was going wrong. She had the right intent, but the wrong application.
My advice was to Keep It Simple. The more simple your program is, the easier it is to see measureable results in your fitness levels.
(This goes for any fitness quality, whether it is metabolic endurance, strength, or aerobic endurance)
So, I spent the session with her and we reshuffled everything as follows:
1. Treadmill. 10 minutes. Speed 4.0 (warm up)
2. Stepper (Main exercise)
Perform 30 floors as quick as possible. She did this in 8 minutes exactly, at an average speed of 4 floors per minute.
The next session, she will set the Floors Per Minute to 4.5, and aim to get to 30 floors in less than 8 minutes. This will continue until she cuts her time down by 50% (Yes, it can be done).
3. Rower (Second Main Exercise)
60 seconds high-intensity (SPM must be kept above 40) / 120 seconds low intensity. 5 Rounds total (No warm up or cool down needed)
1 round added per week for 4 weeks.
4. Bike. 10 minutes. Low intesity (Cool down).
Simple and Measurable. In a few weeks her capacity for anaerobic (and therefore aerobic) endurance on the stepper and rower will definately be increased, no two-ways about it.
As I mentioned, this goes for any quality you are trying to improve.
For example, if trying to build strength with free weights I commonly use this protocol with great and reliable results:
1. Deadlift 5 x 5
2a. DB Bench Press 5 x 5
2b. Chin Up / Lat Pulldown 5 x 5
Use the same weight for each set of an exercise. When you can perform 5 sets of 5 repetitions, up the weight and start over.
Like that meercat on TV says....
Seemples!
