People often ask me how many times a week they should exercise if they want to lose fat. A study conducted by Buck et al (2009)* looked at the effects of exercise frequency using a subject group of 90 subjects ranging in age from 22 to 74.
The 8 week study compared the fat loss results of the exercisers adhering to exercise frequencies of less than 2 times per week, 3-4 times per week, and more than 4 times per week, with each exercise bout lasting 30 minutes. The results showed that whilst fat was lost across the board, only those who exercised 4 or more times per week showed a significantly higher change in body fat percentage, with no significant difference between ages or genders.
Whilst this study only examines one variable in reducing one's body fat, it does indicate the importance of frequent physical activity. Add in a fat loss tailored diet, the right exercise intensity and type, and additional duration, and you have the answer to optimal fat loss!
*Frequency of Exercise for Body Fat Loss: A Controlled, Cohort Study,
Willis, F Buck; Smith, Forrest M; Willis, Adele P Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research: November 2009 - Volume 23 - Issue 8 - pp 2377-2380
doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181b8d4e8
Showing posts with label godalming personal training. Show all posts
Showing posts with label godalming personal training. Show all posts
Tuesday, 6 December 2011
Sunday, 28 August 2011
Training With Injuries
I just wanted to write a few quick thoughts on training with an injury today, as I think there is a real tendency for people to cease all training when they get injured, which has a number of disadvantageous consequences... (By the way, when I talk about injuries, I'm referring to pretty much anything that puts a limitation on your movement, so it could be anything from a sprained wrist to a fractured leg... the principle is still the same).
So, what happens when you stop training is that you get weak, right? Not rocket science. And if you have a broken leg there's not much you do about losing muscle mass, strength, power etc in that limb. However, common advice is that you shouldn't train the other limb either because you don't want that side to get unequally strong. This is misguided.
You see, the body is an amazingly smart tool, but it's not so smart that it can split itself neurologically in two and only create/ maintain adaptation on one side - indeed, research has shown that there is a 20% transfer of neurological development from the trained limb to the non trained limb, so even if, for example, you break your leg, you continue training the uninjured side you will retain a lot more strength on BOTH sides.
I can personally attest this information from when I broke my ankle in three places 9 months ago. Having continued to train upper body and core as normal and performed a variety a single leg exercises whilst I was in plaster, my recovery post cast removal was much quicker and I am now back to full fitness almost a year earlier than my consultant predicted. Incidentally, I didn't put on a pound during my convalescence either, and thanks to single leg intervals on the airdyne combined with my lifting and mobility program, managed to maintain a great deal of cardiovascular fitness too.
(Check out my personalised Phoenix Pro cast :)
Getting injured can be frustrating, but the take home message is to work around your injury and not let it undo all your hard work. The more strength, power and cardiovascular conditioning you can retain whilst injured, the faster your recovery and return to full capacity will be.
To Your Success!
Charlotte
www.phoenixprofitness.com
Follow us on twitter at @charlotteord and @phoenixprofit
Powered by AWeber Email Marketing
So, what happens when you stop training is that you get weak, right? Not rocket science. And if you have a broken leg there's not much you do about losing muscle mass, strength, power etc in that limb. However, common advice is that you shouldn't train the other limb either because you don't want that side to get unequally strong. This is misguided.
You see, the body is an amazingly smart tool, but it's not so smart that it can split itself neurologically in two and only create/ maintain adaptation on one side - indeed, research has shown that there is a 20% transfer of neurological development from the trained limb to the non trained limb, so even if, for example, you break your leg, you continue training the uninjured side you will retain a lot more strength on BOTH sides.
I can personally attest this information from when I broke my ankle in three places 9 months ago. Having continued to train upper body and core as normal and performed a variety a single leg exercises whilst I was in plaster, my recovery post cast removal was much quicker and I am now back to full fitness almost a year earlier than my consultant predicted. Incidentally, I didn't put on a pound during my convalescence either, and thanks to single leg intervals on the airdyne combined with my lifting and mobility program, managed to maintain a great deal of cardiovascular fitness too.
(Check out my personalised Phoenix Pro cast :)
Getting injured can be frustrating, but the take home message is to work around your injury and not let it undo all your hard work. The more strength, power and cardiovascular conditioning you can retain whilst injured, the faster your recovery and return to full capacity will be.
To Your Success!
Charlotte
www.phoenixprofitness.com
Follow us on twitter at @charlotteord and @phoenixprofit
Powered by AWeber Email Marketing
Friday, 12 August 2011
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