Fitness Weight Training

One of the comments a reader left on our website is how can he or she lose fat while gaining muscles? In a way he is basically asking – is it possible to replace fat with muscle tissue?

Yes you can do that but, it depends on several factors.

It is well documented that the more muscle tissue one has, especially of  the fast twitch muscle type, the more fat you are able to lose. It is certainly easier for most people to build muscle mass first knowing that they will be putting on more fat in the process.

After going on such a fitness weight training program for a few months, they will then start doing high reps/low weight workouts so they can start showing their newly built muscles. This is the most common method of fitness weight training for muscle mass and fat loss.

To perform fitness weight training which will develop muscles while burning off fat, you will need to stick with compound exercises like deadlifts, squats, bench press, lats pulldowns and military presses. These are the exercises that employ not only the big muscle groups but also the surrounding smaller muscles. Do them with free weights instead of using the exercise machine, so the auxiliary muscles are exercised more.

Your fitness weight training should aim at around 8-12 reps per set, with weights set to about 80% to 90% of the maximum weight you can lift for a particular exercise.

Before starting this program, work out the maximum weight you can lift and then reduce that by about 20% until you can just lift 8 to 12 reps. Set the weight so the last 2 or 3 reps are really hard but don’t do the exercise to failure.

Do 3 sets per exercise to start with and do full body workouts 3 times a week on alternate days. Remember to keep increasing your weight in small increments as you become fitter.

Your daily protein consumption should be restricted to about 1.5 multiplied by your body weight (in kgs). Plan to eat that total amount of protein over 6 small meals. This is important for if you increase your protein intake, you may be putting on extra fat.

When you do our proposed fitness weight training, you will find that your body will be burning fat faster even when you are resting due to your higher metabolic activity. This is the main reason why weight training is so effective for losing weight.

by on March 16, 2010  •  Permalink
Posted in Fitness Weight Training
Posted by Dean Louis on March 16, 2010

http://FitnessWorkoutSchedule.com/fitness-weight-training/

Running To Lose Weight

You are probably thinking … are you for real ?

Let’s face it – if you are really that lazy, or don’t have access to weight training equipment or other forms of training aids, then you are really at a disadvantage when it comes to getting fit or trying to lose weight.

But it’s not all over for you if you like running … you could run to lose weight.

Truth is, you can easily lose your pounds of fat by following a running program. So how do you do it?

1) First, plan to run at least 3 to 4 times a week for at least 20minutes but ideally 30 to 40minutes. If you cannot put aside any time, forget it; don’t waste your time. Running to lose weight will not achieve any significant results by running only 10mins once a week. Still, if you could only manage 1 or 2 running sessions, then stick with it as it’s better than doing nothing.

2) See you GP to make sure you are medically fit to undergo your running to lose weight program.

3) Running to lose weight will work better if you also eat healthy, sleep well and maintain your intake of liquids and water to keep yourself hydrated. Your biggest challenge especially if you haven’t been physical for a good number of years, is to ensure you are fully recovered before each session. It also helps you stay injury free.

4) Vary your running to lose weight program by including elements of interval training and or sprinting. For 2 sessions of the week, try running long distances but at medium or slower pace. For the last session, run shorter distances but do more sprinting or more interval training.

5) Again, I don’t like repeating myself but if this is the only to get through to you then I will keep doing it. Please warm up thoroughly at the start.  At the end, warm down with light stretches and walking.

Important Note :- If your legs are hurting from too much running first eliminate the obvious – your running shoes, your techniques …etc. If they still hurt then reduce your sessions or stop running immediately. Then for the next 2 to 3 weeks, do some weight training specifically for your legs – squats, extensions, hamstring curls and calf raises. This worked for a lot of the people I know. Me ? I don’t need it coz I have good legs.

Other Ideas to Try While Running To Lose Weight:

- Run on country roads and hills. These methods will train both your aerobic and anaerobic fitness.

- After every few miles, stop and do some body resistance exercises like pull ups, push ups, burpees and crunches.

Running to lose weight will work for a lot of people, some more than others. You don’t know until you try so give it a go and good luck.

by on February 28, 2010  •  Permalink
Posted in Lose Weight Programs
Tagged , ,
Posted by Dean Louis on February 28, 2010

http://FitnessWorkoutSchedule.com/running-to-lose-weight/

Fitness Circuit Training Basics

If you don’t include any circuit training in your fitness exercise program then you could be missing out on a lot. 

Fitness circuit training is one of the most effective way of getting a complete physical workout. It is basically a variety of intense resisitance and aerobics training designed to lose fat, build muscle and improve aerobics or heart-lung fitness.

Here are some benefits of fitness circuit training :-

- Easy to coordinate participants due to smaller sized groups.
- Does not depend on expensive gym equipment as exercises are body weight and resistance exercises like pull-ups and push-ups.
- Can provide a full total body workout.
- Can be adapted for any size workout area.
- Easily adapted to your sport and can be setup for sports specific training.
- Provides variety and keeps your motivation high because you are not following a monotonous routine.

While recommendations generally call for 9 to 12 exercises, there is really no rule about how many exercises you can do. It also depends on what you are trying to achieve.

If you prefer doing only one exercise per body part and train only large muscle groups, then you probably need 6 or 7 exercises. If you only want to target one body area then of course 3 to 5 exercises will do. The number of exercises in your fitness circuit training also depend on the kind of intensity you are aiming for.

One disadvantage of fitness circuit training is that it does not build muscle and strength. However with few adjustments this could be easily achieved. Just do not expect the kind of results one would get from a specialised weight training program.

An example of a routine which could build muscles, is one where you could decrease the number of repetitions between each exercise while increasing the weight using free weights or small dumbells. You could also vary the time at each training station making them shorter while increasing the recovery time between one station and the next.

Fitness circuit training can be fun because of the variety of exercises you do so go ahead and try it.

by on January 22, 2010  •  Permalink
Posted in Advice
Tagged ,
Posted by Dean Louis on January 22, 2010

http://FitnessWorkoutSchedule.com/why-fitness-circuit-training/

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