Archives for September 2011

Exercise: Back to Basics!

Recently I have heard a few people say “Don’t you have to be quite fit to have a personal trainer?” or “I need to get a little fitter before I have some personal training.” and my answer has been…..”NO, not at all! Every single one of us is an individual and our bodies work in very different ways. We all have to start somewhere and what better way to start than have professional advice from the beginning, rather than try when you don’t really know what you are doing!”

A friend of mine sent me some fitness blogs a few days ago and although most of them were a good read, there were points I disagreed with, one point in particular stood out in my mind and I would like to give my opinion to it. Here is the quote……

“Never do cardio right before weight training, doing cardio uses up your stored glycogen which will greatly compromise your energy level during weight training. On the other hand, doing weight training first will use up the stored glycogen then the body will look for fat to burn as energy.”

As I said above, every individual is different and has different goals. It is true that if you do cardio before weights, you will generally feel more tired during the weights but there is no reason why you can’t burn fat during a weights session too! Also, it completely depends on what is more important to you as an individual to what you do first. For instance, if you want to burn fat and gain general fitness, I would suggest the cardio comes first as it is more important for your overall goal, whereas if you wanted to concentrate more on building muscle or toning up, then the weights section would be more important and should come first, whilst you are fresh and can perform to your best. The other reason why I disagree with this statement is that when doing cardio, if you keep your heart rate to the correct zone, burning fat as an energy source rather than glycogen is easily done. So, like I said, we are all different and it’s about finding out what works for you.

Exercise is like trial and error, as long as the basic guidelines are followed and you are exercising in the correct manner and performing exercises safely(with the correct posture), the rest is about what works for you. You might find that a friend tells you to try something that has got them great results and when you do, you achieve nothing. This is because your body is not the same and will respond differently to some exercise than others.

What is important is consistency, will power, a positive mental attitude(PMA) and belief that with hard work you CAN……be what you want to be, work towards the shape you want to be and become a fitter healthier person. So, with this in mind, I’ve come up with a few pointers that might work for you and help you in the right direction to living a healthier lifestyle:

  • When starting to exercise for the first time or starting up again after a long break, don’t be stubborn and push it too hard too soon. Listen to your body and what it is telling you. If it has a few aches and pains, acknowledge them but don’t ignore them. If you try to push through them you are likely to injure your body by putting it under too much stress before it is ready.
  • Don’t neglect the boring bits! What I mean by this is the warm up and cool down before and after each session. These are not there just to make you look like you know what you are doing, they are there because you DO know what you’re doing! A warm up and cool down will get the body ready to exercise and also bring the body back to a resting state afterwards. Imagine your muscles like an elastic band; if an elastic band is left for too long in a draw and then taken out and stretched immediately, it is likely to snap. The idea of a warm up is to get the muscles warm and more flexible so they aren’t overstretched straight away and tear like the elastic band! Dynamic stretches(stretches on the move) are a big part of a warm up. It is also there to increase the body’s circulation and dilate the blood vessels ready to deal with the body’s need for oxygenated blood when exercising more vigorously. A cool down is just as important to flush away the lactic acid build up in the muscles to reduce stiffness/soreness in the body over the following few days. Static stretching is a big part of a cool down so that the muscles don’t tighten up and shorten after exercise. Keeping the muscles supple is a major part of any exercise programme.
  • Rest is just as important as exercising itself! If you continuously put the body under stress you are actually making micro tears in the muscles of the body. Without sufficient rest to recover, these tears will not repair right and an injury is on the cards. Scar tissue build up is very common from overworking without enough recovery and this can lead to a bigger muscle injury preventing you from exercising all together for weeks on end. Again, listen to your body and it’s aches and pains and if you feel like you need a day of rest and recovery, you probably do BUT this shouldn’t be used as an excuse to get out of exercising. Be honest with yourself because consistency is key.
  • Keeping your body hydrated is a must! Many people neglect the correct fluid intake which can be a bad mistake. The fluids lost from sweating whilst exercising means they are in constant need to be replaced. A dehydrated body will lead to fatigue and the muscles don’t perform as they should causing muscle pulls. It is important to prevent dehydration by continuously topping up your fluid intake before, during and after exercise to replace the lost fluids and body salts. A hydrated body will perform better and is less likely to have muscle injuries, which means regular exercise can continue consistently.
  • Lastly, many people struggle with knowing how many times a week and for how long they should exercise. There is no right or wrong(within reason!) but there are some good guidelines to follow. When starting up, try building up the time of the session gradually starting at 15-20 minutes and over time increasing it to roughly an hour maximum. Also, start with one or two sessions a week and add more as and when the body starts to recover quicker and you feel ready to exercise again. Three sessions a week is more than adequate to maintain a good fitness base but if you want to exercise more, there is no reason why you shouldn’t as long as you give yourself a day or two to rest every so often. Exercising five to six times a week is the maximum I would advise purely so there is a day or two to break the week up for a recovery period.

I hope this blog has given you an insight into a few basic pointers, to help get you on track for starting on the first rung of the ‘fitness ladder’. Remember, you know your body better than anyone else, so make sure you treat it with respect, listen to it and learn from it, and it will take care of you and reward you with the success of achieving your goals.