Let me tell you a little secret – there’s a way to train less and get better results. The key is being smart with your training zones. Think of it like gears in a car – Gears 1 to 5. Gear 1 would be your base movement that requires very little effort. Gear 2 would be a fast walk or gentle yoga session. Gear 3 is your primary fat burning zone where you’re working up a sweat but can still hold a conversation. Gear 4 is reaching higher intensity levels and it’s feeling tough, and Gear 5 is your max effort.
To achieve results you need to hit a variety of gears throughout your week. If you keep doing the same exercise programme or activity at the same intensity day in and day out, you’ll most likely hit a plateau and get incredibly bored, and if you’re training often at high intensity levels, you’ll most likely injure yourself and burn out. So try and mix it up, and most importantly, make sure you’re having fun! An example of an average week may look like: Take a dance class where you might be sitting in Gear 3 for the better part of an hour, go to a yoga class (Gear 2), do a 20 min high intensity cardio session (Gear 4 and possibly Gear 5), go for a walk listening to your favourite tunes (Gear 1 & 2), go for a 30-60 min jog / run (Gear 2-4), do some strength training at home or at the gym (Gear 2-4) etc Obviously what you do with your week depends on what you enjoy, how much time you have and what your personal goals are. The Department of Health’s Physical Activity Guidelines for an adult is to aim for 2.5-5 hours of moderate intensity activity a week or 1.2-2.5 hours of vigorous activity a week. So even an easy 20 min walk every day or two decent one hour sessions at the gym can help decrease the chance of disease and can increase your life span and overall wellness. I really want to pound this into your head – ANYTHING IS BETTER THAN NOTHING. Yes I’m talking to you who’s saying you don’t have the time! Do 5 min of squats while watching TV or cooking dinner, go for even one walk a week on your lunch break, get up off your chair every hour at work and walk around for a few minutes, take the stairs instead of the lift – all of this will make a difference to your overall health and well-being – so what are you waiting for?! For those of you however who would like to lose weight, get fitter and stronger, have more energy and get drunk on those happy endorphin's that come with physical activity – you need to hit all of the gears for adaptation to happen. See the below chart as a guide: Gear One Easy. Little Effort. Time Spent before Refuelling: 3000 min Base Fitness 50-60% of Max Heart Rate Gear Two Light. Power Walk/Jog. Time Spent before Refuelling: 45-90 min Endurance 60-70% of Max Heart Rate Gear Three Somewhat Hard. Run. Time Spent before Refuelling: 30-45 min Aerobic Fitness 70-80% of Max Heart Rate Gear Four Hard. Sprint. Time Spent before Refuelling: 10-20 min Performance 80-90% of Max Heart Rate Gear Five Extremely Hard. High Intensity. Time Spent before Refuelling: 1-5 min Max Performance 90-100% of Max Heart Rate Most people feel like they need to walk away from a work out feeling absolutely wrecked and incredibly sore the next day to get anywhere with their goals. Looking at this chart, you only need to reach 80-90% of your max heart rate for a mere 10-20 minutes before your body has had enough and needs to recharge and refuel! The more often you reach Gear 4 and 5, the more recovery days (Gears 1-2) you need. And by recovery, I don’t mean doing nothing, I mean going for an easy walk, doing yoga, using your foam roller etc So only doing a short high intensity session and then going for an easy stroll the next day isn’t cheating – it’s actually going to give you more results than smashing yourself for hours at the gym. (Unless you’re a professional athlete that is!) Great news huh?! Have a read of Gareth Houley’s blog (From the PT Academy where I did my training) for more information – he explains it beautifully. Read Gareth Houley’s blog HERE. Now this is where I come in. Let me tell you a bit about my business Explore Discover, and how I can help you achieve your goals in a safe, effective and healthy way. I run a Yoga and Personal Training Studio from home in Langwarrin VIC, as well as offering mobile services. Currently I have 4 weekly yoga classes on my timetable (max 8 ppl per session), as well as training private groups and individuals. As of July I am adding some Group Fitness classes to my timetable as well. I like to educate people to think beyond superficial bodily goals and to delve deeper into observing the mind and connecting to the soul. The ultimate goal is to achieve overall wellness and to improve your quality of life. My Group Fitness classes (and private Personal Training sessions) are different from what you find at the gym in a group class. I don’t believe in a one size fits all approach, I prefer a more holistic viewpoint. My unique class structure involves using Heart Rate Monitoring projected onto a TV screen which allows me to train each person who attends my group classes individually to their current abilities. Doesn’t matter what age you are, how fit (or unfit) you are, or what number is showing up on your scales. I will be able to tweak the work out for each person using their heart rates as a guide. I will also take into account any other training you have done that week, how much sleep and water you’ve had that day, how stressed you may be currently and how you are feeling etc Depending on all of these factors, I will review your goals for the session and guide how long you will spend in each training zone. Each class will be 45 minutes in length and will include a warm up, and then structured moderate to high intensity activity (depending on your training zone target for the session) which may involve a game of some sort, circuit training, team exercises, strength and cardio exercises; and then a cool down, ending with a minute of mindful breathing. I mainly focus on functional movement, body weight exercises and free weights such as dumbbells, medicine balls, kettle bells etc instead of lifting heavy weights and using machines. Due to limited space, bookings are essential, and pre-payment is required to secure your spot. Casual classes are $13 or you can buy a 10 Pass for $100 which is valid for 3 months. The 10 pass card is also valid for any of my weekly yoga classes as well. Register your interest and book your spot now! I look forward to meeting you. (Note: I also use heart rate monitoring with my private PT clients as well.)
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