There’s a little secret in the fitness world called interval training.

What is interval training? Rather than doing the same cardio exercise your entire workout, interval training alternates short, high-intensity bursts of exercise with slower, low-intensity periods of recovery.

Research has shown that such intervals of high and low-intensity activity burn more calories and build fitness quicker in a shorter amount of time.

Once designed for elite athletes, interval training is now something the average fit person can try. You don’t need fancy equipment or special training to rev up your routine with interval training.

Read on to learn more about this fast, slow, fast, slow method of training and weight loss.

Theory Behind Interval Training
By alternating high-intensity movements with low-intensity movements, you’re working both your aerobic (with oxygen) and anaerobic (without oxygen) systems. High-intensity exercise causes your muscles to produce lactic acid (waste products), which lead to muscle soreness. Too much lactic acid build up causes exercise to become exhausting and painful.

Alternating hard and easy exercise will reduce the amount of lactic acid that accumulates, thereby making exercise more comfortable, improving your endurance and increasing your speed.

Interval Length
So how long should intervals be?

The answer is, it doesn’t matter.

There are no real hard-and-fast rules about interval length. Varying lengths bring varying benefits. So how fast and how often you pick up the pace depends on you.

Beginners should aim for no longer than 30 seconds of high-intensity bursts. If you’re feeling strong and are in good shape, go ahead and push yourself a bit longer.

Know the Risks
While a no-rules approach may sound appealing, interval training isn’t for the beginner. If you’re new in the land of fitness, take your time as you increase the intensity of your workouts.

Rushing into high-intensity exercise may lead to injury. Start out slowly. Add one or two high-intensity intervals each workout. Slow down if you feel you’re overdoing it. As your stamina increases, feel free to challenge yourself.

Sample Workouts
Remember, there’s no set rule about how to do interval training. It can be tailored to your fitness level and type of exercise.

An interval-training workout involves four variables that can be changed to meet your goals: intensity of intervals, duration of intervals, duration of recovery intervals, and the number of interval repetitions.

Interval training can be casual, spur of the moment bursts of activity depending on how you’re feeling that day or if you’re working towards a more specific sports or fitness goal you can take a more sophisticated, scientific approach.

Interval training workouts have been designed for plyometrics, sprints, stair running, jump rope, speed drills, and agility drills.

A simple example of interval training for walking would be to add short bursts of jogging or alternate slower walking with brisk walking. If you walk outdoors, you could jog or walk faster between certain landmarks such as mailboxes or street signs, then slow down for a short distance.

A second example that really gets your heart pumping and improves fitness in a short amount of time includes running, rowing, or cycling. Warm up for about 15 minutes, then run, row, or cycle as hard as you can (at 90 percent of your maximum heart rate) for three minutes. Then go easy for three minutes, allowing your body to recover. Repeat these three-minute intervals of high- and low-intensity exercise three or four times. Then cool down for 10 minutes.

I’m here to help you meet your fitness and weight loss goals.

Call or email today to get started on a fitness program that will get you to your goal quicker.

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You’ll be held accountable with your workouts and you’ll be instructed properly and shown techniques and strategies that will expedite your results.Call or email today to get started on a program that will take the guesswork out of fitness and will set your results on fire.

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Maybe you even make a few of these mistakes yourself.By avoiding these common blunders, you’ll put yourself on the fast track to results.

Check out the following 5 fitness mistakes and the solutions you need to avoid danger and to get fit fast.

Mistake 1: You use the wrong weight
The goal is to challenge your muscles, not to simply go through the motions. If you are able to complete 15 repetitions easily, then the weight is too light. On the flip side, if you aren’t able to perform an exercise through its full range of motion, and find yourself cheating on form, then the weight is too heavy.

The correct weights will feel challenging by your last few repetitions, but won’t force you to sacrifice form.

Mistake 2: You do the same routine
You may have noticed that most people do the same exercises each time they visit the gym. Maybe you’ve been doing the same exercise routine as long as you can remember – if it isn’t broken then don’t fix it, right?

The truth is that exercise routines have expiration dates, and that is the date that they begin to lose their effectiveness. As a rule of thumb never use the same routine for more than 4-8 weeks.

Mistake 3: You don’t warm up
Most people consider warm up time to be wasted time – they’d rather jump right into the heart of the routine. What they don’t realize is that a good warm up will allow you to perform at a higher intensity, which means greater results.

The point of a warm up is to increase your muscle temperature. This increases blood flow, muscle contraction and reduces muscle resistance. Your warm up should last 5-10 minutes.

Mistake 4: You use bad form
Gyms are filled with people performing exercises with bad form. The two biggest reasons are that you aren’t concentrating on the exercise, or you’re trying to lift weight that is too heavy. Lifting with improper form almost always results in injury.

Take the time to achieve proper form, by doing so you’ll avoid injury and will reap the full benefit from each exercise.

Mistake 5: You workout alone
People who exercise alone are less challenged, less accountable and typically see fewer results. It makes sense, doesn’t it? Why rush to the gym if no one is there waiting for you? Why push yourself if no one is watching? Exercising alone is a recipe for disaster.

The best way to avoid injury and to see results is to work with me, your trusted source on fitness.

I am passionate about seeing my clients achieve results – without wasting time, energy and effort on mistakes.

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Don’t know where to start when it comes to exercise? That’s where I come in.

Call or email me today and we will get you started on the exercise program that is right for you.

Whatever you want to call it, excess weight around your middle can be the most difficult weight on your body to lose.

It is also more dangerous to your health than those extra pounds that accumulate on your hips or thighs.

The fat around your belly is an outward sign of deep, internal fat surrounding your organs. Fat in this area causes an increase of hormones that raise blood pressure and increase bad cholesterol, putting you at risk for heart disease, stroke, and premature death.

Belly fat has also been associated with an increased risk of dementia, Alzheimer’s, osteoporosis, type 2 diabetes, colorectal cancer, and metabolic syndrome.

What’s to blame for belly fat? Stress, age, poor lifestyle choices, and genetics play a role—but so does your diet.

Here’s what not to eat and what to eat if you want to banish belly fat.

Recipe for a Fat Belly
It is fair to say that weight gain around your waistline and anywhere else on your body is caused by consumption of too many calories. That being said, there do seem to be certain foods and drinks especially associated with an increase of fat cells in the abdominal area.

While you may use it playfully, the phrase “beer belly” is an accurate description of what goes on when you down too much alcohol. Drinking too much may make it difficult to fasten your jeans. Why does this happen? When you drink alcohol, your liver goes into overdrive to burn it off instead of working to burn off the high fat content. Alcohol can also make you hungrier, causing you to consume more calories than normal.

Foods containing trans fat are another contributing factor for a large waist. Trans fat is a manmade fat created with partially hydrogenated oil. This unnatural fat leads to belly fat and moves fat from other parts of the body to the abdominal area. Where can you find trans fat in your diet? Cookies, crackers, pastries, potato chips, margarine, fried foods, and packaged foods all have this unwanted intruder.

Sugar-sweetened beverages and sodas are another possible culprit for belly fat. The empty calories and high amount of high-fructose corn syrup (a manmade sweetener) cause abnormal weight gain in the midsection. High-fructose corn syrup is also found in foods such as ketchup, mayonnaise, jam, canned fruits, yogurt, bread, and even fruit juice.

Finally, refined, low-fiber grains are also responsible for belly fat. To avoid these, skip foods such as white rice, white bread, and sugary cereals.

Recipe for a Flat Belly
Whittling your waistline starts with a low-calorie, well-balanced diet and regular exercise. A recipe for a flat belly starts with a diet rich in fruits, veggies, low-fat dairy, whole grains, and lean meat. Moving toward a slimmer waistline also requires you to move away from the fatty foods and drinks listed above.

A truly flat belly comes from a combination of a consistent, challenging exercise routine coupled with clean eating.

I’m here to help you meet your fitness and weight loss goals.

Call or email today to get started on a fitness program that will have your belly flatter than ever.

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This healthy salad that starts with dark flavorful greens, then adds cooked veggies, creamy goat cheese, some tender quinoa. No dressing required, since all the ingredients pack so much flavor. Next time that you are wondering what to make for dinner, try this Arugula, Quinoa and Warm Vegetable Salad. Feel free to add a side of grilled or baked chicken breast. Servings: 4

Here’s what you need…

• 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
• 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 bunch asparagus, chopped
• 1 small red onion, chopped
• Salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped
• 4 cups organic, baby arugula
• 2 oz crumbled goat cheese

1. Place the quinoa and chicken broth in a small pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and fluff.
2. In a large skillet, place the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté until lightly golden. Add the asparagus and onion. Sauté for 5 minutes, until the asparagus is bright green and the onions are translucent. Season with salt and pepper. Add sun dried tomatoes and sauté for 1 minute. Remove from heat.
3. In a large salad bowl, combine the arugula, quinoa, warm veggies and sprinkle with the goat cheese.
4. Serve with a side of grilled or baked chicken breast, or other lean protein.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 137 calories, 6g fat, 323mg sodium, 10g carbohydrate, 3g fiber, and 7g protein

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1. You have no time: Do you have time to sit and watch your favorite shows? Take a long hard look at your schedule and find the time. It’s there if you just look for it.
2. You have no energy: This excuse will be a non-issue once you’ve been exercising regularly for a couple of weeks. Your energy will build as you become more fit and active.
3. You have no motivation: Read the below 15 reasons to exercise and find which one motivates you. Do you want to look better? Do you need to fight disease or aches and pains? Find your motivation and run with it.
4. You’ve failed in the past: I get it; past failures are painful to face. But you haven’t really failed until you give up. Don’t give up on yourself! Go out there a do it.
5. You don’t know where to begin: No problem. I do know where you should begin. Call or email me today and together we will get your workouts back on track.

Slowly put your excuses down and walk away from them.

Embrace your motivation, and get started.

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It’s normal to have days where you just don’t feel like exercising.

You feel too busy, too stressed and quite simply too tired.

And you forget about all the amazing benefits that a consistent and challenging exercise routine gives you. I’m here to remind you.

Here’s a list of 15 of the top reasons to exercise. Pull out this list and read it when you’re having one of those days.

1. To Be Happier
Exercise has been shown to stimulate brain chemicals that induce relaxation and happiness. When you’re having a bad day, lace up your shoes for an invigorating workout and feel happier.

2. To Reduce Disease
Exercise has been proven to reduce the risk of pretty much every single health problem known to man, from stroke to heart disease to cancer and osteoporosis. Exercise is also a great defense against type 2 diabetes, one of the most widely growing diseases of our time.

3. To Look Amazing
Exercise firms your muscles, improves your posture and even makes your skin glow. Looking amazing is a wonderful result of regular exercise. It’s very rewarding when the people in your life start to notice your transformation.

4. To Reach Your Goal Weight
Exercise burns fat and helps you keep it off. If you want to have a leaner, healthier body, exercise is your answer.

5. To Be Energized
Remember that feeling you experience after a great workout? You’re body is buzzing with energy, you’re less easily irritated and feel more peaceful.

6. To Get Better Sleep
Exercise boosts energy levels during the day, but also wears you out. Recovering from a challenging workout will help you relax and reach a deeper level of sleep.

7. To Slow Aging
Regular exercise is one of the most effective ways to slow aging. When you age your body loses muscle and bone, and the loss of both are drastically reduced with regular exercise. You’ll also enjoy a reduction in inflammation.

8. To Lessen Back Pain
In most cases, the most effective thing that you can do for back pain is to move and strengthen those muscles. Always consult your physician, registered massage therapist, or certified sports injury therapist for guidance if you have an injury.

9. To Reduce Depression
Studies have shown that exercise is able to reduce depression – sometimes even as effectively as medication. Even if you don’t feel like getting up off the couch to sweat through a workout, remember that you’ll feel happier and more alive once you’ve done it.

10. To Feel Fewer Aches and Pains
When you strengthen the muscles around your damaged joints you’re able to reduce joint pain and overall aches. Remember to always consult your physician before starting an exercise program, especially if you have chronic joint pain.

11. To Improve Memory
Exercise has been proven to improve memory and other cognitive functions, and seems to have a protective effect against dementia. A Harvard University researcher was quoted calling exercise “Miracle-Gro for the brain.”

12. To Enjoy Your Life
Whatever it is that you love in life – your kids, travel, sports, fashion – it is all more enjoyable when you experience it in a fit and healthy body. Find the motivation to exercise so that you’re able to enjoy all the great things in your life.

13. To Have Fewer Sick Days
Studies have shown that people who exercise regularly are 50% less likely to call in sick to work. With a regular exercise program you’ll experience a reduced number of colds and upper respiratory infections.

14. To Burn Calories at Rest
Building your muscles through exercise means that you’ll be burning extra calories even while at rest. You’ll be able to eat more and maintain your ideal weight with ease.

15. To Be Confident
When you are fit, feel healthy and have energy, the natural result is great confidence. There’s no better confidence booster than sticking with a regular exercise program. The results are more than worth your efforts.

Regular exercise gives you so many amazing benefits, as you’ve been reminded from the above list.

I’m here to help you meet your fitness and weight loss goals.

Call or email today to get started on a fitness program that will have you seeing results before this year’s end.

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