HIIT Workout

If you have any questions on how to do this, please ask, I tried to just post a workout!

DO NOT DO THIS AS A STARTER WORKOUT. IF ANYTHING HURTS DO NOT DO IT!

TABLE 18.1
Relationship Between VO2 max, HRR, MHR, and RPE
% VO2 Max	% HRR	% MHR	RPE
50	50	66	0	Very Light
55	55	70	1
60	60	74	2	Light
65	65	77	3
70	70	81	4	Somewhat Hard
75	75	85	5
80	80	88	6	Hard
85	85	92	7
90	90	96	8	Extremely Hard
95	95	98	9
100	100	100	10	Absolute Maximum
Adapted from page 493 Essentials of Strength and Conditioning Third Edition

PART ONE : Determine HR Range

Fartlek Training/Wave training

Calculate two ranges Low: 81% Hi: 92-96% (you can also use a LOW of 4 and a HIGH of 8)

220 – age =X

X*.81 = ____________________

220 – age =X

X*.92 = ____________________

X*.96 = ____________________

PART TWO: Work –Out : HIIT/Fartlex/Wave

Warm-Up:  Toe Touch, 10 Tuck-Jumps, 30 jumping Jacks

Work-out Directions:

There are 5 stations

Each station has both a HI and a LO intensity exercises (use numbers from above)

Each exercise should be executed for 2 minutes

During HI intensity you should achieve your peak or HI HR

During LO intensity you should maintain your LO HR

After completing your station you will have approximately 10 seconds to get set up at the next station.

If you finished the last station on HI the next station should be done on LO

MY HI HR IS: _______________________ RPE:________________

MY  LO HR IS:_______________________ RPE:________________

If you can tolerate it, repeat as many stations again that you can tolerate. This is a 20-40 minute routine (depending on your tolerance).

 STATION ONE:

HI: Stair Toe Taps

LO: Overhead Wide Grip Press

STATION TWO:

HI: Alternating punches with Squats (use resistance bands or cables)

LO: Lateral Lunges

STATION THREE:

HI: Side Lateral Steps with no weight exchange

LO: Medicine Ball Toss

STATION FOUR:

HI: Target Lunges with Hop Backs

LO: Resistance Band Pulls

STATION FIVE:

HI: ARC Trainer Sprints

LO: ARC Trainer low

PART THREE: Explanation

When employing resistance exercise consider the joint movements applied during exercise and make sure you are trying to balance them. Using repetitive joint movements in a routine may fatigue musculature so that the remaining exercises become impossible. Consider the exercises chosen for the above routine:

•          Stair Toe Taps : Hip and Knee Flexion (passive)

•          MB, BB, DB WG Overhead press: Shoulder Abduction

•          Cable Wide Alternating Punches with Squats: Shoulder H. Flexion, Hip Extension

•          Slide Board Laterals: Hip Adduction

•          Lateral Steps with no weight exchange: Hip Extension/Adduction

•          MB Toss: Shoulder Flexion

•          Target Lunges with Hop backs: Hip Abduction, Ankle Plantar Flexion

•          Resistance Band Pulls: Shoulder Extension/Horizontal Extension

HIIT / Fartlek / Wave Training

–Frequency: 1- 2 times per week

–Duration: 20-60 min

–Intensity: Target heart Rates between two ranges Low: 81% Hi: 92-96%. In other words, between  LSD and pace/tempo training( 75-90%) easy running with short fast bursts of running

–Benefits: VO2 max, increased lactate threshold, improved running economy and fuel utilization (i.e. weight loss).

Other Types of CV training and elicited response:

LSD or Long, Slow Distance

–Frequency: 1- 2 times per week

–Duration: 30 – 120 minutes

–Intensity: Target Heart Rate at 81% of maximum.

Physiological adaptations to LSD training include improved cardiovascular function, improved thermoregulatory function, improved mitochondrial energy production, increased oxidative capacity of skeletal muscle, and increased utilization of fat for fuel.

Pace Tempo/ Threshold training

–Frequency: 1-2 times per week

–Duration: 20-30 minutes

–Intensity: Target Heart Rate between 85-88%; at or slightly above lactate threshold

–Benefits: improved running economy and increased lactate threshold. In other words, you can work faster for longer periods of time.

Interval Training

–Frequency: 1-2 times per week

–Duration: 3-5 minutes (with work : rest ratios of 1:1)

–Intensity: Target Heart Rate between 92-96%.  Close to VO2 Max

–Benefits: Increased VO2 max and anaerobic metabolism. In other words, more total possible work achievable in any relative period of time. So for example, I may only be able to run a mile, but now I can run that mile in 6 minutes as opposed to 10.

Repetition Training

–Frequency: 1time per week

–Duration: 30-90 s (with work : rest ratios of 1:5)

–Intensity: Target Heart Rate between 98-100%. Greater than VO2 Max

–Benefits: running speed, running economy, increased capacity and tolerance for anaerobic metabolism. Similar to interval but tapping in to the Phosphagen cycle instead of glycolysis.

Functional WHAT?

I like this exercise because it’s far more functional.

Sitting silently in the back of the group I pondered the selection of the word functional and figured I missed that part of the lecture; this physioball exercise certainly doesn’t resemble anything I would consider functional. Now, I realize that  functional is one of my least favorite adjectives that have become part of the personal training vernacular. It’s meaning enveloping anything not conventional or traditional, but certainly not functional in any real meaning of the word.

Functional training by definition should be any exercise leading to the development of a specific function. So for example, if you would like to increase your speed of running, run faster; if you would like to increase the amount of weight you can lift, increase your load; to increase power, guess what you should train for? That’s right – power. However, let’s consider the physioball. It’s an unstable surface yes, but in a manner that has no real life resemblance to function. All joking aside, when would you be lying on a bouncy unstable surface doing sit-ups? Worse yet, when would you be standing on such a surface? At least a trampoline never claimed to be more functional it was simply fun, and if you had a stint in the circus as a trapeze artist perhaps functional for those times you fell into the net.

The most common request in the gym is weight loss. Functional training for weight loss is actually quite simple. First, get your diet under control. If you need some help with meal planning a close friend and colleague of mine Alex Jamieson has a fantastic program called Week in a Weekend that can help you cook delicious, meat free meals for an entire week. Also, don’t forget that alcohol is like liquid desert and the calories add up quickly.

Second, exercise as much as possible as intensely as possible. One strategy that is effective (and fun) is high intensity interval training, or HIIT (also referred to as wave or Fartlek training). Consider a wave pattern, when you exercise you have highs and lows.  The longer you keep your intensity (based on heart rate) at a high intensity, the more calories you burn. Instead of resting in a low/recovery period do resistance training or lower intensity cardio. The only precaution here is to not do activity where the heart is below the legs (like a decline bench press or inverted push up) at high heart rates. As with all exercise, if it hurts, don’t do it!

So what and why should consumers be aware of the functional training trap? What consumers should be aware of is an inability of their personal trainer or gym expert to explain exactly why they have selected an exercise. If a trainer suggests the selection to be far more functional ask why. How does this exercise impact your ability to achieve your goals? If the explanation is over your head, it’s likely over your trainers head. Why should consumers beware of the functional training trap? Stated simply, the more confused you are, the more likely you are to re-new and stay hooked. After all if you can’t squat on a physioball that is a significant indicator that you’re lacking function….right?

From Feet to Hair: the Post Pregnancy Body

More than anything else in the world, I love being a mother. Pregnancy however was a completely different story. Although I was fit when I conceived, my pregnancy was challenging and had complications. After giving birth the changes in my body, from my feet all the way up to my hair were not at all rewarding. Recently I have become an Aunt, and God Parent reminding me of my experience and the extreme physical challenge of birth and body recovery after giving birth. In honor of the women in the world who joyfully and nobly are birthing and raising the next generation of leaders, here is the first of a two part series on recovery and exercise tips to help you get back on top!

PART ONE: What's Going on?


Many of the physiologic and orthopedic changes that we experience during pregnancy are due to the decreased ability of the abdominal musculature to provide stability around the spine and from the hormone relaxin which is present in 10 times its normal concentration in the female body during pregnancy. Relaxin is good in the sense that its function — as you might guess from the name — is to relax the joints in the pelvis so the baby has room to pass through the birth canal. Unfortunately, relaxin also causes abnormal motion in many other joints of the body, causing inflammation and pain.

Foot Pain

It is not a myth that your feet grow/change during pregnancy and thereafter. Because there are joints in the feet, when your body releases relaxin you also experience changes in your feet. A woman’s feet change during pregnancy and can change even more afterward. Have your feet re-measured every six months after pregnancy for 18 months. Proper footing will help you avoid heel pain and calf discomfort

Upper Back and Neck Pain

Because our little babies are now outside of our bodies, we go from carrying them close to our spines to holding them in our arms in a forward posture for nursing and feeding. This causes the Scapula of the upper body to be continuously shifted forward, stretching the muscles that lie between the scapula and the spine, namely the small musculature of the spine,Rhomboids and the Upper and Middle Trapezius.

We need to counter that stretching and pulling with strengthening of this musculature. 

Body Fat

Despite what you may have read getting rid of body fat is actually quite simple. There are 3500 calories in one pound of fat. In order to lose a pound of fat, you must have burned or be negative 3500 calories. What you may not know is that because women lack the necessary testosterone to anabolize protein, or grow muscle beyond a certain normal level, resistance training may be more effective at increasing the total amount of calories burned than cardiovascular exercise alone.

Muffin Top

There are two types of problems you could be experiencing with a muffin top belly.

1-   

     Skin quality.

If during your pregnancy you were prone to excessive stretch marks, and after giving birth, the stretch marks are still present and the skin hanging over your pants is thin, it’s likely that your muffin top may not be addressable through exercise. This type of muffin top is due to a lack of skin plasticity. A solution to this problem would be a tummy tuck. However, wait until you reach your goal weight and until you are finished having children. You may notice some reduction in the appearance of the muffin top when achieving your goal weight that would keep you happy enough to avoid potentially dangerous surgery.

2-   

      Body Fat.

The second cause of a muffin top is simply increased body fat. Regardless of what you have read, you can do 1000 crunches a day, and still have a muffin top. Imagine for a moment that you have a rock in sock full of jelly. You will not see the rock (muscle) no matter how large the rock gets, until you remove some of that jelly (body fat). We cannot spot reduce fat, in other words, your body will lose fat in random areas from everywhere, and there is no predicting what will come off first. The best solution again is to focus on a general fat loss and achieving a healthy body weight.

For those interested, I will post a great exercise routine that you can do from home and with your baby after this post. Happy Mothers Day and be well!

Don't Be a Dumb A~~

National Education Month

April is National Education Month! Reflecting on my own educational journey, I am often surprised that  I have always been a student. Further, how important I feel education is in the field of Exercise Science and Personal Training.

The advances in science this decade have been unprecedented. In the field of Exercise Science, the discovery of the FTO gene has changed the way we view obesity; biomarkers of cancer can be controlled by exercise, in fact new evidence suggests that most disease can be prevented or controlled through exercise. Evidence in a recent article, The Effect of Different Volumes of Acute Resistance Exercise on Elderly Individuals with Treated Hypertension (JSC) suggests that high volume resistance training can promote a reduction in systolic blood pressure in elderly individuals with treated hypertension. When I learned about resistance training and hypertension in college, the opposite was thought to be true.

The Cybex Arc Trainer a relatively new piece of cardiovascular equipment, was studied in the article, a comparison of physiologic and physical discomfort responses between exercise modalities (JSC). Turner et al from UNC Charlotte compared the treadmill, elliptical cross-trainer and the arc trainer and found that VO2 values are similar on both the arc and the treadmill but not on the elliptical. Moreover there were greater perceptions of discomfort with the elliptical compared with ARC at similar exercise intensities, suggesting individuals with, or at risk for, lower-extremity joint pathology may benefit from exercise using the arc trainer. Again, when I was in school, the arc trainer did not exist – who knew?

So how can we function effectively in a science centered practice without furthering our knowledge base? The truth is - we cannot. Exercise Science and Personal Training is a new field that is constantly evolving .Like our close relative, Physical Therapy (officially in existence in the US since 1914 when Reed College started the first academic program but not a licensed profession until the late 70’s, and as late as the 80’s in some states), the field of Exercise Science has started as an unlicensed, unregulated field. Unlike Physical Therapy however, Personal training continues to be unregulated and unlicensed in this country. Because of this, personal trainers and educators of personal trainers have a professional responsibility to consistently ensure the information they have is the most up to date and relevant to their practice.

Please check out these websites to get more information on staying relevant:

www.focustrainerinstitute.com

www.corcoranfitness.com

www.cybexinstitute.com

www.pubmed.com

Become a member of the ACSM and NSCA and receive their journals monthly.

~ Angela Corcoran, MS, RCEP, CSCS (PhD in progress!)

Super Bowl Monday: A look into hangover and exercise performance

With Super Bowl on Sunday February 6th, Monday February 7^th will bring droves to steam rooms across America in a valiant effort to rid them of the prior night’s libation. But a steam room and exercise itself may not be the best “cure” for a hangover.

For centuries many of people have suffered from hangovers, the exact cause continues to be quite illusive.  Typically a hangover starts after the cessation of drinking when a person’s blood alcohol content (BAC) is falling and peak when BAC is close to 0. For those more frequent drinkers, there may also be some alcohol withdraw occurring simultaneously.

Contributing Factors to Hangover

Direct effects of alcohol

Dehydration

Electrolyte imbalance

Gastrointestinal disturbances

Low blood sugar

Sleep and biological rhythm disturbances

Nonalcohol effects

Compounds other than alcohol in beverages, especially methanol

All of the above contributing factors are the result of a gamut of physiological responses to alcohol in the system.

• Alcohol inhibits the production of hormones from the pituitary. Some like vasopressin regulate body fluid affecting hydration and electrolyte balance or adrenocorticotropic hormone which in turn stimulates the release of cortisol. The release of cortisol alters carbohydrate metabolism and stress response. It is also associated with increased abdominal fat.
• Alcohol irritates the stomach and intestines causing inflammation, or gastritis and delayed stomach emptying.
• High levels of alcohol can produce fatty liver, a condition which there is an accumulation of triglycerides in liver cells which in turn causes a buildup of lactic acid in the body.
• Alcohol causes several alterations in the metabolic state of the liver and other organs in response to alcohol which leads to low blood sugar. Diabetics are particularly sensitive to these alterations.
• Alcohol has a direct effect on neurotransmitters that regulate sleep and coordinates our response to stress the result being decreased restful or REM sleep and increased sympathetic response such as increased heart rates and sweating.

These physiological changes can cause up to a 40% decrease in physical ability (depending on the amount of alcohol consumed the night before). Aside from being dehydrated, an increased accumulation of lactic acid and a decrease in carbohydrate metabolism will decrease one’s ability to perform due to an in ability to effectively get energy. In addition to increased resting heart rates even the most trained individual could be outperformed by the sober novice.

So if you must drink, here are some tips:

1. Conservative management: if you want to take your workout seriously, SLOW DOWN
2. Drink alcoholic beverages with fewer “congeners” (biologically active compounds), like pure ethanol, vodka and gin, versus brandy, whiskey or red wine as they are associated with milder hangovers.
3. Consume water while drinking alcohol to try and combat the dehydrating effect.
4. If you have a hangover, go easy on the exercise and do NOT hang out in the steam room. Although there is less research available, it does seem that consuming fruits, fruit juices and other fructose-containing foods may decrease hangover intensity. In addition, avoid acetaminophen (alcohol increases its toxicity to the liver) and remember that all anti-inflammatory are also gastric irritants.

Cheers!