I am now starting to go out for a jog once a week which would last me about an hour. I am not a big fan of the Gyms as I normally like to get fitter and see a bit of scenery at the same time.
Does anyone have any tips of how I can get fitter?
Depends on your goals really, if it's some fat loss HIIT (High intensity interval training) is what you want, it's a known fat burner, so for example you'd sprint up a hill then walk for a bit longer to get your heart rate back to normal, and repeat.
If it's training for a marathon and just general fitness for sports, keep at the jogging, but change it up a bit, go for the odd sprint, the odd fast walk. good luck
HIIT is a calorie burner more than a fat burner. You burn up a lot of energy leading to weight loss,but it is not optimum training for fat loss. Fat loss occurs when doing low intensity cardio,such as walking at a slight incline,casual cycling etc. This is because the body is able to burn fat for energy and is not taxed enough to need to dip into the body's glycogen stores for energy.
To improve fitness,ideally you should do 3 sessions a week of at least 20 minutes of high intensity cardio such as Fartlek training or HIIT as AA said. But if you can only manage one session a week then I would personally aim for about 40 minutes,and run a certain route where you can jog,sprint,walk in a continuous cycle (e.g jog for a certain distance,sprint for a certain distance,walk to recover and then jog again etc)
Working anaerobically (without oxygen,e.g sprinting) is much better for improving your cardiovascular health than working aerobically e.g jogging. That's why HIIT and Fartlek training are so beneficial for improving fitness.
Fat loss is a completely different kettle of fish unfortunately and requires a different type of training and usually a complete overhaul of diet.
Eat lots of vegetables and fruit, keep to eating healthy stuff and go for that jog every 2 days. I think once a week although being better than nothing, is too long a rest period for any significant gains in fitness/weight loss.
...I am not a big fan of the Gyms as I normally like to get fitter and see a bit of scenery at the same time.
I had a damn fine view in the Gym on Friday evening. I was pounding the treadmill and I could quite easily have pounded the two blondes that were on the cross trainers in front of me
I am slightly over-weight and if I carry on the way I am I will be massive soon so I got to get my act together and do some exersises and getting more fit. I will try the 40 min session and see if I can take part in a football 5 a side kick about.
Fat loss occurs when doing low intensity cardio,such as walking at a slight incline,casual cycling etc. This is because the body is able to burn fat for energy and is not taxed enough to need to dip into the body's glycogen stores for energy.
I'm afraid this is what is known in fitness circles as the 'Low intensity fat burning myth'.
It's true that a higher percentage of fat is burned at a lower intensity, but it's a higher percentage of a much lower number. At a higher intensity (such as with HIIT) we burn more calories overall, including more TOTAL fat calories. Think prize money for winning League One vs. Prize money for finishing 15th in the Premier League.
That said I wouldn't recommend doing HIIT as a beginner. Most people don't really understand what 'High Intensity' means anyway, so will end up just doing less work at a moderate intensity, whilst other people will just end up hurting themselves.
The simple advice is to measure whatever you're doing and try to gradually get better at it. No need to run for miles and miles - focus on a gradual increase in speed over three or four set distances which vary from say, 8 to 25 minutes.
And join a gym so that you can do some proper weight training.
(Freelance Personal Trainer, certificated since 1997).
HIIT is a calorie burner more than a fat burner. You burn up a lot of energy leading to weight loss,but it is not optimum training for fat loss. Fat loss occurs when doing low intensity cardio,such as walking at a slight incline,casual cycling etc. This is because the body is able to burn fat for energy and is not taxed enough to need to dip into the body's glycogen stores for energy.
To improve fitness,ideally you should do 3 sessions a week of at least 20 minutes of high intensity cardio such as Fartlek training or HIIT as AA said. But if you can only manage one session a week then I would personally aim for about 40 minutes,and run a certain route where you can jog,sprint,walk in a continuous cycle (e.g jog for a certain distance,sprint for a certain distance,walk to recover and then jog again etc)
Working anaerobically (without oxygen,e.g sprinting) is much better for improving your cardiovascular health than working aerobically e.g jogging. That's why HIIT and Fartlek training are so beneficial for improving fitness.
Fat loss is a completely different kettle of fish unfortunately and requires a different type of training and usually a complete overhaul of diet.
I wouldn't agree with this. The main problem with it is that you need to do an enormous amount of low-intensity exercise to see anything like the benefits you will from exercising at a higher intensity. Unfortunately, if you;re not fit to begin with, exercising at a high intensity is, to put it blunt, incredibly fuckign difficult. I know this from painful experience. When I started to get fit last year I couldn't do anything at high intensity for more than about five minutes at a time. Gradually, I got used to doing it, and began to see massive gains in fitness every time I ran harder for longer.
I also wouldn;t recommend doing High Intensity stuff that often unless you have a decent base level of fitness to begin with. In fact, Fartlekking is bloody dangerous for the unfit, since the stress it puts on the heart is immense. You should always ease into a training programme.
Fat loss does depend a lot on diet - but also heavily on weight training. People often get disgruntled when they start weight training as they find they're not actually losing any weight (and may, indeed, gain some) - but neglect to realise they are dropping waist sizes and - given time - will see proper results.
Harry it's interesting to read that that's your view as a trainer. I personally am midway through a sports science degree and finishing off my PT qualifications aswell and have always been taught that when aiming for fat loss,low intensity cardio along with weight training and diet are best. But maybe that is because I myself am a competitive bodybuilder,as are most of the trainers I know, and therefore risking muscle loss during cardio is simply not an option.
Damn. Just realised I posted a lot of what HH did. At least I know I don't have to bother paying for a personal trainer now - just a mate to come along and shout at me when I start slacking )
The risk for bodybuilders is always losing the hard-earned muscle which I understand can happen when/if the body starts using the muscles themselves as fuel, so that might be where that comes from.
I don't see a massive risk for bodybuilders in doing a little higher intensity cardio for fat burning as long as the duration isn't too long (which it wouldn't be if the intensity was high). If you think about all the associated cardio value of drop sets, supersets etc. that a lot of bodybuilders do to gain muscle, then you're already doing high intensity cardio of a sort anyway.
I suspect that the idea of the low intensity cardio is to carry on burning fat without disrupting the muscle recovery process from the weight training.
It makes me laugh how many different opinions there are with regards to fitness, fat burning etc.
Thats the thing. For all the science, everyone is different. What works for one wont work for someone else, its finding what works for you.
I normally have two rest days a week but cane myself in the other five. This week has been a bit different as I had Friday off work so I got another long ride in rather than a lunchtime run but this is how it has panned out.
Mon - 10k run Tues - 1hr turbo session on the bike before work...Gym session after work Wed - 9 mile run Thurs - rest day (planned around Spurs) Fri - 50 mile bike ride, Gym session in evening Sat - 64 lengths swimming Sun - 66 mile bike ride
Mon-Wed is pretty much set in stone, if I've got my daughter on a Friday evening, the Thurs rest day becomes a Gym session then I run 7 miles Friday lunchtime then I rest through to Sunday...when I either do a long ride or a long run, depending what I've got planned for later in the day. When the evenings get lighter, I'll swap one of the runs out for a bike ride.
I realise most arent capable of that and most wouldnt even dream of it but thats where I'm at.
3 years ago, I couldnt walk up the stairs at work without having to stop and I'd feel sick.
Two tips I'd give. 1 - find something you enjoy doing and you'll find you'll stick at it. For me, when I was a fat b@stard, that was cycling. It was a springboard. 2 - set yourself targets, some manageable, some not. For me, when I first got on my bike, it was getting up "that" hill without stopping, doing my first 50 mile ride, doing my first century ride etc. My nemesis hill was Brasted Hill near Westerham. Its a f*cker. Goes up at 25% at one point. Its not very long but it broke me every time. It just saps every little bit out of you. Took me almost a year and 8 attempts before I could get up it without stopping. Set yourself a target, tick it off, set a new one...and it goes on...and you'll get so much out of it.
Well obviously cardio helps put the body in an anabolic state,helping you absorb more food. But the higher the intensity then the more food needed just to replenish,let alone grow. That would be a bodybuilder's problem in the offseason. During a contest diet,you need as much fuel as possible to get through the weight session and to not become catabolic during the day and start eating into your own muscle for energy. Therefore a method of cardio that burns lots of calories and continues to do so for hours after the act should not be recommended. Otherwise you'd probably spend the entirety of your diet in a negative nitrogen balance and look dreadful on stage
Disco, have you started to change your diet? Reducing calories and cutting down on the snacks etc and you'll see huge improvements. Especially combined with exercising a few times a week. I lost around 4 stone doing that over the course of around 6 months.
EDIT: Sorry misread your post. There are lots of programmes out there that will help increase your fitness through jogging. Could start off doing a 2k run and then gradually bring it up, alternativley stuff like 5 a side will do wonders for your fitness or tennis, badminton etc. There's also stuff like Insanity which is a high impact cardio workout, it's tough but it'll after a month or so of it, you're fitness will have doubled if not trebled.. There's samples of it up on youtube.
I am now starting to go out for a jog once a week which would last me about an hour. I am not a big fan of the Gyms as I normally like to get fitter and see a bit of scenery at the same time.
Does anyone have any tips of how I can get fitter?
Mix your longer jogs with some interval type work. this doesn't have to be HIIT (high intensity interval traing). In fact it shouldn't be, if you haven't a good level of fitness. It could be for example 3 mins moderate jog, followed by 1 min 3 quater paced running speed. Keep repeating. As you get fitter lower the ratio, i.e 2 min moderate to 1 min 3/4 paced. As you get fitter you may then be able to try some HIIT work. Example, 40 secs jog, 20 secs sprint, etc etc
HH is talking real sense. Generally interval training will burn more calories, thus more body fat. It's very complex the way the body uses fuel. It's known "metabolic priority". Usually (not always) the body will use carbs (glycogen), fat, protein in that order. However under most circumstances it will use some carbs and some fat as fuel. Rarely will it use protein/muscle unless glycogen and fat stores are severely depleted. Sorry to be pedantic Croydon, but actually CV work puts the body in a "Catabolic" state, not Anabolic. That's why most body builders shy away from CV work as they believe that there will be degradation to their protein/muscle. Weight Training puts the body into an Anabolic state because of hormonal response. This is an effective way for the body to burn calories/fat. Some P/T's (not me) actually don't advocate or do any CV work with clients).
Remember, diet is critical. It can take a lot of time/hard work to burn 700 or 800 calories. You can blow that all out of the window in minutes with poor food choices.
Anyway back to the point. Mix your CV work with some resistance work. Muscle is very efficient at burning calories/body fat. You don't need to have expensive equipment. Try some bodyweight work, Squats, lunges, chest press, pull ups etc. Compound exercises which work the larger muscle groups. Or go to a circuit class, or boxercise etc. If you want to, then buy some kit which is versatile. Perhaps a couple of Kettlebells.
In conclusion, one poster on this site said it made him laugh. Loads of differing views on fitness. Well it's like any other industry I'm afraid. To test this theory, ask your local gym instructor or personal trainer whether you should do CV work first or resistance work first (were you to do both in one session). They won't thank me for this, but you'll get some interesting answers. In opinnion, if they can't explain the reasoning behind any training strategies, then they probably don't know what they're on about.
Finally good luck. Though overly simple, sooner or later, calories in versus calories out (i.e. a clorie defecit) you will lose weight........Science
DiscoCAFC. Sorry, I made the cardinal sin of not reading your post properly. You mentioned increasing your fitness levels. I, as others have done, have interperated this mainly as a desire to lose weight. This may or may not be the case. Remember( as I should have!), there are many facets to fitness. Good luck
Anyone see that BBC programme the other week showing how 20 seconds of exercise twice a week has a massive impact on health? Seemed too good to be true but the science proved the benefits.
Kinda supports my experience where doing a high intensity '3 x 100 crunches' session using a simple ab-cradle makes a real difference.
I find that a Wii Fit cardio session coupled with the ab-cradle, twice a week, does a great job. Low cost (you can pick up a wii and balance board for around £50 on ebay) and convenient (i.e. in your own home so ready when you have the motivation to have workout) which, I find, means I use it. The daily weigh-in using Wii Fit is also a great motivator to keep going.
I lost 2 stone over 2 months last year through Wii Fit alone. Like most, I've put most back on through lethargy but I'm going back to it now and fully expect similar weight loss results again.
Some really good advice on this thread. Obviously a few PTs here. I will leave my recommendation of running with ankle weights out!
Hey, Mendonca. Suspect your post may be a bit "tongue in cheek". but your input is as good as anyone else's. Good idea, why not. So much snobbery when it comes to fitness. Didn't have fancy gyms years ago, and people were in much better shape than nowadays. We've all got lazy I'm afraid and want some incredible instant fix, without putting much effort in.
Didn't have fancy gyms years ago, and people were in much better shape than nowadays. We've all got lazy I'm afraid and want some incredible instant fix, without putting much effort in.
could that be because peoples diet was better then? and people walked places?
My mother washed clothes by hand, walked to the shops, carried bags home, cut the lawn with a pair of shears, took me to school and brought me home (12 miles a week) polished the floors twice a week (didnt have carpet in them days) etc. We lived on stodge (lots of rice) everything was rationed. Was she fit....YEP! So as Leroy said, less crap more exercise...it aint rocket science.
We..... want some incredible instant fix, without putting much effort in
Sadly true, and it is this desire that unfortunately drives the fitness industry forward. Reliable research is what should be driving it forward, but there just isn't enough if this around and this is a big reason why you hear contradictions amongst professionals. Even the certificating bodies aren't stringent enough and allow junk science to influence their courses. I updated my 'level 3' PT qualification last year and was astonished to discover how dumbed down it had become. Stuff I had covered in level 2 in 1997 is now considered level 4.
The saving grace for the fitness industry is that pretty much ALL exercise is good for you and is and better than nothing.
It makes me laugh how many different opinions there are with regards to fitness, fat burning etc.
Thats the thing. For all the science, everyone is different. What works for one wont work for someone else, its finding what works for you.
I normally have two rest days a week but cane myself in the other five. This week has been a bit different as I had Friday off work so I got another long ride in rather than a lunchtime run but this is how it has panned out.
Mon - 10k run Tues - 1hr turbo session on the bike before work...Gym session after work Wed - 9 mile run Thurs - rest day (planned around Spurs) Fri - 50 mile bike ride, Gym session in evening Sat - 64 lengths swimming Sun - 66 mile bike ride
Mon-Wed is pretty much set in stone, if I've got my daughter on a Friday evening, the Thurs rest day becomes a Gym session then I run 7 miles Friday lunchtime then I rest through to Sunday...when I either do a long ride or a long run, depending what I've got planned for later in the day. When the evenings get lighter, I'll swap one of the runs out for a bike ride.
I realise most arent capable of that and most wouldnt even dream of it but thats where I'm at.
3 years ago, I couldnt walk up the stairs at work without having to stop and I'd feel sick.
Two tips I'd give. 1 - find something you enjoy doing and you'll find you'll stick at it. For me, when I was a fat b@stard, that was cycling. It was a springboard. 2 - set yourself targets, some manageable, some not. For me, when I first got on my bike, it was getting up "that" hill without stopping, doing my first 50 mile ride, doing my first century ride etc. My nemesis hill was Brasted Hill near Westerham. Its a f*cker. Goes up at 25% at one point. Its not very long but it broke me every time. It just saps every little bit out of you. Took me almost a year and 8 attempts before I could get up it without stopping. Set yourself a target, tick it off, set a new one...and it goes on...and you'll get so much out of it.
Comments
If it's training for a marathon and just general fitness for sports, keep at the jogging, but change it up a bit, go for the odd sprint, the odd fast walk. good luck
To improve fitness,ideally you should do 3 sessions a week of at least 20 minutes of high intensity cardio such as Fartlek training or HIIT as AA said. But if you can only manage one session a week then I would personally aim for about 40 minutes,and run a certain route where you can jog,sprint,walk in a continuous cycle (e.g jog for a certain distance,sprint for a certain distance,walk to recover and then jog again etc)
Working anaerobically (without oxygen,e.g sprinting) is much better for improving your cardiovascular health than working aerobically e.g jogging. That's why HIIT and Fartlek training are so beneficial for improving fitness.
Fat loss is a completely different kettle of fish unfortunately and requires a different type of training and usually a complete overhaul of diet.
I am slightly over-weight and if I carry on the way I am I will be massive soon so I got to get my act together and do some exersises and getting more fit. I will try the 40 min session and see if I can take part in a football 5 a side kick about.
It's true that a higher percentage of fat is burned at a lower intensity, but it's a higher percentage of a much lower number. At a higher intensity (such as with HIIT) we burn more calories overall, including more TOTAL fat calories. Think prize money for winning League One vs. Prize money for finishing 15th in the Premier League.
That said I wouldn't recommend doing HIIT as a beginner. Most people don't really understand what 'High Intensity' means anyway, so will end up just doing less work at a moderate intensity, whilst other people will just end up hurting themselves.
The simple advice is to measure whatever you're doing and try to gradually get better at it. No need to run for miles and miles - focus on a gradual increase in speed over three or four set distances which vary from say, 8 to 25 minutes.
And join a gym so that you can do some proper weight training.
(Freelance Personal Trainer, certificated since 1997).
I also wouldn;t recommend doing High Intensity stuff that often unless you have a decent base level of fitness to begin with. In fact, Fartlekking is bloody dangerous for the unfit, since the stress it puts on the heart is immense. You should always ease into a training programme.
Fat loss does depend a lot on diet - but also heavily on weight training. People often get disgruntled when they start weight training as they find they're not actually losing any weight (and may, indeed, gain some) - but neglect to realise they are dropping waist sizes and - given time - will see proper results.
Diet - eat less crap, more good stuff
Exercise - do more of it
I don't see a massive risk for bodybuilders in doing a little higher intensity cardio for fat burning as long as the duration isn't too long (which it wouldn't be if the intensity was high). If you think about all the associated cardio value of drop sets, supersets etc. that a lot of bodybuilders do to gain muscle, then you're already doing high intensity cardio of a sort anyway.
I suspect that the idea of the low intensity cardio is to carry on burning fat without disrupting the muscle recovery process from the weight training.
I normally have two rest days a week but cane myself in the other five. This week has been a bit different as I had Friday off work so I got another long ride in rather than a lunchtime run but this is how it has panned out.
Mon - 10k run
Tues - 1hr turbo session on the bike before work...Gym session after work
Wed - 9 mile run
Thurs - rest day (planned around Spurs)
Fri - 50 mile bike ride, Gym session in evening
Sat - 64 lengths swimming
Sun - 66 mile bike ride
Mon-Wed is pretty much set in stone, if I've got my daughter on a Friday evening, the Thurs rest day becomes a Gym session then I run 7 miles Friday lunchtime then I rest through to Sunday...when I either do a long ride or a long run, depending what I've got planned for later in the day. When the evenings get lighter, I'll swap one of the runs out for a bike ride.
I realise most arent capable of that and most wouldnt even dream of it but thats where I'm at.
3 years ago, I couldnt walk up the stairs at work without having to stop and I'd feel sick.
Two tips I'd give. 1 - find something you enjoy doing and you'll find you'll stick at it. For me, when I was a fat b@stard, that was cycling. It was a springboard. 2 - set yourself targets, some manageable, some not. For me, when I first got on my bike, it was getting up "that" hill without stopping, doing my first 50 mile ride, doing my first century ride etc. My nemesis hill was Brasted Hill near Westerham. Its a f*cker. Goes up at 25% at one point. Its not very long but it broke me every time. It just saps every little bit out of you. Took me almost a year and 8 attempts before I could get up it without stopping. Set yourself a target, tick it off, set a new one...and it goes on...and you'll get so much out of it.
Here's your answer, http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/24/laughter-as-a-form-of-exercise/
EDIT:
Sorry misread your post. There are lots of programmes out there that will help increase your fitness through jogging. Could start off doing a 2k run and then gradually bring it up, alternativley stuff like 5 a side will do wonders for your fitness or tennis, badminton etc. There's also stuff like Insanity which is a high impact cardio workout, it's tough but it'll after a month or so of it, you're fitness will have doubled if not trebled.. There's samples of it up on youtube.
As you get fitter you may then be able to try some HIIT work. Example, 40 secs jog, 20 secs sprint, etc etc
HH is talking real sense. Generally interval training will burn more calories, thus more body fat. It's very complex the way the body uses fuel. It's known "metabolic priority". Usually (not always) the body will use carbs (glycogen), fat, protein in that order. However under most circumstances it will use some carbs and some fat as fuel. Rarely will it use protein/muscle unless glycogen and fat stores are severely depleted. Sorry to be pedantic Croydon, but actually CV work puts the body in a "Catabolic" state, not Anabolic. That's why most body builders shy away from CV work as they believe that there will be degradation to their protein/muscle. Weight Training puts the body into an Anabolic state because of hormonal response. This is an effective way for the body to burn calories/fat. Some P/T's (not me) actually don't advocate or do any CV work with clients).
Remember, diet is critical. It can take a lot of time/hard work to burn 700 or 800 calories. You can blow that all out of the window in minutes with poor food choices.
Anyway back to the point. Mix your CV work with some resistance work. Muscle is very efficient at burning calories/body fat. You don't need to have expensive equipment. Try some bodyweight work, Squats, lunges, chest press, pull ups etc. Compound exercises which work the larger muscle groups. Or go to a circuit class, or boxercise etc. If you want to, then buy some kit which is versatile. Perhaps a couple of Kettlebells.
In conclusion, one poster on this site said it made him laugh. Loads of differing views on fitness. Well it's like any other industry I'm afraid. To test this theory, ask your local gym instructor or personal trainer whether you should do CV work first or resistance work first (were you to do both in one session). They won't thank me for this, but you'll get some interesting answers. In opinnion, if they can't explain the reasoning behind any training strategies, then they probably don't know what they're on about.
Finally good luck. Though overly simple, sooner or later, calories in versus calories out (i.e. a clorie defecit) you will lose weight........Science
Kinda supports my experience where doing a high intensity '3 x 100 crunches' session using a simple ab-cradle makes a real difference.
I find that a Wii Fit cardio session coupled with the ab-cradle, twice a week, does a great job. Low cost (you can pick up a wii and balance board for around £50 on ebay) and convenient (i.e. in your own home so ready when you have the motivation to have workout) which, I find, means I use it. The daily weigh-in using Wii Fit is also a great motivator to keep going.
I lost 2 stone over 2 months last year through Wii Fit alone. Like most, I've put most back on through lethargy but I'm going back to it now and fully expect similar weight loss results again.
could that be because peoples diet was better then? and people walked places?
Squats are also a superb way to get in shape.
The saving grace for the fitness industry is that pretty much ALL exercise is good for you and is and better than nothing.