It's Time to Set The Record Straight

I hope you had a great weekend, and gave yourself a chance to recharge your batteries.

I just spent an amazing weekend at a seminar that has completely supported, with peer reviewed research, all the the benefits, ideas and training methods my clients have been receiving for years.  But the really interesting thing is that study after study continued to show that steady state aerobics/cardio, is not effective in losing body fat quickly. Unless you have an unusually low body fat, long slow cardio (steady state) will not work effectively in getting rid of body fat quickly or effectively.

Don't believe me?  Check out the link below.

The addition of 45 minutes of aerobic exercise at 78% Max Heart Rate 5 days a week for 12 weeks had NO EFFECT over dieting alone.

Great, so what does it mean you ask? 

It means if you're spending hour after hour on a treadmill or other cardio machine and not doing intervals, you are wasting a lot of time and not getting near the benefits you could get if you stepped it up a bit and did intervals on your chosen machine.

I know, I know.  We've all been told for years that all you had to do was get on your favorite cardio machine and bang out an hour and you'll see results after such and such amount of time.  Well the research is in and it does not support that theory.  To be quite honest I haven't believed in steady state (long slow cardio) for quite some time based on my own personal experiences with myself and my clientele.  If you're just starting out it's a great way to start doing your cardio, but after approximately 6-8 weeks and with no significant health issues, you should really be doing intervals whenever you do cardio.

So what are intervals?  Simple. It just means alternating periods of intense cardio followed by periods of slower cardio.  If you walk during your slow periods, walk faster during the intense periods.  If you jog during the slow, jog faster during the intense periods.  It simply means alternating light cardio with intense cardio periods.  How long should each period be?  When you first start do 30 seconds intense followed by 45 seconds of lighter/slower cardio.  Continue this alternating process until you have completed 5-12 minutes.  From there you would slowly progress upward to longer periods of intense followed by shorter periods of slow.  Be sure to get your doctor's permission. This type of cardio is no joke.

Ok.  So maybe you're thinking that the 12 week period wasn't really long enough to show the beneficial effects of steady state cardio.  Believe me, I thought the same thing.

Then the presenter hit us with this.

A six month study was done between two groups.  One group was diet only and the second group was diet plus aerobic exercise (50 minutes, 5 days per week).  That should certainly show the significant benefits of doing cardio using the belief of slow steady state, right?

Wrong?

Still not a believer?  Check out the link below.

Six month Study of two groups.  One diet only the other diet plus aerobic exercise.

So what were the findings?  Plain and simple, no additional effects of aerobic exercise on body composition.

Please believe me when I tell you that numerous hands went up to explain their story of what they experienced.  The presenter did an outstanding job of explaining what was really at work in those "success stories". Then he went on to provide numerous other studies that continued to show the ineffectiveness of steady state/slow cardio for those serious about getting rid of body fat quickly and effectively.

So what do you do that works.  Well for one, try using intervals during your cardio training sessions and see the results.  In addition you should check back next week when I'll share with you what the studies say works to help you get rid of that stubborn body fat quickly and effectively.

See you next week for the real deal.

Get on Track and Stay on Track!

Sitting For Long Periods Can Shorten Your Life

First off I hope you're doing your part each day to fight SB Syndrome.  Check out my posts on Friday's this month to see how you can help yourself or someone you know fight SB Syndrome.

I know, I know.  People must think that sometimes I just make up the rants and info I share with you.  But I don't!  I actually do research on each and every bit of information I share with you.  How else will you be able to rely on me if I don't give you credible, useful info that you can live by, or share with your friends. 

1.)  That being said I've got to tell you this next bit of info even blew me away.  Who knew sitting for long periods of time could be so dangerous to your health? I mean honestly, I advocate exercise and modified nutrition to assist you in getting out of pain and to improve your quality of life; Who knew that sitting could actually do so much damage. Here's a quick synopsis of the article and the link below if you want to read it for yourself.

I wanted to be sure to provide you with the links so you can get the full story.

But the long and short of it is this:

"Over a 14-year period, women who spent six or more hours per day sitting had a 37% increased risk of dying compared with women who sat for 3 hours or less.  The excess risk was independent of other health factors, including the amount of exercise they got.  When overall activity was taken into account, the women who sat the longest and exercised the least were almost twice as likely to die as those who sat the least and exercised the most."

Exercise and Sports Science Review
 
American Journal of Epidemiology

Put quite simply, you have to get up and move every few hours!  Sitting for long periods of time is actually decreasing your life expectancy -- whether you exercise or not.  Take a moment, get up and walk around if you've been sitting for three hours or more.  In a sense, the length of your life depends on it.

2.)  And if that wasn't enough, there has been even more research done on the importance of nutrition.  Specifically, dieting by itself does not significantly create lasting weight loss. OK, I promise not to say "I told you so." Yet another study was done that demonstrated the 3 most important factors in losing weight and keeping it off:

       *  Diet coupled with exercise produces the best results for losing weight and keeping it off

       *  Having a formal or informal support group is key to losing weight

       *  Planning meals ahead of time on a consistent basis is essential to lasting weight loss

Diet is Not Enough

To make it quite plain and to the point, you've got to get up and move every 3 hours to maintain a long and healthy life and if you're serious about transforming your body, change your nutrition to healthy choices and add regular exercise to your daily and/or weekly schedule.

It's all about creating the habits that will create the life you want.  You now have the information, what kind of habits will you create?