HIIT

High Intensity Interval Training is a specific type of interval training routine. It is mostly used for individuals trying to lose weight. It has a number of distinct goals and differences which make it unique.

HIIT Sessions usually last less than 20 Minutes

The first difference is in time, excluding warm ups and warm downs last no longer than 20 minutes. This may seem like a very short space of time but believe me; if you do the workout correctly you will be exhausted by the end of it. The goal of HIIT is to hold an anaerobic state for a long cumulative time (click here to see what this means.). It’s designed with rest intervals to allow you to sprint harder for longer. Take this as an example, if you were to sprint for 100 meters, you would go full out for about 15 seconds (depending how fast you were). In an advanced HIIT workout you would probably spend about 7 to 8 minutes going full out in a 15 minute workout. If you are a beginner you should start with 4 to 6 minutes total workout time.

For Maximum Benefits make sure you are using Major Muscle Groups

There are a range of activities that you can do with HIIT. When choosing an activity try to pick one that safely uses the largest muscle groups in your body. High Intensity Interval Training will try and tap the energy sources found inside the muscle. The larger the muscle group being exercised, the more the benefit.

The absolute best for HIIT is sprinting. If however you have injuries or other problems which prevent you from sprinting by all means pick something else which you can manage safely. The second best would probably be a stationery spinning bike.

Do HIIT every Second Day

An HIIT workout should not be done on consecutive days. The workouts goal is to operate at a high intensity. So when you do your reps, you do them as hard as you can. Working as hard as this produces the benefits of High Intensity Interval Training. The workout burns energy from your muscle systems and it needs time to replenish it. If this doesn’t happen you will not be able to workout with as much intensity and you have much greater chance of injuring yourself. The benefits happen in your body during your rest period and the more rested you are, the more intensity you can put into your workout.

Obliterate your Fat when you combine Good Nutrition and HIIT

A lot of people including yours truly believed that if you wanted to maximise weight loss it was best to do HIIT on an empty stomach. Recent research is showing that this just isn't so and in fact the opposite is true. Make sure you have had something to eat about half an hour before you exercise, make sure it something balanced and easily digestible, you don't want something heavy while you are exercising.

Alternate Your Interval Training Routines

One of the key principles around High Intensity Interval Training is preventing any type of plateau. It’s designed around pushing your body to constantly adapt, and as your body is always trying to please, it invariably does. When this happens your improvements slow down.
To counter this, always keep your body guessing, after you have done about 8 weeks on a particular HIIT program, give yourself one week off then start a new one.

Trade Slow Cardio for Interval Training

The road to a leaner body isn't a long, slow march. It's bursts of high-intensity effort paired with slower, recovery efforts. Fifteen to 20 minutes of interval training performed like this can burn as many calories as an hour of traditional, steady-state cardio. And unlike the slow stuff, intervals can keep your body burning long after the workout ends.

http://www.intervaltraining.net/

Fitness Benefits Cancer Survivors

Fitness Benefits Cancer Survivors

After cancer, a slow and steady fitness program can help survivors build a healthy new life. Regular exercise strengthens the immune system, rebuilds lean muscle tissue and helps cancer survivors return to an appropriate
weight. A moderate exercise program that includes activities like walking, swimming or light hiking can help survivors cope with depression, anxiety and fatigue. Exercise also gives survivors the opportunity to build relationships and create a support network around a physical activity that they enjoy.

Managing Symptoms

While cancer therapies such as radiation, chemotherapy and surgery can have life-saving benefits, these interventions also produce side effects after treatment has ended. Cancer treatment often weakens the immune system, reducing the body’s ability to fight off illness. Radiation and chemotherapy may lead to weight gain or weight loss and affect a patient’s ability to enjoy food. Exercise supports immunity, boosts appetite, increases endurance and restores physical and mental energy. When combined with a nutritious diet, a regular fitness
program can help survivors return to a weight that’s appropriate for their health status.

Designing a Fitness Program

The metabolic effects of cancer and the side effects of radiation and chemotherapy can lead to tissue wasting.
A comprehensive exercise program for survivors may include activities that promote cardiovascular fitness, flexibility, stress reduction and muscular strength. An aerobic exercise like walking or water aerobics combined with a light resistance training program may restore cardiovascular fitness and build new muscle tissue. The American Cancer Society notes that weight training may reduce the swelling and fluid retention that many breast cancer survivors experience after lymph node removal.

Yoga and t’ai chi can help restore mobility and flexibility after a long period of restricted movement. These activities promote deep breathing, relaxation and focused attention on the present, all of which may reduce the stress and anxiety that cancer survivors may experience. Weight training, cardiovascular or flexibility exercises should proceed slowly under a clinical professional’s supervision.

Building a Support Network

During treatment, many patients dedicate most of their time and energy to cancer-fighting procedures. After treatment, cultivating friendships through fitness promotes a healthy recovery. An exercise program gives cancer survivors the opportunity to network with old friends and meet new ones. Survivors can participate in fitness events to benefit cancer research or join volunteer programs that enable them to provide support or education to
newly diagnosed patients. There are also support groups for many types of cancers including breast, liver and even mesothelioma support groups.

Cancer survivors should choose activities that they enjoy and build fitness slowly under a medical professional’s guidance. Even survivors who exercised regularly before treatment should start with a gentle, progressive program. Any fitness program should be designed with the help of a physician who has a thorough knowledge of the survivor’s medical history and recovery goals.

Liz Davies is a recent college graduate and aspiring writer especially interested in health and wellness. She wants to make a difference in people’s lives because she sees how cancer has devastated so many people in this world. Liz also likes running, playing lacrosse, reading and playing with her dog, April.

It's My Turn Clare!

Editor’s Note: The Villager recently wrapped
up a two-month-long, nine-part series, chronicling
the fitness journey of Staff Writer Clare
Hopkins at Midtown Fitness

This week, Midtown owner Mike Bogdanski weighs in on Hopkins’ trek from fitness rookie to gym champion.

First, a big congratulations to you Clare, for achieving your weight loss and embarking on a new road to a long and healthy life. Just before the New Year, Clare and I chatted about a New Year’s resolution story. I thought it would be a great idea for her as a reporter to work out at the gym and write about the experience and after speaking to her editor we set a date to begin.

Just after Jan. 1, we met to plan Clare’s fitness journey.We weighed her, determined her body fat and body mass index to get a baseline. Clare had not been exercising much prior to meeting with me but seemed to be in average shape. Her body mass index told us she was slightly overweight.

Here at Midtown Fitness, we always work gradually to get people in shape before we raise the effort level of a workout. This method works well to help assimilate new members into learning about our programs and letting their muscles accommodate to new workloads. Clare, however, was determined to make serious gains in just eight weeks and I told her that this was going to be challenging because she was de-conditioned and without much strength or cardiovascular endurance.  She said she was ready to achieve in eight weeks what an average person would have done in 24.

Clare’s goal for week number one (which should have been a month) was to build a core foundation. I wanted to get her conditioned enough so I could give her the exercise program needed to achieve weight loss and muscle building.

Week one was fairly easy. In week two, Mr. Nice Guy was gone and Mr. Results Man was in the gym to challenge her with a workout even an advanced gym member would sweat through. In each week of training, Clare followed a regiment of cardiovascular, strength and flexibility training sessions while cleaning up her diet.

The psychological pressure was high due to our goal to tell her story to the public. If you want to do something great, the secret is to tell everyone. This will motivate you to live up to your goals through positive peer pressure.  This also put responsibility on Clare to get results while educating herself and the public to what a good gym and motivated personal trainer could do for you.

Intensity (yes, intensity Clare!) and education were our key focus. Clare was sore after many early workouts because of our eight week training schedule. To get weight loss in this short a time, F.I.T.
(frequency, intensity and time) became our motto. Clare’s training was focused on achieving a strong level of exertion necessary to achieve her goals. Enhancing Clare’s fitness knowledge was also critical in every Midtown Fitness workout program we develop because members must understand how and why things are done while keeping in mind that we want to avoid any injuries that could happen because of improper training methods.

Midtown members vary from age eighty all the way down to teenagers and their workouts must be age and ability appropriate. Here at our gym, we always offer free equipment orientations as well as free monthly fitness education classes.We also have videos on our website of how to use our equipment properly.

Through group fitness classes, one on one sessions and Clare’s determination, week by week, the weight came off. Clare has cemented a new life style where she can now follow a maintenance program to keep herself fit. The last eight weeks have been like a boot camp where she worked hard to graduate. This marks just the first step on her lifelong health and fitness journey. I plan to train Clare twice monthly for a few more months and then once monthly after that. More sessions will be key to make sure she has some variety in her workouts, keeps them balanced and maintains her motivation. Remember, it is necessary to have goals and always work towards something.  Clare will need to maintain 30 to 60 minutes of exercise five days a week which should include biking, hiking, snowshoeing and walks on the beach, to live a long and healthy life (yes this means heart attack prevention).
Well done, Clare!

Here at Midtown Fitness and Martial Arts,
co-owner Kristin Duethorn and our staff have
helped thousands of people on a road to health
for more than 20 years. It is not about the destination,
it’s about the journey.

Mike Bogdanski is co-owner of Midtown
Fitness and Martial Arts, a nationally certified
personal trainer, carries a Bachelor’s Degree in
Psychology, a Master’s Degree in School
Counseling, is a 7th Degree Black Belt, and is
the proud trainer of Clare Hopkins!

Clare Week 8

BY CLARE HOPKINS
VILLAGER STAFF WRITER
I started at Midtown Fitness two months ago with the goal of decreasing my BMI (body mass index) and body fat percentage and today I am proud to say that I have brought these numbers
down, though I realize my journey is not over.
Eight weeks ago I had a BMI of 28.5 and a body fat percentage of 30. Today my BMI is at 26.7, my body fat is at 27 percent, and I have dropped ten pounds. I’m really happy with what I was able to do in this short time, though I know the work is not over.

Mike told me countless times that if you want to achieve a goal,
you should tell everyone that you’re going to do it. I’ll be honest I
wouldn’t have been able to get those numbers down much at all if
I hadn’t didn’t have the motivation of many Quiet Corner residents
knowing what I was up to and Mike to put the pressure on each
week. So I certainly recommend this wisdom if your still looking
for motivation to get yourself to the gym. Tell everyone what
you want to do and I think if you talk about it enough you’ll find
yourself following through.

Like I said before I know this journey is still not over even though
my eight weeks is up. I could still benefit from bringing down
my BMI and body fat and plan on working towards even better
numbers. These past weeks have really showed me that it is
possible for me to become a fit and healthy person, whereas I
never saw myself in that light. I have lost the attitude of not seeing
myself as a person who exercises and am committed to making
this change in lifestyle. Because of everything I have learned I
now want to exercise regularly and see it as a way to extend and
improve my life.
As Mike told me, there are 168 hours in every week, and an

exercise program should take up to seven of these hours. Chances
are these seven hours will improve your quality of life than
anything that takes place in the remaining 161 hours. Exercise
helps people sleep better, digest better, think clearer, calm
themselves, avoid diseases and ailments, control your appetite and
weight, build self-esteem, and even forge new friendships. With all
these benefits who would want to maintain a sedentary lifestyle?
The best part of this experience was being able to try so many new
things and learning how to keep my workout interesting. I was
worried when I began that a monotonous workout would hinder
my progress but I was kept interested by participating in different
classes, and learning new workouts and techniques shown to
me by Mike and the other trainers. I think the one of the biggest
deterrents of people consistently exercising is boredom. I really
suggest joining a class or finding a workout buddy to avoid feeling
bored at all. I can tell you I enjoyed the classes I took at Midtown
including spin with Amy, kickboxing with Earl and karate with
Mike and Kristin. I found committing to a class that you enjoy is a
good motivation tool.
I want to thank everyone who motivated and taught me over the
past months, including Mike and everyone at Midtown and all the
readers who offered encouragement. I feel extremely grateful and
lucky to have had this experience and am excited to continue my
fitness journey with the knowledge others have shared with me and
newfound sources of motivation.

Clare Week 7

BY CLARE HOPKINS
VILLAGER STAFF WRITER
My last week of training at Midtown has arrived and I’m going
hard to shed a few more pounds before my final weigh-in.
This past week I had the opportunity to take a spin class with
instructor Amy Williams and was thoroughly challenged. It was an
intense class but I felt really good after, and Amy was an excellent
instructor. I was excited for this class because I love to ride my bike when the weather is warm and I had been missing it.
Spinning is an aerobic exercise that takes place on a stationary
bicycle called a spinning bike. The class involved motivating
music and Amy talking us through the workout. During the class
pace and resistance were changed and we also switched between
standing and sitting. I really liked the way Amy talked us through
the class, I found it really helped me focus.

The benefits of cycling apply to spinning; except spinning can be
done when riding your bike outside is impossible because the snow
and ice are piling up. I also think its beneficial to have an instructor
to guide and push you. But spinning can burn a lot of calories, up
to 500 in half an hour.

I also like spinning and bike riding because it is a low impact
workout. For people with any kind of joint pain I think this is the
perfect way to get a good workout in because it doesn’t put any
pressure on the knees and joints.
Though Mike went a little easier on me this Monday because I
have a cold, we did do a little core training with the medicine ball.
The day after I have a sore core but increased appreciation for the medicine ball.
A medicine ball is a weighted leather or rubber ball that you can
use to do an array of full body exercises. They come in different
sizes and weights and have many advantages.

I sat back on a regular fitness ball while Mike tossed me a
medicine ball from about a foot away. I would catch the ball and
sit up slightly while throwing it back to him. It sounds simple but it
was challenging for my stomach muscles and the rest of my body
trying to stay balanced and throw at the same time.

This exercise and others with the medicine call can really improve
core strength. Instead of isolating one muscle group you are able
to work many different core muscles at once. In this way working
with a medicine ball is different than using the weight machines,
which have a fixed range of motion and therefore target only one
muscle group.

So like I said before I have a cold and am allowing myself one
day to recover and regain some energy so I can get back into my
routine. I hope that by next week I have some impressive results
to share. Again good luck and keep going to everyone else who
started the New Year looking to make a change in their fitness, I
hope everyone is reaching their goals and making progress.

Clare Week 6

BY CLARE HOPKINS
VILLAGER STAFF WRITER
I am into week seven and although my mission towards fitness with Mike will soon be coming to end I am aware now that it is
really a lifetime journey, as inactivity can have a lot of unhealthy effects on the body.
A lot of this journey has really been about educating myself, and feel as though I have learned a great deal, specifically about how
unhealthy avoiding exercise truly is.
Mike shared with me that inactivity has a lot of unhealthy repercussions on a cellular level. Inactivity decreases your body’s ability to move oxygen from the blood stream to the cells and
decrease the number of power activating mitochondria.

There are also many conditions that can be made worse by
inactivity. For example studies have shown that men and women
who are physically active have a 30 to 40 percent risk of colon
cancer compared to individuals who are inactive.

As February is Heart Month I should also mention that a lack
of physical activity over time can decrease the function of heart
muscle and can affect the blood vessels including the large aortic
artery to the veins and small capillaries. Many studies have shown
that exercise can protect your heart.

Besides physical health, a lack of exercise can also be detrimental
to your mental health. People who don’t exercise on a regular basis
could be more prone to develop depression and people who are
fitness conscious more often display improved self-esteem.
Not that I am trying to scare anyone into exercising, because I
don’t think fear should be a main motivator. However I think it’s
important to remember how avoiding the gym or exercising in
general can seriously affect your health.

I know now netter than anyone how fun it can actually be to get a
workout in. I have been having a great time at the kickboxing class
every Thursday, taught by Earl Rosebrooks. I have to say it’s my
favorite class I’ve taken so far because it’s very high energy and
challenging but also a really good time. Earl is a really enthusiastic
and knowledgeable teacher so I really look forward to going every
week. Like I’ve mentioned before I’m always looking for extra
motivation to exercise and this class has kept me showing up every
week since I started so I would really recommend it.

I also had the opportunity to enjoy a Karate class this week with
Mike and Kristin. This was my first time trying Karate so it was a
completely new experience but it left me wanting more.
I wasn’t aware it would be such a workout but I was sweating by
the time the hour had run out. Karate obviously has many of the
same physical benefits as regular exercise but I think it also has a
lot of mental benefits.

I spent most of the class learning self-defense techniques from
Kristin and I found it very empowering. I think over time people
in Karate, especially women, can develop a lot of confidence in
themselves and their ability to defend themselves. I know I left that
class feeling very positively about myself, though I am an extreme
beginner.

One thing I am not feeling positive about is my arm strength,
which is something I guess I have neglected over these weeks. My
pathetic attempt at a bicep curl elicited some laughs from Mike
on Monday. So I continue this week with the goal to improve my
bicep strength so as not to feel so embarrassed when I meet with
Mike next week.