Inspired Fitness » Inspired Mind & Body

Interval Walking – Supercharged or Overhyped?

rob@inspiredfitness.com — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 03:33:45 +0000

The article below appeared in USA Today as critics took exception to the claims that famous author and cardiologist Arthur Agatson’s was making in his new book “The South Beach Diet Supercharged”. Agatson claims that “interval walking” significantly revs up your metabolism and keeps burning calories throughout the entire day.

We’re all for anything that gets the Team off the couch and moving – be it steady walking, jogging, running, skipping, etc….so “interval walking” gets two thumbs up from us (here’s a Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced “interval walking” routine if you’re interested).

And while the critics and the article open an interesting “controversy”, while the author delivers a book not that much more spectacular than the best-selling original (showing that even successful cardiologist’s need to sell more books), the “net/net” of the article is:

1) There is an increase in the number of calories burned doing “interval walking” versus walking at a steady, moderate pace. About a 25% increase in fact. This may not amount to a lot considering it takes a 3500 calorie deficit to lose one pound of fat, but the added benefit of getting your daily exercise completed in less time plus the increase in calorie burn may well make “interval walking” the way to go, (at least on your “cardio” days 2-3 days per week. This still comes in far short of the benefits you receive at Boot Camp – where you realize significant true “interval training” cardio benefits, plus strength training to build muscle (which actually does increase metabolism), and,

2) The claim that interval walking “revs up your metabolism for the whole day” appears to be heavily exaggerated. The increase in metabolism burn appears to last no more than 30 minutes, and probably more in the 10 minute range.

USA TODAY ARTICLE (original)

The South Beach Diet by cardiologist Arthur Agatston has been wildly popular since it arrived in 2003 and promoted a diet that cuts back on artery-clogging fat and processed carbohydrates. But the honeymoon may be over with Agatston’s latest book.

The South Beach Diet Supercharged, just out, is drawing fire from several top national exercise researchers. The book, which he wrote with Joseph Signorile, a professor of exercise physiology at the University of Miami, features an interval walking plan that promises to burn many more calories than moderate walking and to keep on burning calories all day.

Not so fast, critics say.

These claims are exaggerated and don’t reflect the latest scientific research, says Timothy Church, director of preventive medicine research at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge.

People do burn more calories when they exercise at a higher intensity, Church says. Those using the book’s interval program may burn a few more calories than if they’d walked at a steady pace, but they won’t burn “far more calories,” and they won’t burn calories for hours afterward as the book promises, he says.

The idea that caloric afterburn lasts all day is outdated, Church says. The latest studies suggest that for the type of exercises described in the book, the post-exercise caloric expenditure is small and only lasts for about 15 to 30 minutes, he says.

Part of the book’s premise is that Agatston’s walking program of about 19 minutes a day, several days a week, will help “supercharge” metabolism and increase weight loss. It alternates walking at “revved up” and “supercharged” paces with “easy” and “moderate” ones.

“With interval training, the higher the intensity of the exercise, the longer the afterburn; that is, you will continue to burn more fat and calories after you’ve completed your exercise session,” the authors write. “This means you’ll burn more fat and calories while you’re going through your daily activities, and even when you’re resting.”

The book does not define the walking speeds but says that moderate is “a brisk but not fast pace” and supercharged is working “at your absolute top level.”

So, for instance, on one day of Phase 2, a person warms up by walking two minutes at a moderate pace. Then he walks for 30 seconds at a supercharged pace and then 60 seconds at a moderate pace. He repeats that 10 times and finishes with two minutes at an easy pace. Short walks like this one are done three or four times a week with strengthening exercises on the other days.

Church, co-author of the exercise book Move Yourself, supports interval work for improving fitness and training athletes, but he says Agatston’s 19-minute interval program will not burn more calories than walking at a steady pace for 60 minutes, as the book and promotional materials state.

Church estimates that a 200-pound person would use 140 to 150 calories doing Agatston’s “supercharged” program for 19 minutes compared with 400 calories walking at a moderate pace (3.5 miles an hour) for an hour, the amount of time recommended by government guidelines for weight control.

John Jakicic, director of the Physical Activity and Weight Management Research Center at the University of Pittsburgh, tested a portion of Agatston’s theory.

He monitored the caloric burn of a 180-pound person walking on a treadmill — following the “supercharged” portion of Agatston’s program — and found the exerciser burned 141 calories in 19 minutes (walking intermittently up to 4.2 miles an hour). The exerciser burned 113 calories when walking a moderate pace (3.2 miles an hour) for the same amount of time. So, the interval exercise expended about 28 additional calories, which is about 25% more than would have been expended at a steady pace, Jakicic says.

“What he (Agatston) is saying isn’t wrong, but he’s just inflating the impact.”

Any extra effect his program has on weight loss would be minimal when you consider that you have to burn 3,500 calories to lose a pound, he says.

As for the “afterburn,” the exerciser’s metabolic rate returned to pre-exercise levels within 10 minutes, Jakicic says. “During those 10 minutes, the added energy expenditure was 13 calories above what would be expended if no exercise had taken place.”

Research suggests that the most significant portion of the afterburn from this type of physical activity lasts for about a half an hour, and the number of calories burned is small, he says. “The majority of calories are burned when you are doing the exercise.”

Agatston told USA TODAY that his program is based on his personal experience and that of his patients. He reviewed the research and believes this interval approach is the best way to improve fitness without injury and burn more calories in less time.

He says his goal is to encourage people to move periodically at a “revved up” pace and then slow down to a moderate pace to recover. “This allows you to do higher intensity than you normally would be able to sustain, and over time you will lose a lot more weight.”

Agatston says the authors “didn’t overstate afterburn. At most, you can nitpick some of what we say.”

Signorile says he didn’t actually calculate how many calories are burned in the Supercharged program. Even so, he says, “You are going to be able to get greater caloric output per unit of time with this workout.”

Agatston says his program will be helpful to busy people. “When people say they don’t exercise, the most common reason they give is lack of time, and here you can accomplish more in less time.

“Interval training is more efficient, and over time you will burn more calories. That’s my point, and I absolutely stick with it.”

Positive thinking: Reduce Stress, Enjoy Life More

rob@inspiredfitness.com — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 20:24:15 +0000

Positive thinking helps with stress management and can even improve your health. Overcome negative self-talk by recognizing it and practicing with some examples provided.

Is your glass half-empty or half-full? How you answer this age-old question about positive thinking may reflect your outlook on life, your attitude toward yourself, and whether you’re optimistic or pessimistic.

In fact, some studies show that these personality traits — optimism and pessimism — can affect many areas of your health and well-being. Positive thinking also is a key part of effective stress management. Positive thinking doesn’t mean that you keep your head in the sand and ignore life’s less pleasant situations. It just means that you approach the unpleasantness in a more positive and productive way.

With all this in mind, take a refresher course in positive thinking. Learn how to put positive thinking into action in your own life, and reap the benefits.

Understanding positive thinking and self-talk

Self-talk is the endless stream of thoughts that run through your head every day. These automatic thoughts can be positive or negative. Some of your self-talk comes from logic and reason. Other self-talk may arise from misconceptions that you create because of lack of information.

If the thoughts that run through your head are mostly negative, your outlook on life is more likely pessimistic. If your thoughts are mostly positive, you’re likely an optimist — someone who practices positive thinking.

The health benefits of positive thinking

Researchers continue to explore the effects of positive thinking and optimism on health. Health benefits that positive thinking may provide include:

Increased life span
Lower rates of depression
Lower levels of distress
Greater resistance to the common cold
Better psychological and physical well-being
Reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease
Better coping skills during hardships and times of stress

It’s unclear why people who engage in positive thinking experience these health benefits. One theory is that having a positive outlook enables you to cope better with stressful situations, which reduces the harmful health effects of stress on your body. It’s also thought that positive and optimistic people live healthier lifestyles — they get more physical activity, follow a healthier diet, and have reduced rates of smoking and alcohol consumption.

Identifying negative thinking

Some common forms of negative self-talk include:

Filtering. You magnify the negative aspects of a situation and filter out all of the positive ones. For example, say you had a great day at work. You completed your tasks ahead of time and were complimented for doing a speedy and thorough job. But you forgot one minor step. That evening, you focus only on your oversight and forget about the compliments you received.
Personalizing. When something bad occurs, you automatically blame yourself. For example, you hear that an evening out with friends is canceled, and you assume that the change in plans is because no one wanted to be around you.
Catastrophizing. You automatically anticipate the worst. You refuse to go out with friends for fear that you’ll make a fool of yourself. Or one change in your daily routine leads you to think the entire day will be a disaster.
Polarizing. You see things only as either good or bad, black or white. There is no middle ground. You feel that you have to be perfect or that you’re a total failure.

Focusing on positive thinking

Because your self-talk is mainly negative doesn’t mean you’re doomed to an unhappy or unhealthy life. You can learn to turn negative thinking into positive thinking. The process is simple, but it takes time and practice — you’re creating a new habit, after all. Here are some ways to think and behave in a more positive way:

Check yourself. Periodically during the day, stop and evaluate what you’re thinking. If you find that your thoughts are mainly negative, try to find a way to put a positive spin on them.
Be open to humor. Give yourself permission to smile or laugh, especially during difficult times. Seek humor in everyday happenings. When you can laugh at life, you feel less stressed.
Follow a healthy lifestyle. Exercise at least three times a week to positively affect mood and reduce stress. Follow a healthy diet to fuel your mind and body. And learn to manage stress.
Surround yourself with positive people. Make sure those in your life are positive, supportive people you can depend on to give helpful advice and feedback. Negative people, those who believe they have no power over their lives, may increase your stress level and may make you doubt your ability to manage stress in healthy ways.
Practice positive self-talk. Start by following one simple rule: Don’t say anything to yourself that you wouldn’t say to anyone else. Be gentle and encouraging with yourself. If a negative thought enters your mind, evaluate it rationally and respond with affirmations of what is good about yourself.

Examples of typical negative self-talk and how you might apply a positive twist include:

Negative self-talk	Positive spin
I’ve never done it before.	It’s an opportunity to learn something new.
It’s too complicated.	I’ll tackle it from a different angle.
I don’t have the resources.	Necessity is the mother of invention.
I’m too lazy to get this done.	I wasn’t able to fit it into my schedule but can re-examine some priorities.
There’s no way it will work.	I can try to make it work.
It’s too radical a change.	Let’s take a chance.
No one bothers to communicate with me.	I’ll see if I can open the channels of communication.
I’m not going to get any better at this.	I’ll give it another try.

Practicing positive thinking every day

If you tend to have a negative outlook, don’t expect to become an optimist overnight. But with practice, eventually your self-talk will contain less self-criticism and more self-acceptance. You may also become less critical of the world around you. Plus, when you share your positive mood and positive experience, both you and those around you enjoy an emotional boost.

Practicing positive self-talk will improve your outlook. When your state of mind is generally optimistic, you’re able to handle everyday stress in a more constructive way. That ability may contribute to the widely observed health benefits of positive thinking.

By Mayo Clinic staff

31 Ways to Motivate Yourself to Exercise

rob@inspiredfitness.com — Tue, 19 May 2009 18:57:45 +0000

How do you find motivation to exercise when you just don’t feel like getting off your butt? You’re not alone in asking that question – in fact, you’re in the majority. Until it becomes a habit or lifestyle if you will. And it will – it’s just getting over the hump of the initial month or two usually, and then the “blah” days are few are far between.

Here are a few ways to “motivate” yourself both during that beginner stage and even after you’ve been at it awhile – the secret – do something!

How you feel after a workout. I always feel great after a good workout. It’s a high. And I let that motivate me the next time: “You know how good you’re going to feel, Leo!”
Time for you. While many people make time to take care of others (kids, spouse, other family, co-workers, boss), they don’t often make time to take care of themselves. Instead, make your “you” time a priority, and don’t miss that exercise appointment.
Calories burned. If you count calories (and it’s really one of the most effective ways to lose weight), you know that the more you exercise, the more calories you burn — and the bigger your calorie deficit.
Having fun. Exercise should be fun. If it isn’t, try a different kind of activity that you enjoy. As long as you’re moving, it’s good for you.
How you’re going to look. Imagine a slimmer, fitter you. Now let that visualization drive you.
Magazines. It motivates me to read fitness magazines. Not sure why, but it works.
Cover models. Sure, they’re genetically freaky, and probably Photoshopped to look perfect. But for some reason, looking at how good a cover model looks helps motivate me to work harder.
Blogs. I enjoy reading blogs about people who are into running, or losing weight. It can show the ups and downs they go through, and you can learn from their experiences.
Success stories. I find the success stories of others incredibly inspirational. If a fitness website has success stories, I’ll almost always read them.
Forums. Do the monthly challenge on the Zen Habits forums, or join another forum full of like-minded or like-goaled peopled. Check in daily. It really helps.
Rewards. If you exercise for a few days, give yourself a reward! A week? Another reward. Do it often in the beginning.
Fitting into new clothes. Wanna look good in a smaller size? Work out!
Being attractive. That’s always a good motivator, as I’m sure we all know. Edited to correct language.
Adrenaline rush. I get a rush when I exercise. Ride that rush to complete the workout.
Stress relief. Wound up after a long day at the office? Get out and work off that stress. It makes a world of difference.
Time for contemplation. I love, love the quiet time of exercise for thinking about things. Most of this post was written in my head as I exercised.
A workout partner. Best thing I’ve done.
An exercise class. Sign up for a class, perhaps with a friend, and you’ll be motivated to get there and work out.
A coach or trainer. Worth the money, just for the motivation.
An exercise log/graph. For some reason, writing it down is extremely important. Really. Do it for a week and you’ll see what I mean.
Your before picture. You often don’t realize how far you’ve come. Take pictures.
A 5K race or triathlon. Just sign up for one, and you’ll be motivated to train.
The dread of feeling “yuck” from not exercising. I hate how I feel after not exercising. So I remind myself of that when I feel tired.
Living long enough to see your grandkids … and play with them.
The scale. It’s not motivating to weigh yourself every day, as your weight fluctuates. But if you weigh yourself once a week, you’ll be motivated to have it keep going down, instead of up. Combine the scale with the measuring tape, and measure your waist.
Reaching a goal. Set a goal for weight, or your waist measurement, or a number of days to work out, or a number of miles to run this week. Setting and tracking a goal helps motivate you to complete that goal. Make it easily achievable.
Posting it on your blog. Tell people you’re going to lose weight or exercise daily, and report to them. You’ll make it happen.
Motivational quotes. I like to print them out or put them on my computer desktop.
Books. I just bought a strength-training book as a reward. It makes me want to hit the weights!
Others commenting on how good you look. When someone notices the changes in your body, it feels good. And it makes you want to work out more.
An upcoming day at the beach, or a reunion. Nuff said.

Leo Babauta

Put Some Air in Your Tires…

rob@inspiredfitness.com — Thu, 07 May 2009 17:03:22 +0000

People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing.. that’s why we recommend it daily.
Zig Ziglar

The wheel was obviously a simple, but miraculous, invention. Some days, instead of spending effort on reinventing it, it’s better to simply make sure it has enough air to do its job. Here’s a bit of “air” from some well-spoken motivators:

It is your attitude, not your aptitude, that determines your altitude.
Zig Ziglar

When you set goals, something inside of you starts saying, “Let’s go, let’s go,” and ceilings start to move up.
Zig Ziglar

You know, people make a lot of money talking about me, don’t they? They just get on those shows, and they talk away. There’s nothing I can do. And that’s one of the great lessons I try to convey in my book, which my mother implanted in me as a young girl.. Is you can either be an actor in your own life, or a reactor in somebody else’s.
Hillary Rodham Clinton

The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.
Walt Disney

Explain to people that everything they say is an affirmation. Everything they think is an affirmation. Everything! What you want to do is to get control of what you are saying and thinking, so these things bring you good experiences in life rather than rotten experiences.
Louise Hay

Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve. Thoughts are things! And powerful things at that, when mixed with definiteness of purpose, and burning desire, can be translated into riches.
Napoleon Hill

I don’t think of myself as a poor deprived ghetto girl who made good. I think of myself as somebody who from an early age knew I was responsible for myself, and I had to make good.
Oprah Winfrey

Do not wait; the time will never be “just right.” Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along.
Napoleon Hill

The greatest good we can do for others is not just to share our riches with them, but to reveal theirs.
Zig Ziglar

Wallowing in the past may be good literature. As wisdom, it’s hopeless.
Aldous Huxley

Nothing of great value in this life comes easily. The things of highest value sometimes come hard. The gold that has the greatest value lies deepest in the earth, as do the diamonds.
Norman Vincent Peale

If you wait until all the lights are “green” before you leave home, you’ll never get started on your trip to the top.
Zig Ziglar

You can have everything in life that you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.
Zig Ziglar

Breaking Goals Down To The Basics

rob@inspiredfitness.com — Sun, 03 May 2009 18:20:42 +0000

One of the primary reasons why people fail to execute their goals is they set forth unrealistic or overly complex goals. Most of us have the tendency to look at the finish line without paying much consideration to the distance between the end point and us.

Here are a couple examples to illustrate this point:

My goal is to lose 80 pounds by next year.
My goal is to lose 8 pounds a month each month until I reach the grand goal of 80 pounds.

Or how about this one?

My goal is to save up enough money to take a cross-country vacation next summer.
My goal is to save $30.00 each week so that 50 weeks from now I will have accumulated $1,500.00 for the vacation expenses. I will do this by using grocery coupons, downgrading my cable plan and dining out one time less per week.

The majority of us lay out our goals in the general manner exhibited by the first statement in each of the two examples above, but unfortunately they are so aimless and expansive that unless you are particularly motivated and disciplined chances are good you will give up long before you reach the goal.

On the other hand, if you break down your expansive goals into an assortment of smaller goals that are easily achieved, you will find yourself far more focused and motivated. Each time you reach a milestone (the conclusion of a smaller goal), you will experience the jubilation of success and be one step closer to your end goal.

Breaking large goals up into manageable pieces also plays a bit of a trick on the mind. What would be your natural answer to the following question?

Is it easier to lose 80 pounds in 10 months, or 2 pounds each week?

The thought of losing 80 pounds is horrifying… that’s a lot of weight. Two pounds is much more manageable. Right? But if you break the numbers down, you’ll find that two pounds a week for 10 months will result in the loss of 80 pounds, which is exactly the same as your expansive end goal.

By breaking up your large goals, you allow your mind to focus on the easily achievable midpoints such as two pounds a week. At the end of each week if you see that you didn’t reach your goal of two pounds, you’ll know something needs to be tweaked if you are to succeed with your end goal. On the other hand no matter how frustrated you become with your diet, if you see that you are losing just two pounds every week you’ll know that you are well on your way and as such you will remain far more motivated throughout the process.

No realistic goal is too great as long as you break it down to easily achievable and detailed interim goals.

It’s Not a Diet – It’s Not Exercise – It’s a Lifestyle Change

rob@inspiredfitness.com — Sun, 03 May 2009 17:58:18 +0000

This morning I drove down a suburban street on the way home from dropping off my teenager at school. On this one street alone, there were about a half dozen people out walking. Some had dogs with them; some had a partner; some were alone. These people were different sizes, shapes and ages. I couldn’t help but wonder how many of these individuals made walking a regular part of their life.

We are an educated society. We know what a healthy lifestyle looks like. But yet there are more and more new diets popping up all the time. Health clubs make a fortune on cancelled and unfulfilled memberships. The medical and psychological industries are treating more patients with stress related health problems. Our health and how we feel about ourselves physically directly affects our quality of life.

It’s not always easy adapting a healthy lifestyle, but by following these tips, you can be on your way to lasting change.

Connect to Your Desire

What do you truly desire when it comes to your physical health? Forget about what your partner wants or what you think you “should” want. If you hear yourself saying “I should lose 10 pounds”, ask yourself if that is what you really want? Why do you want to make health changes? Why now? When I look at my own health choices, exercise is something I truly want to do. Drinking 64 ounces of water, on the other hand, it not a true desire. All my friends tell me I need to drink more water, but until it becomes my own desire, it’s probably not going to happen.

What Does Health Mean to You?

In order to adopt a healthy lifestyle, it needs to fit who you are and your current phase in life. For instance, if you find exercise boring, then you will need to incorporate some type of movement in your life that is fun. Consider dancing or walking and talking with a friend. You would be amazed at the number of activities that the average person would not consider exercise, but actually, in reality burns calories. Sometimes a busy lifestyle means you will need to find healthy foods that are convenient. Or you may need to consider a 15 minute workout everyday instead of four one-hour workouts every week. Good health does not have to look like what the magazines suggest. Aim for a lifestyle and a physical body that makes you feel good.

Make a Realistic Commitment

Once you’ve connected to your desire, and you have a clear picture of what good health means to you, then make a realistic commitment to live in this manner. Take baby steps towards your overall goal. If you currently do not have an exercise plan, but you want to work out five times per week, start small. Shoot for working out two times per week, and do that consistently for several weeks. Then slowly add a day until you reach your goal. So many diets fail because they deprive you of any “yummy foods”. Let’s get real. Do you honestly think you will go through your entire life never eating pizza or cookies? Isn’t it more realistic to allow yourself some non-diet foods in moderation every once in awhile? Remember your goal is to maintain good physical health, not achieve it and then lose it.

Manage Stress in Your Life

So often it’s stress in our lives that leads us off the healthy path. When we are stressed, our defenses get weak. We seek comfort, and that often means unhealthy and excessive eating, vegetating in front of the TV, or other lifestyle choices that do not support good health. Simplify your life. Try slowing down your schedule. Identify your stressors and develop solutions to conquer stress. One of the stressors in my life is sibling rivalry. If I plan to have a peaceful evening, then I need to get very clear with my boys about what is expected of them. There will be no fighting, or they will both go to their rooms. This is an example of taking a proactive approach to controllingstress in life.

Get Support and Celebrate

Success in making lifestyle changes depends on the support of others. Why do you think Weight Watchers is so popular? Weight Watchers is a diet plan just like the rest of them. However, it is helpful to have the accountability and the camaraderie of other individuals that are trying to make changes in their lives. Join forces with friends and family members that want to develop a healthy lifestyle. Exercise together. Support each other by sharing healthy recipes. Encourage one another when you’re struggling. And most important, celebrate your successes together. The other night I had dinner with a dear friend. A good portion of our dinner conversation focused on our efforts and successes with maintaining a healthy lifestyle. I celebrated her recent commitment to working out daily, and she expressed genuine happiness for my current success with preventing migraine headaches in my life.

While making some of these healthy changes can sometimes be difficult, if you keep at it and don’t give up, your new health program will become a way of life. It is then that you know you’ve adopted a healthy lifestyle. This new lifestyle will become as automatic as tying your shoes.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR – Lori Radun, CEC – certified life coach and inspirational speaker for moms.