Inspired Fitness

Protected: Week 1 Day 1

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video

Boot Camp For “Beginner” To “Average” Fitness – WOW!

rob@inspiredfitness.com — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 22:45:09 +0000

Trying out a new fitness program can be a daunting experience. It can be especially intimidating if you’re in that “beginner to average” fitness level and feel out of place at the gym, in exercise classes, or in traditional “one-size-fits-all” fitness bootcamps that try to serve “all fitness levels.” Listen as some of the women that have gone through WOW! talk about their experience and why it is such a fit:

Ready To Go Already? Find Your WOW! Program Today in a city near you

Women may consider themselves to be in the “beginner to average” category for any number of reasons: maybe they haven’t worked out for a long while and have lost muscle strength, tone, and endurance; perhaps they’ve gained 12-50 pounds or more for various reasons, such as life-stress situations or a recent pregnancy; maybe they’re recovering from injuries that have prevented them from being able to get and stay in shape; or maybe they have the desire to get fit, but lack the motivation and accountability to stick to a fitness plan. If you find yourself in any of these groups, WOW! programs have been designed just for you!

To help you feel comfortable and allow you to start “where you are” fitness wise, we have created a program that includes:

Women Only Workouts (WOW!) to foster a supportive, motivating environment
Timed Circuit Format to build motivation, not competition (there is no last place)
Three different intensity levels offered at each station to allow you to progress at your own pace
Online access to upcoming routines prior to class to ease comfort levels
Outdoor workouts for fresh air and inspiration
Nutrition consultation to support your physical program
No equipment necessary – we provide all training equipment so you get more variety and less hassle
Motivating Coaches to ensure you have fun, stay safe, and get results

WOW! Programs fill the void left by other programs, gyms, bootcamps and classes, which are not tailored to women in the “beginner” to “average” fitness category – but instead aim to be a “one size fits all” solution – which never works with health and fitness. Our unique approach helps you finally reach your desired goals by taking a “Beginner Focus”, allowing you to feel comfortable from the very first day and to “start where you are” with the support, motivation and accountability from women just like you. And then being able to progress at your own pace with the understanding guidance and instruction from Certified Instructors that are there to mentor and coach, not “drive and push” by being overly intense or extreme.

Though we are truly beginner focused, we realize that it’s also about the results. Our workouts are structured to ensure maximum calorie burn both during the workout and well afterwards. Each class combines cardio, strength training, and core exercises that work the entire body. By making the rests between exercises short, we are able to keep heart rates high without a lot of high impact moves. Results you can expect are:

Lose up to 10 lbs per bootcamp
Lose up to 12 inches per bootcamp
Gain strength, endurance, and muscle tone
Gain confidence and improved health

Register For Your Local WOW! Program Today! Spaces are limited so we can serve our clients individually and registration is “first come first served” monthly.

rob@inspiredfitness.com — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:40:34 +0000

Find The Weight Loss and/or Fitness Program For You
Just Position Yourself on This Matrix

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.”

Interval Walking Routines – Beginner to Advanced

rob@inspiredfitness.com — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 03:32:37 +0000

When it comes to Interval Walking we’ll give you two options:
Timed and “Set Your Own Limits”.

TIMED
1) If you’re okay being a “clock watcher” (i.e., do this for this many minutes then do this for this many minutes, then do this, etc….) you can choose the the “Timed Interval Walking Schedules“. Some people enjoy these because the mere act of watching the clock takes their mind off the exercise itself and time seems to fly by quicker,

or you might choose to

SET YOUR OWN LIMITS
2) If you’d prefer the “listen to your body” approach – (i.e., when I’ve reached a limit I want to be able to drop back and slow down a little) then try the following approach:

The “Listen To My Body Approach” To Interval Walking:

You look inside yourself to notice how you feel. You make every choice based on how you feel. There is no external measure or goal at all. Do exactly what feels good to you. Listen to the expert. The expert on you is YOU.

Here is an example of a fitness walk using intervals:

First: Warm-up by walking slowly until you feel a bit warmer and are breathing a bit faster. This usually takes about five minutes. Do not skimp on your warm-up! A good warm-up makes the entire workout more comfortable and more effective.

Then start your intervals: Each interval has two parts

Part 1: Walk at a medium intensity for a while. Medium intensity means you can pass the “talk test”. You can talk `while you walk, but you need to take a big breath between phrases. Notice how you feel. Medium intensity is not a challenge. Medium intensity is comfortable. If you need to go slow to find your own individual medium intensity, that is fine. When you have found your own comfortable pace where you pass the “talk test”, remember how it feels. You will use that same pace again.

Part 2: Now you are going to walk as fast as you can for as long as you can. This is the high intensity part. Again, listen to your body. Walk as fast as you can staying in good form and posture. There is no set speed. You have to listen to how you feel to decide what is high intensity for you. Stay at high intensity as long as you can. That may be minutes or seconds. That’s O.K. When you need a break, go back to medium intensity. Stay at medium intensity until you feel comfortable again.

That is one interval. You can repeat this interval as many times as you and your body feel are right for you. If you get chest pain, cool-down and see your doctor. If you get “a stitch in your side”, drop down to moderate or low intensity until it subsides.

Finally, cool-down! Walk slowly for at least five full minutes! Your cool-down is VERY important. Your cool-down is necessary for your safety and to get full benefit from your workout. That’s all there is to interval walking, your internally motivated workout that helps you listen to YOUR BODY!