Club Blog

Here are 5 Tips to know, once and for all, if you have a healthy and fit body!

Healthy and Fit Body Tips #1: Proper Nutrition
Providing your body with the right food and liquid is the most important component to your health. If you struggling with weight loss and the inability to get yourself fit, start with a change in your diet. Eating right does not mean eating less. A soy-based meal replacement once a day works for me, along with a few targeted supplements you can not find in food.

Even people who exercise all the time can not be totally fit if they grab a bag of potato chips over an apple. No matter what you look like on the outside, your inside is what matters the most. If your body is not getting right nutrition, you can not expect it to look and feel good. You are what you eat. Never forget that.

Healthy and Fit Body Tips #2: Muscle Mass
Our bodies require a certain percentage of muscle to stay healthy and meet the tasks of daily living. This varies per individual, but after the age of 30, our bodies lose muscle mass each year. The key to restoring this is resistance exercise to keep muscle mass. To age gracefully by being fit, keep your muscle mass percentage high.

Healthy and Fit Body Tips #3: Body Fat
This your total body weight that is composed of fat. 10 percent to 14 percent is considered good for men, and 14 percent to 18 percent is considered good for women. Being too far below it and above it both have health risks. Unless you’re a weight-dependent athlete or a fitness model, you should strive to fall into your category.

Healthy and Fit Body Tips #4: Aerobic Endurance
I bet you do not think about how well your body transports oxygen, right? From shoveling snow to running a marathon, aerobic activity is a good indicator of good aerobic fitness. Your cardiovascular goal for fitness is simple. Get your heart rate up and hold it, then bring it down without becoming short of breath.

Healthy and Fit Body Tips #5: Strength
How much force can your muscles generate? Your body needs to be able to move stuff, and you, around. Mass protects your body, strength moves it and keeps it from falling over. Strength training requires short bouts of high-intensity outputs, much different from aerobic activity. Strength training slows the aging process, so the stronger you are, the slower you age.

Should you do cardio before or after your weight workout? Many prefer to do their cardio exercise before lifting to get it out of the way and as a general warm-up. I do endorse a 5 minute pre-workout general warm-up for safety’ sake, but for maximum fat loss, post weight training aerobics should be the mainstay of your program.

The funny thing about being on the cutting edge of weight loss science is that people are reluctant to believe you until someone with a M.D. says it is so. Well, wonder of all wonders, it just so happens that a recent study suggests that the best time to do cardio is after a weight workout and that how long you rest between the two can make a difference in both hormone release and fat burning.  This is not new information to bodybuilders who specialize in rapid fat loss year in and year out. =

The study was presented at the 2006 ACSM meeting and featured 10 healthy men who did three types of exercise routines on different days: 1) Endurance exercises only 2) Endurance exercise after weight training and a 20 minute rest 3) Endurance exercises after weight training and 120 minutes rest

Vanishing Muscle

One-third of a pound of muscle is lost per year after the age of 40. Sarcopenia is age-related loss of muscle mass, strength, and function. Much like osteoporosis and osteoarthritis, sarcopenia is a serious degenerative condition; reduced muscle mass increases risk for injury and results in loss of mobility and balance.

Metabolically, muscle is an active tissue that allows the body to burn more calories and, in turn, reduces risk for developing diabetes and/or obesity. A study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology (October 2003) showed that resistance exercises (strength training) can reverse sarcopenia. Both men and woman can reap the rewards of strength training and old-fashioned iron pumping.

Two Workouts in One

Eliminating cardio exercise, however, is not the answer. Find ways to include cardio workouts in your cardio strength training routine. Former Mr. America, Bob Gajda has developed a workout that can not only increase your endurance, but also shed fat and maintain muscle. This workout is known as peripheral heart action or PHA. The concept of this strength-training workout is to incorporate “super setting” by utilizing all areas of the body. PHA prevents blood from stagnating in one area, thus forcing the heart to pump blood to the entire body. In turn, this creates an effective aerobic and strength training routine. Since the basis of this exercise is strength training, no muscle is lost.

Whether you use PHA or another combined cardio strength gym training system, make your workouts fun. Always consult with a professional La Jolla Sports Club Staff trainer before venturing into a demanding physical activity. Combining strength and cardio training is the ideal way to keep your heart, muscles, and bones toned and healthy.