”I don’t like hopping, skipping, running, thrashing about, or picking up heavy weights”. That’s what one client told me. He said, “I just don’t understand it”. Thrashing about pretty much summarizes some exercise programs available today; there are safer more productive alternatives. This client has little free time and hates to exercise, but he does exercise with us. He said, “It is the perfect workout for me; once or twice a week for 30 minutes works”.
Our goal at Austin Personal Training and at New Orleans Personal Training is not to see how often we can get you to come in, but it is to get more out of exercising less. We offer High Intensity Interval Training for strength. In one consolidated workout, HIIT will produce improvements in strength, flexibility, bone density, cardiovascular endurance, and body leanness. It won’t take long, and you’ll improve each week. You will more likely stick to such a plan, and you will have more time for activities you enjoy - biking, swimming, walking the dog, or even thrashing about if that is your thing.
Advantages of Strength Training During Pregnancy
We have worked with mothers throughout and after their pregnancies. They stated that their deliveries went easier, and they report getting back in shape quicker than they did in previous pregnancies. As always, expectant mothers need to be cleared for exercise by their doctor. Our exercise program is similar to the program recommended in the book Power of Ten. A quote from the book:
Is the Power of 10 safe if you're pregnant? Again, check first with your doctor. However, it is commonly accepted today that sensible exercise can be beneficial to the health of both pregnant mothers and their babies. Labor and delivery are extremely strenuous physical activities that women should get in shape for like any athlete, with proper muscular and metabolic conditioning. The irony is that most women let themselves become severely de-conditioned during pregnancy, resulting in a greater chance of difficulties doing labor – and afterword, a much longer recovery period.
A client who worked out with us during and after her pregnancy:
'I started training with Amy in May 2007 - 5 months after my first child was born. I saw a remarkable change in my body, building muscle and losing fat while becoming lean. Currently I am 12 weeks out from having our second child. It is amazing how quickly my body has lost the pregnancy weight and is quickly becoming lean and muscular again. Much quicker than after my first child and I feel certain it is due to the weight training I was doing before and while pregnant at Kelly Personal Training. My body built up muscle and did not lose much therefore I was able to bounce back to my pre-pregnancy weight and figure much faster." ~ Marly
Another client said this:
I have quit every health club I have ever joined. I have stuck with this for three years now. I am in the best shape of my life even after having twins. ~ Kyle.
At Austin Personal Training and New Orleans Personal Training we use MedX strength and rehabilitative exercise equipment that can be finely adjusted to accommodate most pre- or post-pregnancy conditions. Most new mothers have little time for exercise. Our high intensity workout is a workout that need not be performed often; most do it just once a week. This leaves more time for other priorities like family without sacrificing one's health.
One of our clients is expecting her third child. She has worked out during all three pregnancies. We have been fortunate to work with mothers before they were pregnant, while pregnant, and years afterward. We have seen some kids grow from babies to teenagers. It has been a pleasure to watch them grow and be a small part in their lives.
22 years after osteopenia diagnosis doctor informs her that she is osteopenia-free
Carol’s osteopenia was progressing, and she lived in pain every day due to her scoliosis. Past attempts at exercise resulted in more pain. She began exercising with us, her pain disappeared, and her muscles and bones became stronger. At Austin TX Personal Trainers and at New Orleans Personal Trainers we primarily use MedX rehabilitation exercise equipment and a protocol that is gentler on the joints. Carol demonstrates and comments on her exercise results in this video. Her words: “Replaced, repaired, restored”.
Far and away the most important thing you can do to slow the aging process
“He’s just old”… that is what Jack told me after helping a classmate out of a car on to a walker. How old? They were both 75, but one stayed strong while the other became weak. In years to come that scenario will play out in our lives in a one form or another. At some point your role could switch from the one doing the helping to the one being helped. It is better to have a say in the matter rather than have the infirmities of aging prematurely dictate your role.
Generally we are not put in senior care facilities for being out of breath. It is when we are too weak to carry out daily activities on our own. Weakness leads to decreased energy and balance. This leads to an increased probability of a fall with serious injury. At that point somebody will have to help you out of the car.
Make changes now. Don’t wait until you are ready for a walker. Choose the one exercise that will far and away have the biggest impact on your quality of life and so many measures of good health - increase your energy, increase your bone density, forestall cognitive decline, become stronger, avoid aches and pains, lower your blood pressure, and lower your risk of injury and sickness. A properly designed high intensity interval strength training program will do all that and much more.
Don’t know where to start? At Austin Fitness Trainers and New Orleans Fitness Trainers we will be with you every step of the way. We work with people of all ages. We use MedX equipment; with its special medical rehab features, we can safely accommodate those with limiting conditions that other facilities are not equipped to handle.
The one type of exercise where the body kicks in to lose fat no matter what our genes want
Our genes have a say on whether we are predisposed to becoming fat and how resistant our bodies are to attempts to control that fat, but there is a way to control that fat regardless of what the genes want. A quote from the book The Secret Life of Fat:
"The pattern persisted across a variety of metrics. Bouchard found that our genes influence our resting metabolism, fat mass, percent of fat, and abdominal visceral fat, plasma triglyceride, and cholesterol levels. Bouchard and his colleague Angelo Tremblay discovered one important exception, though—a vital piece of information for those seeking to control their weight. They found that when subjects performed vigorous exercise, genetics didn’t matter as much. Bouchard’s definition of “vigorous” was any exercise that caused metabolism to increase by six times or more over resting metabolism (which can be achieved by running about 4 to 6 mph or cycling about 12 to 16 mph, or doing other activities that produce rapid breathing and sweat within a few minutes). The lesson is clear: once we enter a specific range of strenuous exercise, the body kicks in to lose fat no matter what our genes want."
At our Austin TX Strength Trainers facility we specialize in getting clients to a "specific range of strenuous exercise" that results in a long list of benefits. While losing fat is first and foremost an eating- less issue, strenuous exercise such as high intensity strength training can boost your metabolism by burning calories four ways. Stronger bodies burn more calories even at rest.
Our exercise sessions are not long. Anybody of any age or fitness level can do them. In fact, those who are the most out of shape will have the greatest upside. You'll build up slowly, you'll get stronger each week, and over time those changes will be transformative.