Exercise, weight loss, body fat, muscle

Fitness Training and Exercise Planning
You can create more productive, planned workouts to do at your Gym !

Body Composition   

Body composition is primarily concerned with "body fat mass" versus "fat-free mass" which, together , make up total body weight. When we want to lose weight, we are really trying to loose body fat. Fat-free mass is made up of bone, muscle and organs. Analyzing body composition usually means determining the percentage of fat and fat-free mass.  A scale shows total body weight. In fact, muscle weighs more than fat, so, a very muscular person might fall into the overweight category in some estimates, but they may not really be overweight. For most people, losing and maintaining a good body fat percentage is not as hard as one would imagine. A key is consistency in proper nutrition and fat burning exercise.

Strength Training

One definition of muscle strength is determined by the maximum weight you can lift once with good form for that particular muscle. One definitiion of muscle endurance is determined by how many times you can lift a lighter weight (a little lighter than the maximum).

Without strength training, we lose one-half pound of muscle or more per year after age 25. Muscle is responsible for 25% or more of caloric use while we sleep! Increasing muscle tissue also increases our metabolic rate. Without training, adults could see a 5% reduction in their metabolic rate per decade.

This type of training not only strengthens muscles, but also strengthens ligaments (which connect bones to other bones) and tendons (which connect muscles to bones).

Cardio Training

There are 4 components that contribute to optimal fitness: Strength, Flexibility, Body Composition and Cardio. While each seems to enhance the other, Cardio is the one that stands out because of what it does for the other three. Cardio burns fat for better body composition and improves blood flow for Strength and flexibility training. Cardio also helps with several diseases like diabetes and some heart issues.

Flexibility Training

Many of us concentrate on strength and/or cardio training without including a good flexibility program. Many experts believe that besides helping to minimize injury, flexibility training also promotes increased blood flow, thereby improving the flow of nutrients to the joints, and helps tissue elasticity and slows joint degeneration. Low back pain responds well to flexibility training of those corresponing muscles.

Nutrition

Nutrients are sometimes misunderstood or even ignored when it comes to what the body needs to exercise. The right Proteins, Carbs and Fats should be the focus for exercisers. A basic understanding of what these three are and when and how they fit into the subject of nutrition is both interesting and necessary when forming a strategy for health and exercise.

Muscle Movement and Protein

The fuel that muscles use to go into motion is called Adenosine Phosphate or ATP. From the muscles in your eyelid that help you to blink, to the muscles you use in strength training, this ATP is produced in three different ways, and , for three different reasons, depending on how much energy that muscle needs. How does Protein work with this ?

DNA and Heredity

Many come to the gym and want to change the way their body looks. But some have unrealistic expectations of how much their bodies can really change. DNA and heredity are a couple of factors that determine how much your body can change. Also, excercise effects aging on a molecular level. DNA is kept healthier with exercise, this helps our bodies to age slower.

Baby Boomers and Seniors

It is common knowledge that, as we age, elements of our body science slow down. When we reach middle age, exercise becomes a tool to keep our body science toned and strong. Flexibility, strength ,cardio and proper nutrition greatly improve the way we move, our strength, our endurance and our ability to minimize some ailments and illnesses.

Core Training

Abdominal and back mucles hold the spine in place when the appropriate movements are made by the legs and arms. Core exercises work the abdominals and back muscles. The core is involved in many of our daily movements, so strengthening the core helps us with day to day functionality. Core training improves certain aspects of balance and coordination. Strong and flexible back muscles have been known to reduce lower back pain.

Exercise Psychology

Motivation is a key psychological component of a consistent, progressive and effective exercise program. Exercise is work ! But it can also be fun, challenging , and is always rewarding. There are different tools and strategies that can help make an exercise program something to always look forward to. A simple example is progression. Many feel encouraged when the workout they have done today was more than they did in the previous session. Here, recording your workouts is a very valuable tool to keep track of your progress. There are many interesting aspects to psychology and exercise.

Exercise for the disabled

Disabled individuals can be less active and more prone to be overweight (above suggested weight) or obese (more than overweight). This puts them at risk for problems associated with weight issues (diabetes, etc).  As disabled children grow into adults, some need help in learning how to function for daily living. Exercise programs that increase range of motion, postural control, strength and active movement go a long way in improving certain functionality, self esteem and overall fitness.

Kids and Exercise

Over the past two decades, overweight children have doubled. Among kids 5 - 15, 61% have one or more risk factors (type 2 diabetes, cholesterol issues, etc) and 27% have two or more. The 1999 California Physical Fitness Test showed that 80% of 5th, 7th and 9th graders failed to meet minimum fitness standards ! Kids respond to fitness training much like adults. Resistance training is no exception, and has been shown to be safe for prepubescent kids as well.

How our bodies use oxygen during exercise

When you begin to breathe fast and hard while doing any type of cardio, you are hyperventilating. You may bring more oxygen into your body faster, but it does not mean that all of that oxygen is really getting to your muscle cells. The capillaries are like a conduit for oxygenated blood from your arteries to your muscle cells. Correct exercise will increase the number of your capillaries, allowing more blood to reach the muscle cells. Increased endurance is one of the benefits of more oxygen in the muscles.