Circuit Training

Many of you may have heard of this term before but don't have a clue what is a circuit training, how to perform them, and what their advantages and disadvantages. This article will cover a little bit about circuit training to help you widen out the knowledge. 

Circuit Training is a combination of high-intensity aerobics and resistance training designed to be easy to follow and target fat loss, muscle building and heart fitness. The exercises provide a good basic workout, which works the entire body, and can be done at varying paces depending on the fitness levels of the participants.

How to perform a circuit training? First thing first, one will need to design sets of trainings (3 to 4 exercises) - mix between aerobic exercises and light weight training. And then one needs to perform it sequentially without rest in between exercises to complete a set of circuit. Repeat to 3-4 sets of each circuit with 1-2 minutes rest between each set.

So let's take an example, one decides to perform a squat (10 repetitions), walking with a high pace (1 minute), push up (10 repetitions), followed by sit ups (15 times) for the first circuit. One should finish each of the training without break in between to finish up 1 set of circuit. Repeat for 2-3 more sets.

And then for the second circuit, one may choose to do rowing (1 minute), light weight lunges (10 repetitions), and machine leg extension (10-12 repetitions). It is recommended to do the circuits accordingly and complied with your own fitness level. The duration of some circuit training stations can be in the region of 45 to 60 seconds, and in some cases as long as two minutes.

Why Circuit Training?

Advantages of circuit training are:

• Develops strength and endurance
• Appropriate form of training for most sports
• Can be adjusted to suit age, fitness and health of the athlete
• Exercises are simple enough to make each athlete feel a sense of achievement in completing them
• A wide range of exercises to select from which will maintain the athlete's enthusiasm

Disadvantages of circuit training are:

• Many exercises require specialised equipment - e.g. gym equipment
• Ample space required to set up the circuit exercises & equipment
• In general can only be conducted where appropriate facilities/equipment are available
• Use of additional equipment requires appropriate health and safety monitoring

 

Weight Training = Bulky Looks?

Many of you maybe hesitated to do weight lifting because of being afraid that you might look bulky by doing so. As a matter of fact, weight training does not give you the bulky look if you do the right training.

According to Wikipedia, "strength training can provide significant functional benefits and improvement in overall health and well-being, including increased bone, muscle, tendon and ligament strength and toughness, improved joint function, reduced potential for injury, increased bone density, a temporary increase in metabolism, improved cardiac function, and elevated HDL (good) cholesterol."

Also according to Wikipedia, "Due to the androgenic hormonal differences between males and females, the latter are generally unable to develop large muscles regardless of the training program used. Normally the most that can be achieved is a look similar to that of a fitness model. Muscle is denser than fat, so someone who builds muscle while keeping the same body weight will occupy less volume; if two people weigh the same (and are the same height) but have different lean body mass percentages, the one with more muscle will appear thinner."

Whether you want to lose fat or change your body, one of the most important things you can do is lift weights. Diet and cardio are equally important, but when it comes to changing how your body looks, weight training wins hands down. If you've hesitated to start a strength training program, it may motivate you to know that lifting weights can:

• Help raise your metabolism. Muscle burns more calories than fat, so the more muscle you have, the more calories you'll burn all day long.
• Strengthen bones, especially important for women
• Make you stronger and increase muscular endurance
• Help you avoid injuries
• Increase your confidence and self-esteem
• Improve coordination and balance

So for some of you who always do the cardiovascular training whenever you go to the gym thinking that it will shed your fat, you may want to change your habit. You may want to start combining those cardiovascular training with light weight lifting to help increasing your metabolism level.

Good luck!

First Time Gym Goer

It is assumed that you've decided to join the gym. For people who have not been to the gym before, they may feel intimidated at the thought of joining one.
It is a common issue that the first time gym goer doesn't know what to do at the gym. They ended up choose to walk on the treadmill for hours because they are afraid to use the other equipments.

Then, what should we do as a first time gym goer apart from running on that treadmills for hours? These are some tips you may want to try if you are a first time gym goer:

a. Most of the gyms offer new member orientation, either in the form of the so called “free personal training” session or more formal type of walk through. The staffs will show you where the locker is and what gym etiquette is. Usually you will be guided by a personal trainer during your free session. The personal trainer will ask about your goal, your previous trainings, take measurement of height and weight and also body fat percentage.

During this free sessions, it is suggested to ask the personal trainer everything you want to know about the gym. How to use the equipments, how to train properly, the correct form to lift weight, or about nutrition. It's not to make fool of yourself or anything, but to avoid serious injury in the long run.

b. Once the free sessions are over, the personal trainer usually will ask if you want to continue to train with him/her. Most of the personal training sessions are costly but it is suggested to join few sessions to get more familiar with the equipment around the gym. But if you are confident enough to train on your own, it's your choice.

c. At the end of the first visit, do not expect you have got a good workout. While that day may seem like a waste of time, knowing the gym more will make your next workout better. When you walk out of there, at least you have learned something new and you will be more comfortable next time.

d. If you sign up the gym membership with your friend, go with him. Get someone who share the similar fitness goal with you. You will find it easier to walk into the gym with a supporting buddy.

e. Do not forget to pack your soap or body shampoo if you plan to take shower there after the exercise. Some gyms provide basic toiletries free of charge. Commonly forgotten items are clean clothes or towel. You can borrow shampoo from others, but I doubt they will want to lend you their underwear.

f. Do your research over the internet or books about the training methods and moves. You can get a lot of useful information over the internet about gym training as well as from the books.


g. Always ask a question if you are not sure about how to use the particular equipment. Go look for a guy with "Personal Trainer" thing on their clothes. However, do not interrupt others when they are in the middle of lifting heavy weights.

All the above tips are practical and I certainly hope that you will not be scared. Gym is often less awful than you thought.

Mental Edge For Success

How we think about ourselves and how we think about food plays a huge role in long-term weight management success. Do you eat whenever you feel anxious? If food one of the few things that makes you feel better? How we feel can often be a result of what we eat but what we eat cam also be due to how we feel. For many people, food is more than just nutrition. Eating is something to do when you're bored, anxious or avoiding-dealing with emotions.

For many of us, raised from different background of families, learned that you maybe punished for not finishing our food, possibly comforted with food,rewarded with food, or even a guilty feeling if we didn't eat what  was made just for us .

I remember when Mum used to say "We're going to cancel our trip to the Disneyland unless you clean your plate", "Behave yourself while Mum is shopping, I'll buy you a handful of candy later on", or "Here is a chips to make your skinned elbow feel better". I bet all of you remember having one of those situations before.

As we got older, this pattern of using food as the comforter become a habit and harder to break. This will eventually put us into a pattern of food being a cure for many emotional situations of life: stress, happy, boredom, anger, frustration, etc. And the end of the pattern is feeling guilty after ruining a healthy day within 5 minutes and throwing away all the hard work that preceded it.

What should we do about this?

Step one is recognizing the difference between hunger and an emotional craving. Many have abused food as an emotional fix for so long that they no longer recognize the difference. Hunger is when your body has to have something, almost anything. An emotional craving is "I'd feel better if I had this". If it is truly hunger, you will eat the available green beans. It it is an emotional craving, you will be drawn to eat fattening, comfort foods.

The biggest culprit of emotional eating is stress. In these times, food can be used as a tranquilizer. Stress is not something we can eliminate from our lives, but we can learn to better respond to the stresses that come our way. To help break the habit of turning to food when emotions begin to take over, find other things to do, such as:

• walk around the block
• take a bike ride
• play with your pet
• call a friend
• listen to the music
• read a book
• take a deep breath
• write a journal / blog
• play a computer game

The list must be very personal or it won't work. But the more these distractions techniques are used, a new pattern is developed of recognizing hunger versus emotional cravings and responding accordingly. Using these technique will help give you a Mental Edge in your weight loss journey and prepare you to success not only during the diet program that you are on, but throughout life.

Give it a try! Good Luck!