It’s that time of year when we start to get busy with office parties, school concerts and other social events. Often, these activities make it difficult to fit exercise into our routine. As we start to skip workouts we’re ultimately faced with the decision of whether to “throw in the towel” or not.

Don’t give up on exercise! Regardless of the fact you may not be exercising on a regular basis, a little is better than none. Steven Blair, of the Cooper Aerobic Institute in Texas has spent the better part of the last twenty years doing research on the effects of physical activity. His research suggests exercise need not be regular to provide health benefits – that is, you don’t have to do a specific amount at a specific time of day a specific number of times per week to gain health benefits.
You just have to squeeze in whatever you can to keep yourself healthy. (Blair’s research findings are based on health benefits of exercise, not performance benefits. That is, if you want to reduce your risk of certain diseases like heart attack, stroke, hypertension, diabetes and some cancers you can “exercise” according to Blair’s findings.

However, if your goal is to lose body fat or gain muscle or increase your cardiovascular fitness you have to exercise more that Blair suggests.) To gain the health benefits associated with physical activity it’s important to be active most days of the week. This means different things to different people. For example, if you are moderately active now, you are going to need to maintain a comparable level of activity to continue to keep yourself healthy. If you are currently sedentary, minor amounts of physical activity will help to increase your health level.

The level of activity depends on what you have been “giving” your body in terms of exercise. If you currently work out two or three times per week, you are more fit (and theoretically more healthy) than your sedentary neighbour. If you decrease your level of activity, your body retains the health benefits you’ve provided for it through your activity patterns until such time your activity level decreases substantially. This might happen over a period of weeks or months if you stopped your thrice-weekly workouts. At some point your body would revert to a level of health consistent with that of a sedentary individual.
On the other hand, if you are sedentary, even a bit of activity will positively impact your health. Something as simple as a 15-minute walk after dinner will start to provide health benefits. Of course, the more you do, the better off you will become.

Researcher Says: MIX IT UP!

Boze’s trainers recently returned from the Manitoba Fitness Council Conference with some new ideas and some great new research information. Dr. Len Kravitz from the University of New Mexico provided interesting suggestions for weight training that need to be shared. Kravitz, with over 25 years of exercise physiology background stated that there is likely only one truism when it comes to advising people regarding their workout program

MIX IT UP! Kravitz’s research has found that muscle tissue responds to stimuli like no other tissue in the human body. It has peculiar characteristics that demand constant attention.
For example, Kravitz stated that muscle tissue is constantly on the lookout for stimulation, and when it happens (in the form of exercise or physical activity) it responds by increasing its capacity - and wanting more stimulation. However, Kravitz and his research team has found that the type of stimulation has a distinct effect on the muscle tissue.
For example, if you want muscle tissue to grow in size, stimulate it with high weight (85+%) and low reps (2- 5). If you want muscle to increase in strength stimulate it with medium weight (65-80%) and medium reps (6-10) and if you want to maintain current strength/conditioning stimulate your muscles with low weights (40-60%) and high reps (12+). This research seems to confirm long-held beliefs that muscle strength is best achieved with high weight/low rep training and muscle endurance with high rep/low weight training.

However the most interesting finding in the research is that the training cycle can be quite a bit shorter than previously thought (we used to believe that a cycle should last between 6-12 weeks). Kravitz suggests cycles might be as short as 2-3 weeks - and that some athletes are having successful results from changing formats from workout to workout. In this case, Kravitz states that you might consider a workout of 85% intensity with 2-5 reps for 3-4 sets on a Monday; do a 65% intensity workout with 6-10 reps for 3-5 sets on Wednesday and then a 50% intensity session with 12-20 reps for 3-5 sets on Friday - and then mix it up the following week - and still get great results.

Kravitz suggested several other training method “adjustments” might be beneficial to participants who are getting bored with their routine, have “plateaued” or are just feeling a bit “blah” about their workout. If you fit into any of these categories, or just want to MIX THINGS UP a bit, talk to David and he’ll set you on a new and interesting training program.