High Intensity Interval Training pays off well - but is it for everyone?

Interval training is a great way to exercise. Nobody disputes that.

And high intensity interval training (HIIT) burns even more calories, and increases the Afterburn Effect which causes you to continue burning more calories throughout the day due to a heightened metabolism.

However HIIT is not for everyone. Especially people who are elderly, out of shape / overweight, have injuries (eg. knee injuries).

Which is why I have introduced Low Intensity Interval Training (LIIT) and Moderate Intensity Interval Training (MIIT) as options for my personal training clients. Why? Because on a regular basis the people who actually want to hire a personal trainer are in one of these categories:

Elderly
Overweight / out of shape
Suffering from an injury (eg. knee)

And being told by a personal trainer that you can't do a specific workout becomes a whole Catch-22 scenario. In your head you think you can't lose weight / become fit without doing that high intensity workout. Except you can do the workout - but you need to do it a lower intensity: low intensity or moderate intensity. Especially if you have an injury you need to work around.

It is true that High-intensity interval training (HIIT) offers a bigger payoff from our workouts in less time. But if you can't physically DO the workout due to age, fitness level or injury then you need to do the next best thing.

HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) improves your current fitness level in short sessions, working to increase your metabolism and cutting your workout sessions to a fraction of the time. The goal is to alternate high-intensity bursts of exercise with periods of low-intensity exercise, or active rest.

So for example... Sprinting for 45 seconds, jogging for 45 seconds, repeated 10 times. Total time is 15 minutes and that would be a High Intensity Interval Training you could do at home / in your neighbourhood.

However sprinting / jogging for 15 minutes is a very intense workout. Many people wouldn't even be able to do the first 3 sprints without wanting to stop and rest for 5 minutes.

So a more moderate high workout may be called for.

Sprinting 30 seconds, jogging 30 seconds, walking 30 seconds, repeated 10 times. Total time is 15 minutes. That workout is more doable, but may still be beyond the reach of many people who are out of shape.

One of the goals of HIIT requires you to raise your heart rate up to 85% or more of its maximum capacity. You can calculate your maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from 220. Multiply that by .85 (85 percent) and you have your target heart rate.

So for example I am 34 years old. 220 - 34 = 186, x 0.85 = 158.

So if I want to worry about my heart rate I will need a heart monitor on my wrist so I can track how high my heart rate goes.

However I don't believe heart rate monitors are for everyone. While it may help some people to gauge how hard they are exercising and forces them to exercise harder, I think that for people who are overweight / elderly that this is a potentially dangerous practice that could lead to heart attacks (or heart attack like events).

The goal of HIIT (possibly combined by using a heart rate monitor) is to ensure that you burn maximum calories during your workout, as well as maximum calories in the hours following. However burning maximum calories should not involve risking your health and life to do so. Most HIIT workouts last about 15 to 30 minutes.

Thus there is definitely a need for different levels of workouts...

Moderate High Intensity Interval Training (MHIIT)

Target Heart Rate is 70 to 80%
You will still have difficulty talking during this level of workout because you will be breathing so hard.
eg. A running MHIIT would involve a mix of sprinting, jogging and perhaps even some walking.
Aim to workout for 20 to 30 minutes.

Moderate Intensity Interval Training (MIIT)

Target Heart Rate is 60 to 70%
You will be able to talk easier during this kind of workout, but conversations will be dragged out.
eg. A running MIIT would involve a small amount of sprinting, be mostly jogging and some walking.
Aim to workout for 25 to 35 minutes.

Moderate Low Intensity Interval Training (MLIIT)

Target Heart Rate is 50 to 60%
You will be able to talk most of the time.
eg. A running MLIIT would involve intervals of jogging and walking.
Aim to workout for 30 to 40 minutes.

Low Intensity Interval Training (LIIT)

Target Heart Rate is 40 to 50%
Talking will be easy during this kind of workout.
eg. A running LIIT would involve intervals of jogging and resting.
Aim to workout for 35 to 45 minutes.

If a particular workout gets too easy for you and you aren't experiencing any pain / discomfort, try a higher level of intensity. Don't try to deliberately hurt yourself, but do try to challenge yourself as your fitness level progresses.

It is advised that elderly people with heart problems (eg. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on the right) jog with a partner in case they develop any complications during their workout. When in doubt stick to a lower pace workout and avoid over-taxing your heart. (And yes, that was a pun on British taxes.)

The more intense the workout the more oxygen you consume. This increase in oxygen, in turn, increases your post-exercise metabolism - and results in you burning extra calories for anywhere from 90 minutes to 24 hours after the workout is finished. The higher intensity the workout the more benefits you see in terms of fat loss, increased oxygen consumption and improved anaerobic capacity benefits in less time.

While Interval Training is usually used for cardiovascular workouts to improve endurance, it can also be used in sport-specific workouts or weightlifting sessions.

You don’t have to be in amazing shape to add Interval Training to your workouts. Choose your intensity based on your fitness level. When in doubt start low and build your endurance / strength slowly.

You should check with your doctor before starting any exercise program, especially High Intensity Interval Training. If your doctor says you’re healthy enough to engage in HIIT then go ahead and try it. If your doctor advises restraint then you would be better off starting off with low or moderate intensity workouts and then progress slowly.

Lawyer suing NY personal trainer

A lawyer in Manhattan New York is suing a celebrity personal trainer in NYC.

What is interesting is WHY he is suing the personal trainer.

Manhattan attorney Neil Squillante signed up for some personal training sessions 3 years ago, the workouts were too intense for him and he is still in pain 3 years later.

Why? Because the workouts were so intense it ripped ligaments in his joints. The scrawny lawyer was apparently so skinny and underweight that his ligaments weren't used to the intensity of the muscle strain he underwent during the workouts that it ripped the ligaments.

Now I should note that for weightlifting, ripping muscle tissue is normal (“no pain, no gain”) and even desired because it builds new muscles tissue in-between the ripped tissue. However, ripping ligaments is not something you want to happen, because the damage is much more severe, painful, and crippling.

People who get into professional weightlifting and power-lifting are warned about the dangers of ripping ligaments. You have to know your limits and not take risks. Like muscle tissue, ligaments need time to grow and become stronger.

What the personal trainer in New York did was take a workout that they normally do with celebrity's like Beyoncé (Beyoncé is one of their former clients) and then give the same workout to a skinny lawyer who has been sitting at a desk almost every day for the last 10 years.

So I agree with the lawyer. The personal trainer who was training him should have known better to force such an intense workout on someone who's body wasn't ready for it.

What he needed was a more gradual workout program designed to toughen him up first, emphasizing endurance first and strength secondary. Smaller weights, less intensity, longer time period. That is what the personal trainer SHOULD have done.

Instead here is what happened...

#1. Prior to signing up for sessions Neil Squillante “lived a sedentary life with minimal physical activity, lacked physical strength and fitness . . . and had no experience with vigorous physical exercise or strength training.” As such the trainer should have known that in order to prevent injuries that this person would have to be introduced to intense workouts and weightlifting gradually.

#2. In April 2010 Neil Squillante signed up for personal training sessions with a Chelsea personal trainer, who is the Focus co-founder Gabriel Valencia, whose clients include the singer Beyoncé.

#3. He should have been started off gradually with mild workouts, small weights, low intensity and a focus on endurance first. Instead the workouts ended up being a series of intense sessions of squats and thrusts with a heavy medicine ball in what Squillante describes as "a torture session".

“Within a few days after his first physical training session, Squillante told Valencia by telephone that his arms were so sore from the workout that he could not lift them,” the lawsuit says. “Valencia chuckled and said that Squillante’s soreness was normal and nothing to worry about.”

Soreness in the arms, okay. But soreness in the joints so that he can't even lift his arms? That is a warning sign of damage to the ligaments. The personal trainer Gabriel Valencia SHOULD have halted the sessions immediately and counseled that he seek the attention of a doctor who specializes in sports injuries.

Instead Squillante went to two more sessions and ripped his ligaments even more. He ended up having severe damage to his knee, hip and pelvis due to multiple torn ligaments.

#4. Three years after several Neil Squillante still suffers “pain and weakness when he stands,” has trouble sitting “for reasonable periods,” and is in constant pain even when he is not standing or sitting. He rarely travels, has few work meetings, is unable to recruit staff (he runs a legal information service company), and has a diminished social life. He is basically a cripple.

#5. Neil Squillante filed a lawsuit on May 15th 2013 against the personal trainer Gabriel Valencia, his boss and the company.

I believe Neil Squillante absolutely deserves to win his lawsuit because that was gross incompetence on the part of the personal trainer who evidently wasn't used to training people who were that thin / unused to exercise and furthermore ignored the warning signs of a serious sports injury.

Whey Protein isn't just for Bodybuilders

Whey Protein is typically used by people who are into weightlifting and bodybuilding in an effort to bulk up.

And it works too. If you're putting in the effort into the exercises (weightlifting or otherwise) then adding whey protein as a supplement to your regular diet will help bulk up the muscles you are using during the exercises - faster than you normally would on your regular diet.

What is Whey Protein? Its from whey (as in curds and whey), a milk product that is extremely high in protein. So if you're vegetarian you can use it just fine. (Vegans however won't because they don't use dairy products.)

Now you may have noticed up above that I said "exercises (weightlifting or otherwise)", meaning basically any kind of exercises. Including cardio. It does not have to be weightlifting.

Why?

Because during cardio exercises the two muscle groups you are using most is actually the lung and heart muscles. The lungs are bringing in oxygen, expelling CO2, and the heart is pumping freshly oxygenated blood to all your body parts.

So what happens to someone who is training for a marathon and they add whey protein as a supplement to their diet?

#1. Their lung muscles will become stronger, making it easier for them to breathe while under stress.

#2. Their heart will become stronger, enabling them to pump more blood quickly and easier.

#3. Their endurance will go up at a faster rate than the normal diet alone.

#4. The muscles they are using (in this case, leg muscles) will grow stronger too. They won't bulk up so much (quantity), but the individual muscle cells will become stronger (quality).

#5. Sore muscles after running will heal faster thanks to the extra protein.

Personal Example #1 - It is archery season right now and I am using whey protein as a supplement after particularly difficult days at the archery range so that I can both heal my back and shoulder muscles faster, and bulk them up faster so I can handle a heavier draw weight on my bow.

Personal Example #2 - I am also using whey protein after jogging every morning so my lungs, heart and leg muscles will grow faster - increasing my endurance and speed.

How Much Whey Protein Should You Use?

Honestly, you don't need to gobble it down in large doses.

If you read the packaging it recommends the maximum dosage. For example on Six Star Muscle Professional Whey Protein the maximum dosage is listed at "2 heaping scoops, 3 times daily". That is a huge amount and it is aimed at people who are bodybuilders who are doing weightlifting in the morning, the afternoon and again around 7 PM in the evening. They're weightlifting for multiple hours daily.

Chances are likely that is not you. Your goals are much more different.

Speaking for myself when I use whey protein I don't even use a full scoop most of the time. It is usually half a scoop or three quarters of a scoop. I use whey protein sparingly, and only when I need to because my regular diet is already reasonably high in protein.

So if you're into jogging and want to build your endurance faster, half a scoop after you finish jogging is enough for your needs.

INTERESTING NOTE

Protein is also tied to higher brain functions. Your brain is a muscle after all. A balanced diet that makes certain you are getting all your vitamins, minerals and protein will also make you smarter. In contrast too much cholesterol (from a fatty diet) in your blood clogs up the arteries in your brain, making you slower at problem solving and interferes with mnemonic skills (slower at remembering things).

HOWEVER, in order for this to work you need to be doing brain exercises on a regular basis. Thus activities which work your memory skills, problem solving skills, math skills, etc are essentially exercises. Someone who does math for an hour every day and follows those math exercises by eating a healthy meal will ultimately be smarter at math than someone who doesn't exercise their brain and fails to eat a healthy meal.

Be Smart, Eat Healthy!

Worthwhile Fitness Goals

Sometimes it is difficult to set goals for your fitness.

For example setting a goal of losing a specific amount of weight is trickier than it sounds because your weight fluctuates up and down up several pounds every day. It is much more likely you will under or overshoot your target weight.

In addition you can also gain bone density weight - possible as the result of weightlifting, but you can also gain bone density in your legs as the result of jogging or running.

Thus measuring your weight and aiming to lose weight can sometimes be difficult to determine success. You might lose 20 lbs of fat but gain 4 lbs od muscle and 3 lbs of bone density - making you both stronger and tougher and more healthy, but because you only lost 13 lbs overall you may think you failed in your goal and feel discouraged.

If your goal is to shed fat a more realistic measurement is to use a regular tape measure - and aim to track your calorie loss instead of weight loss. Using a tape measure can still be knocked off a bit if you are gaining extra muscle in that area, but you are more likely to see the results with a tape measure. Just remember to record and track your measurements!

Or alternatively, if you track calories then you will see the mathematical difference between what you are eating and what number of calories you are burning. Counting your calories in and out is trickier and will require more effort on your part (although there are apps for that), you are far more likely to succeed if you track your calories in and out.

Setting a goal of losing 500 calories per day for example is doable. Cut out the fatty/sugary foods, eat 1700 to 1900 calories of healthy food per day... and increase your daily exercise levels so you are burning at least 2200 to 2400 calories per day. At that rate you should be losing approx. 1 lb of fat per week.

Other goals I recommend people set are:

#1. More flexibility by engaging in stretching exercises and yoga.

#2. More youthful appearance - with proper exercise and diet you can lose years off your appearance. (Most people think I am 24.)

#3. Live longer. Longevity goes hand in hand with a more youthful appearance. You could end up being 90+ and having the body of a 60 year old. (Did you know Arnold Schwarzenegger is 65 years old? He will be 66 on July 30th 2013.)

#4. Build muscle... Okay? But how much? And what do you actually use it for? If you had a favourite sport (eg. Shot Put) that calls for muscles then yes, that will help motivate you and you can use those newfound muscles in your chosen sport. (I myself did a weightlifting regime over the winter so I could pull a heavier bow for archery and hold it steady.)

#5. Build confidence / feel better about yourself.

#6. Become more fit / feel better physically.

#7. Reduce your chances of injury or illness. Again with the bone density - elderly people who do weightlifting are less likely to fall and break their hip.

#8. Reduce the symptoms of a health problem you already have. Being overweight causes many health problems, everything from heart problems to joint pain to erectile dysfunction. Losing the weight and embracing a healthier lifestyle to shed oneself of those symptoms is a worthwhile goal.

#9. Get six pack abs. True, it is a purely aesthetic goal, but it is still a goal worth having if you want to feel better and more confident about your appearance. To do this you first need to lose the weight by doing lots of cardio, and then do a combination of abs and obliques exercises.

#10. Firmer breasts that look younger and perkier. Yes, even that can be accomplished with exercise. They're called "Bust Firming Exercises" and even Marilyn Monroe did them.

MYTH BUSTING TIPS!

You can't do "spot treatment" for weight loss. If you want to lose fat in specific areas of your body then you need to exercise the WHOLE body through cardio exercises to shed the extra fat everywhere. Spot treatment works for weightlifting and building muscles in specific areas, but it doesn't do anything for shedding fat in specific areas.

Weightlifting doesn't actually cause you to lose weight that easily. There are some weightlifting trainers who like to claim that you can accomplish all your fitness goals with weightlifting alone. This is a myth that they are perpetuating. The more effective route to lose weight is old fashioned cardio exercises like jogging, swimming, etc (which won't cost you a penny). Even simple exercises like jogging up the stairs burns more calories than weightlifting - because you are lifting your body weight up the stairs while doing cardio.

Exercising doesn't have to be expensive. I have numerous Frugal Exercises posts on this website which are completely free. You don't need fancy equipment or clothes or a gym membership or a personal trainer (although if you live in Toronto I fully endorse hiring me if your have difficulty with motivating yourself).

Stabilizers for Archery - How do they work?

If you are new to archery you may have noticed that many Olympic archers and hunters have a big long or heavy thing attached to the front of their bow - an object known as a Stabilizer.

It isn't a brand name or anything like that. Many different companies make stabilizers for different kinds of bows. You can even make your own stabilizer if you have the right materials (see section below on making your own).

Olympic bows often use long thin stabilizers made of rubber and carbon fibre, and hunters typically use short, fat and heavy stabilizers made of heavier materials.

The purpose of a stabilizer is to reduce the vibrations in the bow so that during the release your bow-hand doesn't jerk upwards, downwards, left or right so much. You can try to reduce these vibrations a bit by softening your grip on the bow and relaxing your bow arm (your arm will jerk more if its stiff), but you still need a good strong arm to hold the bow steady.

Thus stabilizers are essentially a gadget for people who want to improve the quality of their shots - without doing all the exercising required to have stronger / steadier arms.

If you pay attention you will also note that there is no one "perfect stabilizer" that is "one size fits all". Many of the stabilizers that Olympic archers use are very different from the ones used by hunters, and even very different from one another's stabilizers too. Typically an Olympic stabilizer will be quite long (two to three feet) and usually consist of carbon and rubber.

In contrast hunting stabilizers are often less than a foot in length, but thicker, heavier and have a lot more rubber to dampen vibrations.

Many of the hottest selling stabilizers are nothing more than a heavy piece of rubber cut into an interesting pattern to make it look intimidating. These small rubber stabilizers are more for looks than actual functionality.

That doesn't mean they don't help to stabilize the bow - they do help to do that, but if they were designed better they would function and do that task better.

Some people (mostly bowhunters) have been led to believe that the primary function of a stabilizer is to reduce hand shock, eliminate noise and bow vibration - which it does do, totally ignoring that the real primary function is to keep the bow steady and stable while a person is shooting.

“There is no question that a stabilizer helps reduce hand shock, bow noise and vibration, but one of the main reasons bowhunters should hunt with a stabilizer is because it helps keep a bow steady and stable when shooting. That’s why it’s called a stabilizer,” says Bill Leven, owner of Doinker Stabilizers.

At first glance, you will realize that stabilizers come in all shapes and sizes. The most important parts are those that incorporate a series of components that are scientifically proven to do their job. All stabilizers screw into the bow, some versions employ a more sophisticated anatomy, whereas others can be downright simple.

If they are made of all one material - typically rubber, metal or plastic - then the stabilizer in question might be designed for weight or it might be designed for dampening. A rubber stabilizer for example will be made for dampening vibrations and a metal stabilizer is made for weight.

The more complex stabilizers will use a balance of rubber, metal and/or plastic, attempting to combine weight and dampening in the same gadget. How well this performs will depend on the quality of the design and the individual archer.

THE STABILIZER BODY

The main body of most stabilizers typically consists of a solid tube. Historically, many stabilizer bodies were made out of metal because the weight makes it more stable - however you don't want to add too much weight to the bow because then your bow-arm can shake anyway if its too weak, thus you want to find a nice medium weight that your arm can handle.

If any weight is to be added, it should be done in the right place - the end of the stabilizer, after the dampening material. Many companies now use carbon fibre, ABS plastic and similar materials to make stabilizer bodies as light and rigid as possible. Some of these materials are chosen because they will sell, but they don't make a good stabilizing material, eg. titanium sounds cool, but it doesn't actually make a good stabilizer because it doesn't absorb vibrations that well.

Carbon fibre is the most popular choice these days.

VIBRATION DAMPENING COMPONENT

This is arguably the most important part of the modern stabilizer. Many companies use a type of rubber, gel or even sand to serve as the dampening component. All of these materials have dampening capability, but the most common choice is rubber.

It is important for dampening to occur where it’s most beneficial and effective. Vibration must be transferred properly away from the bow and out of the stabilizer end. By strategically placing the dampening materials away from the bow end of the stabilizer it will maximize the dampener’s effectiveness.

THE WEIGHT

In order to maximize effectiveness, the weight should come after the rubber material at the end of the stabilizer where it is furthest from the bow. The weight is meant to ground and draw away the vibrations from the rest of the bow. It serves as a counterbalance, and is what keeps the bow stable when being shot.

The heavy front-end weight combined with a rubber dampener directly behind it is designed so to assist in canceling out vibration. Stabilizers of the past were a solid piece of metal or rubber, and the moment the stabilizer was attached to a bow, they became “one unit", which means the bow still vibrates as part of the stabilizer. When a bow is shot with a quality weighted and dampened stabilizer, the vibration simply moves from the bow through the stabilizer and going to the weight at the far end, being dampened along the way. The vibration is cancelled out when it meets the rubber because the weighted front-end is allowed to oscillate at a different frequency than the rest of the stabilizer and bow. This turns the vibration into motion, which does not affect the rest of the bow.

Conclusions - Aim to select a stabilizer with a weighted front-end that has some type of dampening device directly behind it.

THE RIGHT LENGTH / CUSTOMIZATION

This comes down to personal choice. Honestly, you won't know what is right for you until you try many different stabilizers on the archery range and determine which one you like best - and get the most accuracy with.

I also highly recommend getting a stabilizer that you can customize and modify. Some stabilizers have added parts you can remove, add on, change. This allows you to select the right length, weight and materials that is right for you.

I suggest a systematic and scientific approach whereby you track your score on a target and try to determine which combination works best for you.

MAKING YOUR OWN

Start by getting a 5 / 16th by 24 bolt. (The 24 stands for thread count per inch. The most common bolt thread count is 18 per inch, so you will need to find a hardware store that sells other types of thread counts.)

If in doubt about bolt sizes, go to your local hardware store and take the riser from your bow with you and look for bolts that are labelled " 5/16 - 24 ". Then try the bolt on your riser to see how it fits. If you try using a 5/16 - 18 bolt you will discover it only goes in a little bit and then stops. The reason is because its the wrong thread count.

Once you have the bolt you need to decide what kind of stabilizer you want to make. How big is the body? What kind of dampening material? How much weight?

For example for the stabilizer I am making I am going to try using a wooden body, rubber and I haven't decided what the weight will be yet, but I am thinking maybe ivory or bone if I can find it. I want my stabilizer to be epitome of natural materials. How well it will work, I shall find out, but for now its just an experiment.

I recommend trying to make your stabilizer customizable so you can change components and try different things. How you design it is up to you.

However if you really need and want someone else to make the designs for you just Google the topic: how to make your own archery stabilizer and you will find approx. 300 pages on the topic for you to pick and choose from.