High intensity exercise and recovery - how much is enough?

When the body is confronted with demands beyond what it is used to handling it makes an adaptation. It is the body’s form of self-protection, and it only occurs if you have enough rest.

To increase strength muscles must be worked with more intensity than they are used to handling. The higher the intensity the shorter the workout will be. The higher the intensity the longer it will take to recover and become stronger.

Instead of finding out how much exercise you can withstand try finding out what is the minimum that will produce the most results. The trick is to do just enough to cause the adaptation and maximize recovery time so that a complete adaptation is possible. If you schedule two exercise sessions too close together you will end up ruining both workouts. If done right you should improve very time. The key is to find out what is the minimal amount high intensity exercise that will produce the greatest results.

The human body is the only engine that has the capacity to improve in ability rather than getting worn out after continuous use. But with continuous use beyond a certain point and the body cannot recovery and improve in ability. The proper amount of exercise is the amount that will produce the intended result. Any exercise beyond that is at best a waste of time and at worse counterproductive as the body cannot adequately recover and improve.

The formula is simple; perform just enough work of a demanding nature, rest, following by work a little more demanding to see continuous improvement. You can be stronger, more toned, more flexible and less prone to injuries in just one or two 25 minute sessions a week.

At Kelly’s Austin Personal Training and New Orleans Ultimate Fitness Trainers we have designed our personal strength training sessions to have the biggest impact in the least amount of time so you will be stronger and have more time to do those activities you enjoy.

Coffee May Cure Alzheimer's Disease

From this Sky News article Coffee May Cure Alzheimer's Disease:

“A few cups of coffee a day may be all that is needed to reverse the effects of Alzheimer's disease, new research suggests. Scientists have uncovered powerful evidence that caffeine not only helps to stave off the disease but can treat it.”

And this:

“Humans receiving an equivalent dose for their body weight would be consuming 500 milligrams of caffeine - or five eight ounce cups of ordinary coffee - a day.

The same amount of caffeine can be obtained by drinking two cups of strong "coffee shop" coffee, 14 cups of tea, or 20 cola drinks.“

Of course this is good news for lab rats. While there already is a study showing drinking coffee reduces risk of Alzheimer's more human patient trials are needed. Interestingly there is a study that showed that green, black, and oolong tea had slowed cognitive decline. Oolong and black tea which are higher in caffeine had produced a greater positive result.

Other possible foods that might slow cognitive decline are:

Tuna and eggs

Fatty Fish

Walnuts

Blueberries

Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acids

Mediterranean diet

Lifestyle choices as well are important as well Exercise is linked to big drop in dementia risk It appears that diet and exercise might be in order especially for those who might be genetically predisposed to AD. At Kelly’s Austin Personal Training and New Orleans Ultimate Fitness Trainers we have designed our personal strength training sessions to have the biggest impact in the least amount of time so you will be stronger and have more time to do the activities you enjoy. It is worth considering that the strength training and the increased activity that results might have the added benefit of slowing cognitive decline. With the right exercise program your life can be transformed in just minutes a week.

Austin America's Best Bargain Cities

From this Forbes article America's Best Bargain Cities, when comparing lifestyle and real estate Austin is the place where "people pay the least to get the most".

"It is affordable and there is a profusion of job opportunities. Four other Texas cities make the list of America's Best Bargain Cities, but none come close to Austin, whose unemployment is the best in the country and about half the national average."

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Kelly’s Austin Personal Trainers

New Orleans Ultimate Fitness Training

What clients are saying - I don’t think I would be alive today.

Number eight in a series about what clients have to say about their workouts.

I recently received a call from a client who has been exercising at our facility for ten years and before that he trained with me at another facility. In regard his mortality and exercise he told me, “I don’t think I would be alive today. It is the best 40 dollars I spend in a week. I can easily spend that on a night out or on video poker.”

He is 57 years old and he is significantly stronger than he was more than a decade earlier. The average stay with a personal trainer is less than six months. He has stuck to the program. How is that possible? There is a simple strategy that works, read on.

As adults we lose a little muscle, flexibility, and bone density each year. Our metabolism slows and we become a little more insulin resistant. We become a little less active and more prone to injury. Inactivity and chronic injury encourages a further downward spiral. Type-2 diabetes, heart disease, joint replacement and other maladies loom as a possible life altering events.

As we get older we don’t participate in the sports we did when we were younger. If you are no longer playing soccer or basketball there is less of a need to go out and run. If you are no longer playing rugby or football there is less urgency to strength train. There is a tendency to exercise less.

I talked to a perspective 50 years old client the other day. I asked him when was the last time he had exercised regularly he said 2001. I ask this question to every new client; his response was typical. He said he was in great shape and he just stopped. Eight years without exercising – that is quite a stretch considering he was exercising religiously before that.

We are going downhill a little each year. With the right program you can reverse that direction and make a profound difference in your quality of life.

Here is a strategy for sticking to a program that will change your life:

1. Make modest changes in eating habits and have a simple eating plan – this you are are more like to stick to.

2. Engage in activities you enjoy – again, this you are are more like to stick to.

3. Start a strength training program – strength training reverses more bio-markers of aging, and to a greater degree, than any other form of exercise.

Regarding the strength training this will not be enjoyable. In order to stimulate the body to change the body must be exposed to more demands that it is used to handling. This means hard work, but you will stick to it for the long term when you see the results.

You need not spend hours in the gym to make a profound difference. Studies have shown that significant strength increases result from high intensity interval training as little as once a week. This type of training produces the highest marginal return for the time spent exercising

As you become stronger you will find you will be able to engage in more activities, and this will further enhance your health. It all starts with strength. Just improve a little each week and over time you will feel years younger. High intensity interval training is the type of personal training we do at Austin Fitness Training and at New Orleans Ultimate Fitness.

Happy Fourth of July

The Declaration of Independence was approved on this day by the Continental Congress.

Parades, BBQ, fireworks, picnics, and beer. On this day of the year American consume more beer than any other day of the year. Enjoy the day.
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Kelly's Austin Personal Training

New Orleans Ultimate Fitness

Gene Kelly On Skates

This blog is primarily concerned with health, fitness, diet, personal training, human performance, inspiration, and sometimes stuff that is out of the ordinary.

Gene Kelly is well known for his dancing in Singing In The Rain. From a lesser known film, Its Always Fair Weather, Gene makes sparks fly from his skates.

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Kelly’s Austin Personal Trainers
New Orleans Ultimate Fitness Training

The Good Samaritans of Austin

My daughter Kaya, my dog Stella, and I were canoeing serenely in inlet along Townlake. The canoe tipped, and we ended up in the water. My mind raced, “Now what do I do with a small child, a dog, and an overturned boat to attend to.”

Other boaters were there in less than ten seconds, and they put Kaya in their boat. Two other on canoes jumped into the water to assist. In no time the canoe was righted. Daughter, dog, and I were underway again in a matter of a couple of minutes. Without their assistance I would have been a serious fix.

After returning the canoe to the dock I went back to the scene of my stupidity to look for my wallet that had fallen out during the mishap. There was a man there with his dog who had witnessed the proceedings. He asked if we were alright. I said. “Yeah, but I lost my wallet”. He took off his shirt and shoes, then he and his golden went swimming looking for the wallet. I told him there would be a reward of $100. He told me he was not doing it for the money and would not accept it.

What did I learn? My dog loves the water. I should have known not to bring her along.

Being in a state of distress is a rare occurance. Sometimes you have to turn things around on you own, but it refreshing to know that so many were there to lend a helping hand. I will not forget the assistance they offered.

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Austin TX Personal Trainers

Personal Trainers New Orleans

Can You Get Fit in Six Minutes a Week?

This New York Times article Well: Can You Get Fit in Six Minutes a Week? asks the question:

Can humans increase endurance with only a few minutes of strenuous exercise, instead of hours? According to a growing number of these sports scientists the answer may be yes.

From the article:

“'There was a time when the scientific literature suggested that the only way to achieve endurance was through endurance-type activities,' such as long runs or bike rides or, perhaps, six-hour swims, says Martin Gibala, PhD, chairman of the Department of Kinesiology at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada. But ongoing research from Gibala’s lab is turning that idea on its head".

Gilba tested one group that had exercised for endurance for five hours a week and another group that exercise intensely for six to nine minutes per week. Results:

· Both groups showed almost identical increases in their endurance.
· Molecular changes that signal increased fitness were evident equally in both groups. “The number and size of the mitochondria within the muscles” of the students had increased significantly, Gibala says, a change that, before this work, had been associated almost exclusively with prolonged endurance training.
· Six minutes or so a week of hard exercise (plus the time spent warming up, cooling down, and resting between the bouts of intense work) had proven to be as good as multiple hours of working out for achieving fitness.
· The short, intense workouts aided in weight loss, too. “The rate of energy expenditure remains higher longer into recovery” after brief, high-intensity exercise than after longer, easier workouts, Gibala says.

It is interesting result concerning energy expenditure even though that was not the focus of the study. Intense exercise produces a greater Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC) - you will burn calories long after the exercise session is over. High intensity strength training produces the biggest post-exercise calorie burn (This is the type of strength training we do at Kelly’s Austin Personal Training and at New Orleans Ultimate Fitness Trainers). According to one study high intensity strength training produced a ninefold improvement in fat burning compared to aerobic exercise.

The article also notes that researchers have found that similar, intense, brief sessions of exercise improve cardiac health, even among people with heart disease. That had been previously reported in these posts:
· High-intensity exercise better at improving metabolic syndrome risk factors
· Strength Training for Those Who Have Heart Conditions
· Strength Training Shown To Lower Blood Pressure

With the right strength training program can increase strength, bone density, flexibility, and endurance all in one workout. It is a heart healthy form of exercise as well.

Overweight people live longer?

From this US News article A Few Extra Pounds Might Bring Extra Years:

“In the study of more than 11,000 Canadian adults, overweight people lived longer than normal-weight people, while those who were either extremely obese or underweight died at an earlier age than normal-weight people.”

Body Mass Index (BMI) was used to determine whether one was overweight or underweight. BMI does not take into account how muscular a person is. Mike Tyson at his prime fighting weight with 5.5% body fat was obese according to BMI measurements. One researcher described the BMI as crude inaccurate, but easy to use and useful. How can something that is near meaningless be useful? No skin folds to measure, no need for body immersion, no need for expensive equipment - just weigh them and take their height measurements and then head for the golf course.

BMI does not differentiate between fat and muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat therfore muscular people register higher on the BMI scale. Extrapolating from the study, less muscular people (underweight according to BMI measurements) die younger, and more muscular people (overweight according to BMI measurements) live longer. That makes more sense.

More muscle means more longevity. Strength training will increase muscle and reverse many of the bio-markers of aging. This does not require hours in the gym. Your life can be transformed in just minutes a week with the right exercise program.

With a high intensity strength training program you can work the whole body in less than one half hour, and it only need be performed once or twice a week to see continuing results. We have such a strength training program at both our locations - Austin Personal Trainers and New Orleans Personal Trainers. An active lifestyle and a little strength training is a program most people can stick to, and it can have profound effects on one's fitness and health.

Austin maintains its status as a 'fit' city

According to this article Austin maintains its status as a 'fit' city:

“Austin's strengths included lower percentage of population with asthma and lower percentages with diabetes and obesity. Some of the region's challenges included lower percentages of public transportation usage and a lower number of primary care providers.”


Austin ranked ninth. Austin als0 has a lower average age then many cities – 34 years old – that might have something to do with it. Younger people tend to be healthier and more active.

After hurricane Katrina I decided to move away from New Orleans. While I still have a business in New Orleans, New Orleans Ultimate Fitness Training, I decided it might be better to diversify. I researched and travelled to several cities. At one point I told a commercial real estate agent, “Where I spend the rest of my life depends on who the best real estate agent is”.

I settled on Austin and opened Kelly’s Austin Personal Trainers in June 2006. It was a good decision. Austin is a fit city and good place for those in the fitness industry.

Austin the best city for recession recovery

This just in from Forbes The Best and Worst Cities for Recession Recovery, the best cities for recession recovery are:

1. Austin-Round Rock, Texas
2. Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, Ark
3. Boulder, Colo.
4. Huntsville, Ala
5. San Antonio, Texas

The article had this to say about Austin-Round Rock:

“From now to the end of 2010, the economy of Austin is projected to grow by $5 billion, and unemployment has stayed relatively subdued. The city's diverse economy, home to Dell, the University of Texas and the Texas state government, has kept the economy strong. Forbes.com also recently ranked Austin the Best Big City for Jobs”

Not only is the city of Austin poised for growth the state of Texas one of the five states slated to lead the US out of recession. In a past blog entry we listed 31 different categories where Austin leads or is in the top ten. In this time of economic uncertainty we are truly fortunate here at Kelly’s Austin Personal Trainers to be in a favorable business environment and we are fortunate as well that New Orleans Ultimate Fitness Training continues to prosper.

For those thinking about Austin as a place to relocate here is more good news to consider:

Texas foreclosures down 9%
Austin unemployment rate drops; region adds jobs
Austin home prices up, still dropping elsewhere
Relocation.com’s Top Cities for a Fresh Start
Report: Austin will be 5th fastest growing U.S. metro in coming years
Austin only major city to add jobs in last year
America's Best Bargain Cities