Recovery

You work hard at the gym pushing through the pain and the sweat, and you do it in the name of health.  But are you giving your body the opportunity to recover appropriately so it is ready for more?  We stress our bodies during our workouts because we know we have to challenge them to create change.  Strength training creates trauma to the muscle fibers which have to recover before they can come back stronger.  That is why we feel soreness, our bodies are telling us something.  Proper rest and recovery will decrease the risk of injury to an over-used muscle. 

When planning your fitness routine, be sure to give your muscles a day to recover after an intense resistance workout.  This doesn’t mean you can’t exercise every day, just split up your muscle groups.  For example, if you work your legs, back, and biceps one day, focus on your chest, triceps, and shoulders the next.  Or, do a full body strength workout one day and do cardiovascular training the next.  This will aid in your recovery as the blood circulates to the muscles.   

High Intensity Interval Training

Fitness fads come and go, and many people thought high intensity interval training was a temporary rage. But, the research is in and the fat-torching benefits of H.I.I.T. are too good to let this workout style become history. Here are a few tidbits of research findings: 

•  TVO2 Max can increase from 4% to 46% in 24 weeks with this training. VO2 max is the maximal rate of oxygen consumption, the distribution and utilization of oxygen in ml oxygen/kg/min, or in other words, it’s a measurement of one’s aerobic endurance capacity. 
•  Stroke volume and cardiac output both increase. Translation: a stronger healthier heart.
• High E.P.O.C. (exercise post oxygen consumption, or “after burn”) means you will be burning calories and fat for hours after your workout.

So what exactly does a H.I.I.T. workout entail? The intensity is based on a percentage of maximal effort. So using a rate of perceived exertion scale, you would work at an intensity of 75%, 85%, or 95% of your maximum for intervals ranging from five seconds to eight minutes, with variable resting times in between intervals. Check with a personal trainer for more details and a H.I.I.T. workout custom designed for you.