What % of Fat Does Your Body Have?

September 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Do you know what % of fat your body has?

We blogged about this subject 18 months ago, but we feel as though it’s time to mention it again.  Why?  Because it’s such an important subject. 

Whether you chose to work with a personal trainer or not, from time to time it is a good idea to find out what’s going on inside your body by participating in some health and fitness tests.  These are the kind of tests that many of us dread, for fear of finding out what we don’t want to hear!  The biggest grimace normally comes after measuring your body composition, i.e. your % of body fat.

Time and time again we see people who are hooked on standing on their weighing scales and hoping to see the pounds falling off each day.  Weight is the mass of various structures in the body – bone, muscle, fat, water etc.  Even though weight and BMI are very important figures to pay attention to, it’s easy to forget about body fat and visceral fat (which isn’t visable to the eye as it is the fat stored behind our ribcage and around our vital organs).  You can look slim but have a high body fat %!!!!

We all need some body fat to be healthy.  The right type of fat in the body carries and stores vitamins, regulates our body temperature and can be converted into energy.  BUT, too much of the wrong type of fat can be detrimental to your health.  It could put you at a greater risk of some serious medical conditions – heart diease, type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.  Research now shows a link between certain types of cancer and obesity.

Do you know the correct range of a healthy bodyfat %?  Even though females are allowed a little bit extra (thank your hormones), the sad truth is that the average percentage is way above what it should be. 

34 – 37% is common for the average female, whereas it should be between 22 – 25%. *

For the average male, the healthy range should be 13 – 16%.* 

So what can be done?  The best ways to start reducing your bodyfat are:

  • Increase your lean muscle tissue through strength training that is pitched at the right level for your body.
  • Follow a healthy and balanced eating plan that stabilises blood sugar and gives sustained energy release.

At Total Personal Training in Surrey we use various methods in measuring body composition, either electrical or manual.  You may well find that as your lean muscle tissue increases, your body fat % decreases, and yet your weight stays the same!  By measuring your body composition regularly, you could become fitter, healthier and be putting your body at less risk of disease.  

* These figures are based upon an ‘average’ adult.  The guidelines are different for athletes.

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Personal Training Can Be Adapted

August 28, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Last night’s theatre trip prompted today’s blog post on how personal training can be adapted to suit YOU.  No doubt you are wondering how watching tango dancers on stage whilst listening to the Spanish guitar being played can be linked to the valuable work of our personal trainers operating across Surrey?! 

Well, just before the performance commenced, the lights went out, the microphones went silent and darkness sprung itself upon the audience.  Ah, a powercut minutes before the curtains go up could be described as a slight hitch!!!  After a small delay, a few adjustments and lots of apologies, the show went ahead.  Congratulations were in order to all involved in the running of the show. 

So, how is this linked to personal training in Surrey?  Last week one of our trainers arrived at a client’s house ready for the personal training session (which usually takes place in the garden due to lack of space inside).  Suddenly, the heavens opened and the rain was pouring.  Quick thinking and a little bit of adapting allowed the personal training session to go ahead as scheduled, inside the house with only a small amount of floor space.  Our client had a fantastic ‘functional’ workout using very little equipment that included all of the vital components of exercise, i.e. elevated heart rate, strength training and flexibility.

Many clients often WANT personal training, NEED to work with a personal trainer but EASILY find a way to talk themselves out of how the service could actually work for them.  After all, ‘exercise’ is such a huge subject, how do you know where to start? 

No matter what your circumstances, no matter which hurdles you feel as though you have in front of you (lack of time, lack of money, lack of space, lack of knowledge), our leading training methods can be adapted to suit YOU as an individual.  As we have said time and time again on our blog, one size does not fit all where exercise is concerned.  Your body is unique and should be treated that way.  Health is an incredibly valuable asset to have.

So, back to last night’s show.  The applause at the end of the evening was probably louder than if there had been lights and microphones at the start!  It’s easy to overcome any hurdles when you know how.

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The Risk of Too Much Cardiovascular Exercise

August 3, 2010 By 2 Comments

We all know that exercise is good for us is so many ways, but do you know the risks associated with too much cardiovascular exercise?  For many people, exercise is all about trying to lose fat and maintain a low body weight, looking good and having a few health benefits thrown in for good measure. 

Our team at Total Personal Training are certainly amongst the first to promote exercise, both cardiovascular fitness and strength training.  The pros certainly outweigh the cons when an exercise program is balanced correctly…can you guess the keys words there?  Balanced correctly.

“Aerobic (cardiovascular) fitness is the ability to take in, transport and utilise oxygen at the working muscles.”

The positives of cardiovascular exercise are these:

  • Strengthens your heart and respiratory muscles
  • Can lower blood pressure in the long-term
  • Endorphin release – it WILL make you feel good
  • Increased capilliarisation and circulation (you recruit more small blood vessels which allows you to carry more oxygen around the body leading to better circulation)
  • Can normalise your insulin level in the blood

However, let’s not forget about the flip side of these very positive benefits:

  • In the presence of poor nutrition and stress, the benefits of cardiovascular fitness will be much less
  • Increases free-radical damage (your body starts to rust) due to pollutants in the greater amount of oxygen that we take in
  • Wear and tear on joints with impact training
  • Without reaching ‘overload’ you will NOT gain muscle tissue (achieved only during strength training)
  • You can get addicted to the endorphin release and it becomes easy to exercise too much without allowing your body to recover

Some years ago whilst creating our Total Personal Training site, we created a page on Osteoporosis (loss of bone density) and how it presents a real threat to our health.  Statistically, around one in three women has osteoporosis…it can go undiagnosed for years. 

In order to maintain and improve bone density, we must create a ‘pull’ on our muscles where they attach to the bone.  Strength training achieves this. The benefits of cardiovascular exercise are listed above.  Notice that maintaining and increasing bone density is not shown on the list because of the absense of ‘overloading’ our muscles.

All too often we see and hear about people who only include cardiovascular work in their exercise program.  In order to optimise your efforts (for health and certainly performance for anyone competing in an event), it is really important to include BOTH cardiovascular and strength work in your exercise schedule. 

I am writing about this today as it is real life.  A client recently came to us to ask our advice.  She has trained for many years, 6 days-a-week, by running and cycling, one hour at a time.  She considers her diet to be reasonable and has maintained a VERY low body weight.  She has also shyed away from strength training.  Sadly, she has just been diagnosed with losing bone density in parts of her spine and hips and is not allowed to exercise at all for the time being.

Low body weight, lack of muscle tissue (which is very lean and burns more calories in the long-term) and not allowing her body to recover between exercise sessions could have caused this very sad situation.  Physical exercise is so important for our bodies and getting the balance right should be at the top of the priority list!

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Fool-Proof Steps That Will Guarantee Results

July 26, 2010 By 1 Comment

Are you following the fundamental rules of ‘periodisation’? Each day this week we will give you the fool-proof, progressive steps needed to get the most out of your training and that will guarantee results.

Step 1 – ‘Posture & Stability’

Is your body in optimal alignment? Good posture and a strong core will allow your limbs to move correctly without the risk of injury.  With any exercise program, this is the platform on which you build.  So, this means that for some people, stretching and basic movement patterns should be the start of an exercise program.

Step 2 -’Endurance Phase’

Through cardiovascular and resistance exercise (high reps/low weight), the next progression in getting the most from your training is building endurance. This means working aerobically to build capillaries (small blood vessels) to carry an increased amount of oxygen around your body. This will then prepare you for building muscle tone, for an increased metabolism and better fat burning!

Step 3 – ‘Hypertrophy’

What does that word mean?!  This is the phase where you start to build muscle tissue and really crank-up your metabolism.  By now your body should be flexible and metabolically active so now it’s time to tone-up those wobbly bits…safely and without the risk of injury.  Don’t worry about getting bulky, muscle tissue is incredibly lean and burns fat.

Step 4 – ‘Strength’

This final stage is all about building strength, training your muscles and working different energy systems in your body. A lot of the time, you will be working anaerobically (without oxygen). To get the most from this type of training, it really is advisable to seek the advice of a qualified fitness professional to ensure that the technique and chosen exercises are right for your body.

Tomorrow, check back here for the summary and how to put all of the above together.

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Surrey Personal Trainer Talks Live on BBC Surrey Breakfast

January 4, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Did anyone catch me, a Surrey personal trainer talking live on BBC Surrey Breakfast this morning?  It’s Monday 4th January and Nick Wallis, the breakfast show host kindly invited me into the studio to chat about his ‘Fatloss 2010′ plan. 

Nick is on a mission to lose a few pounds throughout January, and what better way of being accountable for his actions than broadcasting his intentions live on air to thousands of listeners!  In my field of being a fitness and fat loss Surrey personal trainer, he asked me to attend this announcement and to give some tips on how to ensure he reaches his goal.  For anyone who didn’t listen in this morning, you can logon to BBC iPlayer and hear the broadcast (it starts at around 2 hours 18 minutes).  If you want to achieve long-term success without following a ‘fad and you’ll only piles the pounds back on when you finish diet,’ here are the main points that we spoke about:

1. Introduce a strength training schedule into your exercise routine.  This needn’t be lifting heavy weights as using your own body weight is a great starting point…as long as you use resistance to overcome gravity.  A squat is a great example of this.  Lean muscle tissue is metabolically active and will burn more calories leaving less to be stored as fat.

2. Perform bouts of high-intensity CV training, i.e. intervals.  This isn’t hours of mind-numbing cardio, it is short bursts of fast pace intervals in whatever form you choose to increase your heart rate to the right intensity, i.e. your effort should be 8 to 9 on a scale of 1 to 10.

3. Stay well hydrated by drinking 1.5 to 2 litres of filtered water each day.  Water is vital to the body for so many different reasons.

4. Reduce or even cut-out all processed foods and those high in sugar.  I didn’t mention this on air, but starchy foods, i.e. bread, pasta, potatoes are also culprits that helpyou to piles on the pounds if the healthy varieties are not chosen.  Eating these foods late at night will also have an impact.

So, now that Nick has taken up the challenge, what you are you going to do?  Our Total Personal Training team of Surrey personal trainers are here to help!

Go for it Nick!  I shall be listening in to hear all about your success :-)

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Increase Your Metabolism with Strength Training

March 26, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Strength is the ability of your muscles to withstand a force.  Strength training is to train your skeletal muscles to become stronger.  There are many different methods of strength training, the most common being the use of your own bodyweight against gravity and using free weights.

 

Why and How?

When performed correctly and with optimal posture, strength training can provide significant functional movement benefits and improvement in overall health and well-being including increased bone and muscle mass, improved joint function, a reduced potential for injury and increased metabolism leading to greater fat loss.

 

In order to gain strength benefits, the force output of a specific muscle or group of muscles is increased through incremental addition of weight or gravity, reaching overload to become stronger.  Primarily, strength training is an anaerobic activity. 

 

What is a Strength Training Program?

 

At this point, many people conjure up the image of someone in a vest top lifting a serious weight whilst grunting and groaning.  Although this form of strength training is a choice for some, for most it is not.  At the other end of the scale, a simple movement of getting out of a chair can be a strenuous exercise. 

 

The human body works as an integrated unit and should be trained in that way.  Research shows that regular strength training will strengthen and tone muscles and increase bone mass.  Full range of motion is important in strength training because muscle overload occurs only at the specific joint angles where the muscle is worked.

 

In order to achieve optimal performance, consider the following components when designing a training program:

  1. A strong core, defined as the muscles that attach to the pelvis.  The core and rotation become the basis of movement.
  2. The gait cycle or walking is dominated by single leg movement.
  3. Balance and stability drive strength.
  4. Pure strength can only be achieved with optimal posture. 

There are many elements that need to be considered before starting a training program.  What is your specific goal?  Are you training for an event?  Do you want to overcome an injury?  Do you want to look good and achieve fat loss?  Do you want to prevent the onset of illness?

 

Always consult a qualified fitness professional before starting a strength training programme.  The results will be worth it!

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