JulesFitneX Open house Bootcamp!

JulesFitneX had its open house Boot camp on the 20th of July 2013 and it was simply amazing! A great team of 7 strong women turned up.

If you missed the free open house don't let that stop you from contacting JulesFitneX; because your first session of either Boot camp or personal training is always complimentary; FREE!

PS: JulesFitneX Boot camp is NOT a women's only boot camp

Plyometrics! Should you be doing them?

Plyometric also known as jump training are exercises based around having muscles exert maximum forces in as short  a time as possible with the goal of increasing both speed and power. This training focuses on learning to move from a muscle extension to contraction in a rapid and explosive way. Plyometric ideally should be used by athletes especially high jumpers to improve performance.

However with the advent of workout such as Insanity by Shaun T and P90X plyometric is now becoming almost a mainstream exercise. But the question is Should you be doing them?!

 

No doubt Plyometric is a great fat burner and there is something quite exciting about being mid-air especially if it is caught on camera! However plyometric  is not for everyone and should not be done without proper training.  Why? when you plyo you land on 5-7times your body weight! so let's say you weigh 165lbs you are landing on at least 825lbs! Now imagine you land wrongly? You may not get injured on the first jump but over time the risk of injury is dramatically increased. It is a fracture waiting to happen!

My recommendations for anyone thinking of doing plyometric training are:

• you should be able to squat (not half squat)  60% of your body weight 5times in 5 seconds
• for beginners you should be able to stand on one leg without falling over for at least 30secs
• for advance; you should be able to go down into a quarter to half squat on one leg and hold for 30sec (this tests your balance, a key component of Plyometrics)

People of over 220lbs are at increased risk for injury because like I mentioned earlier with Plyometrics you land on 5-7times your body weight; so for a weight of over 220lb.......I will let you do the maths!

 

Plyometrics! Should you be doing them?

 

Excuses are for those who need them. I don't negotiate my training

I had every reason not to exercise today, first my alarm didn't go off at 4:30am but my body clock woke me up at 5:30! I had 2hours to complete a 12miles run (I am training for a marathon and Saturdays are my long runs). I was tired, thanks to my staying up later than usual cleaning the whole goat meat I bought from the butchers..... I love goat meat! Do you know that goat meat is 50% lower in fat than beef and is about 40% lower in saturated fat than chicken, even chicken cooked with the skin off!!.....Well I digress. So I rushed into the bath to get ready for my run and staring at me from my open windows was the most ugly creature ever! A Raccoon! Sweet baby Jesus I screamed and shut my window. Could this be a sign that I should skip my run?

 

As I was about to leave home my nearly 3year old child woke up and insisted that I took him with me on my run! Now that would be tricky...lol but then I thought maybe this really is a sign that I shouldn't go running, it might be a Raccoon festival out there for all I knew! I eventually made it out of the house but forgot to take my armband phone pouch which meant holding my phone for the duration of my run; how inconvenient is that!

 

5miles into my run, I saw a rat on my path that refused to move away! What's up with that! Rats usually just run away at the sounds of human feet. 9miles into my run I saw a cat running with a hand glove in its mouth and a bird swooping low to get the glove from the cat! Seriously!!!?

The bird swooped so low that it almost touched my shoulders. My heart rate leaped up to 170bpm and I sprinted off up a hill I usually walk up!

 

Still not sure if everything that occurred today was a sign or a sigh but I am glad that I did train against all odds......Excuses? not for me!

 

Have you ever had such a day where it seems everything is stopping you from exercising? Tell me about your odds, I would love to read them.....

The Happy "Marriage" Of Cardio And Strength Training

It's an undisputed fact that we burn more calories when we engage in any cardiovascular training in comparison to strength training of the same duration.

Many people are of the opinion that since cardiovascular training burns more calories, it therefore means it is the fastest way to lose weight, after all weight loss is about creating a calorie deficit. However, many people are short-sighted by concentrating on how many calories they burn while at the gym instead of focusing on how our bodies expend calories throughout the day.

With traditional cardiovascular exercise i.e. running, cycling etc. you expend calories while you are moving but once you stop you quickly shift to your normal metabolic rate, your body quickly adjusts to the stress placed on it, which means you have to move faster or keep moving non-stop! Who does that??! Strength training build muscles and with more muscles more calories are burn even when you are sitting on your couch! Now I like the sitting part!

Many strength training athletes dislike cardio and many cardio addicts dislike strength training. Never should the two ever meet! Today I am forcing the marriage between both because they compliment each other beautifully....Strength training is the  "missing rib of cardio"! According to the research from Osaka University printed in the Journal of Applied Physiology, cardio after strength training exercises prevents the arteries from becoming stiff; which could perhaps help reduce subsequent muscle stiffness.

In addition to doing the above (cardio after strength training), also including a short burst of cardio before a strength training session and intermittently during will help lubricate the joints, prevent boredom and enhance the effectiveness of strength training session.

How do you train? Do you do cardio before, or after, your strength training and why? Do you hate strength training? or you have a good mix of both cardio and strength training........ I would love to hear from you.