So having been a Personal Trainer for a number of years, I have always found it very rewarding to help other achieve their personal fitness goals. We all have them, and whether or not we work towards them is always the determining factor in whether we reach them or not. We've all made the same excuses, each and every one of us. I'm sure you've said one of these few phrases; 'I'll go to the gym tomorrow, I'm just too tired right now', 'I'll start my workout program next month, soon as I finish....', 'I just don't have the time, and I only need to lose a few pounds, it can wait for a few weeks', 'There's just too much going on in my life right now, I'll get to it soon'....
Well you may not have said it to me, or to someone else, but you know you've said it to yourself...I know I have. Well everyone has to have enough internal motivation to make something happen, no one else can motivate you to take the steps that need to be taken....but when the time for action is at hand, here are the 3 ABSOLUTES that everyone needs to know and understand when it comes to changing your physical makeup. No matter what your goals are, they all apply, the human body does have rules, but each body reacts to those rules a bit differently so it's up to you to figure that part out...I can only help with guidance and knowledge.
ABSOLUTE #1 - Nutrition. The single most important absolute, your diet determines your results.
ABSOLUTE #2 - Physical Resistance (Anaerobic Exercise). You must build muscle to burn fat.
ABSOLUTE #3 - Aerobic Exercise. - You must elevate your heart rate to increase strength of your cardiovascular system and improve oxygen levels and blood flow in your system.
Now why are these things important and why do I say they are absolutes? The human body is governed by a series of laws and the only way to enact change is to understand the laws so you can make them work for you.
Absolute #1 is really simple, you are what you eat, you've heard it and it's the truth, your body uses certain things to do certain things. Protein for example is required to build muscle, carbohydrates won't build muscle, fat won't build muscle (but it is required to synthesize protein to actually build said muscle, so in a way it helps, but it does not become muscle tissue). Carbohydrates are required to power your cells, the body converts them to energy, and in a fine tuned system it will flush what it doesn't use, but in a system that thinks it's starved it will store them as fat cells. So understanding what to eat and when to eat it is the most important aspect of any program.
Absolute #2 is fairly simple to understand - building muscle burns roughly 3 1/2 times more calories than cardiovascular exercise. Muscle is the most active tissue in the human body and is essential to life. It is estimated that one pound of muscle requires 50 to 100 calories per day to function. Increasing a person's muscle mass by as little as three to five pounds can have a profound effect on daily caloric expenditure by raising Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), or the number of calories needed by the body to carry out basic daily functions. The average man burns 100 calories for every mile he runs, and most women burn even less. The addition of muscle tissue is mandatory to increase resting caloric burn.
Absolute #3 is again easy to understand, but a bit tougher to master. For a body to correctly process the nutrition it receives and flush out the waste created by resistance training, it must have proper oxygen levels and blood flow. The important thing to understand though is to reach maximum fat burn during cardiovascular exercise, you must know your own target heart rate. Your target heart rate is determined by finding your maximum heart rate - 220 minus your age and then multiplying by .65 and .75. That will give you a range to shoot for to maximize fat burn. Too high and your body will actually start using muscle for fuel (that's why you don't see a whole lot of really muscular marathon runners, and why really muscular people have a tough time running marathons). Too low and you're not achieving any form of fat burn at all, though you will still be increasing your pulmonary strength which is always good.
The 3 ABSOLUTES do walk hand in hand, you cannot just ignore one, or neglect one or conveniently forget one to actually achieve the goals you have set forth, trust me I know, I conveniently forget cardio work on a regular basis. :D
Obviously there is a lot more to it than just the basics above, but at least knowing where to start, hopefully you are a bit better armed moving forward. If you have any specific questions just let me know and I'll answer them best as I can.
Have a fantastic day and work hard to become The Next Champion!!!
Derek
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