Jack was known as the “Godfather of Fitness” and had a popular television show for decades! For more info about this fitness legend check out this link Jack LaLanne.

However, if You want to Listen to some simple, straight-forward advice that you can apply to Your Life Right Now and feel better Instantly!……Then watch this:

It’s funny when you stop for a moment and think about how right Jack is about something that “wreaks havoc” on some people lives.

If you or somebody you know needs to eliminate stress, start leading a healthy lifestyle, and take control of the future of your or their health Then Click Here Right Now .

IT could be the BEST DECISION of Your or their LIFE! (If you have someone in your life that really needs to watch the video above, just forward it to them).

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Caffeine is chemically related to adrenalin. The effects on the body are similar. In fact, when consumed caffeine will stimulate the production of adrenalin. All of the symptoms of the fight or flight reaction associated with adrenalin occurs in a milder form from the ingestion of caffeine. The class of chemicals both caffeine and adrenalin belong to are called sympathomimetic . They are neurostimulatory chemicals that prepare the body and mind to function quickly and effectively in response to stress. The most common reactions experienced are:

• Increased pulse and blood pressure. The body is preparing to deliver a burst of energy.
• Blood is shunted away from the gastrointestinal tract and directed towards the muscles and brain. Digestion and bowel motility slows and can cease.
• The iris of the eye dilates to allow more light to penetrate.
• The basal muscular tension is elevate to provide faster responses.
• Skin capillaries constrict causing a generalized paleness.
• Sphincters relax and feeling the need to void or move bowels is common.
• Inhibition of the lacrimal and salivary glands. Dry mouth is commonly experienced.
• Fats and proteins are mobilized to be available for energy production.

The action of caffeine increases metabolic rate and thermogenesis. It increases the production of all stress related hormones and free radicals. With chronic use it can accelerate aging and heart disease. It can accentuate certain psychological disorders, particularly those related to anxiety, panic, and stress disorders.

Caffeine is often used as a adjunct treatment for migraine headaches. Indeed, many people experience headache after discontinuation of chronic use.

Diuretic Effects of Caffeine

Diuretics are chemicals that increase urine output. Caffeine is a diuretic in people who are caffeine naive, or who use it infrequently. It decreases sodium re-absorption in the filtration system of the kidneys. Chronic users develop a tolerance to the diuretic effects.

Dehydration from the diuretic effects of caffeine in susceptible individuals could potentially occur during strenuous activity such as a workout. Adequate fluid intake during physical exertion is always important, and more so if caffeine has been consumed.

Performance Enhancement from Caffeine

There are several mechanisms by which caffeine could enhance physical performance.

• Caffeine is also classified as a xanthine drug. These medications are bronchodilators that include theophyllin, widely used for asthma and emphysema. The increased diameter of the breathing apparatus delivers more oxygen to fuel metabolic demands.
• CNS (central nervous system) stimulant. Allows for faster reaction times.
• Caffeine has chemical similarities to adenosine, an essential component of cellular energy. It has been shown to positively affect energy production on the cellular level.
• As a sympathetic stimulant, caffeine increases production of other stimulatory catecholamines from the adrenal glands and brain. Heart rate and blood pressure are increased. Blood, hence oxygen is diverted away from unessential processes to fuel the organs associated with the fight or flight response.
• The action potentials associated with muscle contraction are primed by caffeine. The ready state for the neuromuscular response is increased. This accelerates reaction time.
• Endurance may be enhanced as a primary effect of caffeine.

The Negative Side

Caffeine is a psychological and physically addictive chemical. Its use in training and sports can produce fluid balance issues in combination with exertional losses. It increases gastrin production in the stomach. Indigestion, nausea and ulcer disease can occur. Caffeine’s metabolic effects on glucose metabolism can produce hypoglycemic episodes combined with exertional energy, hence glucose demands. Many get dizzy and weak, nausea and headache an hour or more after caffeine ingestion. The rebound fatigue after its use can be profound. This creates a cycle of replenishment to then refresh alertness, not enhance performance.

Caffeine pervades our society. Anyone concerned about maintaining wellness and fitness should consider evaluating their personal caffeine consumption. It may not be the ideal situation to totally eliminate caffeine all together. Never abruptly discontinue use after chronic ingestion. Being aware of the effects of caffeine and having control over the positive and negative effects can significantly improve the quality of life.

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• Well-qualified fitness professionals: The number one trend of 2012 is the rising qualifications of fitness industry professionals. Fitness professionals are now more likely to be educated, experienced and certified than ever before. The trend started around 5 years ago and continues to grow. With any service that involves your health, you want nothing less than the most qualified experts in their field working with you. The same way you want a doctor who is certified across the board and fully accredited, you want a personal trainer who has some sense of accountability in their work and can make sure your health is the number 1 priority.

• Strength training: Strength training has always been a major player in fitness, and current trends expand that role even further. The youngest and oldest exercisers are working out with weights now. Weights are being used more in disease management and rehabilitation. Almost every workout program includes strength training to some degree. Used in conjunction with “muscle confusion,” strength training will help you not only achieve the best results in the shortest amount of time, but will also help you in all aspects of your life. No longer will reaching high above your cabinets or underneath the table strain your back and put you out for days on end, not when your workout has prepared your body to not only function at its peak on the track or in the gym, but in everyday tasks as well.

• Fitness training for seniors: Seniors are more involved in fitness training now, and more programs are tailored to their needs. Classes across the country have been formulated with the senior consumer in mind, keeping to their needs and even offering specialized, tailored classes that don’t go too soft or too hard on a senior. Instead, it offers them the opportunity t continue making healthy choices even later in life, allowing them the full potential to live up to their standard of life without having to worry about being pushed into a class that is clearly not formulated for them or build to meet their needs.

• Dealing with childhood obesity: New fitness programs are being designed to help overweight and obese children. The goals are not only to solve their immediate problems, but also to start them on healthy lifestyles for the future. It is a growing problem for adults, but if children are taught early about the importance of proper diet and an active lifestyle, we can cut off this growing trend and lower healthcare costs. This could very well be the first generation of Americans who have a lower life expectancy than the previous generation, ever. This is a completely avoidable issue brought on by poor lifestyle choices with no excuses to be made for its proliferation.

• Personal training: Personal training has gone mainstream. Once thought a luxury, this type of fitness program is gaining in availability and popularity. People are beginning to understand the high value of working one-on-one with an expert in fitness assessments, planning, motivation, nutrition and exercise technique. Personalization goes far beyond simply helping and even affords the trainee the opportunity to receive a level of attention and care that can translate to greater success in a much shorter amount of time versus traditional exercise methods.

• Group personal training: Another 2012 trend continues to be group personal training. It is not one-on-one training, but it has the advantages of being less expensive and more social. There are now more groups and more types of groups. Getting a group together can make exercise even more fun and increase your accountability to your workout routine. If you’re simply looking to meet new people, it can give you a new group from which to develop friendships and relationships.

• Zumba: In 2012, Zumba has gone from being a fad to becoming a lasting trend in fitness. The dance-based exercise style is rapidly gaining in popularity. It is extremely effective in burning fat and increasing fitness. The rapid rise in popularity has spawned many imitators, but the original and certified courses taught by certified trainers will ensure you are receiving the real McCoy.

• Functional fitness: In the past, many people exercised to show off their muscles, doing exercises that isolated each muscle group in turn. Functional fitness programs are designed to train the body in doing practical movements, using muscle groups together as they are used in the work of daily life.

• Worksite fitness: More and more companies are incorporating fitness into their business model. There are more on-site fitness centers and employee exercise programs. There are also now incentive plans for getting fitter.

• Boot camp: Boot camp programs are on the rise as well. People find that they feel great accomplishment in living up to the rigorous demands of a tough boot camp training program. They see excellent results as well. The use of sports-type drills, indoor-outdoor training, and team events make boot camp more interesting for many exercisers.

Many of the fitness trends of 2012 are gathering steam in recent years. Jumping on the first fad that comes along is not the best idea, but following proven trends like those listed above is wiser and safer. Look for new and popular fitness choices that are helpful and sensible.

Learn more about the latest fitness trends with Achieve Fitness.

1. The right trainer will teach you the best exercises to achieve your goals.
2. The right train will plan out your workouts in a way that will make those exercises as effective as possible.
3. Most importantly, the right trainer will keep you motivated to stick to your workout plan.

The right personal trainer will not only teach you the best exercises to do but will teach you how to do them safely so that you do not get too sore or even injured. The right personal trainer will start with an assessment to see what your current physical abilities are and go from there in determining the right exercises. You will feel yourself growing more capable and fit as the workouts progress.

The right trainers will not only teach you which exercises to do. They will set up your workouts to continually challenge you in each workout. A major benefit of weight training as compared to typical cardio-type exercise is that you continue to burn fat and boost your metabolism even when you are resting between workouts. Your metabolism will also increase, allowing you to eat more while still losing weight. The right trainer knows how to organize your workouts in a way that will bring about this effect.

Motivation is an extremely important aspect of a workout plan. Living in the Washington, DC area brings many distractions that can keep you from getting your workout in (not to mention the long commutes and time spent in traffic). The right trainer will inspire you and keep you motivated not only to get to the gym when you would rather not but will keep you energized throughout your workout. The gym will become an escape that you look forward to rather than just another event that you have to get through during another long day.

If you are a woman in the Washington, DC area who is looking to get started with weight training, look no further than Achieve Personal Fitness. Achieve Personal Fitness will teach you the exercises that will help you accomplish your goals, set up your exercise plan so that you get the maximum benefit from each of your workouts and keep you motivated to stick to your plan and achieve your goals. If you are ready to get started, contact Achieve Personal Fitness to set up a consultation or sign up for a session to see how it works.

Assessment
An assessment is useful in showing you the before and after of your fat-blasting regimen. You have to know where you are starting to know where you need to go. The personal trainer will not only take your measurements, he will also find out how much exercise you can do at the outset, and keep track of your progress.

Goal-Setting
Once you know your strengths and weaknesses in real, measurable terms, you can set goals for yourself. Your personal trainer will help you choose goals that have meaning for you. He will guide you in making goals that challenge you and that you can accomplish if you work hard.

Plan
Knowing everything about you and your goals, the personal trainer will do his own work. He will devise a plan to get you where you want to go. It will include a nutritional plan and a series of workouts. The plan will be flexible, and the personal trainer will adjust it whenever needed as your fitness level changes.

Nutrition
You will get a personalized nutrition plan to correct all the problem eating you have been doing. Whether you are eating at the wrong time or you are eating unhealthy foods, your nutrition will get a makeover. The focus will be on healthy concepts like eating lean proteins, low-glycemic carbs, fruits and vegetables, and Omega-3 fats; all prepared in healthy ways. Most of all, you will learn to eat the proper proportions and the best times to eat, to blast your fat away.

Workouts
The personal trainer’s plan will include workouts to burn fat quickly. Cardio and strength training may both be used, in conjunction with flexibility training. Plan to move fast to burn those pounds of unwanted body fat. Expect to work hard to develop muscle. You will not only improve your physique, but you will also increase muscle mass. This raises metabolism and makes your body into a fat burning machine. Your personal trainer will teach you the exercises, help you prevent injuries, and set the amount of exercise you need to do.

Motivation and Accountability
Personal trainers are masters at providing motivation. They remind you of your goals and make you feel positive about attaining them. The personal trainer will appreciate your success and help you do the same. What is more, with a personal trainer to answer to, you will be more inclined to show up for workouts, follow the nutrition plan and do your best at both.
If you would like to learn more about how a personal trainer can help you blast fat and get fit, contact Achieve Fitness at www.achieve-fitness.com.

The key is to start small. Many who embark on developing a workout plan, both as someone new to a routine or people trying to kick start their fitness goals, find themselves turned off by exercise because they did not set a realist goal or expected too much too soon. Fitness, in its truest sense, is about a steady approach. Sure, maximizing results is something that everyone wants, but you have to be realistic. Losing 20 pounds in a week? Not the best plan. Losing 20 pounds over the course of a few months with proper nutrition and a game plan? Excellent idea. Where to start with reclaiming your fitness and living a better life? The first step is identifying what exercises will work for your body type, your schedule and any preexisting conditions you may have (high blood pressure, diabetes, etc.)

There are three basic types of workouts: cardiovascular, toning and stretching. A well-rounded exercise regime will incorporate all three types of exercise. Cardiovascular exercise ranges from swimming and rowing to hiking and biking. The best cardiovascular exercise is the one you’ll do on a regular basis. If you hate running, it isn’t necessary to force yourself to be a runner. Instead, find an exercise you enjoy, like rock climbing or mountain biking. Make sure to stretch before and after exercise. You should never stretch cold muscles, so warm up for a few minutes before stretching. Incorporate yoga and Pilates into your workout regime, too.

It’s important to not train the same muscle group two days in a row when it comes to toning exercises. Either take time off between toning workouts or work out different sets of muscles on alternating days. For example, work out your upper body on Monday and Wednesday and your lower body on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Always take a day off during the week to let your body rest and recuperate. Over-exercising can cause injuries and prevent you from working out in the future. The easiest mistake to make when getting into a routine is over-exerting yourself right from the start. Not only can you turn yourself off from a regimen that can work for you, you can hurt yourself in the process, putting yourself out of commission for some time, which has a negative effect on both your mental and physical well being.

If you don’t have a gym membership, you may have to head outdoors to workout. If you’re not prepared to exercise outside during the winter, you’ll have a difficult time fitting workouts into your daily life. If you’re going to run outside during cold weather, you have to dress properly. Wear sweat-wicking materials, especially with the layer closest to your skin. Instead of cotton workout clothes, choose ones made from polypropylene instead. A thin polar fleece makes an excellent second layer. Wear an outer layer made from Gore-Tex or nylon to shield you from wind and snow. If you have the opposite problem, living in a hot climate, dress appropriately and take time into consideration. Oftentimes, people can only run during the midday hours, where the sun and heat are at their peak. This can lead to dehydration and heat stroke. Also, avoid any sort of “sauna suit,” which will simply cause you to lose water weight that you’ll put right back on. These suits also make it more difficult to improve your measurements. When the body is dehydrated, performance decrease and muscle fatigue increase exponentially, thus starting a cycle of self-destruction that can hurt your goals and body in one fell swoop. Don’t make it harder on yourself, stay hydrated, drink when you’re thirsty.

If you’re a frequent traveler, prepare to work out even when on the road. Always keep a set of resistance bands packed so that you can train anywhere. Also, pack a pair of running sneakers and a couple of changes of workout clothes so that you don’t have any excuse to not work out. Vacations are prime times for gaining weight and you’ll want to stay in shape even if you’re taking time off from work. You can always work out with what’s in your room, using body weight exercises to keep the weight off. Use chairs to do tricep dips and use a book to add increased difficulty to your pushups, switching the book to different arms to increase strength proportionally.

Hiring a personal trainer will help you to reach your goals and to stay there once you’ve achieved the level of fitness you desire. Having a personal trainer makes you accountable to someone other than yourself, which is often the much-needed push many people benefit from. It’s easy to get lazy when it comes to your workout if nobody’s looking over your shoulder. Having a personal trainer, though, gives you someone to report to as well as someone to support and encourage you. One of the most difficult tasks in starting a fitness routine is having someone or something to motivate you. Pushing to fit into your old clothes or simply wanting to live a healthier lifestyle for a significant other is a goal, but having someone pushing you to dig deeper will keep you on the path to meeting those goals.

Contact Achieve Personal Fitness to arrange a consultation or sign up for a session today!

In this fun to watch video, Dr. Mike Evans, an Associate Professor of Family Medicine and Public Health at the University of Toronto, and a staff physician at St. Michael’s Hospital, reveals the answer.

And, don’t worry, he lets you know what the “thing” is early in the video and he doesn’t try to sell you anything.

Still need help with your motivation? Call us today 888-872-7961.

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Motivation

Most exercise becomes boring for athletes who do the same routine every week. Humans are naturally stimulated by variety and tend to get bored very easily. Cross training is a great way to avoid boredom and increase motivation. An increase in motivation helps runners train harder, which makes them run faster and perform better during races.

Even runners who love running are unlikely to be passionate about every workout. Cross training allows for the variety that makes the training process fun. A runner who doesn’t feel like running that day may choose to do another activity such as cross country skiing or mountain biking. These activities help to train the body in different ways than running, benefiting the athlete’s mind as well as body.

Faster Running Speed

Cross-training is a great way for runners to increase their running speed. Performing exercises other than running are great for increasing the athletic power of the body as well as the runner’s endurance, helping them run faster for a longer period of time. Almost every muscle in the body gets a workout during running, but the muscles are worked differently when skiing, biking, swimming and performing other exercises. Strengthening the muscles in different ways allows them to perform better during a race, resulting in faster running speeds as well as increased endurance.

Endurance

New runners can increase their endurance by cross-training because this type of exercise reduces the impact on the joints and muscles of the body. Overuse injuries are common among new runners, especially ones that are training for their first major race. People who have been running for years also benefit from increased endurance. Many runners suffer from a loss of cartilage in their knees, which forces them to stop running at a young age. Cross-training allows these runners to exercise while minimizing cartilage loss by incorporating swimming, weight lifting and other exercises into their routine.

Cross-Training Benefits Work Together

All of the benefits of cross-training work together to help the body become more toned, stronger and less prone to injury. Performance is increased through cross-training because athletes don’t overuse their muscles and strain them. This allows the athlete to train consistently and not be held back due to injury or be unprepared due to skipped workouts. Working the muscles in different ways is challenging for the body as well as the mind. Runners who are bored with their workouts tend to either skip working out altogether or perform their routine halfheartedly, both of which do little to increase their performance or speed. Consistent training is the best way to increase performance on race day, and cross-training workouts build the endurance that is necessary for runners to perform well in marathons and other distance races.

If you would like to learn more about how a personal trainer can help you blast fat and get fit, contact Achieve Fitness today!

Lynelle Paulick on race day

Ah. So you want to do “the marathon”?–Sounds catchy, eh? Sounds fun. Sounds challenging. Sounds like a great way to lose weight. But hold on. There is a bit of background work that needs to be carried out, and systematically at that.

The very first item on your list of priorities is this: What is your goal? Fun? Challenge? Competitiveness? Weight loss? This decision will determine how you proceed.

Starting out with weight loss, long-distance slow to moderate running burns fat. This article will address a few systems that are, to a large extent, based on long, relatively slow running activity. However, this subject is a tricky one. Losing weight, even with aerobic activity, which is what running is for the most part, takes time and patience. Thus, you may want to look at your endeavors with running the same way you would with weight loss.

If you look at the two, running and weight loss, as being side by side in effort, you will see that you are starting your running easy, and probably slowly, the same as your weight loss efforts, and progress to longer distances, which not coincidentally brings you to that point when people may begin to call you “skinny.” That’s always gratifying, of course. But the point is to take it one step at a time, whether it’s distance, weight loss goals, or both. We will return to the subject of weight loss toward the end of this article.

There are several ways to go about reaching your goals: You may want to join a group such as Moms in Motion (http://www.momsinmotion.com/) (you don’t have to be a mom!)

or Team in Training (http://www.teamintraining.org/firsttimehere/) –TEAM stands for Train, Endure, Achieve, and Matter–

Team in Training relies on tremendous amounts of distance activity in several sports. Through the organized tutelage and comradeship of one of these groups, you will probably begin to participate in races from shorter to longer lengths, for instance, a 5K (3.1 miles), then a 10k (6.2 miles), then a 15k (9.3 miles), then a half-marathon (13.1 miles), and then–drum roll–the ultimate challenge in this case, the marathon (26.2 miles).

Periodization, a system advocated by Arthur Lydiard, a world-famous coach from New Zealand, was begun in the 1960s but has endured and is still utilized by most top distance runners. The goal of this four-phase program is to culminate in a single event, in this case, the marathon. Let me describe periodization and then we will bring together those events that most first-time marathoners will compete in to prepare for this final event. A long period of what is called base building is when runners jog or run moderately for extended distances to build up their cardiovascular “engine,” meaning the circulatory system gets stronger through the continuous pumping of the heart and arteries, etc.

When ready, runners begin a four-week phase of strength building, usually comprising hill training or specific exercises such as “bounding,” where the athlete jumps off of one foot onto the other and likewise throughout a session to build the muscles in the legs, specifically the buttocks, hamstrings, calves, and feet.

For the next short four weeks, anaerobic training (or non-aerobic, meaning without oxygen; with a debt of oxygen, the body will produce lactic acid, which is the feeling when you cannot go too much further without having to stop–because of the lack of oxygen, not to mention the pain; this is to be compared with aerobic training, which is that long-distance slower, fat-burning activity that you can keep up for an hour or more; a little secret is that as you get in shape, you can actually train your aerobic capacity to come close to that anaerobic threshold and still hold it for a long time!) is usually carried out on a track or using the fartlek method. Fartlek training, developed by Swedish coach Gosta Holmer, is when you warm up a bit, then proceed to run very fast for indeterminate periods of time–frequently, this is done on the roads where light poles, stop signs, bushes, and so forth serve as the starting and stopping points. Literally, fartlek means “speed play.” It is play because of its non-consistent distances–but the speed is definitely there in the practice. Anaerobic training sessions will sustain a set up to only a couple of minutes in duration. This third phase is, as mentioned, short because of the possibility of burnout and injury.

The final phase is when the distance is trimmed significantly and tune-up racing begins. This is where you will begin the 5k, the 10k, the 15k, and possibly the half-marathon in preparation for the ultimate goal, the marathon. The final phase lasts six or more weeks and with the lowered distance, the athlete can easily, with the previous training, compete in these shorter races.

There is a warning here, however: If you have been running steadily and gaining momentum over the season, you may become stuck on the idea of competing and cease to enjoy the process. Burnout is still a factor in the final phase of periodization. For the first-time marathoner using this system, it is best to focus as solidly as possible on keeping workouts light and fun and not becoming blinded by overly serious intentions.

A marathon can be otherwise completed by adhering to a 30-mile per week regimen. This relatively low distance training plan will yield a 4-hour or longer event, which is certainly a laudable time, no doubt. However, the possibility of hitting the fabled “wall” at about mile 20 is greater because the overdistance is not there.

Jeff Galloway, author of the timeless Galloway’s Book on Running, advocates a system similar to Lydiard’s, however, there are two main differences: First, the speedwork phase lasts up to eight weeks, although he agrees with Lydiard that anything over this and possibly even this much can cause burnout and injury. Second, the long, long run (think fat burn!) continues throughout the season, and, in fact, after reaching a 12-mile distance, every two weeks it gets longer by two miles, culminating in the longest run before the marathon being that “overdistance” number of 28 to 30 miles (yikes–but walking is definitely okay here). This is the factor that, even if you practice sustained periods of rest during the week, will keep you from hitting that wall and will make you stronger. According to Galloway, these runs “are the single most important element in your program.” The hint here is that you do not increase mileage during the week, no matter what phase you’re in; it is only on the weekend long run where you practice increasing. As far as combining the racing and the seasonal training phases, Galloway suggests doing your 5k, 10k, 15k races during the speedwork phase, a divergence from Lydiard’s plan.

A fourth system is that of the famed Paula Newby-Fraser, 8-time Ironman Triathlon world champion. This method pertains solely to the long run, not to the overall season training regimen, as in the other three examples. Newby-Fraser does subscribe to periodization, to some extent. However, for the final approximately four weeks before beginning the taper, you will deplete yourself in your weekly long run.This method is only for those of you who feel you are “ready to go”!

This is what she recommends: Using a heart rate monitor, warm up for approximately one-half hour, then begin a long “tempo” run. This includes increasing your speed and, of course, your heart rate to close to your aerobic threshold, which if you’re well trained, will be very close to your anaerobic threshold, described earlier.

In order for you to understand what you’re getting into here, I must take a moment and explain what this means for you. There are a couple of recipes for ascertaining your aerobic threshold. A very commonly used test is 220 minus your age to find your ideal training heart rate (called “target heart rate”).

Mark Allen, 6-time Ironman Triathlon world champion, also uses a formula based on a 180 minus age calculation that includes factors such as taking five beats off if you’ve been injured, 10 beats further on if you’ve been training well and consistently performing at a high rate, and so forth. So let us continue the torture: After about 4 miles at this tempo, reduce your speed and your heart rate, but not to a jog–keep the heart rate only about 8 to 10 beats below the threshold; maintain this for approximately 5 minutes. Again increase the speed and the heart rate to close to the aerobic threshold and hold it once again for approximately 4 miles. Repeat the process. Do this same activity for up to 20 or more miles, and then of course warm down sufficiently at a jog pace. Sounds scary, huh? That’s why Newby-Fraser is the world champion many times over.

James Fixx, author of the famous 1977 tome The Complete Book of Running, began jogging when he was 35 years old, 240 lbs. and a two-pack-a-day smoker. After 10 years of running and racing, he was 60 pounds lighter.

The great coach Arthur Lydiard, author of eight books, including the 1978 Run, the Lydiard Way, was an overweight former rugby player who began to run to lose some weight. Over the months, he succeeded by jogging easily and evenly over an extended distance.

Bob Bowerman, known as one of the greatest track coaches in the United States, spent six weeks in New Zealand running (actually jogging slowly) every day, and at the end of this period, he had lost 10 pounds and reduced his waist size by about 4 inches. You should be beginning to grasp that running easily for longer periods of time and distance are helpful in completely altering your body composition. You will recall the periodization technique Lydiard (and Galloway) advocated and that months are spent in this slow to moderate long-distance training range.

Even as you lose fat through your training efforts, remember that body fat ranges for normal men and women differ throughout the life span. Women tend to go from as low as 15 percent to an average of 25 percent after about the age of 30, because of a rise in estrogen in their bodies. Men usually remain in the teens, number-wise, reaching about 19 percent by age 50, and they tend to retain their muscle mass longer than women generally, because of the testosterone levels in their bodies.

Because long-distance running and fat burning are positively related, then over the long haul, women begin to have an advantage over men because of this higher relative percentage of body fat to which they have access, no matter how much of it they’ve lost in training.

Remember: You cannot get any more efficient in long-distance running than having a well-developed fat-burning system. Barbara Schulman, Ph.D., in her 2000 article Fuel on Fat for the Long Run, declares that a woman or a man with even 6 percent body fat has enough fat stores to run several hours, or back-to-back marathons. Amazing, isn’t that? Thus, the goal of running a marathon is a gratifying and noble one for girls, women, and men of all ages.

What have you noticed over time with your running in terms of the previous discussions: What kinds of training systems have you used? Have you found that you’ve lost fat, lost weight altogether, or gained muscle mass? Feel free to make comments (below).

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About the author: Lynelle Paulick has worked in the editing and writing field for 20 years. Her subject areas of specialty are history, philosophy and sports. She holds a bachelor’s degree in analytical philosophy from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Paulick has completed 10 Ironman triathlons, including 5 world championships in Kona, Hawaii, as well as 14 marathons (one age group win). Along with other shorter-distance races of all types, she has competed in numerous open water swimming competitions, such as the Maui Channel crossing (6 times at present) and the Waikiki Roughwater swim in Honolulu.

If you are considering running a marathon, it’s possible to do one this year, no matter where you are now, fitness wise.  The Marine Corps Marathon is at the end of the year.  Sign up for it now and commit to doing it this year.  If you need to make some huge leaps in your fitness, give us a call or sign up for personal training here and we’ll help you get there.

Some DC Area Marathons

March 17, 2012  Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon

October 28, 2012  Marine Corps Marathon

Benefits

• Aerobic Training: The movement from one station to the next without break raises the heart rate and taxes the lungs. Even if you are not able to move directly into the next exercise, you need to keep walking or jogging around the area to keep your heart rate up. This constant movement provides an aerobic impact that improves the cardiovascular system tremendously.

• Strength Training: Most, if not all, of the exercises used in circuit training are designed to improve strength. The main focus is on resistance training. Bodyweight, free weights, weight machines, resistance bands, and other equipment are used to build strength and other muscle qualities.

• Time Factor: Circuit training is a fairly quick of workout. You can accomplish a great deal in a very short period of time. Rather than have two totally separate workouts – one for cardio and one for strength – you can combine them in one circuit training routine. Because you are constantly moving, you do not waste any time between sets.

• Variety: A circuit training offers a variety of exercise in one workout. It is difficult to become bored when you are moving through several completely different exercises in succession. Even better, it is a very simple task to rearrange the stations or to add or subtract stations to make a totally different workout whenever the current circuit begins to get stale. There is never a need to get stuck in a rut.

• Adjustable Level: Circuit training workouts can be adjusted to any level of fitness. Beginners who have never worked out before can start with a routine involving only a few stations. They can do fewer reps at each station, easier exercises can be included, and they can lift lighter weights. Someone who is at a higher level of fitness can have a more difficult routine, and they can also work through it faster.

• Many Equipment Choices: People working in a gym will probably have an almost unlimited array of equipment choices for constructing a circuit training workout. People who work at home often are limited in the types of workouts they can do. However, circuit training is possible with any kind of equipment. A creative personal trainer can make a beneficial circuit training workout with little equipment or with no equipment at all.

Circuit training is one of the healthiest, easiest and fastest ways to get fit. Working with a personal trainer or a group leader makes the job even easier and more effective.

For more information about circuit training and other fitness programs, contact Achieve Fitness today!