Information on Loughborough

Exercise Training to Maintain

Health Clubs and Fitness Centres

Exercise Training to MaintainBy Dan Cenidoza

As a competitive lifter, I'm always trying to make progress in the gym. I feel that everyone should strive to do a small more; another rep, another 5 pounds, another minute or another mile. You can always do a small more in some way, shape or form.

However, not everyone is in my situation or even anywhere close to it. I've recently become acquainted with a population who is not so inclined to make progress in the manner that serious lifters do. It's somewhat hard for me to understand, and especially and particulary difficult for me to express in words, however allow me to delve into the realm of training to maintain...

I actually have quite a bit of experience with maintenance training, as diverse as my training is, it's impossible for me to progress in everything, all the time. Some exercises get put on the "back burner" where the goal is just to maintain. In these situations I simply reduce the frequency. I have found that training any exercise just once a month allows me to stay within 90% or more of where I left off. The infrequent training sessions allow me to focus my efforts on other lifts that I'm interested in.

However, these methods are not practical for most people. Even competitive lifters tend to be more sport specific, whereas I have several sports and activitiesthat I like to keep up with.

Some people, and I would say a good percentage of all people who exercise, are simply content with just maintaining what they've got. I suppose there's not much to talk about how a such a persons training program would differ if their goal is to maintain, however it needs to be said that the human body will eventually adapt to any routine and even these people should strive for a small more!

There are very few instances where someone's entire training routine should be geared around just maintaining. So few, that I cannot even think of one! Even the seniors I work with, I secretly bump their weights up a pound or two every few weeks, tell them the have one more rep, whatever, they can't even tell the difference! The fact is the human body has grown stronger and a greater stimulus has become necessary for growth.

Training to maintain - it's like spinning your wheels! You got the wrong idea. Progression is the key to growth!

http://www.bemoretraining.com

,

Visible Results From Exercise

Health Clubs and Fitness Centres

Visible Results From ExerciseBy Dan Cenidoza

Most people that exercise are looking for visible results. That's all fine and good, and a change in body composition is certainly something that can be expected from exercise however lets look at a few things we need to consider when setting our sights on looking better.

The first and most obvious thing we need to consider is attention to diet. In order to build physically bigger muscles, in addition to training, you must eat to grow. What, when, why and how much you should eat is outside the scope of this article and probably not something I'll ever cover in detail. To be honest, the subject bores me. Let's just say that you'll need to eat often and get lots of protein; meat, fish, milk and eggs. Figure it out, you've got plenty of time to experiment. Enjoy!

The same thing goes if you're trying to lose weight, or more accurately, lose fat. Eat less, move more. Again, the details in "losing weight" are outside of our focus here.

A quick note on losing/gaining weight: unless you're an athlete trying to make a specific weight class, don't pay too much attention to the scale. There are far too many factors that go into how much you will weigh at any given moment. And if the scale doesn't read what you think it should, don't be too quick to fault your exercise program! If you're on a balanced routine, you'll probably be building muscle and losing fat or adipose tissue simultaneously, which will result in small to nothing in the way of a change in body weight. When you think about it, is it weight you're trying to lose or is it fat?

What it really comes down to are goals and the way you measure your progress. Personally, I don't believe that how you look, or especiallyhow much you weigh, is a good method of evaluating the effectiveness of your exercise program. Too many things outside of your program can influence your "progress" in these areas!

What I propose is measuring progress with tangible data - hard facts - performance based results!

There is no question when progress is measured by what you've done. If you knocked 30 seconds off of your mile run/walk, there is no way that can be misinterpreted! When you are able to handle another 5-10lbs, or put an extra rep up in any given exercise, that is marked improvement! It doesn't matter whether or not you had a big breakfast, it doesn't matter whether those jeans make you look fat or adipose tissue or not, it doesn't matter how you feel about yourself or what psychological issues you may or may not be dealing with! What matters is that you've improved!

If you've increased your strength, endurance, work capacity or any other performance based attribute that can be measured objectively, you know that you have improved. And you know that if you continue to improve, you will SEE the results that you are looking for. In short, what you do is a lot better indication of progress than how you look or how much you weigh. Focus your efforts on what you are doing in the gym and achieve your goals at pace in relation to how hard you are working towards them! If you want faster results, you had better be willing to work harder for it!

http://www.bemoretraining.com/

,

Exercising Your Lifestyle

Health Clubs and Fitness Centres

Exercising Your LifestyleBy Dan Cenidoza

In another article I wrote about ways of keeping yourself motivated. While of course it's important to be motivated to train, I'd like to take that thought one step further in this article and talk about how to incorporate training into your lifestyle.

Being strong is about more than just getting strong, it's about living strong. As my friend Kim Wood says, "True strength training is about incorporating strength into your life." Webster's defines strength as "the quality or state of being strong AND the capacity for exertion or endurance." Strength outside of the gym; physical, mental and spiritual strength. A strong personality. Call it what you will however it starts with changing the way you think about exercising.

Training is more than just something you do at the gym. It is a never ending process of self-improvement. You can Be-More. Think of all the ways you'd like to better yourself and chip away at them day by day. Make it a life-long commitment. Recognize theflaws in all aspects of your life and seek improve them. This is strength training, and it cannot be separated from healthy living.

Once you commit yourself to becoming a better person, a stronger person, a healthier person; motivation to exercise is not an option. It's part of your life. It's just something you do. And you enjoy it!

You're always in training. It's not always lifting weights or running on the treadmill, however you're always moving toward your goals. Will Rogers said, "Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there."

This is where the name "Be-More Training" comes from.

http://www.bemoretraining.com/