issue 28 fitness pages · 28 MENOPAUSE MATTERS 2012 Welcome to Fitness Mat-ters. Iʼm now turning...
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Fitnessmatters 28 MENOPAUSE MATTERS 2012 W elcome to Fitness Mat- ters. Iʼm now turning my attention to cardio- vascular training, or “cardio” as itʼs commonly known. Women love cardio training and in our quest for weight loss, fat loss, fitness and the feel good fac- tor, thousands of us take part in aerobics and dance fitness classes. Women in their 40s and 50s will remember Jane Fondaʼs Workout videos, itʼs a natural choice. This type of cardio training tends to be of long duration (45-60 minutes at least) and low-moderate intensity (60%- 80% of maximum heart rate, depending on fitness level). Iʼve known women who spend up to three hours a day in the gym on the treadmill, cross trainer and recumbent bike in an attempt to lose weight. But is this really the best way to banish body fat and get great results? The scientific evidence suggests not. Even worse, boredom starts to set in and the risk of injury increases. While weight loss may occur in the early stages of such a training plan, it will quickly plateau. When this happens, frustration sets in and even more cardio work is under- taken. Sadly, this strategy is doomed to fail, as excessive amounts of long, slow cardio will ultimately lead to loss of lean muscle tissue and body fat gain. This is not the desired outcome for women undergo- ing menopausal transition who are struggling with changing body shapes and increases in body fat. And in an era when most of us are juggling the de- mands of work and family and time is at a premium, there must be another way. So whatʼs the solution? High intensity interval training (HIIT). Previously the preserve of ath- letes, this training technique has filtered down to main- stream fitness and given rise to a new of breed of “metabolic” workouts. HIIT takes many guises, from sprinting and skip- ping to plyometric drills involv- ing jumping and hopping, the principles remain the same. HIIT workouts comprise a series of work and rest or recovery intervals. A short, intense burst of activity is fol- lowed by an active recovery period and the sequence repeated several times. The beauty of HIIT is that the ratio of work to rest intervals can be “tweaked” to suit participants of varying fitness levels and pro- gressed as fitness improves. For example, 20:60s, 30:60s, 30:30s. This is in stark contrast to traditional cardio training where most women simply in- crease the duration of their workouts with little regard for intensity. With HIIT, less is defi- nitely more and you can get a fantastic workout in as little as 10 minutes. But how can such a short workout burn more calories than 45 minutes on the tread- mill? The secret lies in the “af- terburn effect” in which our metabolism is higher for many hours post-workout, as our bodies recover from the in- tense exercise bout. For exam- ple, a 10k moderate intensity run may yield an afterburn ef- fect for eight hours, compared to at least 24 hours after a shorter sprint session. As well as supercharging your cardio fitness levels, HIIT is also a great way to boost bone den- sity, even in post-menopausal women and can help reduce the risks of osteopenia and osteoporosis in later life. Iʼve devised a simple workout for you using three-dimen- sional jump squats. Here is the protocol: Jump forward x 2 then back x In this issue our women’s fitness specialist, Kathleen Stewart guides us through a series of cutting edge cardio workouts 1 3 The secret’s in the afterburn NEXT ISSUE Modern mind body fitness (balance, co-ordination, conditioning). MENOPAUSE MATTERS 2012 29 2, returning to start position. Jump wide, feet turned out then jump back to start, bring- ing feet together. Jump right and make a quar- ter turn (90 degrees), return to start. Repeat to left. Repeat 3 – 5 times, depend- ing on the work and recovery intervals chosen. You must give each work interval 100% effort for maximum effect. HIIT is not easy and youʼll feel out of breath at the end of each work interval. During recovery intervals, march on the spot or walk around the room, or even try some basic “aerobics” moves like step touch or grapevine. Experiment with the work and recovery intervals I mentioned earlier and tweak according to your fitness level. Once you get used to HIIT you must, like any training pro- gramme, progress the workout. There are two ways to do this: increase the work interval or decrease the recovery interval but not at the same time. Gradual progression is key. You can download my free Warm up and Cool down video from www.katsfitness.co.uk If you enjoyed this workout and want to try some different HIIT formats, my Bodyshock work- outs can be downloaded and done at home. 2
Transcript of issue 28 fitness pages · 28 MENOPAUSE MATTERS 2012 Welcome to Fitness Mat-ters. Iʼm now turning...
Fitnessmatters
28 MENOPAUSE MATTERS 2012
Welcome to Fitness Mat-ters. Iʼm now turningmy attention to cardio-
vascular training, or “cardio” asitʼs commonly known. Womenlove cardio training and in ourquest for weight loss, fat loss,fitness and the feel good fac-tor, thousands of us take partin aerobics and dance fitnessclasses. Women in their 40sand 50s will remember JaneFondaʼs Workout videos, itʼs anatural choice. This type of cardio training
tends to be of long duration(45-60 minutes at least) andlow-moderate intensity (60%-80% of maximum heart rate,depending on fitness level).Iʼve known women who spendup to three hours a day in thegym on the treadmill, crosstrainer and recumbent bike inan attempt to lose weight. But is this really the best wayto banish body fat and getgreat results? The scientific evidence suggests not. Evenworse, boredom starts to set inand the risk of injury increases.While weight loss may occurin the early stages of such atraining plan, it will quicklyplateau. When this happens,frustration sets in and evenmore cardio work is under-taken. Sadly, this strategy isdoomed to fail, as excessiveamounts of long, slow cardiowill ultimately lead to loss oflean muscle tissue and bodyfat gain. This is not the desiredoutcome for women undergo-ing menopausal transition whoare struggling with changing
body shapes and increases inbody fat. And in an era whenmost of us are juggling the de-mands of work and family andtime is at a premium, theremust be another way.So whatʼs the solution? Highintensity interval training (HIIT).Previously the preserve of ath-letes, this training techniquehas filtered down to main-stream fitness and given rise toa new of breed of “metabolic”workouts. HIIT takes manyguises, from sprinting and skip-ping to plyometric drills involv-ing jumping and hopping, theprinciples remain the same. HIIT workouts comprise a series of work and rest or recovery intervals. A short, intense burst of activity is fol-lowed by an active recoveryperiod and the sequence repeated several times. Thebeauty of HIIT is that the ratioof work to rest intervals can be“tweaked” to suit participants ofvarying fitness levels and pro-gressed as fitness improves.For example, 20:60s, 30:60s,30:30s. This is in stark contrastto traditional cardio trainingwhere most women simply in-crease the duration of theirworkouts with little regard forintensity. With HIIT, less is defi-nitely more and you can get afantastic workout in as little as10 minutes.But how can such a shortworkout burn more caloriesthan 45 minutes on the tread-mill? The secret lies in the “af-terburn effect” in which ourmetabolism is higher for many
hours post-workout, as ourbodies recover from the in-tense exercise bout. For exam-ple, a 10k moderate intensityrun may yield an afterburn ef-fect for eight hours, comparedto at least 24 hours after ashorter sprint session. As wellas supercharging your cardiofitness levels, HIIT is also a
great way to boost bone den-sity, even in post-menopausalwomen and can help reducethe risks of osteopenia and osteoporosis in later life. Iʼve devised a simple workoutfor you using three-dimen-sional jump squats. Here is theprotocol:Jump forward x 2 then back x
In this issue ourwomen’s fitness
specialist, Kathleen Stewart
guides usthrough a seriesof cutting edge
cardio workouts
1
3
The secret’s in theafterburn
NEXT ISSUEModern mind body
fitness (balance,
co-ordination,
conditioning).
MENOPAUSE MATTERS 2012 29
2, returning to start position.Jump wide, feet turned out
then jump back to start, bring-ing feet together.Jump right and make a quar-
ter turn (90 degrees), return tostart. Repeat to left.Repeat 3 – 5 times, depend-
ing on the work and recoveryintervals chosen. You must
give each work interval 100%effort for maximum effect. HIITis not easy and youʼll feel outof breath at the end of eachwork interval. During recoveryintervals, march on the spot orwalk around the room, or eventry some basic “aerobics”moves like step touch orgrapevine. Experiment with thework and recovery intervals Imentioned earlier and tweakaccording to your fitness level. Once you get used to HIIT
you must, like any training pro-gramme, progress the workout.There are two ways to do this:increase the work interval ordecrease the recovery intervalbut not at the same time.Gradual progression is key.You can download my free
Warm up and Cool down videofrom www.katsfitness.co.uk Ifyou enjoyed this workout andwant to try some different HIITformats, my Bodyshock work-outs can be downloaded anddone at home.
2
