Mindset

The Benefits Of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

The Benefits Of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

If you aren’t already doing high intensity interval training—HIIT, you should be. There are many benefits you can’t get from a steady-state workout. HIIT workouts aren’t a specific exercise, but a way of doing any exercise. Unlike steady-state workouts where you use the same intensity throughout, you alternate the intensity of a HIIT workout between peak intensity and a recovery pace. If you run, for example, run at top speed for a short period, then slow to a recovery pace for the same amount of time or longer.

You’ll burn tons of calories in less time.

When you’re exercising at peak intensity, you burn a lot more calories than you do at a steady-state pace. One study followed several exercises, including those performed in HIIT mode. They found that HIIT workouts burned up to 30% more calories in the half-hour session. If you’re short on time, a HIIT workout provides the same calorie-burning benefits as a longer exercise session.

The calories you burn during a HIIT workout come mainly from fat.

One study found that HIIT workouts and moderate steady-state workouts both burn fat, minimizing waist circumference and reducing overall body fat, but HIIT workouts were more effective and did it with less exercise time invested. HIIT workouts also increase your metabolism for hours to keep the calorie-burning fires going. Compared to other types of exercise, you’ll burn more calories after the workout. It’s the high intensity that causes the increase in metabolic rate.

HIIT workouts can improve your health markers.

You’ll lower your blood pressure, heart rate, and blood sugar levels. One study showed that 8 weeks of HIIT workouts done 3 times a week for 20 minutes reduced blood pressure and heart rate as much as a half hour a day 4 days a week of steady-state moderate exercising. HIIT workouts were also found beneficial for lowering blood glucose levels and reducing insulin resistance, a precursor for diabetes.

  • HIIT workouts can improve oxygen consumption. HIIT workouts provide the same benefits as much longer sessions of steady-state exercises. All studies show shorter sessions of HIIT improve oxygen consumption as much as longer sessions of moderate exercise.
  • Both anaerobic and aerobic performance improves with HIIT workouts. Just a few HIIT sessions throughout the week. Aerobic performance is traditionally cardio, while anaerobic refers to strength-building workouts.
  • HIIT workouts can boost muscle building. No matter what type of workout you do, HIIT can help build muscles. It’s more effective if used with strength training.
  • HIIT workouts can offer variety and be a backup when you don’t have much time. Since it’s high intensity, you can’t do it every day. On alternate days use recovery exercises like walking or swimming.

For more information, contact us today at Revolution Training


The Importance Of Rest Days

The Importance Of Rest Days

People who first start working out want to hit the gym every day. It’s a common mistake. They put in grueling workouts daily but fail to see the progress they want. What’s missing? It’s rest days. Your body needs a day or two of rest, especially between intense exercise sessions. When you do an intense strength-building workout, it causes tiny microtears in the muscles. It takes a day or two to heal. After the tears heal, the muscles are bigger and stronger. If you don’t give your muscles rest and recovery time, you do your body a disservice. Your progress will never match your goals.

Rest days are recovery days.

Just because it’s a rest day, it doesn’t mean you’ll lounge on the couch. Even if your muscles are sore, getting up and walking or doing light exercise is beneficial. If you lift weights and have a rigorous whole-body session, focus on light exercises like swimming. You’ll boost your circulation to help improve recovery and remove the lactic acid build-up. Have fun with the kids and play games to make rest day family day.

Skip a lot of rest days by alternating muscle groups.

You don’t have to wait 48-72 hours to do strength training, just make sure you focus on different muscle groups. You can increase the intensity because you’ll rest those muscles and work on different muscle groups the next day. It still helps to take a rest day twice a week to let your body rest. You can alternate days of strength building, flexibility training, and aerobic training to boost recovery. Let your body have a complete rest once a week.

Taking one day away from exercise increases your focus and prevents injury when you exercise.

You’d fry your brain in a month if you spent seven days a week at your desk doing calculations. The same thing happens when you overexercise and push it to the limit seven days a week. It not only helps maintain proper form, but it also helps maintain focus so you limit the risk of injury.

  • You won’t lose ground by taking a rest day. It takes two weeks of being idle to have any noticeable change in your progress. A day away allows you to come back to the gym refreshed.
  • Too much training can affect your immune system. Even though exercise burns off stress hormones, it also creates stress that decreases your immunity. If you’re fatigued it can be just as bad as not working out at all.
  • Fitness and healthy habits involve more than a healthy menu and working out. Getting together with friends, helping others, and people-centric activities are healthy activities. People who socialize live longer than those who don’t.
  • Burnout is a real problem for people pushing too hard to get fit. It’s both mental and physical. Including rest days in your schedule can help prevent it.

For more information, contact us today at Revolution Training


Make Your Fitness Goals Come True In 2024

Make Your Fitness Goals Come True In 2024

Everywhere you look in Stamford, CT, you see decorations, celebrations, and good cheer. It’s that time of year for it. All that merriment makes it hard to think about fitness goals for 2024, but it’s the best time to set them and find ways to help make them come true. Having a plan of action makes success easier. Start by setting definable goals. Don’t just say I want to get fitter. Precision counts in the gym and making goals. If weight loss is your goal, state the exact amount you want to lose. If you want to boost your endurance, identify how you’ll know you’re improved.

Create a plan using your goals.

Creating a weight loss plan is a bit easier than other fitness goals. You have a precise number of pounds to lose. All you have to decide is how many pounds a week is possible. You need to increase your calorie deficit by 3500 calories to lose one pound. To do that, you have to increase your activity level and decrease your calorie intake. Most people choose to lose one to two pounds each week. Once you set your weekly goal, identify the number of weeks it will take to reach your weight goal.

Identify the best time to work out each day.

Consistency counts when you work out. That’s why scheduling your workout at the same time every day helps you achieve your goals. Working out becomes a habit. It feels uncomfortable not to work out at that time. You don’t have to go to the gym every day at that time. Some of your exercises can be walks or playing basketball with the kids.

Plan your meals and learn to judge portion size.

If you do meal planning, you create a week’s worth of meals one day, shop for ingredients another day, and cook when you have a full day at home, usually on the weekend. It’s easier than it sounds. You’re using the oven to cook several meals and many of the ingredients for several meals. You might buy a whole chicken and have baked chicken breast one day and chicken salad for another day. Use vegetables for side dishes, snacks with a dip, and in Buddha bowls or soups. Pack each meal away in portion sizes. During the week, just heat and serve.

  • You may think burning the candle at both ends helps you get everything done, but you’ll be more efficient and less hungry when you get adequate sleep. Lack of sleep increases the hunger hormone and decreases the hormone that makes you feel full.
  • When working out, start slower and focus on form. Using the correct form helps prevent injury and maximizes the benefits. Don’t overtrain, especially during the first few weeks.
  • Don’t be judgmental. If you overeat one day, start again the next. Don’t miss out on special occasions. Have a small slice of birthday cake or other occasional treat without feeling shame.
  • Track your exercise program. Focus on the number of reps and sets. If the exercise becomes easy, take it up a notch with more weight or repetitions.

For more information, contact us today at Revolution Training


Best Stretches To Do Before Working Out

Best Stretches To Do Before Working Out

Why should you do stretches before working out? Stretching improves your muscles’ range of motion and can help prevent injury. Many people use stretching as a warm-up and a cool-down, but they use different stretches. Before a workout, you use stretches and movements that mimic your workout to get the muscles gently warmed and ready for the strenuous workout. There are several types of stretches. Dynamic stretches move your body similar to the exercise you’ll do. It is a pre-workout stretch. Static stretching, like toe touching, is a post-workout stretch while your muscles are warm and flexible.

The easiest stretch to warm the muscles for a run is a lunge walk.

Lunge walking is one method of stretching and warming muscles for a run. You clap your hands in front with arms extended, then swing them backward or shake them as you lunge walk. Just walking may be enough stretching to warm the muscles. You can twist at the waist with extended arms, moving your upper body from side to side. Stand with your feet wide. Extend your arms and fingers to the side. Bend your body to one side. When the fingers on that side point to the ground and the other fingers point straight in the air, straighten your body and bend to the other side.

If you’re about to do a full-body workout, you need full-body stretching.

You need to work all areas of your body when a full-body workout is on the schedule. Combine two warm-up stretches by riding a stationary bike while making arm circles. You don’t have to win any races, so don’t pedal at top speed. Just go slowly and build intensity as you go. The arm circles stretch the upper body, and the pedaling stretches and warms the lower body. After a few minutes, reverse the direction of your arm circles.

Yoga poses can help you get ready for a workout.

Improving blood flow to the muscles, preparing the heart for the upcoming effort, and improving your range of motion are all benefits of pre-workout stretches. Yoga poses can provide those things. A few excellent poses include cat-cow, donkey kick, child’s pose, downward dog into a runner’s lunge, and bird-dog crunch. You can do them all one after another or just choose a few for a warm-up.

  • Bodyweight squats can warm your hips, quads, abs, glutes, calves, and hamstrings. Not only do squats warm the muscles, but they also prepare your nervous system for a workout.
  • An inchworm is perfect for starting a warm-up. Bend, placing your hands on the floor, and walk them forward until your body is in a push-up position. Do a push-up, then walk your hands back until you’re upright.
  • If you’re doing lower body exercises by walking, mix it up by lifting your feet as high as possible. Try to press your thighs to your chest. After a minute, switch to butt kicks during your walk.
  • Jumping jacks and jumping rope are good warm-ups. If you have joint issues, instead of jumping during jumping jacks, just step to the side as you clap your hands overhead.

For more information, contact us today at Revolution Training


How Hormones Affect Health And Behavior

How Hormones Affect Health And Behavior

At Revolution Training in Stamford, CT, most clients only worry about hormones concerning muscle gain or weight loss, but they impact health and behavior, too. Hormones are messengers. Some hormones tell your brain you’re full and others tell your brain you’re hungry. Stress hormones affect a wide variety of functions and if not addressed, can cause damage to the body. The endorphins released during physical exercise can make you feel happy and comfortable. Hormones do more than affect mood. Some are involved in mental health conditions.

Hormones aren’t good or bad. They’re just messengers.

The body has many hormones, which includes the sex hormones, stress hormones, and the infamous happy hormones you get from exercising. Each one performs a specific task. Some have an antagonistic hormone, one that does the opposite function. Insulin, for instance, reduces blood glucose levels, while glucagon increases blood sugar to prevent hypoglycemia. Since both control blood sugar for every cell, an imbalance affects the whole body. Hypoglycemia from too little glucagon can cause emotional changes and mood swings that range from anxiousness to unexplained outbursts of anger. If blood sugar levels are chronically low, it can lead to depression, memory loss, and a short attention span.

HGH—human growth hormone—is released in controlled pulses.

Sometimes hormones cause the release of hormones that control the body. Two antagonistic hormones are responsible for releasing HGH. The hypothalamus releases growth hormone-releasing hormone—GHRH to trigger the release of HGH and somatostatin to inhibit it. HGH affects children’s growth patterns. It impacts fat and sugar metabolism, affects body fluids, regulates body composition, bone growth, and heart function. Some people believe HGH is the fountain of youth. They may get injections of HGH. Abuse of HGH can lead to hallucinations, psychosis, paranoia, and physical harm.

Sex hormones perform other tasks that affect your behavior and health.

Testosterone is in both male and female bodies and performs tasks not related to sexuality. While the location of fat deposits, muscle size, and body hair growth are gender-related, women need testosterone for ovarian function, bone strength, and sexual drive. If your body is low in testosterone, depression, anxiety, and a low sex drive can occur. However, high testosterone levels in both men and women can lead to irritability, anxiety, and depression. Too much can cause acne, blood pressure changes, slurred speech, difficulty breathing, heart attack, sleep apnea, and other conditions.

  • Oxytocin is called the love hormone. Hugging increases oxytocin levels. Its primary purpose is stimulating uterine contractions. It may play a role in anxiety, anorexia, autism, depression, PTSD, and addiction.
  • Norepinephrine functions as a stress hormone and neurotransmitter. It constricts blood vessels and raises blood pressure. Antagonistic hormones prostaglandins, acetylcholine, and histamine are vasodilators, making them wider and lowering blood pressure.
  • Motilin is a gastrointestinal hormone that helps move food from the small intestines to the large intestines. The body releases it during fasting periods. The levels depend on what you eat. A diet high in sugary foods or fat decreases it.
  • Melatonin can help you go to sleep. It works in total darkness and is an antioxidant. It helps counteract the effects of stress. Low levels are linked to obesity, cancer, and diabetes.

For more information, contact us today at Revolution Training


Exercises You Should Start Doing Regularly

Exercises You Should Start Doing Regularly

Regular exercise can help optimize health. You should do some form of exercise daily, even if it’s just going for a walk. There are so many different exercises, it’s hard to decide which ones to do. Our trainers can help you, but if you’re working out on your own, here are some exercises you should start doing regularly. To get an adequate workout, you need to add other exercises to your workout, so these are just a baseline to follow.

Work the large muscles of your body to boost your nitric oxide.

Nitric oxide relaxes the blood vessels, which lowers your blood pressure. You can increase it in your body with exercise, particularly from large muscle groups. Squats and lunges work large muscles. Squats also improve core and lower body strength, while building flexibility in the hips. Lunges help improve your balance and improve glute and leg muscles. Both burn tons of calories.

Do planks, push-ups, or both.

Push-ups are planks in motion, and also a lot harder to do since you’re slowly lowering and lifting your body, using both push and pull actions. Both push-ups and planks help build core muscles, particularly abdominal muscles. They both strengthen the entire body. Planks don’t put stress on the back but do help increase core muscle strength. You can modify both planks and push-ups to make them more suitable for your fitness level, such as bent knee push-ups or forearm planks.

Do a bridge or thoracic rotation to loosen your back and prevent future back issues.

The bridge helps build core muscles and doing them regularly can help prevent back pain and tighten your tummy. Thoracic rotations are stretches and also good exercises to help relax and strengthen muscles in the back, but focus more on the upper back. Both can help counter the effect that slouching has on your posture by stretching the muscles that have been trained to remain in a permanent slump through years of sitting and bad posture.

  • A stretch that will make everyone feel good is the knee or knees-to-chest exercise. Lay on your back with your knees bent and feet on the mat. Pull one or both knees to your chest by interlacing fingers around the lower leg or legs and pulling it toward you.
  • A wall slide will help your posture, which helps relieve the pain that comes from sitting too long slumped over. Stand against a wall with your hips and shoulders touching. Raise your arms in a V and then slowly lower them to a goal post without lifting your back off the wall.
  • Walking is a good type of exercise to do every day and it doesn’t require special equipment or much planning. You have to have good posture for it to be the most effective and can find easy ways to add to the amount of time you walk every day.
  • A four-minute nitric oxide dump combines four exercises performed ten times each per set, squats, alternating arm raises, non-jumping jumping jacks, and military presses. Do three sets of each three or four times throughout the day.

For more information, contact us today at Revolution Training


Why You Should Put Yourself First This Year

Why You Should Put Yourself First This Year

Why is it important to put yourself first when it comes to fitness? If you’re not healthy, nobody will be there to do the important things you do for others. Taking care of your health is similar to putting on your oxygen mask before you attend to children. It helps you stay alert so you can ensure they get the mask fitted properly onto the child. Also, if you put the child’s mask on first, he or she can’t fit your mask on you if you pass out. Self-care isn’t being selfish. You have to do it for yourself since nobody else can do it for you.

While thinking of others first is considered noble, you deserve the same respect.

If you don’t value yourself, who will value you? People take a cue from you on how to treat you. If you’re last on the list of importance, others will also treat you that way. When you take care of your needs, you not only show the world you’re important, too, you also have a more even temperament. Feeling good about yourself allows you to feel good about others and help put an end to moody days.

You’ll prevent burdening others with your illness.

If you’re overworked, stressed out, and out of shape, it’s a perfect scenario for illness. When you’re sick, it can affect the lives of others. There’s nobody to take care of them and often they become responsible for taking care of you. If you truly care about the people you love, you’ll take care of your emotional and physical needs. Doing that ensures you have the good health, mindset and energy to be the best partner, mother or friend you can be.

Lack of self-care can lead to making mistakes.

Everyone has had brain drain at one time or another. It often happens when you’re not getting enough sleep and running on empty. Self-care includes not only eating healthily and getting exercise, but also getting adequate sleep. When you exercise, you boost your mental clarity, increase your energy and even sleep sounder. It can help you improve your overall performance, get things done faster and in a safer, more accurate manner.

  • Take time first to take care of yourself, even if you have a busy schedule. As with your auto, it’s better to do the maintenance work for a short time every day, than to spend hours at the doctor’s doing repairs.
  • When you’re mentally and physically exhausted, your outlook on life suffers. Be the best you possible, which means be your happiest self. You can’t do that unless you’re healthy and fit. It will make every day better.
  • Being fit can help you finish the day with energy to spare. It makes you a better partner, friend and parent. When you have energy, you’ll be more apt to have a smile on your face and do more for your family and friends.
  • You don’t have to spend a lot of money on making yourself first. Just carve out a time every day to workout and do something for yourself. Make that time an appointment with your future happiness.

For more information, contact us today at Revolution Training


Why Your Weight Doesn't Really Matter?

Why Your Weight Doesn’t Really Matter?

Your weight isn’t the only way to measure your progress. It often doesn’t matter, especially if you’re building muscles. At Revolution Training in Stamford, CT we focus on a well-rounded program that helps you build muscle, lose fat and become the best you can be. If you rely too heavily on the scales and weigh in several times a day, you may become discouraged. Weight fluctuates daily. It doesn’t steadily drop but drops and rises, having bigger dips and lower highs as you progress. Many things can affect weight loss, even when you’re making progress.

Are you building more muscles and burning fat?

When you build muscle tissue, you might not see the weight loss you’d have if you were just dieting. Muscle tissue weighs more per cubic inch than fat tissue does, so the more you have, the heavier you’ll be. However, if you build muscle, but don’t shed a pound, you’ll also look thinner. You could compare fat tissue to feathers and muscle tissue to iron. The container holding a pound of feathers will be bigger than the one holding iron. Tracking your measurements can help prevent discouragement.

Changes don’t occur overnight and your memory blurs.

If you could see changes in just a few days from living a healthier lifestyle, everyone would do it. It would be motivating. Unfortunately, they don’t happen quickly and people often forget how they looked when they started. If you want to stay motivated, you can create your album of success by snapping a few pictures. You’ll need a full-length mirror or someone to help you. Stand at the same spot each time and wear the same clothing that reveals your body shape. Every two weeks to a month take a picture. You’ll be able to see a dramatic difference after a few months.

Your belly tells its own story.

If part of your fitness problem is belly fat, tracking your waist measurements will help you get a better idea of the progress you’re making. Belly fat is visceral fat, which crowds your organs. Not only is it the most dangerous, but it’s also the hardest to lose. If you take no other measurements, your waist circumference will give you a good idea of your progress.

  • Identify your reason for starting a fitness program and use that to measure your progress. For instance, if high blood pressure or health issues made you start, track your blood pressure.
  • Keep an eye on your productivity and your energy level. Are you getting more done in less time? When you’re fit, you not only move quicker, you have more mental clarity. Whether physical or mental, you’ll get tasks done better and quicker.
  • Can you pinch an inch of fat? Skinfold calipers are a way to judge the amount of subcutaneous fat. That’s the fat just below the skin. Measure the area on the hip bone, the triceps, the abdomen and the thighs.
  • Use clothing to measure progress. When you first start, find a piece of clothing that fits way too tight, like a pair of jeans. Use it to measure your progress. When they fit comfortably, not too tight, you’ve reached one goal.

For more information, contact us today at Revolution Training


Training Ideas To Get Fit Through The Winter

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