Answer Fitness®: Practical Fitness Advice for Everyone

Is Cardio Better Before or After Lifting Weights? | Ask The Fitness Nerd

When Is the Best Time To Perform Cardio: Before or After Lifting Weights? Or Does It Even Matter?

Dear Fitness Nerd,

Is it better to do cardio before or after you lift weights? I’ve been following your full body workout routine and love it, but I’d also like to slip in some cardio on top of the weight training. What are your thoughts? Should I lift weights before I do cardio? I’ve searched online and seem to get mixed opinions which is better. Any help would be appreciated. –  Andrew (Chapel Hill, NC)

Andrew, I get this question quite a bit. In fact, it’s probably one of the most frequently asked questions in the comments area on the Answer Fitness full body workout routine.

Whether it’s better to perform your cardio before or after lifting weights really depends on your current conditioning, stamina — and to a certain extent — your mindset. There are also some physiological  and scientific reasons you might preference weight lifting over cardio earlier in your workout — but even here you’ll find some disagreement among trainers, exercise physiologists and even bodybuilders.

Continue reading Is Cardio Better Before or After Lifting Weights? | Ask The Fitness Nerd…

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Interval Training (HIIT) | Get Leaner with Less Cardio?

Can Interval Training help you strip off body fat faster? Learn how adding High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) into your cardio routine can reap big rewards in strength, power and fat loss.

When most people think of cardio, they think of endless hours on a treadmill, elliptical machine, stair stepper or jogging. But unless you enjoy distance or long-duration cardio (for example, if you are training for a marathon or are a running enthusiast) , many gym-goers dread climbing on that hamster wheel each day in the hopes of burning off that 400 calories and maybe losing a little body fat along the way.

But what if there was a way to burn nearly the same amount of calories in 30 minutes that you do in 60 minutes, stimulate fat burning after your cardio is complete, boost your stamina and endurance, and actually increase lean muscle in the process?

There may be.

It’s called Interval Training — also known as “High Intensity Interval Training” or “HIIT“, for short — and it uses periods of high-intensity cardio coupled with lower-intensity recovery periods in succession to shave time off your cardio workout and possibly more fat off your midsection than long duration cardio. And even more promising, Interval Training seems to do a better job than long-duration cardio of preserving lean tissue (muscle) while still burning fat.

Interval Training: What Is It?

Simply put, Interval Training is a method of cardiovascular training that has you perform the same amount of total work that you would perform in a longer session of cardio, but in a much shorter period of time by increasing the intensity of your workout.  

Interval Training is considered an advanced form of training and is popular with everyone from elite Olympic and professional athletes to body builders, fitness enthusiasts and recreational runners.  While the technique is advanced, it can be successfully modified to work for beginners as well, provided you are in good health and are free of any cardiovascular disorders that could make the routine unsafe.

Interval Training relies on the principle of rest and recovery to allow your body to do more work in less time. By alternating higher-intensity activity with short rest and recovery periods, you are able to cumulatively do more work in less time. And more work translates into more calories burned in a 30 minute session of cardio than if you did the same duration of cardio at a lower intensity.

Examples of Interval Training

High Intensity Interval Training can be applied to nearly any cardiovascular activity, whether that’s walking, running, rollerblading or biking.

For example, if you are fit and regularly walk as part of your exercise routine, you might incorporate short periods (between 1-2 minutes) of jogging into your walk between lower-intensity periods of walking. If you are less fit, you might simply walk faster for a few minutes, allow yourself to recover and than repeat the higher intensity walking. If you are more highly conditioned, you might add in sprints to your daily run or treadmill work.

The Benefits of High Intensity Interval Training

High Intensity Interval Training has a number of benefits that make it an effective addition to your existing cardiovascular training. These benefits include:

• Burning more calories in less time
• Improved cardiovascular endurance
• Possible increases in whole body fat burning (fat oxidation) versus solid-state cardio
• Reduced risk of Metabolic Syndrome
• Decreased muscle catabolism/increases in lean muscle mass
• Improvements in arterial elasticity
• Reduced boredom with your current cardio routine

Let’s take a closer look at each of these potential benefits, including some of the research behind them.

Continue reading Interval Training (HIIT) | Get Leaner with Less Cardio?…

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Why Workout Routines for Toning Fail | Fitness Tips

If your fitness goal is to get a ‘toned body’, you’ve probably been doing all the wrong things with your workout routine. Learn what “toned” really means and how you can achieve it.

It’s almost impossible to pick up a fitness magazine and not find a reference to “toning your abs”, “toning your butt” or “toning your legs or thighs.”

But I’m going to let you in on one of the best kept secrets in fitness: There really is no such thing as “toning” or being “toned” — at least in the sense of what people normally associate with ”toned muscle” or a ”toned body.”  

There is a concept in anatomy and physiology called residual muscle contraction or tonus, but it refers to the continuous and partial contraction of a muscle to help stabilize posture and balance. It has nothing to do with the outward appearance of your body or whether you have tight glutes and washboard abs. You can be out of shape and struggle to climb a flight of stairs and still have muscle tonus.

So what’s the story? What is this “toning” that everyone is always talking about?

How the “Toned Body” Myth Got Started

At some point years ago, fitness writers, personal trainers and people who really ought to know better started using the term “toned” to describe individuals with high muscle mass to low body fat ratios. Instead of saying that an athlete, fitness model or highly-in-shape person was “lean and muscular” they started saying the person was “toned.”

Why this happened isn’t exactly clear. My theory is that the words “muscle” and “muscular” are scary and intimidating for some people, especially to many women who have been conditioned to run as fast as they can from the dreaded “M-Word.” The seemingly endless stream of articles online and in major fitness magazines instructing women how not to ”bulk up” and avoid become “muscular” via workout routines for “toning” is a major contributor to this myth.

So fitness writers and trainers started to use “toned” as a way of describing being muscular, without actually saying the word “muscular.” It seemed innocent enough, and it allowed them to not have to get into big, long, involved and uncomfortable discussions with their clients about why they should top obsessing on becoming too “bulky.”

You Can’t Diet or Treadmill Your Way to “Toned”

The problem is, to get a body that fits most people’s definition of “toned”, you have to weight train. And you generally have to go heavy. And you need to put on muscle mass. And you’ll have to drop your body fat ratio.  That’s the secret. Those four things. And it doesn’t matter whether you are a male or a female. It applies equally regardless of gender.

This may seem like an issue of semantics and a little thing, but it’s not. The problem is that “toned” has become a euphemism for “lean and muscular”, yet most people don’t realize that. They think “toned” is something you achieve by dieting, doing endless bouts of cardio and maybe occasionally doing some pilates or high-rep, low-weight resistance training.

So by obscuring what “toning” really means, we’ve doomed all kinds of people to pursuing toning workout routines that will likely never allow them to achieve their fitness, physique or body-shaping goals. They’ll continue to avoid any kind of serious weight training, go too light on the resistance, focus on high reps that only improve muscle endurance (not size or shape),  put way too much time and attention on ”functional” exercises and try to stair-step their way to a “toned” body.

And when it doesn’t work, they’ll go seek out the newest “30 Minute Body Toning Workout” and get right back on the hamster wheel again, only to be frustrated in three weeks when nothing has changed.  Maybe that’s how you sell fitness magazines and personal training sessions, but I’d prefer to think we’re in the business of helping people succeed, not just pushing services or content.

There’s A Whole ‘Lotta Toning Going On

So how pervasive is this term or concept of “toning?”

It’s probably one of the most frequently asked questions in the Diet and Fitness section of Yahoo Answers — especially among women (although I do see some men using it.) Typically, it will come in the form of a question like: “How can I get toned without becoming bulky?” or “Does anyone have any toning exercises that won’t make me put on muscle.”

Of course, if they hadn’t been sold the “myth of toning” and understood exactly what that term really meant, their questions would be absurd.

Continue reading Why Workout Routines for Toning Fail | Fitness Tips…

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Planet Fitness Gym Review | Gym & Health Club Reviews

The Planet Fitness Health Club Chain Promises a Less Intimidating Gym Experience, But Do They Deliver? And At What Cost?

Gym/Health Club: Planet Fitness
Location Reviewed: Northville, MI
Hours: Varies by location; many locations 24 hours

Ratings (1-4 Scale: 1= poor, 2= fair, 3= good, 4= excellent)

Cleanliness: 3
Weight Training Equipment: 2
Cardio Equipment: 3
Fitness Knowledge of Staff: 1
Amenities: 1
Overall Facility: 3
Price/Value: 3
Overall Rating: 2.2

Planet Fitness Review

First, let’s be honest: gyms and health clubs can be intimidating places, especially for a beginner.  If you are overweight, out of shape and trying to live a more active and healthy lifestyle, being surrounded by really in-shape people can either be an inspiration or incredibly demotivating.

And because everyone’s goals are different, most gyms will attractive a diverse group of people, from hardcore bodybuilders, to power lifters to soccer moms and teenagers. This of course varies tremendously from gym-to-gym, but in general, gyms are a microcosms of the rest of society. And like the rest of society, we have to live with each other and get along. Period.

Gyms can also be a magnet for all kinds of stupid and annoying behavior, from high school kids loitering around the bench press and flexing in the mirror, to middle-aged “bodybuilders” in striped clown pants grunting loudly with weights that don’t really warrant that level of exertion, to rude patrons who needlessly bang weights around or leave their equipment strewn across the floor behind them after each exercise like a Tsunami of sweat, testosterone and ripped Gold’s Gym shirts.

So when Planet Fitness says it wants to change that and make gyms a little less intimidating for average people, the fitness populist in me says “it’s about time.”

Continue reading Planet Fitness Gym Review | Gym & Health Club Reviews…

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

How Often Should I Workout? | Fitness Tips

Workout frequency is highly individual. Learn how to find your perfect schedule and avoid over training.

How often you should work out is really a matter of your current fitness level, the types of exercises you are performing, the intensity of your workouts, and how much time you actually have available to spend in the gym.

Current Fitness Level

Your current fitness level is one of the primary factors used to determine workout frequency.

Beginners will typically need more recovery time between workouts than more advanced trainees, bodybuilders or well-conditioned athletes or runners.  Nearly everyone has experienced one of those workouts where you “over did” it and couldn’t move for three days. While this can happen at all levels of fitness, it’s more common among beginners who are still gauging their strength, stamina and recovery ability.

The body also makes certain adaptations with training over time that may shorten the required recovery time. So while some people can go heavy in the gym every day, others may need to take a break every-other-day.  

As a general rule of thumb, a good training frequency for someone who is new to the gym, or returning after a lengthy break, is three resistance workouts a week lasting between 45 and 60 minutes. This will allow you to work each major muscle group with at least one exercise and give yourself 48 hours for recovery between workouts.

This full-body workout is ideal because it helps build a solid foundation for later, more advanced training; encourages overall core development; discourages the development of muscle imbalances that can accompany “split routines”; and may burn more calories after training.

And by the way, this is actually also an excellent workout for an advanced trainee. The difference is they will work with heavier weights and may do more total sets for each exercise than a person who is less-experienced in the gym.

Continue reading How Often Should I Workout? | Fitness Tips…

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

How to Choose A Gym That’s Right For You

Ask yourself these nine questions to make sure you’re choosing the perfect gym … before you sign the contract.

Whether you are looking to get in-shape and choosing a gym or fitness club for the first time or have a current gym membership and are looking to make a change, finding the right place to work out can be a confusing and intimidating process, especially for beginners.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. 

The International Health Racquet & Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) estimates that in 2006 there were 29,000 commercial fitness centers in America. If you live in a major metropolitan area, you can expect to find between 10-25 fitness centers competing for your membership. In smaller towns, your choices may be more limited, but between local rec centers, nearby colleges, the YMCA and commercial gyms, it’s easier than ever to have access to a gym, regardless of your location.

So with so many options, how do can you be sure you’re making the right choice?

Continue reading How to Choose A Gym That’s Right For You…

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!