Posted on January 21st, 2009 | Comments (0)
Every year around this time I sit down and look back at the fitness and strength and conditioning industries as a whole and evaluate the progress (or lack thereof) in terms of our societies huge obesity problem, as well as the significance of any performance based advances that would or should help provide greater results.
The sad thing to me is that it seems like every year there are more and more fitness centers popping up, yet American adults keep getting fatter, more lethargic, and less healthy. At the same time our youth population is no better. If you keep up with this blog then you know that it has been proven that over 30% of our youth population is considered obese!
These are alarming facts, and every year around this time I sit back and not only look back at how the fitness industry as a whole has failed, I also look at some positive trends that the year ahead of us has in store. On a positive note, I see some growing fitness trends that I believe 2009 may provide. There may be some long term answers to solve our ever growing obesity epidemic.
Here is what I see;
Fitness Boot Camps are on the Will Rise, while One-On-One Personal Training drops off
You’d have to be living on another planet to not be aware of the fact that we are in the midst of the biggest economic recession since The Great Depression. They’re saying things will bounce back, but it will definitely get worse before it gets better. With that said people simply won’t have the extra cash to spend on high cost personal trainers.
Instead, there may be a new lower cost option for those seeking professional help;
Fitness boot camps!!!
Boot camps are probably the hottest thing in the fitness game right now. They offer all the benefits of an over priced personal trainer, plus the group atmosphere is great for social support and accountability. And lets not forget that it’s for an extremely lower cost.
- It’s finally catching on – The cardio queens and fat loss addicts will do more Interval Training.
I have been working out for a long time and when I have wanted to cut weight, lean out, and lose fat I knew that it was almost a necessity to do cardio. However, it wasn’t the traditional go out and do aerobics. Or go run 5 miles. What I did was high-Intensity Interval Training. It is simply the fastest and most effective way to burn fat. If you kow me then you’ll know that I have been preaching this for years. High intensity interval training is finally rapidly gaining popularity as the best form of improving both fitness and fat loss. With the growing popularity I truly think that in 2009 we will see more people doing sprints and less people doing marathons to lose weight. However, make no mistake about it, lots of people are still going to do hours of snail-paced cardio to burn fat.
So to clear things up here are some facts;
First what is Aerobic Training?
Aerobic or endurance training is essentially going at a slow, low intensity pace for a long period of time (typically at least 30-60 minutes). Think about all those speed limpers you see every New Year foolishly running for hours pounding the pavement or treadmill to get rid of that winter blubber. Now I’m not saying you ‘t lose fat this way, I’m just saying that there is a faster and more effective way.
With interval training, the focus is on the intensity of exercise. Intervals consist of alternating between shorts bouts of all out high-intensity effort and active recovery periods for a much quicker and focused amount of time (typically 10-20 minutes of intervals works best).
This approach is scientifically proven to burn nine times more fat AND lead to faster improvements in fitness than the aerobic alternative. The best part about this type of training is that you not only burn more fat during the bout of exercise, you continue to burn at a high rate after you are done too!
Two landmark scientific studies come to mind here:
The Tabata study compared the effects of four minutes of high-intensity interval training with 45-60 minutes of low to moderate intensity cardio. The interval training group burned just as much fat as the endurance group and also had greater improvement in both anaerobic (think sprinters) and aerobic (think distance runners) fitness in only four minutes!
The Gibala study compared the effects of 20 minutes of interval training (30 second sprint followed by four minutes of rest) with 90-120 minutes of endurance training in the heartrate zone. The conclusions of the study were that both methods of training lead to the same improvements in oxygen utilization (or aerobic fitness). In other words, intervals accomplished what endurance training did from a fitness standpoint in only a sixth of the time!
So if you haven’t already – JUMP ON THE HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING BAND WAGON!!!
- Death to the Carb addict!!
Lean Protein And Fiber Are The Carbohydrate Addicts Answer For Improved Health, Performance, and Body Composition
Americans are carb addicts. We simply can’t stop ourselves from stuffing our faces with delicious starches(pasta!) and sugars(Donuts) in our diet, and we’re FAT because of it. The biggest problem about the common diet today is that we eliminate starch all together which leads us to one day crash and feast on whatever is in front of your face.
Instead, we need to know when to time our starch intake (think post workout) and minimize our sugars. We also have to realize that if you are following what I call the 90% / 10% rule, then it’s ok to slip up. In other words eat Lean Protein, fiber rich fruits and veggies, combined with a very moderate amount of whole grain (again, postworkout) We also have to realize that if you are following what I call the 90% / 10% rule, then it’s ok to slip up. In other words eat Lean Protein, fiber rich fruits and veggies, combined with a very moderate amount of whole grains (again, post workout), then go ahead and endulge in the things you enjoy.
The good thing is that there is a lot of scientific literature proving the fat burning benefits of a diet high in lean protein and fiber, and the public is finally catching on. Protein is the most important component of each and every meal or snack you consume. It builds and maintains muscle, allows your body to burn fat, increases metabolism, and has a high thermic effect. Fiber (ideally obtained from fruits and vegetables, specifically green vegetables) helps slow digestion for a more steady supply of nutrients and sustained energy, it prevents overeating at each meal, and it helps keep you more full between meals.
With the attention to these facts it’s a no brainer – people will be consuming more protein and fruits and veggies next year, and their bodies will reap the rewards of this.
So there you have it. This is what I see for the wave of the fitness future of 2009. Now the only question is, will you get on board?
About the Author
Jason Zaretzky is Rockland County’s got to fat loss expert and owner of Optimal Performance located in Rockland County NY. For a FREE 1-week trial to his Rockland County Bootcamps, to experience the best fat loss training in Rockland County please visit http://rocklandcountybootcamps.com
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