Shape up for summer

I have been looking around at some of my old copy recently and found this article I wrote five years ago. I have tweeked it for the summer to help you shape up.

Get into shape for the summer - we're not promising you'll lose fat, gain muscle or boost fitness, but you won't put on fat, lose muscle or lose CV fitness...however little time you have. 

So, you have no time at all to go to the gym/train, due to work and social stuff in the build up to the summer holiday! If you really can’t find the time no matter where you look (try under the wardrobe, always lots of fun stuff there!?!) then you need find opportunities to be as active as you can be!

So let’s look at the spaces in the day when you can squeeze in activity. Brushing your teeth twice a day has never been so much fun now you are balancing on one leg. This will help to increase the stability of your muscles around your feet, ankles, hips and abdomen. It’s a stairway to sustain weight! Take the stairs or walk up the escalator at every opportunity. It’s a basic matter of thermodynamics; expend as much energy as you can to sustain balance in what is a period of excess. Take two to three stairs at a time and you will start to increase the muscular force required to take each step and therefore strengthen your bum and thighs. Hitting the dance floor will expend approximately 150kcals per 30min. (Nutribase.com) In short keep moving as much as you can. Make excuses’ to be as active as you can be throughout the day!

As your activity level is lower than normal you will have to be careful of your food intake. All food has a thermic effect. This means there is an energy cost to breaking down anything you eat. So consume the same number of calories more frequently throughout the day and you’ll keep your metabolism raised. Another trick is to consume more calories in the first half of the day. This will make the most of your raised metabolism after you have fasted over night! One thought I always give my clients is: Think about how you can raise your metabolism rather than worrying about weight loss!

 If you have one hour to train each week, you can feasibly go the gym for two 30 min sessions, so this is the most effective way to maintain muscle, keep fat gain to a minimum and maintain CV fitness. It’s that old faithful circuit training. In a study looking at the difference between resistance led circuit training and running and resistance led circuit training on its own, in the same session. No difference in fitness was found between those who only circuit trained and those who ran and circuit trained. (Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 14(3):229-234, 1982.) This means we can take out the cardiovascular element of your gym sessions without a loss of aerobic fitness. To achieve this cardiovascular demand make sure you move from one exercise to the next with a short 15sec – 30sec rest period in between. Stick to exercises that use a large muscle mass, use a multiple number of joints and with movements that are as complex as your ability allows. i.e. Leg press if you are a beginner and a single leg hanging dumbbell snatch for advance. This will also increase your resting metabolism long after you have finished the session. Meaning your burning more calories while you rest.   (Sports Med 1991 Feb; 11(2): 78-101)

Mode/Exercise	Duration (Mins:Secs)	Work load
X-Trainer	05:00	Steady effort
Recovery Between Exercises	00:15	00% SRM
Cable Squat - Row	00:30	50% SRM
Cable Push	00:30	50% SRM
Cable Step - Pull	00:30	50% SRM
Cable Reverse Woodchop	00:30	50% SRM
Swiss Ball Jackknife	00:30	50% SRM
Barbell Back Squat	00:30	50% SRM
Barbell Bench Press	00:30	50% SRM
Lat Pulldown	00:30	50% SRM
Recovery	02:00	00% SRM
Rower	05:00	Easy effort

An extra hour in the week and we can add in a couple of the high intensity interval training (HIIT) sessions. These sessions have been show to be more effective at losing body fat than more traditional cardiovascular done at lower intensities. One study showed 9 times more fat-loss benefit for every calorie burned exercising. (Metabolism 1994 Volume 43, pp.814-818) Another study looking at the two different types of cardio training showed a 14% improvement in the bodies’ ability to use oxygen with just 4mins of work verses a 10% improvement for over an hour of work. (Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 1996 28, 1327-1330)

Example session

	Warm Up	Build Set	Main Set	Cool down
Duration (Mins:Secs)	05:00	5 x 15secs	8 x 30secs	05:00
Intensity	Steady effort	Hard effort	Very hard effort	Easy
Recovery	0	45sec	15sces	0

Both the Circuits and the high intensity intervals require a recovery day between to allow your body to adapt to the session. Keep this in mind when planning your week!

Example week

Date	Week	Am / Pm	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat	Sun
1st May	1	Am	Circuits		Rest	Circuits	Rest		Rest
		Pm		Intervals				Intervals

Be active. Keep the intensity and focus high in all your workouts. Become a calorie burning machine and you’ll come through the other side of summer looking and feeling great. remeber to contact your GP and speak to a personal trainer before starting a new training plan. This training method may not be suitable for everyone. Follow me on facebook or twitter @djptsmarter.