Posted by Alice Moon on Apr.03, 2009

©iStockphoto.com - gbh007

We are all busy. Time is not our friend when it comes to fitting all that we hope to accomplish into one day. This requires that we make the most out of the time we do spend exercising.

Many women are afraid to do the harder work it takes to get better results. These fears often come from misapprehensions and myths regarding what certain types of exercise will do to their body shape. Others are afraid to get down and dirty. Yes, it will take sweat and a bit of pain, but the results are worth the investment.

Intensity
Increasing the intensity level of your training takes your body to places it is unaccustomed to going. Through increased intensity, cardiovascular fitness is aided. Fat loss increases.
Interval Training: This form of workout is for runners, but a routine could be adapted to other forms of exercise. Basically, you choose a time or distance and go all out for the entirety, then walk or jog in between sets. Repeat several times. 
Mile Repeats: A form of interval training with a set distance. You can rest the same amount of time you run. This training increases aerobic capacity. The idea is to be consistent, not to burn out in the first half of the workout. The run times should be similar throughout. 
Fartleks: Use speed play within a longer run. On a regular run, insert several intervals where you push a much faster pace, then return to your normal pace. These should be irregular intervals. They work partly by keeping your body “confused” by not following a static routine.
Hill Repeats: When you run on a hill, gravity is working against you. The slope provides an environment and burden similar to weight training, lending resistance and increased load on your muscles. You can train for strength and for speed, run hills for distance or for time. Some people prefer to run up and walk down, but there are benefits specific to running both up and down hill, so it is best to mix in both types of running and rest between intervals.

For each of these, you begin slowly, with a lesser number of repeats, and work your way up. The focus should be on building to a greater number of sets with good form throughout. The actual times and distances aren’t set in stone or critical in the early stages. The important aspect of the workout is how those short term bursts of speed work their magic on your muscle’s ability to recover and grow,  increasing your endurance level.

It comes down to a few basic ideas. Vary your routine to get the best results and vary the aspects within your routine. If you do intervals, work with short duration efforts during one of your sessions, long duration on another, and then do a mixed session. This keeps your body guessing and your mind engaged.

Weight Training
Weight bearing exercise is considered critical for preservation of healthy bone, an extra concern for women especially as we age. Forget those tiny one and two pound weights that are popularly shown in women’s magazines as representations of a good fitness routine. Go for the heavy weights and reap the rewards of increased muscle mass, greater fat burning potential, and faster, visible changes in body shape.

If you haven’t heard the news, weight training will not cause you to bulk up like a man. Women don’t have the hormones necessary to pack on that level of muscle. Plus, it takes a lot of dedicated work to reach such a level. What this style of training can do for you is turn your system into a fat burning machine and give your body a more slender, athletic shape. Muscle demands calories instead of sitting inert (like fat deposits), even when you’re at rest. Muscle tone gives the body a pleasing silhouette and protects against injury.

If you participate in a particular sport, weight training can be used to build upon your work within that sport. Use movements similar to those you perform while playing or exercising normally, with weight added to create resistance. Move slowly and with good form through the full range of motion. Load on additional weight to pump up your major and secondary muscle groups for more powerful performance. Any exercises which work multiple muscle sets through a full range of motion are better because you’re getting a double or triple bonus over the usual results.

Cross Training
Breaking up your regular workout schedule with other forms of exercise can help give your body needed rest from the repetitive demands of a single sport. Pairing your normal workout with another exercise offers you the ability to work toward the same goals through a slightly different approach and can speed your progress.

A good cross training pairing can also provide you with increased strength, flexibility, and support as you work with smaller muscle groups that provide stability and improve form in your primary sport. For example, pairing yoga with running will help you to train both sides of the body to function independently and in tandem. The stretching of yoga can alleviate the tightening effects of constant foot strikes, the balance it demands can improve your body’s ability to handle lateral movement, and the focus on posture can keep you more stable and better aligned to preserve your form as you run. Running can provide you the endurance and strength required to achieve some of the more difficult postures and hold them for a greater length of time.

A little time spent outside your comfort zone, that extra push beyond your usual regimen, can offer fantastic returns. Mentally and physically, these efforts gradually prepare you to power through and triumph over barriers and plateaus in training.

Share

Posted under Fitness For Body & Mind, Health & Fitness.