Global Fitness Fitchburg Owner's Notes with John Bonica

As I was walking through our Fitchburg club the other day, I was fortunate to run across a member who I had not seen in a while. After some small talk, I could not help but notice what great results he had gotten since I had last seen him. Of course, I had to ask him what he had been doing to get such great results and of course he was thrilled to tell me. What he said is exactly what I have told so many members in class, in my FIT-traxx programs and to anyone who will listen. His answer was "I changed things up."

So what exactly did this member change to get him great results? He actually did several very smart things that are surprisingly simple and effective. I decided right then I would list several easy changes that can jumpstart your workouts and lead to long term results. How many tips will you be getting? I thought I would do five this month and five on my next installment.

Change 1. Try interval training instead of steady state cardiovascular workouts.

As I talk about interval training, I talk mostly about fat burning vs. endurance training. Research shows that periods of high intensity work followed by low intensity work is much more efficient at burning fat than steady state cardiovascular workouts. If you want more info about interval training, please talk to a Certified Personal Trainer your next time at the club.

Change 2. Try timed sets instead of counting reps.

Sometimes new exercisers don't know when to add weight to their current workouts. Instead, why not try investing in a watch with a countdown timer and set the time to 45 seconds. Hit start and continue the exercise until the timer goes off. If you don't feel anything during the entire time period, add a little weight. If you can't go for the whole time without stopping, either use less weight next time or simple reduce the weight and keep going until the time expires. This will increase your muscular endurance and give you some great results.

Change 3. Try timing rest periods.

This change is different from Change 2 in the fact that you will time your rest in between sets of the same exercise. Many people think they are moving more quickly through a workout than they really are. Also changing rest periods is the simplest way to change the intensity of a workout. The difference between a 60 second rest and 120 second rest is dramatic. The side benefit of timed rest periods is it ensures your workouts are a consistent duration (under 60 minutes please!).

Change 4. Try different exercises.

This applies for cardiovascular workouts and strength training. The human body gets very good at doing the things it does all the time. When challenged with new stimuli, the body is shocked and forces itself to adapt. Just changing the order of your exercises can shock the body. Other ways include changing reps, changing the mode of cardio or trying a whole different program are just a few.

Change 5. Try functional training movements.

Exercise machines at health clubs revolutionized how people workout by letting machines guide a user through the proper movement. This made things simpler for beginners and machines are still an important part of a total exercise program. What is missing from many people's routines are exercises that force a person to move a weight that is not guided by linear bearings. Yes, I am talking about free weights. But using free weights does not make an exercise truly functional. Functional movements force more muscles to work together as a team to complete a movement which is more closely related to how we move during everyday activities. Much of what we do in our FIT-traxx and MAX-traxx programs is to incorporate functional movements along with traditional exercises and bodyweight movements. This helps you with recreational activities like golf, mountain biking and even playing with the kids. By incorporating functional movements you will look great and feel great doing all the activities you love.

That is my first five changes. The next five include some sound simple nutritional advice that is working wonders for FIT-traxx participants and lots of other simple changes that will give you great results. Thanks for all your support at the clubs and feel free to email me with questions.