Cardio or Strength?

Do you often wonder which is best?

I love a bit of cardio
as I love to feel that
‘sweat’

but I also
really
love
my
strength training,

good job really as running is
off the agenda for me for a while!

I know a lot of people who just want to
sweat it out & run
and they skip the strength.

That you?

Well,
I’ll tell you now
as I tell them…

Balance is key.

Don’t skip the weights
they are important
to an all round
fitness programme.

Most people’s perception is that
cardio burns more calories
and strength training
“adds bulk”

Not true.

And you know the biggest bonus of a good strength routine?
EPOC
Que?
I hear you say
(in the voice of Manuel from Fawlty Towers)

Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption

It means you burn calories long after your session
has finished,
pretty cool huh?
In some cases this is when you are fast asleep…
even cooler?

Not only that, but resistance work
burns fat
increases metabolism
decreases risk of osteoporosis
improves posture
&
improves self esteem.

That’s not to say
cardio isn’t cool too.

A good combination
of the Strength & Cardio
is my recommendation,

which is why we do that kind of thing in our
Circuits Classes…
see, there is method in my madness!

Another little tip that you may have picked up
as you’ve been reading these emails over the weeks
is to
do a little
High Intensity Interval Training
as well as some
Lower Intensity Steady Endurance Training.

Low intensity exercise burns fat but takes longer to do
so you may not always be able to find the time
to do it too many times a week.

High intensity exercise burns calories
FAST,
takes hardly any time to do
(10-20 mins)
&
it attracts that same
EPOC effect
as strength training does.
Use your staircase,
step fast for 30 seconds
rest for 30 seconds
repeat for 10-20 mins
simple…

So a combination of all three of these
training methods
is a pretty perfect combination
I’d say.

Not sure quite how to do it all?

Well try some of the workouts attached to these emails
or join us in a class.

Remember, your own body weight
is perfect for your resistance training
you don’t need dumbbells, necessarily.

Whatever you do,
you have to
do it regularly
and
keep doing it.

If you are persistent
you will get it
if you are
consistent
you will keep it.

Enjoy your workouts this week

**Don’t forget there is no Saturday morning Run Fit Training Club this weekend – sorry**

but
I will add a workout tomorrow you can do at home instead 🙂

don’t skip it…
remember
a 1 hour workout
is just 4% of your day

Night Night

Melissa
xx

Todays Healthy Menu
IMG_6138

2 Mugs of hot water and slices of lemon

Breakfast – 2 slices of homemade bread with peanut butter and strawberries

Snack – Latte and a mini Banana muffin

Lunch – Feta and Roasted vegetable salad

Snack – Hot water and lemon, Apple and 2 slices mature cheddar cheese

Dinner –  Grilled Salmon Steak, Oven roasted Butternut Squash, Red Onion & garlic served with Puy Lentils, Rocket tossed in 2 tbsp Olive Oil and 1 tbsp Sherry vinegar

8 x 8oz glasses water

Thursdays LISS Workout

60 minute walk
60 second plank
60 second side plank each side
50 crunches

stretch and relax