Keys To Successful Cardiovascular Training

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Doing cardio just for the sake of doing cardio is a plan for failure. Without a clear goal, it’s going to be tough to know where you are, and if you’re progressing. Many people – both bodybuilders and the untrained – begin their cardiovascular training with a very unclear path in front of them. They know they want to lose some of the fat on their body, but other than that, it’s hard for them to quantify where they’d like to be, or even where they currently are.

You can avoid this pitfall by taking measurements of your waistline with a tape measure, and having a body fat percentage analysis completed at your local gym or fitness center. Then you’ll be able to set realistic fitness goals for your cardio. Realistically, a man should want to get down to 7 or 8% body fat, and a woman should aim for 9 to 12% body fat. Take a test every 2 to 4 weeks to measure your progress, but no more frequently than that. Otherwise, the daily fluctuations may cause premature feelings of success or failure.

Mix it up
Variety is the spice of life. While it may make for easy planning to write “30 minutes elliptical machine” on your morning to-do list, actually following through with this repetitive and tedious task may not be nearly as easy. However, if you plan out a variety of activities for cardio, you’ll be much more likely to quit out of boredom.

Train early
Cardio training should be completed immediately after you awake in the morning, on an empty stomach. Wake up, stretch out, urinate, grab an ice cold bottled water, turn on the television (the news or sports works great) and complete your cardio training before you consume a single calorie. This will ensure the energy being spent comes from fat stores in your body, not carbohydrates in your bloodstream.

Granted, this isn’t always the rule. If you enjoy a nice cheat meal with a loved one and seriously feel like you need to knock out a nice 30-minute walk after dinner, then by all means, put on your walking shoes and get out there. Rather than limiting yourself to only early-morning cardio, make it your focus but allow for the introduction of cardio later in the day when applicable and necessary.

Stack it up
In addition to the cardio, make adjustments to your diet and supplement regimen as well. Use a fat-burner such as ECA (ephedrine, caffeine & aspirin stack) to speed up the fat-burning effect in your body. Lower the amount of simple sugars and starchy carbohydrates in your diet, and you’ll notice the cardio working even faster than you could have imagined!

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Avoid Injuries From Running – 3 Simple Keys For Distance Runners

In order to improve as a distance runner you must avoid injuries from running. Consistency is the underlying goal of any training program. A distance runner thrives on progressing from week to week and month to month. Whether striving to get faster or go farther, a running injury can put a stop to any progress and begin to lose some of the hard earned endurance and speed. To maintain constant improvement, distance runners can benefit from the following keys to avoid running injuries:

Know your personal limits

Every runner has a different breaking point. The best example of this relates to a runners weekly mileage. Elite runners training volume will often include weeks of 100+ miles. For the everyday distance runner, this volume may be far beyond their limit. Your limit is the point that as you approach your body starts to break down.

For example, each time a particular runner approaches 50 miles in a week, an unannounced injury will pop up setting back their training. With proper training personal limits can be pushed back, but it is best to allow your body time to adjust to levels just below your limits and slowly build up to and then beyond.

Recover Recover Recover

The nature of increasing speed or endurance as a distance runner is based on consistently tearing down your body and slowly improving with each consecutive workout. The only way to steadily get faster and stronger is to allow your body to heal in between runs. This is especially true of speedwork, tempo and long runs. Training creates micro tears in your muscles and recovery allows them to heal themselves and get stronger. Proper recovery helps to repair your muscles.

Without the rest needed to rejuvenate, weakened muscles can swiftly lead to injury.

Identify Your Weak Areas

The body is only as strong as your weakest area. Experienced runners will listen to their bodies to see what areas are “talking” to them before, during and after a run. These talkative areas are generally the weak areas of the body. Once identified, these weaknesses can be targeted through specific exercises to strengthen potential problem areas.

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Four Keys to Hiring the Right Houston Personal Trainer

Article by Joseph Carter

Selecting a Houston personal trainer to facilitate you get in shape can be a intimidating and unclear process. Employing a personal trainer is seen by many to be kind of costly, but it can make a big difference in your level of fitness and health. Most Houstonians who have good personal trainers are hooked to the positive effects they produce and believe it to be a deal. This article will distinguish the four keys to selecting the appropriate Houston personal trainer.

Key #1 — In What Area of Houston Do You Need a Personal Trainer

While this may look unmistakable it is powerful that you select a personal trainer who operates in a section of Houston that is convenient for you. You will probably be meeting with the trainer two to three times per calendar week, and perhaps even using that same gym on other days as well, so you require a location to be somewhat easy to get to. For example, if you work or live in Spring you would not want to employ a Galleria area personal trainer, causing you to spend an hour plus traveling one way each time you had a session. The Houston area is full of quality physical trainers so it makes sense to hire one within a sensible proximity to your home or office.

Key #2 — Personal Referrals Are the Optimal Way to Locate a Quality Personal Trainer

While glossy marketing pamphlets and elaborate websites are nice, you are a great deal better off forming your decision with suggestions from friends or acquaintances who have actually used the services of the Houston personal trainer you’re considering hiring. If your friend informs you how she loves her trainer, has lost a considerable amount of weight and half of her body fat, and really relishes her workouts, that is a physical trainer who should be high on your list. On the other hand, if another acquaintance tells you that she really enjoys her trainer but that she has not really made any physical progress even though she’s used the trainer for over a year, you probably want to keep away from her physical trainer. Put Differently, results matter. Physical trainers bill by the session so there’s no real point in getting one unless you are going to advance towards your goals. A good word from someone who has gotten great results with that trainer is absolutely the best demonstration of an effective trainer.

Key #3 — Your Houston Physical Trainer Should Be Certified by One of the Major Associations

The physical trainer field has several major industry organizations they can belong to. Most of these associations have relatively demanding certification requirements which include certain educational and knowledge-based measures as well as up-to-date continuing education course requirements. One of the biggest organizations who certify personal trainers is ACE (American Council on Exercise). Any Houston personal trainer you look at hiring should have one of these certifications. The reality is that there is no certification requirement by the government before someone can

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