Fitness Tips from Fitness 2J2: Health & positive lifestyle for all levels of fitness and ability
- Joel Pedersen | February 15, 2016
This past month we were in Whitecap Dakota First Nation with the community evening fitness programing. Stopped in Ile la Crosse and LaRonge. Back in Saskatoon to St. Mary’s Health&Wellness center for functional fitness and self defence programming. Then at the new Aboriginal Student Center, the University of Saskatchewan’s to announce the first Aboriginal Fitness Preparation Course.
Excited to develop and mentor ten potential fitness leaders for our communities over the next eight weeks starting at the end of February. Providing Functional Fitness for healthy and positive lifestyles for our Aboriginal communities.
If you are not the type who doesn’t get excited about going for a jog or run, and the idea of cardio is boring. I have some good news for you there is other ways that take less time and way better than jogging to burn fat. For some you will know what I am talking about when I say HIIT. Yes another acronym! Stands for High Intensity Interval. (No, this is not info commercial.)
So maybe I have your attention and you’re new to fitness or ready to come back. This shouldn’t mean high-intensity interval training isn’t for you, the fast-paced workouts have been shown to burn tons of calories in a short amount of time, so you don’t need to spend hours in the gym. This type of training will have you alternating between periods of maximum effort to recovery (think: 20 seconds of push-ups then short rest; or 40 second sprint, 60 second walk).
The key to HIIT is listening to your body, like your Kokum would tell you “Balance”. Modify as needed; complete each movement with proper form (some have heard me say that lots!). This type of exercise should be intense, not so hard or fast that you injure yourself or other setbacks. “Balance”.
Have you ever read the little stickers on cardio machines? Usually a “Fat Burning Zone” shown mostly at 60-65%of max heart rate. This is more a myth and is not optimal for fat burning. You burn more fat relative to glycogen going for a long walk or snowshoe. So team here is the deal, at higher intensities we are burning far more fat even though the fat/glycogen rate is lower. (Anyone affected by diabetes should understand that part, for the rest of us it’s “in with the good out with the bad”).
You can exercise at very high intensity for a much longer time than a steady state like going for a long run. Some of the awesome benefits are like an after burn, your increase metabolism, burning of calories up to 24hrs after HIIT, where going for a jog burns almost no calories after. After that burning you will have: Increased Aerobic Capacity; Increased Lactate Threshold; Improved Insulin Sensitivity; Anabolic Effect;
From Ile la Crosse & LaRonge to Saskatoon & Dakota-WhiteCap, all sessions were challenged by the HIIT training. Here is an example (remember this is all scalable body weight exercises): 10-minute length. 5 rounds of 4 exercises, time duration of 20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest 20:10 ratio. 1. Sprint in place or skipping; 2. Air Squat; 3. Jumping Jacks; 4. Floor press. That’s one round, do that five times. Once completed take a one min rest, then finish a 10-minute length 4 rounds of 4:1 ratio (meaning 4 exercises 30 seconds each, then 1 rest of 30 seconds). 1.Skater; 2. Squat Hold; 3. Shoulder press; 4. Plank; 5. Rest. That’s one round do that four times.
Always start with a good 5min warm up, and end with a 5 min cool down to prevent light headed or nausea.
The end of January we experienced and shared the tragic loss for the community of LaLoche. I have had the honour of visiting and training with over fourteen communities in Northern Saskatchewan over the past few years, LaLoche was to be this spring. May our prayers and thoughts go out to LaLoche community, and all our relations for loss of life taken too early.
Fitness 2J2 is a socially responsible community based health and wellness company. Contributing to the success and vitality of our communities, promoting healthy and positive lifestyles for Aboriginal people of all ages and abilities. STRONG HEALTHY PROUD.