Selena DeLeon - THE WORKOUT FOR MANY people, the upcoming holiday season will involve much festivity. We will have more to cram into our schedules in preparation for Christmas, and will need to plan to keep our energy reserves at full capacity. During this very busy time of year, no one wants to get sick, and there are ways to make sure that your body has some 'health insurance'. Prepare for the upcoming jolly period of calorie consumption by going into high intensity training today.
Getting into the best physical condition possible means increasing your aerobic and anaerobic thresholds. Strength training (anaerobic) increases muscle mass, and the more
muscle you have, the more calories you will burn, even when you are not exercising. Aerobic training makes your body more oxygen efficient, which enhances your ability to burn fat.
By improving your all-around fitness capacity, you not only fill up your energy reserves by training your body to withstand increase activity, but you also 'rev up' your metabolism to sustain a possible increase in calorie intake. Firing up your workouts now will give yourself good calorie burning insurance, so that you can still enjoy some holiday vices guilt free.
I am a firm believer in following a healthy lifestyle and having a regime for diet and exercise. However, I do not believe that one should never be allowed to have an occasional legal sin. Keeping a balance between what your body needs and what you are craving is essential, just as long as the healthy basics far outweigh the unhealthy.
There are different ways of creating a training effect to increase cardiovascular and muscular endurance; it just takes a little motivation and determination. Stepping up your weights at the gym without altering the number of repetitions, trying to beat your last week's best running time or adding some jogging into your walking routine, can all improve your fitness capacity. Adding new exercises to your fitness routine stimulates your muscles in a new way. Pushing yourself a little farther is what gives you the edge.
Try adding this intense lower abdominal exercise to your workout. Start off by doing two sets of 10 reps and gradually increase it to three sets of 25. You will need an incline bench (or you can use an aerobic step bench placing all risers to one side), which you can put up against a grill door or other
sturdy structure. Put a mat on the bench if the surface is hard or uncomfortable. Lie supine on the bench with your head to the elevated end and hold onto the grill above your head. Straighten and lift your legs above your hips, push your hips straight up and down, trying not to jerk, but slowly lifting and lowering them back down onto the mat. To add pulses to this exercise, you can bend the knees and pull them up to your chest, keeping the hips up off of the mat the whole time. For best results, add 30 minutes of intense aerobic activity and lots of water.
Let's face facts, there is probably no other time during the year that we are going to eat more high-fat foods or enjoy being more sedentary. Most of us put off making any plans to diet or exercise until our New Year's resolution; however, your best strategy is to prepare a plan of action beforehand. We all want to look our best and feel as energised as possible, so get your "holiday body" in training.
Selena DeLeon is a certified professional trainer.
