Miami Fitness Boot Camp – Weight Loss Training

Author: Alex

  • I’m Still Sore From Yesterday’s Workout. What To Do?

    Written by Nicole Nichols, B.S. & Certified Fitness Instructor
    First of all, are you sore from strength training, or from cardio? Are you new to either of these types of exercise? It’s common for beginners to experience muscle soreness that lasts for a week or two. Yes, you should keep working out even though you are sore, but there is more to it than that.

    Muscle soreness has two primary causes. The first soreness you experience happens during your workout (“the burn”) and should subside within a couple of hours. This is caused by lactic acid production. When you are training and your muscles are not getting enough oxygen (anaerobic glycolysis), lactic acid builds up. You can break down lactic acid by continuing to move and by doing light aerobic exercise (such as walking) after your workout. This is why cool-downs are so important, especially for beginners. The longer you cool down, the faster that lactic acid will be broken up and removed from the body.

    The type of muscle soreness you are experiencing, up to a day or two (and sometimes even three) after your workout is known as DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness). DOMS is caused by microscopic tears inside the muscles, resulting from weight-training or fully exhausting the muscles during cardio. This is normal. Again, beginners will be more sore and usually for longer, but if you really worked as hard as you should have during a weight-lifting session, you should be somewhat sore for the next day or two.

    This is where rest comes in. You absolutely must rest the muscles you worked for 1-2 days after a workout. Take at least one day off between sessions, and if you are still very sore, take 2 days off. (This means from lifting, not from all exercise such as cardio). If you don’t let your muscles recover and repair, they will continue to break down and you will actually get weaker.

    To help prevent soreness in the future, and alleviate some of it now, be sure to:
    1. Always warm-up for 5-10 minutes and cool-down for at least 5 minutes
    2. STRETCH!! Stretch after a warm-up, during your workout, and after you are done. Only stretch when your muscles are already warm from some kind of light activity.
    3. Stay active. The more your muscles move, the faster they remove that lactic acid build-up.

  • Exercise On An Empty Stomach

    In the morning, your body has gone 8+ hours since eating or drinking anything. Your blood sugar levels are lower at this point, and your body doesn’t have adequate fuel to workout optimally. Usually, experts recommend eating something–even if it’s just a small snack–within 2 hours before working out. When your body doesn’t have proper fuel in it, many problems can result, the lesser being that your workout performance suffers, and the greater being something like passing out during exercise.

    However, every body is different. Some people can workout on an empty stomach with no problems, while others would end up very sick and feel the negative effects of it. When I workout in the morning, I always eat (and drink) something first thing after I wake up. Usually by the time I start my workout it doesn’t hurt my stomach to exercise with a bit of food on it.

    Also, I think there might have been a bit of confusion here about metabolic rates in the morning. Eating breakfast in the morning has a positive effect on your metabolism, but exercising on an empty stomach does not. Some people say that it will burn fat stores, but overall, the number of calories your burn during a workout (regardless of where they come from) is much more important. Plus, fat burns in the carbohydrate flame. This means that exercising without eating (such as after “fasting” during sleep) your body does not burn fat efficiently, or sometimes at all.

  • Can I lose weight if my only exercise is walking?

    Consuming fewer calories is often the most effective way to lose weight. Still, an increase in physical activity is an important part of any weight-loss program. And walking is a great way to get started. For motivation, do the math: To lose 1 pound, you must burn 3,500 calories. If you cut 250 calories from your daily diet, you could lose that pound in about two weeks. If you add 30 minutes of brisk walking to your daily routine, you could burn another 150 calories a day. Make that 60 minutes of brisk walking and you could burn about 300 calories a day. Of course, the more you walk and the quicker the pace, the more calories you’ll burn. Keep it up and you’ll walk your way to a healthy weight. Better yet, walking can help you keep the weight off for good.

  • Prevent Nighttime Hunger

    There is a rule of thumb not to eat two hours before going to bed. This is often misunderstood to mean that you can’t eat anything at all. Not true. You shouldn’t eat a full, filling meal too close to bedtime, but a small, healthy snack is often okay.

    It is possible to include a nighttime snack, especially on workout days, to prevent cravings and to get a good night’s sleep. What are your total calorie needs? Set aside about 200 calories for an evening snack. Then fill your kitchen with healthy choices for these 200 calories. Examples: a bowl of cereal/milk, hot chocolate, yogurt, 1/2 sandwich, fruit. Keep track of exactly how much you can have of each snack for 200 calories so you don’t fool yourself or make bad decisions at the last second.

    Now you have set limits and have a plan. If you are willing to fix a snack, sit at the table and eat it (without watching TV, etc.) then you are probably truly hungry and not just eating out of boredom.

  • Eating After A Workout

    The information about not eating after a workout is completely wrong. Every responsible source in bodybuilding and athletics recommends that you eat after training, and preferably within 45 minutes (maybe up to 60) after a workout. This period, known as the golden hour, is when the muscles absorb the most nutrients and when glycogen, an energy reserve in your muscles, is replaced most efficiently. The actual composition of the post-workout meal is a matter of some debate; for optimal glycogen replacement, most people recommend carbohydrates, but a certain amount of protein (at least 10 percent of the meal) is needed for muscle repair and growth.

    I think the above recommendation is a good general guideline for athletes, but for weight management you probably have to go higher in protein and lower in carbs. You don’t have to eat a big meal, but you should eat something after training. Lots of people get good results with a small, high-protein shake — just beware of the extremely high sugar and carb content of juice-based smoothies. Experiment with the amount of food or drink and with the proportions of carbs, protein and fat to find out what works best for you.

    Perhaps what the trainers at your gym are trying to emphasize is the need to moderate carbohydrate intake in a weight-loss program. They correctly want to see you become a “better butter burner,” that is, someone whose metabolism burns fat faster and more efficiently. That is best accomplished by eating a nutritionally dense, low-calorie diet that offers a balance of protein, high-quality fat and the right kind of carbohydrates. This will keep your hormones balanced and your fat-burning machinery working optimally. I agree that you shouldn’t load up on carbs and fat after a workout, but the idea of not eating anything at all for two hours after working out is balderdash.

  • Is It True That Lifting Weights Causes Women To Bulk Up?

    While on a weight lifting program, the right hormones (testosterone) are necessary in order to bulk up. Women’s testosterone levels are much lower than men’s, so in most cases, they are not capable of building large muscles. In fact, since muscle takes up less room than fat, women tend to lose inches when they strength train. So in addition to the physical benefits (increased metabolism, decreased risk of osteoporosis, increased strength), strength training will help you slim down too! Women, in fact, are more likely to tone up from strength training rather than bulk up. Research shows that women can add up to 30% lean muscle and end up looking thinner, feeling stronger and being firmer.

    Our society and pop culture seem to associate weight training with oversized muscles, but that’s just one avenue, which is extremely difficult for most people (including men) to achieve.

    Women with an intense fear of becoming large (likely due to these images and myths) as a result of weight training are at a disadvantage when it comes to their health. The problem most women run into isn’t building too much muscle, but not building enough. This sets them up for increased risk of osteoporosis later in life, as well as a reduction in muscle mass of about 2-5% per year, which has an adverse affect on metabolism (and can result in weight gain).

  • Lose Weight Around My Stomach

    There is no way to target weight loss to a specific area of the body because your body decides where it wants to put on weight and where it wants to take it off (genetics). The midsection is a common “problem” area for many people (mostly us females).

    The best way to lose fat is through exercise (both strength training & cardiovascular) & diet. It is important to do a variety of abdominal exercises (e.g. crunches, reverse crunches, plank, etc.) to keep your core strong, but until that excess fat is gone, you will not see the muscle definition. So if you’re not doing your “cardio” and eating right, crunches are not going to help get the 6-pack some of you are hoping for.

    And speaking of “6-packs”, you need to know that as a woman, achieving a “washboard stomach” is sometimes difficult. Due to genetics and our hormonal systems, women naturally carry more fat around our hip & abdominal areas. For a woman to have a visible 6-pack, she most likely has a body fat percentage below 15%, a number that is challenging to maintain on a day-to-day basis.
    A combination of regular cardio exercise (at a challenging intensity, that is!) Boot camp training and a healthy diet is your ultimate bet!

  • The Best Type of Diet to Lose Body Fat

    The best diet for weight loss with muscle maintenance is also the safest diet and one that can be followed for a lifetime. This type of diet:

    Restricts calories by 300-500 daily, aiming for a 1-2 pound weekly weight loss but not so low that the body goes into starvation mode.
    Encourages a fitness program to boost metabolism and health benefits.
    Allows for a variety of foods to meet the body’s nutritional needs.
    As far as the breakdown of carbs/protein/fat, a good range would be:
    Carbs; 45-65%
    Protein; 10-35%
    Fat: 20-35%.

  • Check Your Doctor Before Exercises

    Keeping physically active is key to a healthy lifestyle. But sometimes it’s best to check with your doctor before you start to exercise.

    Regular exercise can help you control your weight, reduce your risk of heart disease, and strengthen your bones and muscles. But before you put on your workout shoes, you may want to talk to your doctor. Although physical activity is perfectly safe for most people, sometimes it’s important to get a doctor’s OK before you exercise.
    Talk to your doctor before you start an exercise program if:
    You’re a man older than age 40 or a woman older than age 50
    You’ve had a heart attack
    You have a family history of heart disease before age 55
    You have heart, lung, liver or kidney disease
    You feel pain in your chest, joints or muscles during physical activity
    You have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, arthritis, osteoporosis or asthma
    You’ve had joint replacement surgery
    You smoke
    You’re overweight or obese
    You take medication to manage a chronic condition
    You have an untreated joint or muscle injury, or persistent symptoms after a joint or muscle injury
    You’re pregnant
    You’re unsure of your health status
    Working with your doctor ahead of time may be the best way to plan an exercise program that’s right for you. Consider it the first step on the path to physical fitness.

  • What Can I Do To Lose My Belly?

    I tell you what.. If I had a dollar for every time I heard that question I would be a rich man for sure. Here we go;

    The best exercise for the stomach is one that may surprise you. It’s not the traditional sit-up or ab crunch. It’s not leg thrusts or trunk twists either. Before you go out and buy the Gut Buster 5000, you should know that the best exercise you can do for your stomach won’t cost you a thing.

    All you need are your two feet because the best exercise that I’m talking about is none other than walking or jogging. If you’ve found that your stomach is a little more flabbier than it used to be, it’s likely there are other parts of your body that have unwanted weight attached. It’s just that the stomach is often times the most noticeable.
    Your body cannot just eliminate fat in one area. So if you are trying to crunch your way to a flatter stomach without exercising the rest of your body and reducing your fat intake, you’ll never see results.

    Start by doing cardio exercises to get that heart rate up and boost your metabolism. A good fast-paced walk or jog three times per week is a great way to accomplish this or sign up for my Boot Camp class and I guaranty you that you are going to lose size from your stomach 100%.