Adrenal Fatigue, Hormones and your weight
Adrenal fatigue function and hormone profile testing.
If you are having trouble losing body fat despite eating right for your metabolic type then it is often prudent to examine your adrenal function, hormone levels and the balance of the steroid hormone pathway. This can reveal information about how your body is functioning internally and give possible clues as to why your body will not lose body fat despite your efforts.
The steroid hormonal pathway
The steroid hormonal pathway refers to how the body creates and synthesizes hormones. The hormone system is derived from the oxygen cycle which produces Acetyl Co-A. From this the hormone Pregnenolone is produced which should go on to produce DHEA which then further supports the creation of other hormones.
During periods of stress the Pregnenlone is diverted to cause the production of Cortisol (produced in the Adrenals). This is a normal response to a stress situation. If the stress is prolonged the continual production of Cortisol is called Pregnenolone steal. When the body is subjected to stress for an extended period of time this Pregnenolone steal pathway can become the normal pathway for the body's hormone system. The results is a malfunctioning at hormone level which will fatigue the Adrenals as a result of continual stimulation.
What causes stress within the body?
Stress is a term which refers to a demand being placed upon the body. In regards to hormones we are concerned with what sources are acting as a stressor upon the body which could cause pregnenolone steal to occur. Stress can be viewed as either an internal or external stress.
External stressors can come from mental and emotional sources, e.g. fear, excitement, worry, anxiety, lack of purpose in life. External stress also comes from physical injuries and behaviours e.g. fractures, muscle injuries, nerve compression, excessive exercise.
Internal stressors include parasites, bacteria, fungi and viruses within the body. Other internal stressors include pesticides, herbicides, chemicals, metals, malfunction, mal-digestion, mal-absorption, wrong foods, blood sugar problems, alcohol and drugs (both medical and recreational).
Read more about stressors in the article 50 reasons you are not in shape. Download the chart on this page.
Adrenal and hormone profile testing
The adrenal function test takes four saliva samples at different points during the day. These are analysed to give the total cortisol readings for the day, the cortisol readings at different points of the day and your DHEA levels. From this it can be seen if your body is under stress and how strong your adrenal glands appear. The test also shows levels of Testosterone, Oestrogen, Progesterone and Melatonin.
Excessive stimulation of the adrenals (from prolonged stress) can lead to Adrenal fatigue. If the adrenals are in a state of fatigue then the source of the stress needs to be identified to reduce the pressure on the body. The hormonal pathway may have also altered due to the excessive time spent battling the stressors.
If you body is in a state of adrenal fatigue and / or your hormonal balance has been upset then losing fat can become difficult. This may mean your body does not get results however well you eat or you can only maintain results by being 100% strict.
Finding out your adrenal function and hormone pathway.
If you want to discover how your body is functioning then you can take these tests when working with me either face to face or online.
Ben Wilson BSc (Hons) CSCS NSCA-CPT CMTA EFT Dip
On line metabolic typing, fitness training and emotional freedom technique (EFT)
London personal trainer
Rugby fitness training information and coaching
How much food should eat in a meal?......
Ideal fuel mix
Metabolic typing looks at how your body is functioning to determine what foods are healthy for you and what are not. This can vary greatly from person to person and this is the basis of why metabolic typing is so powerful and effective.
Metabolic typing is based on more than just what food to eat but also how much of it your body needs. This element is equally important for a metabolic typing programme to work.
Ideal fuel mix.
Your ideal fuel mix is the amount of protein to carbohydrates to fat your body needs at each meal to utilize the food efficiently. This magic ratio is unique to you and varies greatly between different individuals (both people of different metabolic types and within the same metabolic type).
It is vital you discover what this ratio is for your body. To do this you can play an experimental game of food portions until you find the right amount that satisfies you.
Tune into your body language
It is easy to discover the ideal fuel mix for your body by simply seeing how you feel 1-2 hours after eating. If you have eaten the ratios of each meal correctly you will have feel the positive reactions in the left hand column below. If you got it slightly wrong you will experience some of the negative reactions in the right hand column.
It is sometimes hard to pick up these signals but if you simply use this form a fair few times after eating (1-2 hours afterwards) then you will begin to feel how your body is working. If you experience negative reactions return to the meal and repeat but try changing the amount of protein, carbs and fat until positive reactions are found.
The way to do this is by increasing / decreasing the amount of meat, or vegetables or oil. Continue until you get the positive reactions only. This method exposes quickly the flaws in most nutrition plans as very often people feel hungry within one hour of easing. A clear sign that the body did not get the fuel it wanted.
Using the above guide lines you will be able to answer a portion of the metabolic typing equation. One of the other key elements is which types of protein, carbohydrates and fat should you be eating compared to other people. This is central to metabolic typing as there is no one size fits all nutrition strategy that will work for everyone.
Discover your metabolic type and identify your ideal fuel mix
If you are suffering with persistent negative post meal reactions as indicated above you should seriously consider the lifestyle course I offer. This will allow me to support you while educating you about metabolic typing and how to take control of your hunger, food, exercise and more. Please click here for more information.
Your body determines whetehr a food is healthy not the actual food......
We are all familar with the never ending controversy of foods being good one minute then bad the next. we see every day different people contradict each other with nutritional advice and research. The question is why is there no consensus?The reason is that no one allows for the fact we are each unique and handle food very differently. The one theory that has accounted for this and developed over the last 50 years is metabolic typing.
Metabolic typing
Metabolic typing is the science of personalized nutrition. It is a highly accurate system of determining the foods your body needs. Discovering your metabolic type is the single biggest health measure you can take. Metabolic typing answers the foundational questions of nutrition by telling you:
What to eat
How much to eat
What foods to specifically avoid
All other aspects of nutrition including supplements, food quality etc
To make these recommendations the science of metabolic typing has been rapidly developing from the pioneering work of many scientists throughout the last fifty years. Metabolic typing recognizes that there are ten fundamental control systems within the human body. Each of these systems determines the way the chemical reactions occur within the body. To achieve and maintain true health the control systems must be brought into balance. Failure to do this leads to faulty metabolism within the cells which is the cause of all poor health complaints.
Addressing more of the ten fundamental control systems will lead to higher and higher levels of true health. This is especially important for people who are suffering with serious health problems at the moment.
What to eat?
It is the influence of the main two control systems that determines which foods your body needs. All my clients undergo a metabolic typing test which reveals where their body lies upon these two systems. This directs us to the nutrition plan that will give you the exact nutrients you require. The results of the test means one person can be eating the opposite foods to the next person. So for you red meat may be a caution food while for the next person it may greatly help them. The same can be applied to fruits, grains and every other food including different vegteables.
How much to eat?
We all have a unique and specific amount of food to eat that allow the body to effectively utilize energy. When you eat the right foods in the right ratios of protein, carbohydrates and fat you will experience a sense of high energy and mental focus while avoiding food cravings, energy drops or loss of concentration. To discover the right amounts I coach my clients to tune into their bodies and find the answer out for themselves.
What should I avoid eating?
It is essential we ensure any food intolerance's are removed from your diet until the body can handle such sources again. Food intolerance's are very common and undermine all efforts to be healthy.
The metabolic typing test also looks at the pattern of how you store fat on your body. I am sure you have noticed how some people have fat all over, on their hands, face etc while other just on their stomach. There are other characteristic patterns and these are signs of differences within the glands inside the body, e.g. thyroid, adrenal etc. This then relates to certain foods that if eaten in excess over a prolonged period can exhaust your glands causing fat storage and poor health.
Finally, metabolic typing allows you to use the influences of your blood type to avoid certain foods that can cause problems for each type. Please note that metabolic typing is far in advance of the well known eat right for your blood type book.
Other issues
The research has also covered the effect of all the other issues surrounding nutrition and lifestyle upon the 10 systems within the body, thus allowing us to give even further recommendations to safeguard your health
Metabolic typing is the most advanced nutrition system in the world as it is the only one that effectively and accurately classifies the differences seen between people to answer what, how much and what not to eat. It is the most important and biggest health measure you can take. I am a metabolic typing advisor and specialist. To learn more visit my website and sign up for my metabolic typing, health and fitness newsletter.
Ben Wilson BSc (Hons) CSCS NSCA-CPT CMTA Dip
One2one nutrition
Rugby fitness training.com
10 most common mistakes in the gym - Part 2
The 10 most common mistakes in the gym - Part twoFollowing on from part one last week I am going to introduce to you some smaller but equally common failings in the gym.
If you are a regular gym member have a look to see if you are guilty of these common errors. I can certainly testify to making every single one of these myself in years gone by and hence desperate to educate everyone about how too they can double, triple or quadruple the results they get from the gym.
If you find these common mistakes are ones that you are making I would ask you to consider my lifestyle course, where I can teach you exactly how to get the results you deserve. A further five common errors I see (and made myself):
6) Spending too long on sit up type exercises.
Yes you want to lose that fat on your stomach, but no, you cannot do a hundred sit ups and watch it disappear. To lose fat you must eat right for your metabolic type, perform all four areas of exercise and put in place other key aspects. Each of these is covered in my courses, hence they are so successful. I apologize about breaking the news to you, but another set on that abdominal machine will simply waste your time with little benefits on actually losing weight.
7) Not doing free weights.
The benefits of free weights are unrivaled. They can help you increase bone density, co-ordination, strength, tone and many health issues. They allow weight loss to occur by the effect they have on your hormonal environment within the body. These benefits are much mor elikley to occur from free weights compared to resistance machines. This is why many people do not maximize the effect the gym can have on their life. Everyone on my courses develops the confidence to do free weights and harness the amazing benefits these exercises provide.
8) Not engaging the core during exercises.
Free weight exercises challenge the core muscles amongst others. This is why they are so beneficial. It is vital however that you actively contract these muscles during the exercises. This will greatly increase the safety of each exercise and also the effectiveness.
9) Not warming up correctly
One of the first exercise issues I teach all my clients is the power of active stretching. This tool in itself can often completely clear up muscle and joint pain. The traditional warm up of going a little easier for 5 minutes or doing a static stretch is outdated and less effective than doing a full active stretching routine. An active stretch is a movement where you take your body part to the point of comfortable stretch. Each repetition you will see further progress in flexibility. At the end of the movements you will be warmed up and loose for exercise.
10) Not training your legs
The amount of people who I meet who do not train their legs is staggering. If you want to be healthy your legs and core are the foundation of all movement. To increase muscle size or lose weight your need to alter the hormonal environment inside to get the results you want on the outside. It is total body, leg based exercises, e.g. squat, lunges etc that produces the results. People complain they are too hard, I would draw you back to point five in Part one to counteract this.
If you are a making these mistakes I would urge you to stand up and make a change. It is such a waste to see people trying hard to exercise and get results, yet fail because they did not receive adequate coaching and motivation.
My lifestyle course will teach you all the exercise knowledge to get results and includes a lifelong result producing nutrition system which I guarantee will get you looking and feeling great.
Ben WIlson BSc (Hons) CSCS NSCA-CPT CMTA Dip
One2one nutrition
Rugby fitness training.com
10 most common mistakes in the gym - Part 1
The 10 most common errors in the gym - Part 1The gym is the place where you can attain every fitness goal you desire. It certainly is not the only way to achieve the benefits of exercise but is certainly the perfect place to do it.
If you are a regular gym member have a look to see if you are guilty of these common errors. I can certainly testify to making every single one of these myself in years gone by and hence desperate to educate everyone about how too they can double, triple or quadruple the results they get from the gym.
If you find these are common mistakes that you are making then think about my lifestyle course where I can teach you exactly how to get the results you deserve. The first five out of the ten most common errors I see (and made myself) are below:
1) Not making improvements.
Sounds simple but the majority of gym users have not made any improvements in the last 1,2,3 4 months plus. If you do level 8 on the cross trainer today, and were doing that 3 months ago you have broken the first rule of exercise and not changed your training programme. Lifting the same weight as two months ago is another sign you have hit an exercise plateau. This totally undermines your exercise and goals. You have to change your exercise programme regularly. Change it next time you are in the gym, If you do level 8 do level 10, or usually 15 reps a set then increase the weight and do just 10. You must force the body to respond.
2) Not doing the four key areas of exercise.
In general many women do just cardio and most guys just weights. You will not achieve your goals until you get a perfect balance of aerobic, resistance, core and flexibility training. Once these are all in place it is about how you do each of these methods. It is also seen that different people require different amounts of each exercise type. For example, some people would be better served spending longer on the weights than the cardio while other people the reverse.
3) Thinking a gym session has to be a certain length of time
The reality of the issue is that as long as you do all four exercise areas in the right way you do not need to commit massive amounts of time. Too many people think they must hit their 20 minutes on the bike or the session has been a failure. Anything is better than nothing and a short bout even if just 10 minutes is better than getting out of the routine and disappearing for months on end.
4) Going too easy.
There is a certain intensity that you must reach to achieve your goals and training benefits. The key is to hit this intensity, which is unique to each person, while sticking to the principles of programme design. A sign of going too low is reading a book on the cardio machines. If this is you it would be wise to examine your training methods. Weights wise women are more likely to be guilty of lifting lighter than optimal weights as they worry about putting on bulk. A misplaced concern that just cannot happen. If you do 15 reps but could have done 20-30 reps you will be making little progress. Next time your are in the gym do not just stop at your goal number, stop when you cannot do anymore and lose your good lifting technique.
5) Going too hard
Where women are more likely to go too light the guys are more likely to go too heavy. If you can't keep perfect technique for the desired reps your weight is too heavy. Cardio wise you do not need to be at deaths door to be attaining the benefits of the training. A common mistake would be to go 19 minutes at a comfortable pace before turning into a maniac for the last minute and killing yourself. On completion that mad final spurt did not help the fitness too much and leave a nasty memory of how painful the gym can be.
Please see part two for the next five most common errors.
Ben WIlson BSc (Hons) CSCS NSCA-CPT CMTA Dip
One2one nutrition
Rugby fitness training.com
Food intolerances
Food intolerances.Many foods are touted as healthy with a new 'super food' coming along almost every week. The reality of the situation is that there is no such thing as a healthy food in absolute terms, but more that certain foods are healthy for your body and these may vary from you to the next person. This is the key basis of metabolic typing.
Food intolerances are an individual issue. A metabolic typing test can reveal the exact foods that your body chemistry needs. Within these results however certain foods that may be good for your body in theory are not helpful in practise.
A food intolerance can be thought of as any food that produces an irritation to the body from its consumption. These symptoms can include excess weight, bloating, sneezing, runny nose, itching skin, dry skin, breathing problems, frequent illness, low energy, digestive problems, exacerbation of medical issues and much more. A food intolerance is different to a food allergy though many of the symptoms are similar in nature. They can occur for a number of reasons with nutritional deficiencies within the cells being a major reason.
Any food that is consumed in excess or great regularity will be the most likely to become a food intolerance / allergy. Certain foods are also more likely than others to cause difficulty to the body. Some of the most common intolerances include:
Dairy - Pasteurized dairy is heated to ensure that all bacteria in the product is dead. This extends shelf life but removes the very things that help to digest the food. This results in so many people having difficulty processing dairy products and as a result many of the intolerant symptoms can arise.
Wheat - The most common food in today's society with many people having wheat for breakfast (cereal), lunch (bread) and dinner (pasta). This combined with some difficult to process qualities of wheat makes it perhaps the most common intolerance in our society.
Caffeine - Many people consume vast amounts of caffeine within tea, coffee and soft drinks like coke and Pepsi. The result is that body can display intolerant reactions from its consumption.
Other specific foods - Any food can become intolerant to your body for a variety of reasons. These can be 'healthy' foods such as Bananas, fruit, fish, nuts etc. The key is to identify how you feel after each meal and look for negative signs.
Spotting intolerances and handling them.
The best way to spot a food intolerance is to remove the most likely candidates for a period of seven days. This gives a chance for the body to recover from the food. On reintroduction to the diet you should be able to notice a return of the negative symptoms associated with the foods. This will tell you what is causing problems to your body.
Long term the safest way to stop a food intolerance is to continue a regular food rotation process. For example do not have wheat each meal or every day. Ensure you have different breakfast's and lunch rather than sticking to what you know best.
Once you are regularly rotating the foods it is vital you discover which foods to be emphasising in your diet. This will allow you to become as healthy as possible which greatly reduces the chances of developing and having food intolerances. To discover your metabolic type read about my course.
Ben WIlson BSc (Hons) CSCS NSCA-CPT CMTA Dip
One2one nutrition
Rugby fitness training.com
Your body shape and what it means for weight loss
Your body shape and what it means for weight lossThe areas where you store your body fat show the influence of athe subtle hormonal balance within the body. This fact can be used to predict which foods will more likely cause weight gain and diminish your health.
Fat storage patterns
Different people store their body fat in different areas. It may be that you store your fat on your stomach only, just below your waist or maybe all over your body, your hands,face included. Take a look at yourself, then have a look at the next few people you see and notice the different ways they store their fat.
In general there are four major fat storage patterns in women and three in men. This is caused by the dominance of the endocrine glands within the body; Thyroid, adrenal, pituitary or ovaries (women only). Each person has one gland that is more dominant than the others. This gland influences the main areas where you store fat
The broad patterns of fat storage are unique, see if you can spot someone who holds their fat mostly on the stomach and hips only, others who store it all over their body, some just below the waist only and finally people who store it on their back, chest stomach and hips. These patterns relate to the dominance of the thyroid, pituitary, ovaries and adrenals respectively.
Research has also found that certain foods stimulate these glands, for example caffeine, fruit, chocolate amongst others stimulates the thyroid gland. Over time you learn that the foods that stimulate your dominant gland will produce a temporary uplift in energy. The result is you learn to crave these foods when you are low on energy to give you a pick up
.
Over time relying on your dominating gland can wear it out resulting in a drop in metabolic rate and subsequent fat accumulation. The idea is to minimize these foods and replace them with a non dominant gland stimulating substitute. This will allow the gland a rest and allow it to recharge over time and thus let the body lose fat.
The cause of your cravings
The need for you to rely on the foods that stimulate your dominant gland arises because you are giving inadequate nutrients in the right amount for your body. The result is inefficient energy production and the desire to fall back on your favorite foods that will give you an uplift
This explains why when many people cut out cakes, sugars, starches and caffeine (Thyroid type foods, a common dominance in white western people) they never stick to it. As many people replace these foods with other food sources that are not appropriate for their metabolic type. The result is the body sends out signals for more energy, this gives the food craving for .you guessed it!..... the cakes, sugars, starches or caffeine they cut out. This opens up a game of will power which will inevitably be won by the food.
Know your type before cutting out these foods.
The simple solution to avoid the above cycle is to discover your metabolic type first, then fine tune the meal ratios before minimizing these glandular foods. The process of eating in accordance with your metabolic type will almost serve to completely reduce the food craving.
Persistent food cravings with an emotional basis can of course be treated with emotional freedom technique (EFT). In combination, this will relieve the biochemical and behavioral need for certain foods and thus produce the desired weight loss.
This is why my courses comes money back guaranteed, we are tackling the issues from all angles and right at the source of the problem.
Ben WIlson BSc (Hons) CSCS NSCA-CPT CMTA Dip
One2one nutrition
Rugby fitness training.com
Learning to run
Learning to runThe ability to jog is a great asset and allows you to effectively exercise any place you may be. When done correctly it increases the density of your bones and significantly improves your health and fitness.
It is a popular comment that running is bad for the joints. This is not the case if your body is working efficiently. However, if your muscles are not activating as they should or you perform to much running for the health of your body it can indeed be detrimental for your joints and body.
To avoid the negative effects of running you need to ensure you have addressed your posture and muscle strengths across the body so you can handle running. To this you should use very gradual increases within your training program.
The key though is listening to your body. Joggers are perhaps the most stubborn of all sportsmen, up there with racket sports players for ignoring all their aches and pains and causing more significant damage as a result.
Many people want to run yet find this mode of exercise difficult to conquer. The key is to start off easy and slowly progress it:
e.g. to build to 3km jogging.
Week 1: 500m (Yes, just 500m)
Week 2: 750m
Week 3: 1000m
Week 4: 1500m
Week 5: 2000m
Week 6: 2500m
Week 7: 3000m
Week 8: 3000m
Please note the distance increases are examples and you should tune into your body to tell you whether you can increase the distance and by how much from week to week if at all. If you have any undue pain e.g. shin, calf, foot etc you will need to halt the increases in distance until the pain has passed
Another way to begin running is to introduce periods of slow jogging and walking. This method assumes you have the aerobic fitness to achieve your goal session time walking at a good speed and that your posture and muscles are in a state to support jogging injury free and without pain. If not focus on the other areas until your body can handle jogging.
The first goal is to set out a maximum time period or distance to cover you can realistically perform a few times per week, maybe in your lunch hour, before or after work etc. Then build towards it
e.g. to build to 30 minutes jogging.
Week 1: 26 minutes walking 4 minutes jogging
Week 2: 24 minutes walking 6 minutes jogging
Week 3: 20 minutes walking 10 minutes jogging
Week 4: 15 minutes walking 15 minutes jogging
Week 5: 10 minutes walking 20 minutes jogging
Week 6: 5 minutes walking 25 minutes jogging
Week 7: 0 minutes walking 30 minutes jogging
Week 8: 0 minutes walking 30 minutes jogging
If you do at least a couple of sessions a week these goals should be fairly attainable depending on current fitness. The key is to let your body give you what it wants, so progress may be quicker or slower. Please ensure you monitor for pains and injuries. There is no need to run with pain. Instead back off the training and examine what is going wrong. Remember when jogging the rate or perceived exertion should not go past 15 out of 20. (where 5/20 is easy, 10/20 is comforable, 15/20 is hard and 20/20 is collapse)
Ben WIlson BSc (Hons) CSCS NSCA-CPT CMTA Dip
One2one nutrition
Rugby fitness training.com
Core training
The Core - how to flatten your stomach and end back pain.The core is a term for the sets of muscles that surround the spine and hold it in place. An efficient core will flatten your stomach by naturally pulling it tight and minimize back pain by holding the spine stable.
The core muscles relate to amongst others the deep transverse abdominal (below the main abdominal's) pelvic floor muscles (muscles that stop you going to the toilet) deep spinal muscles and the gluteus muscles (buttocks). Through ensuring these muscles are correctly working then improving their strength the body will become stronger and healthier.
Activating the core
Many people have trouble activating the core, you must learn to do this before you can strengthen it. The problem comes because the core muscles easily become sleeping muscles through poor posture, wrong food choices, tight muscles, pain and many more factors. These factors must be addressed before the core muscles will work naturally. The first step you can take is to learn to hold a neutral spine.
Neutral spine
This refers to standing with correct posture and thus ensuring all the joints are optimally aligned. To find your neutral spine:
Stand with your heels, buttocks, shoulders and head against the wall.
With one hand feel how much space there is in the arch of your lower back.
A neutral spine should have just enough room for one hand to slide into the arch of the lower back while the heels, buttocks, shoulders and head remain touching the wall.
If you cannot get your hand in the arch or there is room for much more than one hand e.g. your fist. Your posture needs to be adjusted, this will come from following the correct stretches and strengthening exercises.
Whenever possible try to reposition your body into the neutral spine position. This should be held for all exercises and even when not exercising e.g. when standing in a queue, sitting in the car etc.
Engaging the core
In the neutral spine position you can then activate the core muscles. To do this you need to consciously:
1. Contract the pelvic floor muscles, by stopping yourself going to the toilet at the back then the front.
2. Draw the stomach area below the belly button into the spine as closely (hard) as possible. Imagine you are trying to pull on a really tight pair of trousers and must get them over your lower stomach.
In addition to activating the core. It is also necessary to use the larger muscles of the buttock and midsection.
Core exercises
Once you can activate the core you can begin to do exercises that will flatten your stomach and reduce your back pain. Core exercises are those that stress these ,muscles by making you hold body in place with a neutral spine. An example exercise would be the plank, often seen in gym classes, see picture on my site.
To flatten your stomach, stop joint pain and feel the healthiest you have ever you need to be doing core training as part of a healthy lifestyle. If you want to stop your back pain, flatten your stomach and achieve your health potential I would urge you to seriously consider doing my lifestyle course. .
Ben WIlson BSc (Hons) CSCS NSCA-CPT CMTA Dip
One2one nutrition
Rugby fitness training.com
Aerobic training - How hard do I need to go for results?
Aerobic training - How hard do I need to train to get results?The most fundamental key to aerobic activities is getting out of breath. It is essential you examine your exercise to see if it is achieving this. In my experience I have met many people who do hours of swimming but never get even slightly out of breath, or play hours of tennis but say to me they cannot lose weight.
These two examples show how exercise can be misleading. When swimming, your technique may limit you from being able to reach an intensity to achieve the real health benefits of exercise. Tennis, by nature of its design is stop start and very often does not challenge the aerobic system at all. i understand it takes 2 hours to play a match but more often than not the exerciser is spending considerably more time standing around than running.
The above examples are not a criticism of tennis or swimming but rather just making you aware of what really is an aerobic activity and what is not. For your health to be maximized you must reach an intensity that you are breathing more deeply than usual for a prolonged amount of time.
In the gym it is also very common to see people on machines but not reaching the required intensity level. If your body can handle level 10 and you are gong at level 3 it is going to struggle to really make gains in fitness and health. However, do not be mistaken that level 3 is useless. It is still exponentially more beneficial than the person who never does any aerobic activity, but more often than not will not get you the results you desire.
To gauge how hard to do exercise you should use the rate of perceived exertion scale (RPE). This is a subjective measure you ask yourself about how hard the exercise feels, from easy to very hard. Once you have learnt this you can set the intensity on the machines to equate to this exertion level.
RPE scale:
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20 - About to collapse the exercise is so hard, gasping for breath,
15 - Hard effort, could do 3-5 minutes max, breathing deeply.
10 - Comfortable, could do 15 minutes at this level, breathing a more
deeply than usual
5 - Easy, could do 30 minutes at this level, very slightly out of breath
0 - At home watching telly with the feet up.
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The aim is to build up to be able to do more exercise at the higher exercise intensities. You should aim to exercise at between 13-16 out of 20.
Please note you DO NOT need to go into the 17 - 20 end of the scale, you are not Olympic athletes just yet, so you do not need to train like them. Regular exercise at 17-18 out of 20 is difficult to maintain long term.
What happens instead is that your perception of what a 15 out of 20 feels like changes so further down the line you are working at a harder effort level but you perceive this as easier than an untrained counter part.
Using this scale allows you to control your exercise intensity and maintain motivation. The key is to find that 15 out of 20 level and then use different training techniques.
For example a 15 out of 20 for a 4 minute sprint may be at speed 13 on the treadmill, but at 15 out of 20 for a 20 minute jog may be at speed 11.5. Using different stimulus for the training will increase your fitness levels and maintain motivation.
See my article on hitting an exercise plateau for more on how to vary your training programme.
Ben WIlson BSc (Hons) CSCS NSCA-CPT CMTA Dip
One2one nutrition
Rugby fitness training.com
