My 1st Fitness Tip
Being in the fitness industry for over a decade, information has changed as research has evolved. This, I imagine can get very confusing for the general public, heck it has gotten confusing for me at times! CrossFit? Barre? High Intensity? Cardio before weights? Cardio after weights?
What advice do you follow?
What makes the most impact to YOUR fitness?
I have put together my 3 top pieces of advice. Whether your fitness goals are: weight loss, improvements in strength, or improvements in flexibility and mobility these pieces of advice, in my opinion, are essential to moving anyone forward in their fitness goals.
FITNESS TIP #1: DOING THE SAME TYPE OF ACTIVITY WILL STIMULATE THE SAME TISSUE IN THE SAME WAY. VARY THE TYPE OF EXERCISE YOU ENGAGE YOUR BODY IN.
If your goal is weight loss, doing consistently the same type of exercise every year without any variety, or down phase in training, could get frustrating as your body becomes used to the type of training. Same goes for muscle-building. Doing a similar weight room routine with few changes here and there is not enough to stimulate the muscles. I know because I can relate to this one.
Recent personal example: Since we got Axel on the team, my training has varied significantly! Gone are the days of tricep rope extensions. He got me doing pull-ups, different “core” exercises, and numerous NEW body weighted exercises I’ve never done before. I’ve noticed it have a drastic affect on the way I feel. i.e. when I got to bed the night of our training session – WHEW!!! Every muscle in my body is vibrating, YASS!!!
Here is an example of one of the exercises he had me do.
This exercise is called “Skin the Cat.”
After this, my back muscles were sore for days (in a good way.)
Here are THREE WAYS to vary your routine:
1. Incorporate an hour of WEEKLY ZEN – Foam rolling/massage/yoga/stretch can be incorporated into your routine. Rolling shall be slow and therapeutic. In fact, often there isn’t actual rolling rather than finding a tight spot and laying into it while breathing.
2. Learn to BREATHE properly. Easier said than done but once you learn how, it is life changing. Not breathing properly will directly affect your health and fitness goals. (See the one word my clients are tired of hearing me say.)
3. Incorporate VARIETY into your training and I don’t just mean vary the sets and repetitions. Doing the same type of exercises (and stretches!) will stimulate the same tissues in the same ways. For myself, doing Calisthenics and FRC with Axel, my mind and muscles are stimulated in new ways. I feel a sense of euphoria. Not to mention, variety is the best way to maintain healthy fascia. Remember unhealthy fascia is stiff, limits mobility and progress in your fitness.
Remember our BODY loves change. Our mind… not so much.The mind will always want us to stay in a comfortable, familiar, place. It’s a protective thing. In this case, we need to branch out to make NEW neuromuscular connections and allow our mind and body to reach new possibilities
Get to my 2nd most important fitness tip
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Asma Kassam, BHK, CFST
Kinesiologist, Personal Trainer, & Health & Fitness coach
Active Kinetix Fitness & Rehabilitation
Burnaby, Vancouver