Militarization of Fitness v Periodization Training

Stop The Insanity!workout-insanity

Every day we see more extreme “fitness programs” advertised with high-intensity workouts and volumes of work that even my elite athletes would never hold up to.  “What most recreational athletes and fitness buffs don’t realize is that elite athletes spend more than half of their time in the gym on injury prevention, and the rest of the time on performance enhancement. Safe and effective stretching and injury prevention workouts might not be spectacular to watch, but they allow athletes to work harder at their sport and in the gym on performance enhancement.” Robert Forster – Physical Therapist to 42 Olympic Medalists, NBA and Grand Slam Champions and Member of the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness.

What Jonathan Angelilli in his article  “The Massive Fitness Trend That’s Not Actually Healthy at All”  described as all-out war on the body, what he called the “militarization of fitness — all the boot camps, marine-inspired workouts, extreme workout routines, and general glorification of pain. Even our recovery and regeneration techniques are prioritized by how painful they are.

How Does the Militarization of Fitness Affect Your Workout?

In every way possible. It affects your health, happiness, the sustainability of your program, and your ability to reach your goals.

Do you believe any of the following are true?

No pain, no gain. You have to suffer to get in shape.
More is always more.
Working out is not fun, but it’s an obligation.
If I don’t almost throw up, I’m holding back too much.
You’re only as good as your last workout.
I feel like a loser when I miss a workout.

If you answered yes, then you’re at the “exercise is war” understanding of fitness!

“I spent a decade there, with plenty of joint casualties and war stories to prove it. So I’m not belittling you—I’m just saying that this isn’t the only way to train, and it sure as heck isn’t sustainable”   Jonathan Angelilli

Periodization Training

A better approach, periodization training with the 24Fit Workout, give u more stamina, strength, & an overall greater performance! The basic premise of all well designed exercise programs is the progressive overload principle. Fitness must be “pushed” from below, i.e. starting slow and progressing to harder workouts slowly. 24Fit  builds your fitness up with a stair step series of methodical, progressive challenges and recoveries that strengthen your body and keep brain and brawn fresh.

The calories you burn during workouts are inconsequential to your overall body weight or body fat content! Instead, it is how well you use your exercise time to reprogram your daily physiology that matters.  Take a look at this graphic comparingWhat people think they need to do, to look better, lose fat get in shape”  v What people actually need to do”?

Take a look at the 24 Fit Workout, a 24 week programme with 3 phases. Key advantages:

24-fit-video-485

  • Teach your body to burn body fat over time rather than just burn carbs..
  • Address common vulnerabilities of the human body regardless of age or previous activity level. Make your body more resilient to injury, unlike many “insane workouts” which lead to injuries
  • Periodization training so you need to sequence your training, to develop one aspect of fitness at a time and then use that as a foundation to build the next. And principles which recognise that all exercise is much less effective if rest and recovery periods are not provided.
  • Workout lasts for 30 mins, the time it would take you to drive to the gym and back!. This length of workout is achievable over time. “Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.” Why strength training 3 times a week for 30 minutes?
  • You will be less likely to quit the 24 Fit Workout once you get started because it follows scientific training principles. The program progresses your fitness naturally, so that you not only keep going, but never want to stop!
  • Improve posture with 24Fit. Standing up straight can improve breathing and digestion. And uses less energy. A good antidote for all those people stuck at their desks all day.
  • Has 3 levels of difficulty so any age, any condition, anyone can build a better body! ( beginner, intermediate and advanced)
  • Clear instruction, it’s like having a PT in the room with you.
  • Includes nutritional advice, which is so important to get results, including what to take around exercise
  • Developed by Robert Forster a PT that has has worked with top athletes such as Pete Sampras, Jackie Joyner Kersee, Florence “Flo-Jo” Joyner, Greg Foster, Allyson Felix, as well as weight management clients looking to burn fat. Thirty years of experience in a set of 13 DVDs!  He learnt from his work with endurance athletes how to burn fat as an energy source, rather than carbs. And hes wriiten a new book called  Healthy Running – Step by Step

Additional sources:

Read article – The Massive Fitness Trend That’s Not Actually Healthy at All

Reasons You Need a Science-Based Fitness and Health Plan

The research is overwhelming: you need to be active to avoid the lifestyle diseases that are pervasive throughout our society. These debilitating conditions will shorten your life and, at least equally importantly, rob you of an active and mobile lifestyle as you age. When it comes to preventing and treating these diseases, it is also clear that exercise is preventative medicine and holds the least tendency for negative side effects while offering immediate rewards in the quality of your life.

Many people we meet are intimidated by the concept of exercise and justifiably leery of gyms and unqualified fitness programs. Still, others are exercising regularly but not getting results, or worse they are chronically injured from ill-advised workouts and unscientific dietary advice.

24 Fit Workout Plan – Science based, periodisation training, habit forming 30 minute workouts, clear instruction so like having a PT in your home, strength training 3 times a week(with resistance bands/dumbbells and for the advanced user ankle weights), gradual increase in intensity through 3 phases, 3 levels of difficulty, make your body more resilient to injury, improve posture and personalised nutrition plan.

#strengthtraining3timesaweek

#30minuteworkouts

Getting Fit Does Not Have to be Painful

“Every week we meet new patients at Forster Physical Therapy who have been injured by unscientific fitness programs. High intensity workouts are the rage now and far too many people are getting injured following the “No Pain, No Gain” mantra right into the Physical Therapist clinic. Programs like P90x, Crossfit, and Soul Cycle have people believing that to get fit means to suffer. I can tell you that even our professional and Olympic athletes don’t train as hard as these programs have out-of-shape homemakers and businessmen training, and neither do they get you looking your best or performing at your fittest”

“The secret is called periodization training, and it works for everyone, at any age”
robert-forster-24-fit-workout
Robert Forster, Physical Therapist and Performance Specialist

Robert Forster developed the Herbalife 24FIT Workout program with Herbalife. He is one of the leading physical therapists for athletes, both recreational and elite. Over the course of his 30-year career, he has successfully trained Olympic gold medalists, U.S. Open and Wimbledon champions, NBA superstars and triathlon world-record holders. Tired of encountering ill-advised training programs that only cause more injury, Robert created a new approach to physical therapy, which is divided into phases that follow the body’s natural healing and growth patterns.

How To Avoid Losing Muscle Mass?

What is the most common reaction when people go on a diet to lose weight?

They eat less, depriving their body of good essential nutrients. What happens next? The body receives less nutrition and less nutrients and as a result they start losing their muscular mass. In other words muscles become the source of nutritional reserves for their body. When people stop their dieting they go back to eating as before but they have less muscle mass which is precisely what they need to help burn calories.

avoid-losing-muscle-mass

Why is the Herbalife programme different?

This programme is different because it actually feeds the body correctly, it does not starve it. The reason most people become overweight is due to nutritional deficiencies. When you don’t feed the body correctly it craves more food than it actually needs; it craves sugar and fat. People often give up on diets or “cheat” because they can’t stand the hunger pangs. It becomes too hard.

Why step up your Strength Training as you age?

“By your mid-30s, most people still look young, but are already experiencing the BIG Three of aging: deteriorating lean muscle mass, worsening posture, and crumbling joints” say Robert Forster, Physical Therapist and PT.

Many people say that, as they age, they eat and exercise the same amount but still gain weight. One of the main causes of this is loss of muscle mass. The more muscle mass you have, the more calories you burn. Strength training preserves and even increases muscle mass, keeping metabolism at a high level. Hit a weight plateau? Step up your strength training, that is 3 times a weeks with the 24Fit Workout. Thats a 30 minute workout easy to fit into your busy day. It builds muscle & increases your metabolic rate. Thats 24 weeks, 3 phases of 8 weeks, teaching your body through the phases on how to burn fat instead of carbs. The 24 Fit program was developed by Robert Forster who has spent 30 years, teaching athletes and weight management clients how to burn fat as a fuel supply.

#feedthebodycorrectly
#strengthtraining3timesaweek

Overcoming The “Fit But Fat” Syndrome

Training for a half marathon but cant lose weight? Cycling several times per week, but carrying excess weight?

The calories you burn during workouts are inconsequential to your overall body weight or body fat content! Instead, it is how well you use your exercise time to reprogram your daily physiology that matters.

“Many people say that, as they age, they eat and exercise the same amount but still gain weight. One of  the main causes of this is loss of muscle mass. Genetically, women have  less muscle than men, and as a woman ages, the preservation of lean  muscle becomes vital.  By the time you’ve hit 30, muscular strength begins to head south. But the majority of the decrease occurs after age 50, when it falls at the rate of 15 percent per decade. “Tom Holland,  Exercise Physiologist

“By Your mid-30s, most people still look young, but are already experiencing the BIG Three of aging: deteriorating lean muscle mass, worsening posture, and crumbling joints” say Robert Forster, Physical Therapist, PT and developer of the 24 Fit Workout.

Have you experienced a Monday morning bloat after a weekend of great workouts? Ever look in the mirror and see a pudgy, bloated you and the scale says you’ve gained a pound or two for all your hard efforts?

The “Fit But Fat” Syndrome is attributable to poor daily nutrition and improper training schedules. Common problems:

  • Poor daily nutrition habits
  • Working harder and harder, not smarter
  • Too many intense workouts creating a metabolism dependent on carbohydrates not fats
  • Calorie restriction causing your metabolism to idle
  • Ill advised training programs dictated by whim and not science

Solutions:

what-ned-to-eat-24fit

Chow Down and Eat Clean

Eating too little will force your body into “starvation mode,” which will cause it to store added fat for energy (out of fear of not being fed) rather than burning fat and keeping your belly taut. To lose weight you need to consume fewer calories than you expend. However, if you don’t maintain good levels of macro and micro nutrients, you may find you are never satisfied after eating, or still lack energy, making you reach for products such as sugary drinks, biscuits or other unhealthy snacks. These foods can cause an energy spike (rise in blood sugar) followed by an energy crash (fall in blood sugar), which leads to further fatigue and hunger. Skipping meals, especially breakfast may seem like a good way to cut calories, but it can leave you feeling tired and hungry long before your next meal. Take two Herbalife shakes and one balanced meal containing lean protein to lose fat.

Strength Training

“Adding strength training to your workout routine builds muscle and helps you burn more calories during and after your workout”, says Tom Holland, author of Beat the Gym. In fact, researchers found that women who did strength training increased their resting metabolic rate (the calories your body needs to get through the day) for as long as 16 hours post-exercise.

Start with Low Intensive Exercise

Longer, low intensity aerobic exercise forces your body to burn fats better and improves the way your body processes sugar as well. For athletes and the general public, aerobic activities reprogram your body to use fat as its preferential fuel and will enable us to work harder for longer periods of time with less fatigue. Robert Forster teaches via the 24 Fit Workout Programme how to become a more efficient calorie-burning machine, so you are going to burn fat all day – whether you are at work, at play or even whilst you sleep. 24Fit gradually increases in intensity so you dont workout harder you workout smarter.

Keep Cardio in Check

“Muscle is more metabolically active than fat, which means the more you have, the faster your metabolism is and the more calories you burn all day long—all key for a whittled middle. Resistance training builds this quality lean muscle, so do two to three total-body strength sessions a week”, says Tom Holland, exercise physiologist. “For fat-melting cardio, all you need to do is your weight, he adds: If you’re 145 pounds, do 145 minutes a week, broken up however fits into your schedule—say, 60 minutes Saturday, 45 Tuesday, and 40 Thursday”

How to transform your body into a fat burning machine

error: