Let Me H.I.I.T. You

As you get older, you will realize that your body just does not behave the way that it did when you were in your 20’s and 30’s. If you are 35 years-old or older, you probably remember when you could just decide to lose weight, and then it just happened. Well it is not as easy when you get older. Unfortunately, this is due to hormonal changes that you have no control over. You will notice that you gain weight easier, and just cannot take it off as easy as you used to be able to when you were younger.  Not only are you fighting against diminishing growth hormones, but you have added stresses of living busy lives, which means your body is producing more Cortisol, an adrenal hormone, which causes belly fat.

What can you do?  The first thing is to realize you simply cannot eat anything you want. The second thing you will need to do is establish a consistent exercise regimen, which means planning your workouts ahead of time. The third thing you need to do is get enough sleep. Even if you are eating right and consistently exercising, if you are not getting enough sleep, you are fighting a losing battle. Cortisol fluctuate up and down throughout the day and returns to normal levels during sleep.

Not all exercise is created equal!  Anyone can go to Pinterest and find a typical list of exercises to perform at home, which is better than doing nothing at all; however, I recommend that you attend (in person) a high intensity interval training (H.I.I.T.) class at least twice a week. With a coach or instructor guiding and pushing you, you will likely give it your all, and not quit. H.I.I.T. can help you reactivate growth hormones and stop the effects of aging by burning off unwanted fat, regaining muscle tone and getting your youthful body back. 

H.I.I.T. classes are designed with 20 seconds of intense exercise followed by 10 seconds of rest. During the 20 seconds, you must give the exercise all of your energy.  I tell my students they can do anything for just 20 seconds (even burpees), but if they are not going to do it right, simple do not do it at all. Trust me, the results will show, and you will find that you are stronger than ever! Most of my students say they are actually in BETTER shape now than when they were younger.

Why does H.I.I.T work?  In exercise there is a thing called Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC), also known as the “afterburn” effect, which causes your body to burn fat up to 36 hours after intensely working out. The H.I.I.T. class at my studio, Brickhouse Cardio Club – Stafford, VA, is called Fun-HIIT (Functional High Intensity Interval Training) because the class is designed to "functionally" work several muscles at the same time; therefore boosting your metabolism so that you will develop more muscles and therefore burn fat even after exercising. Remember, while you want to lose weight, you do not want to lose muscle mass in the process, causing you to look flabby, soft and sometimes sickly. You want to burn calories from fat and not from muscle. Here is a tip to remember: one pound of muscle can burn up to 20 calories per day, so if you replace 10 pounds of fat with 10 pounds of muscle, you will burn 200 calories a day by doing nothing else.

In summary, get your diet under control, get plenty of sleep, and plan your workouts in advance, making sure that you add high intensity interval training to your workout regimen. If you are in the Stafford, Virginia area, come to Brickhouse Cardio Club and let me H.I.I.T. you. Your body will thank you.