Here are a few fitness tips frm Ken Stewart, owner of Tyson's Playground, where they specialize in strength training for adults and performance training athleter.
1. Eat enough Protein. Proteins are the building blocks of lean muscle. However, for those of us who aspire to lose bodyfat, protein is even more important. Consuming enough protein will allow us to retain lean muscle as we lose fat and thus keep our metabolisms revved up and burning fat at a high level. Women should aim for a minimum of 0.8-1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight per day and emn should aim or 1-1.2 grams of protein per day.
2. Lift Heavy and Lift Often. Unless you've been living under a rock, you should already know that lifting weights does NOT mean you will build big muscles! It's just not that easy. When your losing fat, you will more than likely be eating less calories than normal. Therefore, it is extremely important for you to give your body a reason to hold on to the lean muscle that it's taken years to build. Many people make the mistake in thinking light weights will "help tone" you muscles when in reality, light weights will simply give you a cardio workout while holding weights. In short, perfom multiple sets of compound movements (squat, deadlift, push-ups) in the 6-12 repetition range and keep it moving.
3. Water, Water, Water. Drink water throughout the day and lots of it. One trick that I advise our clients use is to drink 12-16 ounces of water in between meals and if they drink teas or zero-low calorie drinks to have them with their meals
4. *Cardio! *I don't mean go find your nearest elliptical machine and pound away for an hour per day. Not only is this not the most effective way to burn fat, it is by far the least efficient. Save yourself some time and practice High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) 3-4 times per week for 15-20 minutes. Many studies have shown the effectiveness of HIIT over the traditional Steady State Cardio (Elliptical/Treadmill). Here is a simple HIIT session that can be done on a stationary bike.
Warm-up for 5 minutes on level 5 (adjust level according to your fitness level)
Increase to Level 10, pedal as fast as possible for 15 seconds
Decrease to level 6 and try to let your heart rate recover for another 15 seconds
Repeat this sequence until you get to 15 minutes and then cool down for 5 minutes
5. Write it down!Keep a nutrition and workout journal to keep track of your plan and also keeps you accountable. And just like the old saying goes, "If you fail to plan, then plan to fail!".
Tyson's Playground is also the facitlity the 1st Ladies train throughout the season.
