Gravity Fx Fitness

One of my clients gave up her jazzercise routine at the first of the year for cardio strength training and hasn’t looked back since.

This fabulously fit 50-something did her previous workout routine for quite some time and it helped her get in pretty good shape…..but her body had gotten used to it and she needed something new to challenge her.  (Vicki in action)

Her sister-in-law had recently started working with me and recommended it to her and her husband.  After the free trial, she decided to give it a try and see how she liked it.  She went from good shape to even better shape.

She has maintained her cardio conditioning and increased her strength at the same time.  All the upper and mid back exercises have reduced some occasional neck problems, giving her increased posture and alignment.

After doing the same exercise routine over and over you need to give your body a new stimulus in order to see improvement.  Besides keeping your body guessing this also keeps your mind fresh, which is also important for avoiding plateaus.

This is why you see so many gym members hit plateaus – you get used to your routine and need a new stimulus.  Recently, a young woman came in to try and make some additional progress.

After doing the elliptical machine 5 days a week, she is in good shape but wants to keep improving.  Your body gets very efficient at doing steady state (pace) aerobics and high intensity intervals will shock the body and increase your metabolism.

Resistance training will help build lean muscle tissue and keep your burning more calories after you have stopped exercising.  It also accentuates a woman’s natural curves while building or maintaining bone mass – a win/win situation!

The increased strength  makes everyday activities much easier.  The time efficient nature of these workouts doesn’t hurt any, either – about 2 hours a week (3 sessions) is all she does with me and then some walking on her own.

Get moving!

Brian Morgan

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Lifting three pound dumbbells won’t help you lose fat  and it sure won’t keep you from losing bone mass!

There’s a common misconception that lifting light weights for high reps is good for “toning” or “shaping.”  This is a myth that needs to be forgotten.  Lifting weights lighter than your gallon of milk is not enough resistance to make a change in your muscles.

You need to challenge your muscles with some type of resistance training.  This doesn’t mean you have to lift heavy barbells – it could be something like the weight of your own body, resistance bands or sandbags.

If fat loss is your big goal, than doing some type of circuit or interval training will do the trick.  You don’t need to isolate muscles like a bodybuilder, instead, choose exercises that let you work several muscles at the same time.

Not only is this more time efficient, you increase your muscular coordination, making everyday tasks easier.  Not long ago, I had a female client in her early 50’s work up to using a 25 pound dumbbell for one arm rows after 3 months of training.

So not only did we increase her grip, arm and back strength, we also strengthened her bones, decreasing her risk of osteoporosis.  And her muscles didn’t grow too big or look masculine. 

If you think lifting the pink dumbbells will do anything for your bone mass, I wouldn’t bet on it.  A couple years ago I watched a special program on aging.  One of the participants was a 101 year old woman who was still vibrant, had her mobility and sang in the church choir.

She was a regular exerciser and they showed her lifting weights.  The dumbbells looked like they were about 8 pounds a piece, which is reasonably heavy and maybe a big part of her youthful appearance!

Actress Jessica Biel isn’t afraid to do higher intensity exercise and it shows.  I’ve read that she does plenty of athletic movements like running sprints and such.  She appears to be in pretty good “shape” to me. 

Many in the entertainment field were lucky enough to be born in the upper end of the gene pool and can do almost anything and look better than you or me….but doing some type of interval strength training will help you get the body you want without looking bulky.

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