I HOPE YOU CAN DANCE GET YOUR BUTT OUTSIDE TURN ON THE BLENDER
Fitness doesn ’ t have to be achieved in a gym , so start dancing — whatever style you like ! Fast , sexy and hot like salsa ? Risqué like stripper pole dancing ? Or … forget the pole … come-on guys , get into your own Magic Mike groove ! Try a posture-perfect waltz , a sultry tango , an elegant ballet , or get into some moves like Jagger . Dance is going to incorporate cardio , balance , coordination , function and resistance so dip into dance ! Note : dipping your partner qualifies as a weight-bearing exercise !
THE MORE JOINTS , THE BETTER Most machines and gym equipment advocate single-joint exercise . For example , a preacher curl machine develops biceps by having the exerciser hinge at the elbows . Multi-joint exercises elevate your cardiovascular reaction , are more functional than single-joint exercises , and can shorten the necessary exercise time by almost half . A moving lunge with one-arm row at a cable machine is a great example . The exerciser is working elbow , shoulder , back , hip and knee as well as core and balance . How good is that ?
Get out of the gym entirely . Think of all the activities that lie outside the gym that incorporate a fi t lifestyle , from walking , to baseball and golf to training for extreme sports like a mudder . You could just bend it like Beckham ! Get outta town and hike the hills - the Bruce Trail is a perfect venue . Find a fi tness trail where you walk , run , stop and use featured installations along the trail or try seasonal adventures that can take you from ski hills to water skiing . Get outta the country because we all know a change can be as good as a rest . A vacation might just be the thing to inspire new elements in your daily regiment . Hmmm …. I wonder what tips you might fi nd in the Turks & Caicos or maybe China ?
Nope , we ’ re not talking smoothies here . Most exercisers separate their fitness routines into two areas : cardio and resistance . Exercise researcher and validator , Dr . Len Kravitz , Associate Professor of Exercise Science at The University of New Mexico ( www . drlenkravitz . com ) suggests a method that he calls the Blender Approach . It ’ s just like making a smoothie — in fitness , that means mixing your resistance and cardio , alternating between one and the other . Cardio becomes interval-based and your overall fitness level is raised as a result . Dr . Kravitz has found through his research that weight-loss is also increased by using this technique . It ’ s not a magic pill , but a technique with multiple benefits .
Like the alchemists of old who searched for a magic element that would turn dross into gold ; we are looking for a technique to improve our fitness .
Once we ’ ve worked on a routine for six to eight weeks , our bodies become familiar with the approach and gains become limited . We need change . It ’ s simple - routine is the enemy of fitness . In the twenty-first century , we can learn a lesson from the alchemists : there may not be a magic solution , but if we think creatively , mix things up and use modern science , we can effect positive change in our fitness .
GARRY BLAIN
GARRY BLAIN IS A LIFELONG LEARNER WHO , AFTER TEACHING SECONDARY SCHOOL FOR 31 YEARS , CHANGED HIS FOCUS FROM ACADEMICS TO FITNESS . A CERTIFIED PERSONAL TRAINER AND FITNESS INSTRUCTOR , GARRY FIRMLY
BELIEVES THAT “ IF YOU DON ’ T LOOK AFTER YOUR HEALTH , YOU ’ LL LOOK AFTER YOUR ILLNESS .”
spring fall 2016 2014 | wo magazine | ## 11