Louise Brown

Anyone else felt that sense of anxiety the first time you went to the gym?

Between weights areas crowded with men and running machines maxed out with women churning out their miles, I didn’t know where to begin.

Thankfully, times have changed – and more people are recognising that everyone should have access to both cardio and resistance equipment. But why is that so important?

Being a Physio, I’m often asked:

“Which type of exercise is best
for me: cardio or resistance?”

My first answer is always the classic, that depends! The goals you set yourself will direct the sort of exercise you should do.

And in today’s busy society where we’re trying to get maximum effect for minimal time, making sure we select the right training program really does matter.

Now I think we both know there’s a LOT of information floating around the web telling you what’s best for you, and it can be super hard to sieve through it and make the right choices.

So if you’re hoping to change the way your body looks and feels, you might be wondering which is better: cardio exercise, or resistance. Let’s bust the myths.

Is cardio REALLY the best way to lose weight?

We all know getting out for a run is great for your cardiovascular health and can blow away the cobwebs, but as an efficient way to lose weight? Not so much.

It’s true that cardiovascular exercise like cycling or swimming, light jogging use up the energy stored in your fat cells. If you’ve got lots of time on your hands and you love these activities then these gentle forms of exercise form your ‘bread and butter’ for fat loss. BUT- they take a lot of time, I mean hours, to get the same results as other means of exercise.

So what are the alternatives? 

We now know that it’s the total fuel that your body uses during exercise that counts, so you want to achieve a higher fuel burn during your exercise session.

Doing this keeps the heart rate elevated both during AND after the exercise where it repairs, rebuilds and returns to pre-exercise state. So how can you do that? 

Increase your heart rate through higher intensity exercise

This works off your heart rate and the key is to elevate that heart rate for an interval of time. Whether that be with marching on the spot (beginner) or doing sprints up a hill (advanced) – it’ll be totally dependent on your fitness level.

Then you recover and let the heart rate come down again- before you repeat. 

Working at your upper limit like this
maximises the amount of energy you use.

This type of exercise can be done quickly – all you need is 15-20 mins to get results in both your fitness and fat loss. 

This could just mean that when you go out for a walk you walk really fast for 30 secs then slow down and recover before walking really fast again – it’s that simple. 

Increase your heart rate through resistance exercise (my favourite!)

I used to love going for a run or doing a spin class (well, I loved the feeling when it finished!) – but I used to end up exhausted, and I’d eat loads after the sessions and then the next day too, and my body felt tired for hours afterwards.

Then I discovered resistance training – using weights, machines and bands. And by doing exercise with these, my heart rate would stay up and I built muscle without becoming so exhausted.

My calorie burn is slightly less in a session now but my muscle mass is far higher than it ever was, meaning than I burn more energy at rest (because muscles need more energy than fat). I am also able to exercise more times a week, I eat less too because I don’t get as hungry as I used to after my spin classes and boy oh boy do I enjoy it far more!! 

New territory: the benefits of
switching to the weights machines

So I get it….this is new territory for lots of us who find comfort in those running machines and cross trainers, but through resistance training, you’ll:

1. Build muscle strength and tone – protecting the joints from injury and raising your resting metabolic rate
2. Improve your posture, flexibility and balance, helping you remain independent as you age
3. Manage your weight and muscle-to-fat ratio better (your body burns more kilojoules as it rests) 
4. Have more energy, which can improve your sleep quality at night too
5. Feel better in and about yourself!

Right, shall we give this a go?!

Here’s a little fat burning tutorial video running you through some fantastic exercises, including some super handy resistance techniques. Grab your kit, click play and let’s raise our heart rates and burn some fat!

If you’d like to be kept accountable to your health and fitness with a tailored program that incorporates more resistance training, let me know.

If you need help with an injury or want a professional to check your technique, give me a call on 07809 440 505 or pop a message in the contact form below. And if you’re wondering where to start in terms of equipment, I’d invest in some thick resistance bands (you’ll find inexpensive sets all over the Internet – these are the ones I use).

Using bands to exercise will get your heart rate up so your cardiovascular system will be getting a workout too!

Everyone knows looking after your body is easier when exercising is already second nature – but building the habits to get you to that point?

THAT often feels impossible.

I don’t know if you’ve ever come across of Maxwell Maltz’ 21-day rule for building habits?

Every New Year’s Eve I decide I’m going to read more before bed – not too difficult if I’ve only got to do if for 21 days to make it a habit, right?

Well I recently found out the 21-days-to-build-a-habit thing is a big fat myth! When researchers at UCL studied 96 people for 12 weeks, they found the average time it takes to build a new habit is actually 66 days*.

(Probably explains why every New Year’s Day it takes me about 21 minutes to give up with the book and crack on with Netflix again).

But before you feel too disheartened, there’s loads to be inspired by in this…

1. You don’t need to judge yourself if you can’t master a habit in three short weeks

The evidence shows it takes longer than that, so you’re better off taking your time and embrace the long, gentle route to success and simply enjoy the activity in the process.

2. Perfection isn’t everything

Mistakes don’t matter! The odd mistake has no measurable impact on building those habits long-term, do don’t beat yourself up if you miss an opportunity to exercise. Be kind to yourself and focus on developing strategies to get back on track instead.

3. It’s easier to make small, incremental changes anyway

When you stop thinking about building habits as an event and start trusting the long-term process instead, you don’t just manage your expectations better, you get to focus on little changes that aren’t so hard to make!

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if it takes you 21 days to form a habit or 210, because it will take some effort on your part either way.

So if you want some help staying accountable during that process, so you see real, physical change in your health and fitness, we’d love to help.

Please do get in touch if you want to turn a physical problem around or hit the button below if you’d like to know more about becoming accountable to your body through our Pilates classes.

Louise x

*This study makes really fascinating reading – I found a more easily digestible summary of it here in case you’re interested.