Every day more and more people are turning to military style fitness boot camps in an effort to get fitter and lose weight. They may seem like good value for money but could they doing more harm than good?

In the UK the best known of these bootcamp providers is British Military Fitness (BMF), who run bootcamps is local parks nationwide. BMF have over 100 sessions every week in London alone and many more in major cities like Manchester and Birmingham. But are these boot camps giving you what you want and should you be signing up to them?

Dr Ralph Rogers who is a consultant in sports medicine at the London Orthopaedic Clinic, is worried that these type of bootcamps can result in injury to the participants, and in fact fail to achieve the results of weight loss and fitness that people are actually looking for.

According to Dr Rodgers in a recent interview with the Daily Mail  “Exercise needs to be done gradually, with proper supervision, otherwise there is a risk of injury. I would never recommend an overweight patient to do one of these military bootcamps. When you overload the body, the result is injury – anything from shin splints to back problems – and, in this kind of environment, people make things worse by trying to soldier on. Neither the psychological aspect of why someone is overweight or the nutritional aspect is addressed by a bootcamp. Even fit people can hurt themselves by being over zealous.”

Also in the same recent article in the Daily Mail Osteopath Paul Raw points out “I’ve seen a lot of ex-soldiers with bad backs because the idea of military-style training is to push yourself beyond your limit. This means the likelihood of eventual injury is high. It’s a British thing I think, to assume that exercise must equal pain.”

As a personal trainer here in Manchester we have work with many clients from many different backgrounds and walks of life. We recognise that every single person we see is different, with many different strengths and weaknesses. We also understand that bootcamp style training exercises such as making someone do loads of press ups when they can’t even do one correctly is a shortcut to lower back pain. Doing too many press ups can also cause the chest muscles to tighten up and cause both rounding of the shoulders and shoulder pain.

Normally there is only 1 instructor at these bootcamps for every 20 exercises so it is very obvious that clearly they cannot make sure that everyone is doing everything right.

Sit ups which are also commonly used a lot in these bootcamps are also one of the main culprits when it comes to developing lower back problems when exercising.

Our recommendation here at North West Personal Training is that if your trying to lose weight and get fit then the safest way to do so is by speaking to one of the professional trainers at your local gym and considering one to one personal trainining. Also make sure they are REPS qualified and are fully insured.

North West Personal Training is based at Fitness First in Manchester. Contact us now for a free consultation.

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I came across this motivational quote today on Twitter by Deepak Chopra and thought it was worth of sharing as it make perfect sense. Next time you want to quit the gym or can’t be bothered going read this:

‎”If you don’t see an immediate result to good or bad action, be patient and observe. No debt goes unpaid in the universe.” – Deepak Chopra 2010

Tags: Deepak Chopra, exercise, personal training
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According to a recent report in the Daily Mail women can burn up to 48,000 calories a year just by shopping.  That is the equivalent of just under 14lbs a year, with an average of 385 calories being used up per shopping spree. We are not advocating giving up the gym in favour of shopping but all the miles clocked up browsing the shelves can certainly help in your efforts to stay slim.

You can read the full article below:

• Shop till you Drop – Daily Mail Article

Tags: bodyfat, exercise, personal training, shopping, Weight Loss
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This is for those of you who feel that you are getting out of shape and think you are unable to find the time to fit in a workout due to your very demanding lives.

Circuit Training Workouts

Circuit training can yield big results in very little time and is very good for general fitness and keeping in shape.

Circuit training basically is a continuous workout routine where you exercise the major muscles of his body and perform the cardiovascular exercises, without stopping to rest in between sets.

So how can this sort of workout be beneficial to me?

Well by not resting in between sets, the circuit training exercise routine is completed pretty quickly and the lack of rest prevents the intensity levels from dropping and keeps the heart rate up working hard. By performing the workout quickly, you can perform at a very high intensity and yet finish the workout very quickly.

One of the greatest benefits from a circuit training session is that you can complete a full body high intensity workout in around 30 minutes or less. This makes it perfect if you are time constrained, like most people are today due to the demands of work and family life.

Additionally within the 30 minute workout routine you are undertaking both cardiovascular and strength training exercises. This gives you a full body workout in very little time. If you feel that you need to do to train each muscle harder, then you can chose to split the circuit training workout routines over 2/3 days.

One of the downsides to performing only circuit training though is that while a short circuit workout routine will help improve your basic fitness levels, general body shape and keep levels of body fat low, it may not be good enough for those who normally use a bodybuilding workout and are looking to build muscle.

Example Circuit Training Workout Routines

You can follow the workout routines below which  are suitable for both males and females alike. 

Circuit Training Workout Routine

Star Jumps for Warmup (2 minutes)
Pull Ups (12 reps)
Squats with no weight (12 reps)
Press Ups (20 reps)
Static Lunges (12 reps)
Dips (20 reps)
Abdominal Crunches (30 reps)
Calf Raises (12 reps)
Cool Down Walk on Treadmill (2 minutes)
Stretches for cool down

Complete one set of these exercises with no rest periods in between should take more than about 35 minutes.

Ideally if you have the time and the energy to spare, complete the set again or you could try the next workout as an added challenge (skipping out the skipping).

Circuit Training Workout Routine B

Skipping for warm up (2 minutes)
Static Lunges (12 reps)
Press Ups (20 reps)
Treadmill Running (5-10 min)
Pull Ups (12 reps)
Squats (15 reps)
Plank (2 min total)
Calf Raises (12 reps)
Cool Down walk on Treadmill
Stretches

Tags: bodyfat, circuit training, personal training, Weight Loss
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Overtraining can be defined as an assortment of symptoms and behaviours that happen in athletes and recreational trainers after repeated high intensity workouts, with insufficient rest periods to allow for sufficient recovery of damaged muscle fibres. This overtraining syndrome can continue for weeks or months, depending on the length and intensity of overtraining that precedes the athlete or recreational gym goer’s symptoms.

The Physiology of Overtraining

The main aim of training is to develop strength, build muscle and increase athletic performance.  This usually involves stressing the skeletal muscles or cardiovascular system or both. This stress in the short term fatigues and weakens the muscle and there is also minor damage cause at a cellular level during intense training. While exercise temporarily weakens muscle, sufficient rest periods allow this muscle damage to be repaired.

This theory is typified by the below statement:

Workouts happen in the gym; however strength increases happen outside of the gym.

If you are overtraining, there is not enough rest time between workouts, stopping adequate repair and recovery of the damaged muscle tissue. This ultimately leads to decreased performance, fatigue, and other symptoms.

What are the main symptoms of overtraining?

Fatigue, continuing even after rest

Insomnia

General irritability and losing the ability to concentrate

Lack of motivation

Muscle soreness

Absence of menstrual bleeding in females

Diarrhoea, recurrent colds or flu and increased resting heart rate (RHR)

How to Diagnose and treat Overtraining

Diagnosis of Overtraining is made by process of elimination. A complete medical check-up should be undertaken to rule out other diseases, before assuming an athlete is suffering from overtraining syndrome.

Treatment of overtraining centres around taking longer periods of rest. The longer the athlete has been overtraining, the more rest period will be needed to recover. The amount of rest can range from two or three days, to several weeks, depending on how much the athlete has been overtraining.

There are also no rules as to how much rest is needed exactly. Usually the rest periods should continue until symptoms of overtraining have disappeared. Once symptoms have gone, the athlete should return to light training, slowly increasing intensity over time as long as they are free of symptoms.

How to prevent Overtraining

It is possible that overtraining can be prevented; nevertheless this means as an athlete you need use self-discipline and common sense when undertaking any training. This is especially relevant for both recreational gym goers, as well as elite athletes. Care should be taken to get plenty of rest between workouts and competing. There is a tendency, especially in new leisure athletes, to feel that “the more they train the better”, this approach will quickly lead to symptoms of overtraining.

In order to avoid overtraining, athletes should not undertake the same workout routine two or more days on the trot, and should switch training sessions between high and low intensity sessions. In addition to this, planned rest days should be added to all training plans, to allow for sufficient recovery

Tags: overtraining
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Obesity has been linked with many health conditions and problems. These include diseases mainly related to diet such as Coronary Heart Disease (CHD), diabetes, strokes, increased blood pressure (hypertension), and various cancers (according to the World Health Organisation in 2003).

Other conditions include gall bladder problems, respiratory and breathing problems and joint damage, as well as phychological issues such as depression and low self esteem.

Obesity is directly related to a condtion that has been called metabolic syndrome and is sometimes also called syndrome x. Metabolic syndrome is a group of 6 specific health problems that occur at the same time andcan  lead to significat increases in risk of Coronary Heart Disease.

The 6 health problems are as follows:

Central Adiposity – Fat storage around the waist sometimes known as a beer belly

High Colesterol

Hypertension - elevated blood pressure

Glucose Intolerance – Type 2 Diabetes

Chronic inflammation of the fat cells.

Procoagulation – Increase in blood clotting.

It is estimated that in the UK  25% of the population show signs of meatabolic syndrome (British Nutrition Foundation, 2004) and every year the NHS spends over £1/2 a billion ayear on obesity related problems.

There would appear to be no single cause of obesity but there are many factors that lead to increases of body fat storage including dietary habits and lack of exercise.

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Adding resistance training to your workout routine has many positive benefits. Training with weights allows you to change your body shape and size for the better without losing or gaining weight. This is achieved by a decrease in fat mass and body fat percentage as well as an increase in fat free mass (muscle).

Other benefits of resistance training include:

Improved bone health (strength and density) leading to decreased risk of osteoporosis.

Increases in strength and power.

Increases in muscular endurance.

Improvements in posture.

Higher metabolic rate and decreased body fat storage.

Increases in range of movement.

Increased immune function (less colds and illnesses).

Article by Liam Thompson Manchester Personal Trainer Manchester.  If you would like to contact us regarding personal training or any other query please use the contact button at the top of the site.

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