One way that we can mix it up is by increasing the intensity during our workouts at boot camp. Push yourself to do more repetitions. If we're working squats (and you know we always are) and your legs are burning and you just cannot do another repetition without resting...push yourself to get in 1, 2, 3 reps before taking that break. Those 1-3 extra reps will be presenting your body with a new challenge to overcome. Another thing you can do during boot camp is increase the weight of your dumbbells. If you've been with me for a little while and you're using 3 or 5 lbs dumbbells, then it's time to increase to 5 or 8 lbs. That little extra weight will, once again, present your body with new challenges to overcome. Those new challenges will yield new RESULTS!
Everyone should be doing some form or cardio or exercise outside of boot camp. Exercising 3x a week just isn't enough for results that we want. Exercising and being healthy is a lifestyle, so we need to be doing something at least 5x a week. What that means is that you need to be doing cardio at least 2x a week on your own on our off days. If you're not, then you're starting today! If you are doing cardio on your own, then HIGH FIVE to you, you're on the right track!
Ways to increase the intensity on cardio are to increase the duration of your cardio session, increase speed, incorporate intervals, do cardio on uneven ground (hills or changing incline on treadmill), etc. The main thing is to change it somehow, but at the same time keep your heart rate up! It takes your body approximately 15 minutes of continuous exercise before it starts using body fat for fuel, so try to get your cardio to last at least 20 minutes. Get it in when you can, whether it be first thing in the morning, on your lunch hour, or after you put the kids to sleep. Again, you need to get this in at least 2x a week during our off days, so prioritize it in your life. This is for you and will only get you to where you want to be faster!
The last thing that we can manipulate or change is your diet. Little changes here also go a long ways. If you normally drink 2 sodas a day, cut down to 1. If you go out to eat a lot, find places that serve healthy options. You need to eat 4-5x times a day, every 4-6 hours. This will keep your metabolism from falling into "starvation mode" and ultimately storing more body fat. So if you're not doing this already...start today! Breakfast is important, so try to eat something within the first hour of being awake. Your body has been fasting the whole time you've been asleep, so we need to fuel our body to get it out of that "starvation mode". If you workout within the first hour of being awake, you can eat afterwards. Either way...eat breakfast!
By doing some of the things mentioned above, you should be able to stave off plateauing or push past it. Our body is an amazing thing and adapts to change very quickly, so it's up to us to keep it on it's toes by staying one step ahead. Push yourself during boot camp, do your cardio on your off days, and make slight changes in your diet and you're setting yourself up for success! I'm very proud of all of my boot campers and I want to help everyone reach their goals, but we have to work together!
If you're not already a part of Healthy Fit Boot Camp, then go sign-up........NOW!!!
Your friend in health,
Rich Rodriguez, CFT
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