In fitness, as in war, you want to be on the
offensive, not the defensive and this means that rather than reacting to
maladies as they occur, far better to be in good general physical condition;
preventive maintenance is preferable to remedial effort every time. One
general rule of thumb I use is energy is the basic coin of the fitness realm
and without it is damned difficult to mount any kind of serious fitness
effort.
To obtain energy to power through workouts is the first order of business:
if you are tired all the time, exhausted by life and unable to get it
together physically or psychologically, I would suggest two immediate
lifestyle changes -- cut back on the amount of food and begin walking every
morning. Overeating is an energy-sapping culprit. Too many calories,
particularly the wrong kind, the type that cause insulin to spike or the
type of nutrient that converts easily to body fat, will drain energy faster
then leaving the car door open all night and keeping the lights on. Early
morning walking, particularly done out of doors, is invigorating. Plus early
AM power walking elevates the basal metabolic rate. The rate at which the
body oxidizes calories is kicked up by cardio in general and most
particularly by cardio done on an empty stomach.
Another trick of the trade is to have a cup of coffee or a caffeine-laced
tea before the cardio walk. Caffeine on an empty stomach taken in
combination with exercise accelerates the mobilization of trans-fatty acids.
After an all-night sleep/fast the body is low on glycogen, the emulsified
form of carbohydrate, when aerobic activity is performed the body will
burned stored body fat to fuel the cardio activity. If you ever travel to a
hardcore bodybuilding gym early in the morning you’ll see all the hulking
bodybuilders performing cardio. They are there to take advantage of this
particular physiological anomaly and burn off body fat via pre-breakfast
cardio.
In addition, hitting an aerobic-style exercise session before breakfast
elevates to metabolism for hours after the conclusion of the session and
elevating the heart rate in a systematic fashion improves heart and lung
functionality and food digestion. Perhaps the strongest rationale for early
morning cardio is that by doing it 1st thing it GETS DONE! Life has a way of
throwing obstacles galore in our path as the day’s events unfold and by
hitting a walk around the neighborhood 1st thing, daily events and
cumulative fatigue will not derail the session. Start with a comfortable
walk at a comfortable pace and add one minute per session. If you power walk
five times a week and start off with a 10-minute session, at the end of a
month the session will be up to 30-minutes.
At that point, 30 minutes five times weekly, keep the frequency and the
duration and consciously seek to increase the intensity, i.e. walk faster.
This creeping incrementalism eases you into the game. In conjunction with
the walking, cut back on the caloric intake. After calories are reduced,
clean up the food selection. Again all this flows together in a loose
momentum building effort. More walking, early morning walking, fewer
calories, better selection…your energy will skyrocket and the effort will
unfold in a sane rational fashion. After a month or two, add in some
progressive resistance training and you’ll be shot from a proverbial fitness
cannon. The nice summer weather makes early outdoor walking a joyful
experience and when we truly enjoy an activity we seek to repeat it –- this
melding of enthusiasm with exercise is the long-term secret to fitness
success.
Author Info:
Marty Gallagher: arty Gallagher is a former
Strength columnist for washingtonpost.com. Marty's articles have been
featured in Muscle Media, Muscle
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