Do You Have A Fitness Battle Plan?

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.

Marty Gallagher is a former fitness columnist for washingtonpost.com. He is also a former national and world champion powerlifter. Marty's articles have been featured in Muscle Media, Muscle & Fitness, and Powerlifting USA magazines. His website, http://www.martygallagher.com, assimilates years of accumulated knowledge from the athletic elite and makes them accessible to the common person. The "Purposeful Primitive" way has been proven effective time after time after time for weight loss, increasing muscle tone, and complete physical transformation.

---

Why Core is Key

Do you currently suffer or have you ever suffered from... Read More

Success Versus Failure in the Exercise Department

Success is what you are prepared to make of yourself... Read More

Top 10 Mistakes To Avoid When Exercising the Abdominals

The abdominal muscles are essential for maintaining good posture and... Read More

Strength Training FAQs

Do you need some beginner's strength training 'how to' information?... Read More

Dangerous Shoulder Exercises

Have you ever suffered from shoulder discomfort after working out?... Read More

How to Start a Walking Program

Did you know that walking is the number one participation... Read More

Top 10 Reasons To Exercise In The Morning

If I had to pick a single factor that I... Read More

Exercise Nutrition: How To Keep That Energy Up!

How many times has this happened to you?>> You psych... Read More

Lose Weight - Stay Fit and Stick With It!

Health and nutrition experts continually advise us that the more... Read More

Exercise: Why YOU Should Do It

Hundreds of Thousands of Americans spend millions of dollars each... Read More

Top 3 Back Pain Risk Factors

Lower back pain is an increasingly common problem in fact... Read More

Get Moving...The Benefits Will Last a Lifetime!

The benefits of physical activity are numerous and very well... Read More

Exercise Program

The exercise program you choose depends entirely on your fitness... Read More

Core-Principles: The Function of Functional Training

Okay?okay?okay! Enough already!!! It seems like with every new term,... Read More

Online Fitness Coaching

If I were to tell you that you could burn... Read More

Home Gym Workout Routines

Home gym workout routines can take the hassle out of... Read More

How to Get Better Exercise Results By Improving Hydration

Water and ExerciseYour body excretes water in a number of... Read More

A 30-minute, Or Less, Full Body Workout

Most people do not have the time to do biceps... Read More

Exercise and the Time Clock

I have to admit that I sometimes find it amusing... Read More

Physical Fitness - Is Your Workout Missing Something?

Hiking along a rocky trail, two of the three friends... Read More

Stay Mentally Focused When Training

When you decide to exercise, try to really stick to... Read More

Stretching Exercises

Stretching exercises are important before you begin your workout. Always... Read More

The Importance of The Fibonacci Numbers in Fitness Training

"Things do not change; we change." ?Henry David ThoreauThe following... Read More

Rotator Cuff: Exercises and Strategies to Prevent Injury

Have you ever experienced a dull ache or sharp pain... Read More

The Bad Workout: Some Advice for Female Bodybuilders

Bad workouts. We have all had them at some time... Read More

Try Different Forms of Exercise for Success

If you have always used free weights, then switch it... Read More

The Amazing Health Benefits of Walking for Exercise

Walking for exercise is a purposeful, brisk walk specifically designed... Read More

4 Exercises That Will Help You Change Your Body Faster Than Any Other Exercises You May Have Tried

1. Lunges with a barbell. Properly executed, this exercise is... Read More

Banish Your Lower Back Pain Permanently Without Drugs or Surgery

It is estimated that about 80 percent of the population... Read More

How to Avoid Using Your Home Gym as a Clothes Rack

So here's the situation?You have a home gym, treadmill, elliptical... Read More

Tour of Diet ? Cycling for Your Health

The last seven years, or so, at the Tour de... Read More

Incorporating Physical Activity into Your Daily Routine Not as Hard as You Think

You already know that getting at least 30 minutes of... Read More

Thick Today Is Fat Tomorrow

As we twentysomethings get further along in our twenties, we... Read More