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What are the guidelines for percentage of body fat loss?

ACE Fitness OVERWEIGHT & OBESITY OVERWEIGHT & OBESITY What are the guidelines for percentage of body fat loss? FILTER BY CATEGORY  Natalie Digate Muthby Natalie Digate Muth on December 02, 2009 Body fat testWith the New Year upon us, millions of people are thinking hard about their New Year’s resolutions, many of which will likely include ambitious nutrition and fitness goals. Given the increasing ease of measuring body composition and the known benefits of decreasing body fat percentage, it is no surprise that fitness professionals and consumers alike want to know how much body fat they should expect to lose. Unlike the well-researched and accepted guideline that an individual should lose no more than 1-2 pounds per week, body fat percentage loss is not as well studied and no official guidelines have been published. Still, most experts agree that a 1% loss per month is generally safe and doable. However, it is important to recognize that most methods of measuring body f...

If my muscles are sore from previous workouts, is it safe to exercise them?

Is it safe to be working out while sore?  The answer to this question depends on the severity of muscle soreness, which can range from slight tenderness to debilitating pain. Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) happens 1-2 days after exercise. The most likely cause of DOMS is microscopic muscle tears or a breakdown in muscle tissue that occurs during a workout. Introducing new activities or suddenly increasing the intensity can cause DOMS to occur. During periods of severe muscle soreness, a person has impaired coordination, less shock absorption, and a shortened range of motion. If you exercise while very sore you are likely to alter your body mechanics putting more stress on ligaments and tendons and therefore increasing your risk of injury. Should You Work out When You are Sore? Overreaching is the state of training intensely without rest. This leads to overtraining and a decline in athletic performance. It takes several weeks to months for this condition to occur, but watch fo...

Is it ever okay for your knees to extend beyond your toes while doing squats or lunges?

is correct to avoid excessive forward movement of the knee during squatting and lunging movements. It is a myth, however, that you should “never let your knees go past your toes while doing a squat or lunge." This belief originated from a study that is more than 30 years old (1978 Duke University study that found maintaining a vertical lower leg as much as possible reduced shearing forces on the knee during a squat). The truth is that leaning forward too much is more likely what is truly causing the problem or injury. Read on for more information regarding these functional movement exercises and how to have correct form. In 2003, University of Memphis research confirmed that knee stress increased by 28% when the knees were allowed to move past the toes while performing a squat. However, hip stress increased nearly 1,000% when forward movement of the knee was restricted. In addition, in group exercise, the cue “don’t let your knees go over your toes” has long been an effective gene...

Strength Training is important

Functional strength training has become a popular buzzword in the fitness industry. Unfortunately, it is also subject to wide interpretation. So, what is functional strength training? At the extreme, some individuals believe that by mimicking the explosive, ballistic activities of high-level competitive athletes, they are training in a functional manner. All too often, however, such training programs greatly exceed the physiological capabilities of the average exerciser, which ultimately increases the possibility that an injury might occur. Most would agree that there is nothing functional about sustaining an injury due to improper training. In many respects, functional strength training should be thought of in terms of a movement continuum. As humans, we perform a wide range of movement activities, such as walking, jogging, running, sprinting, jumping, lifting, pushing, pulling, bending, twisting, turning, standing, starting, stopping, climbing and lunging. All of these activities inv...

Do mini workout

When it comes to the reasons people cite for not regularly exercising, one of the most common responses given is lack of time (or in reality, a perceived lack of time). Often individuals assume that in order to reap the many benefits of exercise they must engage in physical activity for an extended period of time, and that the activity must be strenuous in nature (remember the old “to pain no gain" mentality?). The reality is the recommendations published in the Surgeon General’s Report on Physical Activity and Health as well as in the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association’s physical activity and public health guidelines state that to improve health and reduce risk of chronic disease individuals should aim to engage in a total of at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise each week. This can be performed in 30-minute bouts of activity five days a week or it may be accumulated with mini-workouts throughout the day that are at least 10 minut...

Feel like healthy person

1. Consume Adequate Energy (food is fuel) Daily energy expenditure differs based on sport, training phase, sex, body weight and body-composition goals, but is typically in the range of 4,000 to 6,000 calories. Olympic athletes require consistently high intakes of macro- and micronutrients, so fad diets are not part of the equation. Any athlete touting the benefits of keto, intermittent fasting or Paleo likely will not compete at the Olympics. These diet plans have their application among the public, but any strict diet will provide inadequate energy and nutrients for an elite athlete. An athlete’s dietary preferences and intakes vary depending on their training schedule and intensity of exercise, but nearly every Olympic athlete follows a relatively high-carbohydrate diet (on average 8-12 grams per kg of body weight). This supplies adequate fuel for someone training six hours per day. To keep their energy levels up for the high volume of training they do, athletes must consume nutrien...

5 Habits to Kick Start Your Health Journey

So you’ve heard that dieting is out. You’ve heard that going keto and cutting out carbs and Weight Watchers don’t tend to lead to sustainable weight loss and can often have you gaining weight back after it’s over. Most (smart) experts are preaching that healthy habits are the best way for the vast majority of people to hit their goals, maintain them, and live life to its fullest all at the same time. That’s really cool except “healthy habits” are so extremely vague it can be hard to sell and teach on a large scale. So today I’m compiling 5 of my favorite habits that have transformed my life and the lives of all of my clients! Remember, habits take time to build. Take it slow, give yourself grace, and be consistent! 1. Fluff With Veggies: If you’ve been following me and my method for a while, you’ve heard me say this a million times before. If you can get in the habit of fluffing your meals with high fiber, low carb, low calorie veggies, you can likely achieve a moderate calorie deficit...