Advantages of a Fitness Boot Camp

Fitness Boot Camps are one of the many fitness programs available today. One of the main benefits of a boot camp is that they are cost effective. This is because you will get better value for your money given that you will have highly qualified instructors and quality programs to guide you to your goal and this is better compared to hiring a personal trainer or becoming a member in one of the various fitness centers close to you. Today the price ranges are very competitive and that is why you need to get value for your hard-earned money.

The fact that many boot camps also include meals in their packages is also going to save you a lot of money since many gyms and personal instructors only offer their services without food. This will also help in maintaining your diet since you will be given food that will fit in with your fitness program while in the case of attending gyms you may be tempted to eat something you are not supposed to. Another benefit of a fitness camp is that it pushes you to get better results from your work and at the same time motivates you.

Attending a camp gives you the courage to go on and on, and this will be a good motivator since you will only be there for a couple of days as compared to gyms where you may go once or twice weekly but have to pay for the whole month regardless of how many times you attend sessions. Boot camps are also beneficial because they reduce the fat on your body faster compared to other methods of fitness training. This is possible because the workout routine that you will be assigned will be tailor-made for your body and your specific goals.

This will include the intensity in which you will be trained which will burn the calories more efficiently and in a faster way. Boot camps are also beneficial to you since you can choose the best time for you which is not the case with hiring a personal trainer who will book you on his free time which may not be appropriate for you and this will mean you lose money. You can choose to go to a camp at any of your free time. A boot camp also allows you to build your own support since you will be with other people who have the same goals as you.

You will buddy up with some of the other participants and start doing more. Working in groups will also motivate you and at the same time you will have the opportunity to encourage others. Fitness boot camps are also fun places, meaning that you will be able to enjoy yourself while training. A fitness boot camp is also beneficial in that it provides you with mental wellness where you will find yourself having more energy and in some cases sleeping well at night. A fit body is also one of the benefits of a boot camp.

The Beginner's Guide to Strength Training and Its Benefits

Strength training is done purely to improve strength and can either be used on its own, such as by power lifters and other strength athletes, or combined with other training methods, most often muscle building. It is different to most other training methods in that the health and fitness benefits are minimal due to the low rep, high rest periods involved.

How To Train

Of all training methods, strength training is the one most likely to cause injury if not done with good technique after a thorough warm-up and stretching routine. This is because the greater the resistance and the fewer the reps done the better. In fact, any more than 6 reps and it is no longer classed as strength training. Ideally a single repetition done with maximum resistance is most effective (commonly known as the one-rep max), but it also brings with it the greatest risk of injury due to the intense stress placed upon the muscles, joints and the body overall. Strength training forces the body to engage the whole of the muscles involved in the exercise to complete the repetition. Then, while resting, the muscles are repaired and their size increases better cope with the demands next time. Though this is nothing like the increase gained by training for muscle building.

Generally 2 or 3 reps are recommended with 3 sets per exercise.

Rest Periods

Adenosine triphosphate,, or ATP for short, is stored in the body and is what fuels muscle contraction. There isn't a large amount available, however, so it must be made on demand by the phosphocreatine system (which is where creatine supplements can help). This is also stored in the body and like ATP, it is ready and waiting to be used for energy. But these stores are also limited and after the first 10 seconds or so of exercise they're exhausted and take a while to recover. This is why strength training involves low reps and longer rests between sets. The minimum is 3 minutes, but if you're serious about training only for strength, 5 or more is better.

Exercises

Most weight training exercises can be for strength training, but compound exercises involve the most muscles and should form the core of any strength training program. Especially Squats, Deadlift and Bench Press. The other exercises involved depend on the individual goal, but will almost always involve split routines, where different muscle groups are worked separately on different days.

In Summary

For pure strength training, do 2 or 3 reps per set and 3 sets per exercise, with 3 to 5 minutes rest period between each set. As I said earlier, however, strength training can be combined with other training methods to produce less specific results.

Pyramid Training involves increasing the resistance of each set as the number of reps decreases, or can be done the opposite way, decreasing the resistance of each set as the number of reps increases. This creates a more rounded workout, but the result depends on the amount of reps. For example, increasing the reps up to a maximum of 10 will sacrifice some gains in strength, but will cause a greater increase in muscle mass. While increasing the amount of reps to 15 and beyond will have more of a general conditioning effect, defining the muscle more, but with much less benefit to strength or muscle size.

Periodisation

This is similar to pyramid training, but mostly used by people who have a specific goal and time frame, such as a bodybuilder who is training for a competition or a sportsman who wants to maintain fitness in the off season without over training. For example, a bodybuilder might spend 6 weeks training with a maximum of 3 reps per set to increase strength, which he would then use to build muscle by doing 10 reps per set for another 6 weeks. Finally, he would increase his reps to 15 or more per set for 6 weeks for greater muscle definition, which would be complete on the day of a competition.

There are many other ways to train, each with its own advantages and disadvantages, which is why it's so important to know your strength training goal before you begin.