High-Intensity Strength Training Beneficial to Parkinson's Patients

From this study, High-intensity strength training shows benefit for Parkinson’s patients comes this quote:

"High-intensity strength training produced significant improvements in quality of life, mood and motor function in older patients with Parkinson’s disease…“We saw improvements in strength, muscle size and power, which we expected after rigorous weight training; but we also saw improvement in balance and muscle control, We also saw improvement in cognition, mood and sense of well-being.”

At Austin Personal Training and New Orleans Personal Training we have worked with Parkinson patients. We use primarily medical rehab equipment and can finely tune the weight and range of motion to those with limitations.

Short Effective Workouts

From this article Short workouts: Will exercising for 15 minutes once a week get you fit?

“The key to the short workout’s success revolves around a concept known as high-intensity interval training (HIIT). HIIT is a heightened form of interval training that involves alternating between periods of short, intense physical activity and fixed periods of low activity or rest. Intervals can include anything from fast squats and pushups to weight lifting and powerful cardio.”

The goal in exercise is expose the body to more than it is used to handling. If given enough time for recovery the body as a form of self-protection will come back stronger, more enduring, and more able to withstand the stresses previously placed on it. That can take one hour or two, or it can take less than ½ an hour. Regardless of the time period at the end the session you want to come out spent.

A prescription for the shorter sessions: Warm up on the bike (optional). Cut out the warm up sets. Cut out the intermediate sets. Start each rep slowly and safely until warmed up for that particular movement. Lift heavy demanding weights through a very safe range of motion. Minimize time between machines. Relentless go from one exercise to the next working all the major muscle groups at least once. Do not pace yourself. If after 20 minutes you have gas left in your tank and want to do more then you definitely didn’t do it right.

If you did it right your metabolism will be significantly raised for the rest of the day and on into the next. HIIT burns more calories than any other form of exercise particularly after the workout is over (See: EPOC – Excessive Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption). It will take your muscle days to recover and repair. The repair and rebuilding is metabolically expensive - it demand calories. It is cardiovascular demanding and positively affects cardiovascular health. Your blood pressure will easier to control.

Do it once or twice a week. Compliment it with sprint training on suitable aerobic equipment a couple of more times a week coupled with modest dietary changes. All this will take you a little over an hour of your week. If you haven’t exercised in years build up to this slowly. If you stick to it for six months (@ 25-35 total hrs.) your health will be significantly improved.

A little strength training, an active lifestyle, and better eating choices can have profound effects on one's fitness and health. These changes do not require endless hours in the weight room. Our fitness trainers at New Orleans Personal Trainers and at Austin TX Personal Training can guide you through an effective strength training program that will achieve life-changing results.

The effect of progressive resistance training in rheumatoid arthritis

With our medical rehab equipment and a specialized protocol we are able to work with those who are physically compromised. Some of those we have worked with are those with strokes, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, lupus, hip, knee, and shoulder replacements, and rheumatoid arthritis. We have worked with dozens of people in their eighties and have worked with those as old as 95 years old. I point this out because people shy away from strength training because it's thought to be stressful and can cause injury. True, but if you have people who know what they are doing the opposite will happen. Case in point, see below:

In this study, The effect of progressive resistance training in rheumatoid arthritis. Increased strength without changes in energy balance or body composition. Researchers had eight young and eight elderly subjects with rheumatoid arthritis who were otherwise healthy undergo 12 weeks of high-intensity progressive resistance training.

Subjects with rheumatoid arthritis had significant reductions in self-reported fatigue score, pain score, improved 50-foot walking times, and improved balance and gait scores.

They conclude: “High-intensity strength training is feasible and safe in selected patients with well-controlled RA and leads to significant improvements in strength, pain, and fatigue without exacerbating disease activity or joint pain.”

Our fitness trainers at New Orleans Personal Trainers and at Austin TX Personal Training can guide you through an effective strength training program that will take less than an hour a week and achieve life-changing results.

Stella and Bella

Written by Personal trainer Amy Hard

Meet Stella and Bella, Our Furry Gym Friends

Kelly Personal Training is a fun place to be for a lot of reasons. Two of them are Stella and Bella who are often found hanging around the gym. Like many in Austin, most of us who work at Kelly Personal Training are dog lovers, so we enjoy having these two Cocker Spaniels within petting distance while we train our clients - they add a nice cozy feel to our little Northwest Austin neighborhood gym. Some of our clients have called our gym their “Cheers Bar”, because many are neighbors or have gotten to know each other over their years at the gym, and they like seeing each other during their workouts.

We have seen Stella and Bella diffuse some new clients’ nervous energy before their first workout more than a few times. People usually don’t know what to expect during their first workout with us because our program is unique and new to them, so the first time they come in to try out the free workout some are a little bit apprehensive. But Stella and Bella make people smile and feel more at ease. Most of the time they stay out of the way, lazily warming themselves on the comfy yellow couch, hoping to catch a ray of sunshine or some cuddles. If you bring a treat, they will be forever wiggling their little rear ends in your direction whenever you come in. Clients that are regular treat givers have been known to have a little company with them when they go to the changing room. The dogs seem to have good memories and rarely forget anyone who gives them a treat. Stella has even been known to do a few tricks for her treats.

Bella is the youngest and came from Austin Cocker Spaniel rescue. She has acclimated well to being around lots of different people. She and Stella get along like loving sisters and are a very cute sight to see curled up close together on the couch.

Feel free to stop by and check out the gym any time at all, even if just to say hi to Stella and Bella!

Early Mornings on our Corner of Uptown New Orleans

Cold, cold, cold. We are not used to this weather in New Orleans. On the way to work I appreciate the camellias in bloom especially since they may freeze off tonight. The gym is lit up, a beacon of activity at 6:30 a.m., before the sun rises. Entering I see my teen swimmer client, Laura, age 16. She is a rarity...a motivated teen! Do I sound old? Anyway, she began strength training last year. Since then Laura has smoked the competition. The first indication that adding muscle to her technique and hours of practice was beating a rival for the first time...by a pool length.

She, her mom, and I know that strength training works. Laura has never been hurt or sidelined by her sessions at Kelly Personal Training. In fact, I have to encourage her to NOT workout before a big race. She loves the challenge of the workout as well as the results. Now Laura is learning about the value of rest.

But perhaps the best part of the appointment is her brief interaction with Phil, a client of Neil’s, who is a college professor. He and Laura talk, laugh, share experiences and ideas. Where else could these two create a relationship? I like to think our atmosphere has something to do with it.

Good things happen on our corner of uptown New Orleans.

By Marylou Bensabat

Effective osteopenia treatment

A cure relieves a person of the symptoms of a sickness or a condition. A treatment can slow, stop, or reverse the progression of an illness or condition such as osteopenia. Some of our clients have had amazing results in reversing their bone loss. There is no cure for osteopenia or osteoporosis. Treatments for osteopenia include changes in diet, supplements such as calcium and vitamin D, hormone therapy, several types of osteoporosis drugs, alternative medicine, and physical activities and exercise (particularly weight-bearing exercise). Of course, there are side-effects to taking the osteoporosis drugs, none of them pleasant.

Our body is constantly adapting to the physical stress and strain. Our bones adapt to physical stress and strain and are constantly remodeling themselves. If you expose the body and the bones to weight-bearing exercise the body and bones will adapt and become stronger.

If one has osteopenia one could see a reversal or experience a cessation of the bone loss. In the case of osteoporosis you are less likely see a slowing-down of the bone loss or a reversal. Osteopenia progresses to osteoporosis. It would seem to me to be crucial to stop this bone loss process early on rather than wait until the process is well on its way to osteoporosis when a reversal is less likely. With a stronger body one is less like to be injured and suffer factures. When fractures occur exercise might then become out of the question. If you keep putting the decision to exercise off it might be too late.

A little strength training, an active lifestyle, and better eating choices can have profound effects on one's fitness and health. These changes do not require endless hours in the weight room. Our fitness trainers at New Orleans Personal Trainers and at Austin TX Personal Training can guide you through an effective strength training program that will take less than an hour a week and achieve life-changing results.

More articles on bone density here.

Changes This New Year

I worked at quite a few different health clubs in my years in New Orleans. I am guessing that what goes on in New Orleans in no different than what goes on in other gyms around the country. In 34 years in the fitness business, this is what I have observed every January. The first two weeks, the gym is filled to capacity. There are a lot of new faces. I remember my first year working with a guy who was 290 pounds. He told me he would be doing the butterfly across the pool in six months. He came into gym for hours every single night for five nights in a row. The next week I didn't see him, and I never saw him again. The second two weeks, the gym thins out a bit. The second month, things are pretty much back to normal. There are the same faces you see the year round, plus there are some new faces.

The average renewal rate at health clubs is 30%. Those who use the club regularly are about 30% of the membership. The average stay with a personal trainer is about six months. People have good intentions, but very few people stay for the long haul. They have high expectations. When those expectations are not met they get frustrated and quit. They return to their former lifestyles.

They got out of shape gradually. One can easily gain five pounds of fat a year. Five pounds of fat for 20 years is easy enough to do. Pretty soon a 180 pound male will be 280 pounds and living a compromised lifestyle. During that 20 year period there were probably attempts to lose weight.

Try reversing the trend gradually. Lose 1 to 2 pounds of fat a month. Strength train once or twice a week for 25 minutes. Commit to sprint training on a stationary bike 8 to 15 minutes twice maybe three times a week. This will take a little over an hour of your time a week. Make modest changes in your eating.

A year from now you will have a lower resting pulse, lower blood sugar, lower blood pressure, you will be 15 to 20 pounds lighter, you will be wearing different clothes, you will look better, you will not tire as easily, and best of all you will feel much better. You could go for the big weight loss, but chances are you will gain it all back and then some.

Extraordinary Clients

The Olympics are just around the corner. It got me to thinking. Not everyone can be the best in the world, but they can do some surprising things. Some of our clients from our New Orleans and Austin locations:

Helen (New Orleans) 74 had both knees, both hips, and a partial shoulder replaced. She was a very active tennis player when she was younger. Strength training was the one form of exercise she enjoyed doing at 74.

Darcy (New Orleans) was given the green light to work out during her entire pregnancy. She really did. She worked out on a Thursday and had her baby the following Monday.

Sylvia (Austin) worked out with us until she past at the age of 95.

Laurence (New Orleans) finished well in the NYC Triathlon. He then started strength training with us. Three years later, he returned the NYC Triathlon and finished first in his age group by more than five minutes. He was the oldest in the age group 46- 50. He finished 24th overall.

Jack (New Orleans)75 had both knees replaced and continued to exercise. Four months after the second replacement he was able to get in and out of a bass boat unaided. He law partner five years his junior had the same procedure at the same time and was still using a walker to get around.

Tom (Austin) had a total shoulder replacement and was told that the most he could hope for was that he would be able to raise his arm to a horizontal position. After a year, he could lift his arm fully vertical over his head.

Debbie (New Orleans) had survived cancer and wanted to get stronger. I told her the workout might be difficult. She told me, "I survived cancer, I can do this". She did. She got cancer a second time and then Lupus, She survived both and continued to exercise.

Claire (New Oleans) worked out during her pregnancy. She reported that the deliver was easier than the previous one and within five weeks of delivery she was back to a size zero.

Carol (Austin) was diagnosed with oesteopenia at age 43. She has since increased her bone density to be osteopenia-free at age 66.

A dad (New Oleans) called me from the stadium In Baton Rouge after his son’s team had won the state championship in soccer. He said he wanted to thank me for helping turning his son into a man. I told him I had nothing to do with it. It would have happened anyway. The kid went on to be first in his class in college. I was fortunate to have such a client.

Leif (Austin) went from five insulin shots a day to one a week and lost 60 pounds.

JD (Austin) was a one of the first pilots to fly into Paris during the Liberation in WW2. In his late 80's he got inoperable cancer and was told he had six months to live. He continued to exercise for the next year and a half.

Some clients may not be a part of board sweep of history or have compelling physical stories. They are friends, often mentors to us, and no less important. We learn from all of them and look forward to seeing them each week. We are truly blessed to be in this business.

Going All Out Again

A series of injuries including a ruptured Achilles tendon resulted in nine month of no exercise - none. I didn’t even work for a couple of months. I started back lifting what I could handle and began a sprint training program three times a week on a stationary recumbent bike - 120 seconds warm-up followed by a 30 second all-out sprint followed by at 90 second easy recovery pace. Eventually I worked up to a total of eight sprints. If you can do more you are pacing yourself.

After the first sprint I was breathing so hard I was panicked and reeling. I had to get off the bike momentarily. Only through sheer willpower (Not really, more like embarrassment. Did I want my workout to be over after only 30 seconds?) was I able complete a second sprint and the reeling and panic returned. It was awful. My legs were throbbing several minutes afterwards as I lay writhing on the couch.

Did I mention that I was really out of shape? The beauty of being really out of shape is that the curve to the upside is really steep if one starts exercising and sticks with it. I did two more sessions that week and each session, while difficult, got easier. By the end of the second week, I had improved dramatically, the panic had subsided, and I had continued to up the RPMs each session and had added a couple more sprints. At the end of two months I was doing eight sprints at much higher RPMs than I had started without all the panic.

We got a new recumbent that had higher resistant levels so I upped the intensity, and I now do just four sprints three times a week plus the strength training session. That comes out to about an hour a week of training.

The results after six months:

My testosterone level was tested; it was up 35%

I have been on blood pressure meds for 30 years. My doctor eliminated one med and as the readings continued to fall cut the other in half. At one doctor's visit the BP reading was 108/ 68, so they took the other arm and it was 106/66 which was very low for me. He told me to continue doing what I was doing. I have been taking these dosages like forever. For him to cut back on these dosages is a really big thing. The doctor will be coming into facility sometime in January to exercise.

I am 30 pound lighter. Dieting concession - I consume all my calories within eight hours each day.

I am able to go all out at age 60 to reach my maximum pulse rate and beyond and not get knocked back on my heals prostrate on the couch, and turn around and do it again and again and the next day do it again.

I feel really good. I compare that to the panic and the reeling I felt after one 30 second sprint six months ago. It was chasing my daughter that caused me to rip my Achilles. I am by far better able to keep up with my young daughter. The difficult work was worth it.

At Austin Personal Training and at New Orleans Fitness Trainers we can help you gradually build up to a high intensity strength training or an aerobic high intensity training program that is safe, effective, and efficient for your age and condition. You need not spend hours in the gym to feel better, look better, and perform better.

Overtraining Part Two

Frankie was a fanatical exerciser. He exercised with a trainer four times a week for an hour before going to work. On the weekends he went for hours-long bike rides. He decided to give our training program a try, and I put him through a workout. He worked out hard. The last exercise was the chest press and he was spent. During the last couple of reps he made agonizing sounds like the Mel Gibson character in Braveheart – really unnecessary but it got him through to the end. It was a little bit scary.

I suspected that he was over-trained, so for the next few weeks I convinced him to train just once a week, and I put him through moderately intense sessions. Six week later I put him through the workout we did in our initial session. On the last exercise the chest press he completed the exercise without the dramatic Braveheart sounds of cry Freedom.

I showed him the weights he had lifted. The weights were heavier by a considerable amount. I informed him that the weight on the chest press was 20 pounds heavier, and he did the exercise a full 60 seconds longer sans Braveheart sounds. He was surprised; I was even surprised. It dawned on me that he was profoundly over-trained when he started. He had cut his training time by 87.5% and showed considerable improvement

He left and a little while later his buddy Dick Dale came in and asked what I did to Frankie. I said, “Why do you ask?” He told me that Frankie was talking to anyone in the coffee shop who would listen about the workout he had just completed.

Frankie, Annette, and Dick are pseudonyms of course but the events did happen. The astounding progress in the short time had nothing to do with effort but everything to do with adequate rest.

If you are not making consistent real improvement you are prolly not getting adequate rest. You can ruin two workouts if the second workout follows too soon after the first. Most people never get a handle on whether or not they are over-trained because their form is not consistently the same. They are not comparing apples to apples. Another reason is that the workout is constantly changing. Variety is good, but it can hide lack of improvement if there is not two identical workouts to compare.

You don't need to workout that hard. You just need to do a little more than your body is used to handling, and if given enough rest, your body will, as a form of self-protection, will make a positive adaptation. We can help you with the right dosage.

Through trial and error you can eventually find out what works. I spent years figuring it out. At Austin TX Personal Trainers and New Orleans Personal Trainers our personal trainers have developed a high intensity training program (HIT) with special attention paid to recovery to insure that the improvements are ongoing – our business depends on it. We cannot afford to have clients come in and ruin two workouts in a row by not being adequately recovered.

Overtraining Part One

Overtraining occurs when one trains too often, too long, too hard or any combination of these. Plenty of other factors in life can contribute as well such as lack of sleep, poor nutrition, and stress. Overtraining appears to build up slowly and can go unnoticed. When I first began training I was hell-bent on increasing the weights I lifted. I thought I was improving, but I was fooling myself. I’d change the cadence a bit, take an extra second rest between reps, ever so slightly decrease the range of motion, subtly cheat your way through the sticking point a ¼ second in order to complete the rep and voila I improved. On paper I continued to improve but I was gradually becoming increasingly over-trained. The end result is usually burn-out, injury or sickness. I had my share of that.

From what I have observed it take weeks to build up overtraining and weeks for it to dissipate. Example One:

Annette trained very hard once a week and never missed a workout. On the other days she swam at least a couple of times a week. She progressed regularly. After a while she started to struggle, the workouts became brutal but still she improved. One day she came in and did the first exercise, the leg press. She strained mightily but her time was 60 seconds less than last time. I had only increased the weight by two pounds. It is motivation crushing to train that hard and actually go backward.

I had her take a couple of weeks off, and she did a couple of moderate workouts without doing the leg press. After a five week period of recovery she returned to the leg press. Her time was a minute longer than the last outing. She could have done another rep and the set appeared easy. Brutally difficult exercise and regression or taking a break and improving without a Herculean effort? We decided on the latter.

Had we continued on the same path her weight would not have progressed past the 228 pounds she was doing. We lessened the frequency of the leg press and her improvement continued to the point that she was doing 300 pounds on the leg press.

Through trial and error you can eventually find out what constitutes sufficient recovery for your body. I spent years figuring it out. At Austin TX Personal Trainers and New Orleans Personal Trainers our personal trainers have developed a high intensity training program (HIT) with special attention paid to recovery to insure that the improvements are ongoing – our business depends on it.

More articles on recovery and overtraining HERE

To be continued with Example Two…

High intensity training better for coronary artery disease patients

Two groups of stable patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) regularly walked on treadmills three times a week for ten weeks. One group walked at high intensity (80-90% of VO2peak); the other groups walked at moderate intensity (50-60% of VO2peak)

The results from this study, High intensity aerobic interval exercise is superior to moderate intensity exercise for increasing aerobic capacity in patients with coronary artery disease were:

After training VO2peak increased by 17.9% (P=0.012) in the high intensity group and 7.9% (P=0.038) in the moderate intensity group. The training-induced adaptation was significantly higher in the high intensity group (P=0.011).

Their conclusion:

High intensity aerobic interval exercise is superior to moderate exercise for increasing VO2peak in stable CAD-patients.

At Austin Personal Training and at New Orleans Fitness Trainers we can help you gradually build up to a high intensity strength training or an aerobic high intensity training program that is safe, effective, and efficient for your age and condition. You need not spend hours in the gym to feel better, look better, and perform better.

Another blog entry on the subject:

Study: High Intensity training beneficial and safe for those with heart disease

Increased blood flow and lower BP with strength training

From this article Weight Training Has Unique Heart Benefits, Study Suggests:

“An acute bout of resistance exercise shows many favorable cardiovascular benefits and should therefore be considered as part of a daily exercise training program".

When compared to aerobic training resistance training resulted in increased blood flow to the limbs and a longer-lasting drop in blood pressure after exercise.

Another quote:

"Resistance exercise may offer greater benefits from the increases in blood flow to active muscles and could be implemented as companion to an aerobic training regimen, according to the new study".

Especially because of its ability to increase blood flow to active muscles, weight training could be a valuable companion to an aerobic training regimen. "This may be of greatest importance to women, as they can derive important weight-bearing benefits of resistance training to help prevent and/or treat osteoporosis,"

After strength training I find my blood pressure remains significantly lower for several hours. Presently my blood pressure is 128/72 four hours after exercise. The trouble is I can't do strength training every day and adequately recover from the stress to the muscles.

In place of the strength training I do high intensity sprints on a recumbent bike. With high intensity sprints you will activate your fast-twitch muscle associated with strength training, but you will not have the accompanying micro-trauma to the muscles that takes days to recover from. With the sprints you will tax your cardiovascular system and get your heart rate nears it maximum.

I have been doing the sprints for about four months three or four times a week along with the strength training. My doctor has taken me off one blood pressure medication and has cut back on the other. I have been taking BP meds for 33 years this is the lowest dosage I have been on in decades. I keep expecting to have my BP trend upwards but it hasn't. I will continue the training.

At Austin Personal Training and at New Orleans Fitness Trainers we can help you gradually build up to a high intensity strength training or sprint training program that is safe, effective, and efficient for your age and condition. You need not spend hours in the gym to feel better, look better, and perform better.

One year anniversary at our new New Orleans location

Has it really been over a year since we’ve moved the gym, renovated a building and changed our name? They say time flies when you are having fun...and it has because we are... Kelly Personal Training, nee Ultimate Fitness, is now located near the blossoming Freret St. corridor nestled in a beautiful uptown neighborhood . Our corner building was originally a grocery store. The large windows are still in place. In the early morning the sun rises on Danneel St. giving us a beautiful beginning to the day.

We may have changed our space but our mission is the same - to provide a safe, efficient way to improve life by becoming stronger. And we do it while having fun. Many of our “people” have been with us for years. Relationships have grown. We know about each others’ lives, favorite books, what was cooked or what restaurant was highlighted this week. Most of our trainers have been with us for over five years, a few over ten.

Every session is important, for us and for you. Our clients are deeply appreciated. Newcomers are met with a smile, a “good morning” or “good evening” then gently and expertly guided through their first workout. Quickly they transition from perhaps feeling like an anxious outsider to someone who belongs and is taken care of.

Upon entering the space for the first time theclient may notice how light and airy the gym feels. The A/C is pumping, keeping all of us comfortable. An elliptical, a rowing machine, treadmill and state-of-the-art recumbent bike are always available. What is absent are mirrors, loud music and a feeling of competition. Kelly Personal Training is a unique place of support, a place of familiarity and comfort, your place for strength.

We are more than a gym. We are a part of the neighborhood, the community, the city, and the lives of our clients. In Austin and New OrleansKelly Personal Training opens the door to your health through strength.

By Mary Lou Bensabat

Growing new brain cells by exercising

Regular exercise improves our ability to think and remember through the creation of new brain cells, a process known as neurogenesis.

From this NY Times article, How Testosterone May Alter the Brain After Exercise:

“A new study found that male sex hormones surge in the brain after exercise and could be helping to remodel the mind”.

They tested to see if rats produce the testosterone in the brain by shutting off production in the testes (castration). Further, some of the animals also were injected with a drug that negated the effects of testosterone produced by the brain. Some rats were not altered. They were then divided into groups, sedentary and active rats. The active rats exercise on treadmills for two weeks; the sedentary rats played video games (not really).

Quote from the article:

“They found that, compared with the sedentary animals, the running rats had significantly more of a potent testosterone derivative called
dihydrotestosterone, or DHT, in their brains. Even the brains of rats that had been castrated sloshed with DHT.

So the exercise had prompted increased production of the hormone…

In essence, exercise prompts the production of more DHT. And more DHT helps to create more new brain cells”.

And one last quote:

"Do women gain less brain benefit from exercise than men?

“It’s unlikely,” Dr. McEwen says. One reason that early experiments into exercise and neurogenesis tended to be performed in female rats was that “in rats, females exercise more than the males,” he said. “They’ll run for hours and keep running, even when they’re old.” Elderly males, in contrast, willingly quit working out. In those experiments, neurogenesis was plentiful in the female brains.

“It’s very probable that estrogen plays a role” like that of DHT in the female brain after exercise, Dr. McEwen says”.

It is worth noting that the exercise was classified as mild-intense, jogging or walking. Also worth noting that it has been established that more intenseexercise produces more testosterone than less intense exercise. It could be that intense exercise is better for brain remodeling, but that was not what was tested.

New Orleans Fitness Trainers

Austin Personal Training.

Study Asks: Does Exercise Benefit the Brain?

In a study two groups took a memory quiz. Then one group cycled to exhaustion in 30 minutes and the other group sat there. Their memories were then retested. The result:

“The exercised volunteers performed significantly better on the memory test than they had on their first try, while the volunteers who had rested did not
improve” – quote from the NY Times article How Exercise Benefits The Brain.

They also took blood samples throughout the experiment. They found that: “The cyclists had significantly higher levels of a protein known as brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF, which is known to promote the health of nerve cells. The men who had sat quietly showed no comparable change in BDNF levels.”

In a Brazilian study published last month, “scientists found that after sedentary elderly rats ran for a mere five minutes or so several days a week for five weeks, a cascade of biochemical processes ignited in the memory center of their brains, culminating in increased production of BDNF molecules there. The old, exercised animals then performed almost as well as much younger rats on rodent memory tests.”

Add increased BDBF and improved brain health to the long list of benefits
that come from exercise, particularly high intensity intervals strength
training.

At New Orleans Fitness Trainers and at Austin Personal Training we can help you gradually build up to a high intensity regime that is safe, effective, and efficient for your age. Our oldest client is 88. Using such a program you can expect to feel better and have a dramatic improvement in your health.

Study: High Intensity training beneficial and safe for those with heart disease

New research examines the question of whether high-intensity exercise is beneficial for heart disease patients. The result:

“The four studies, which were composed of patients who either had acute coronary syndrome or angina pectoris, confirmed previous findings that high-intensity exercise is safe, even for patients with CHD” – quote is from this article High-Intensity Exercise for People With Heart Disease.

Another quote from the article:

"When we compared VO2max before and after the training period, we found that the number of training sessions, the subject's age or baseline fitness levels had no impact, but the intensity of the intervals had a significant effect, and seems to be the most important characteristic of an effective interval session.”

It was not how often but how hard they trained that produced the measurable change. They define high-intensity training as the point where a subject's HR during intensive periods is 85-95% of HRmax. They found that VO2max increased by 11.9 % after an average of 23.4 training sessions during the 12-week period for all subjects. They also found that when intensity that was greater than 92 % of their HRmax during the high-intensity periods, the effect was even greater.

This high intensity interval training works for those with healthy hearts as well. It can be conducted on various type of aerobic equipment or it can be done with interval strength training – a series of intense strength training exercises with little rests in between.

There are an infinite number of possible high intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts that can be performed. They cannot be both long and intense. Done right they will be brief and intense. You will have to build up to this. AtAustin Personal Training and at New Orleans Fitness Trainers we can help you gradually build up to a high intensity regime that is safe, effective, and efficient for your age and condition. You need not spend hours in the gym to feel better, look better, and perform better.

Other heart healthy blog entries:
1. The Heart Can Benefit From Brief Intense Exercise

2. Conventional wisdom and the benefits of strength training for cardiovascular health and weight loss

3. Brief, Intense Exercise Can Benefit The Heart

4. High-intensity exercise better at improving metabolic syndrome risk factors

Exercise and Brain Health

From the article Get Moving for a Health Brain in the September 2013 AARP Bulletin these quotes:

The latest research shows that cognitive decline is not inevitable…the brain continues to make new neurons and fine tune neural connections as we live…Aerobic exercise jumps-tarts that process and slashes your lifetime risk of Alzheimer’s’ in half and general dementia by 60 %.

And this:

Exercise boosts the flow of blood to the brain, spurring the release of what has been dubbed Miracle-Gro for the brain – brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). This chemical stimulates the formation of new neurons in the hippocampus, the area involved in memory, learning and the ability to plan and make decisions. BDNF also repairs cell damage and strengthens
synapses.

Is it to late to start if you are already older? According to the article No. Can aerobic activity cognitive benefit younger people? Absolutely, more on that in a later blog post. At Austin Personal Training and at New Orleans Fitness Trainers we can help you gradually build up to a high intensity program that is safe, effective, and efficient for your age and it will have your breathing hard. Our oldest client is 88. Using such a program you can expect to feel better and have a dramatic improvement in your health.

Brief Bouts of High Intensity Training Improves Maximal Oxygen Uptake

From this study, Low-and High-Volume of Intensive Endurance Training Significantly Improves Maximal Oxygen Uptake after Ten Weeks of Training in Healthy Men comes this quote:

“Our study demonstrated that slightly overweight and healthy individuals only required brief, duration bouts of exercise with good effort three times a week, to produce large increases in VO2max and work economy and reduce blood pressure and fasting glucose levels.”

And this:

“The present study demonstrates that a relatively intense stimulus administered only once and for a relatively short duration can substantially improve VO2max and work economy. A single bout of 4-minute interval training three times per week will not solve all lifestyle-related problems for people already obese or overweight, and it is not the only solution for inactive persons with a BMI below 25.”

In the study one group of men performing just one high intensity session three times a week (walking, jogging, or running on a treadmill) for 10 weeks saw a VO2max increase of 10%, and the other group that did four sprints three times a week experienced a boost of 13%.

This protocol of four bursts is called the 4x4 12-minute workout. Other protocols are the Tabata protocol (20 seconds of intense work, followed by 10 seconds of rest for eight cycles), the Timmons protocol (20 seconds of cycling at total effort followed by 2 minutes of gentle cycling), and the Gibala protocol (60 seconds of work at 95% VO2max with 75 seconds of rest repeated for 8 to 12 cycles).

There are an infinite number of possible high intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts that can be performed. They cannot be both long and intense. Done right they will be brief and intense. You will have to build up to this. AtAustin Personal Training and at New Orleans Fitness Trainers we can help you gradually build up to a high intensity regime that is safe, effective, and efficient for your age and condition. You need not spend hours in the gym to feel better, look better, and perform better.

High intensity activity affects fat loss

From this study, Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activity and Weight Outcomes: Does Every Minute Count? comes this quote:

"What we learned is that for preventing weight gain, the intensity of the activity matters more than duration," says Jessie X. Fan, professor of family and consumer studies at the U. "This new understanding is important because fewer than 5 percent of American adults today achieve the recommended level of physical activity in a week according to the current physical activity guidelines. Knowing that even short bouts of 'brisk' activity can add up to a positive effect is an encouraging message for promoting better health."

The recommended number of minutes of exercise a week is 150 minutes. Fewer than five percent of American adults today achieve the recommended level of physical activity in a week. The recommended program might be a great program, but if next to nobody does it what good is it? People exercising with greater intensity for far less than the recommended 150 weekly minutes have achieved really amazing results.

At Austin Personal Training and at New Orleans Fitness Trainers we can help you gradually build up to a high intensity regime that is safe, effective, and efficient for your age. Our oldest client is 88. Using such a program you can expect to feel better and have a dramatic improvement in your health.