EFFICIENT FITNESS
The preservation of lean muscle mass is crucial to maintaining weight loss and to living a functionally independent life. Keep your strength training simple, focus on efficient cardiovascular exercise and get consistent.
THE THREE E’s OF FITNESS
ENJOYABLE + EFFICIENT = EFFECTIVE
MOVEMENT
All of the fitness components below are crucial to developing body composition.
- Mobility/Flexibility/Balance
- Pulmonary Fitness
- Muscular Endurance
- Muscular Strength
- Cardiorespiratory
ESSENTIAL MOVEMENT
Movements that are compound, scalable, and relate to daily living activities.
| MOVE | SQUAT | DEADLIFT | PUSHUP | PULLUP | HOLLOW BODY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TYPE | Push | Pull | Push | Pull | Isometric |
| DAILY LIVING ACTIVITY | Getting in and out of the chair | Picking up objects from the ground | Getting up from the ground | Pulling an object towards you | Position related to ideal posture |
| CUES | Heels Chest Knees Low Back | Back Hip Heels Knees | Head Elbows Flat Back Midline | Head Grip Flat Back Midline | Back down Shoulders Hips Midline |
EXAMPLE WORKOUT DESIGN
| SECTION | DURATION | INCLUDE |
|---|---|---|
| Warm up | 10:00 – 15:00 | Select 3-4 dynamic mobility exercises Breathe 30-40 breaths and cardio 3:00 – 5:00 Perform 2x of 10 repetitions in strength |
| Muscular Strength | 10:00 – 15:00 | Main Move (Squat, Press or Deadlift) 3-5 sets of 5-10 reps at med/heavy load |
| Muscular Endurance | 10:00 – 15:00 | Complete 3-5 rounds of: Select Low Body, EI Squat 15 reps Select Upper Body, EI Pushups 15 reps Select Core, EI Situps 15 reps, Rest as needed |
| Cool Down | 5:00 – 10:00 | Recovery Breath 5M:M - 5N:M - 5N:N Select 2-3 mobility exercises (soft tissue) |
| GEAR | RPE | HEART RATE | EFFECTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | HIIT High | 8/10 + | 180 - Age + 15 BPM or > | Improves body composition quickly, insulin, sensitivity, mitochondrial density, anaerobic and aerobic capacity |
| 3 | Mushy Middle | 6-7/10 | Middle HR between MAF / HIIT | Highly stressful, secretes stress hormones, unfavorable
BCD adaptations |
| 2 | Max Aerobic Function | 5/10 | 180 - Age within 10 BPM | Promotes mobility, aerobic development and fat adaptation, builds capillary density |
Favorable “gear 4” cardio-respiratory workouts…
- Intermittent fasted low intensity morning walks (prior to breakfast)
- Short Intervals 6-8 x :60 @ 95% Effort, 2:00 Recovery – get back to MAF
- Long Intervals 3-5 x 4:00 @ 90% Effort, 4:00 Recovery – develop VO2 Max
- Tabata Sets 8 x :20 Work / :10 Rest @ 100% Effort – Great for travel
KEY RECOMMENDATIONS
- Strength training 2-3 days (maintain muscle)
- Favor “gear 2” cardio respiratory training up to 5 days per week for 30 minutes
- Vigorous cardio respiratory training 1-2 days per week for 30 minutes
- Monitor lifestyle and remain intuitive will all fitness intensity selections
RECOMMENDED READING
- The Science and Practice of Strength Training by Vladimir M Zatsiorski
- Beyond Training, Ben Greenfield and/or Primal Endurance Training by Mark Scisson
- The First 20 Minutes by Gretchen Reynolds