Laura's Corner . . . Training Tips!

Laura Attard is Breathe's premiere Certified Personal Trainer. Laura is certified in Gravity Training and has a history of training every fitness level from beginner to advanced athletes. Currently, Laura trains various clients throughout Breathe and leads a very successful Breathe Boot Camp on Tuesday's and Thursday's from 8:15-9:15am! Come join her and get fit!

Each week, Laura will discuss various training tips to help you with your training needs. This week, Laura has some great tips on Strength Training! Check them out!

As a personal trainer, I tell my clients to try a weight training interval program to get the most out of their time at the gym. If fat loss and improving muscle tone is your goal, incorporate high intensity intervals into your weight training program can really make a difference.

*For example, high intensity bursts of running, cycling, jumping rope followed by recovery can really get your heart going! A great program that we have at Breathe would be Breathe's Boot Camp on Tuesday's and Thursday's starting at 8:15am!

*Another great tip, lifting weights three times a week! Why only three times per week? Well, if you are doing a full body workout, lifting more than three times per week may not give your body enough time to recover. Recovery time is very important in order for your muscles to repair and begin to build strength.

*When lifting weights, you need to lift a sufficient amount of weight in order to maximize your workout! Yes, I know . . . you have heard that lifting light weights with many repetitions will help you tone up and heavy weights will make you bulky. Ok, if I had a nickel for every time someone said to me, I would be a rich one!

*First, being tone involves building some muscle and getting leaner by losing fat mass. Depending on your training cycle and how many repetitions you are doing your weight training should be challenging to finish.

*Also, you can use more muscles at the same time by incorporating free weights as opposed to machines. For more info, ask me to show you some examples.

*You need to in increase your weight over time. By rule of thumb, if you are completing three sets successfully for two consecutive workouts and it was relatively easy for both workouts you can try going up in weight. Here at Breathe our weights go up in 2 ½ pound increments making it easier to go up gradually.

*One other point I want to stress, you will not get huge!! It would take a lot of work for a man to get big, supplemented by a lot of fuel and possibly other supplements in some cases. Women have a lower level of testosterone which prevents us from bulking up. So unless you are spending your entire day in the gym working out, followed by an intense high calorie, high protein diet, followed by supplements, you won’t get bulky!

That's my tip for the week! Have a great day and come join me at Breathe Fitness!