Category: Workout Tips

When you think of strength training you may think of beefed up gym junkies around a squat rack holding protein shakes. This is taking strength training to another level. But what if we told you strength training can play an important part in your life and lead to a healthier, happier you? Resistance training (aka strength or weight training) can increase muscle mass, reduce body fat, increase bone density and boost your mood. This type of training holds a place for all ages and fitness levels, here’s why.

Increase your strength and muscular endurance

As the name suggests, a major benefit of strength training is that it will make you stronger and increase your ability to train harder for longer. This is beneficial in the gym and also in day-to-day life. Performing resistance exercises and weight training regularly will help those daily tasks like housework, carrying groceries or picking up the kids become easier.

Strength training can help you maintain or lose weight

All exercise boosts your metabolism and assists in weight loss over time. With strength training, excess post-exercise oxygen consumption is higher than in aerobic (cardio) training. While it sounds counter-intuitive, this means your metabolism stays active and continues to burn energy (and therefore calories) after exercise. Because of this, strength training can help boost weight loss more than just aerobic exercise alone. When combining strength training with a well-balanced diet, a healthy weight and proportions can be easily achieved or maintained.

Assists with healthy bones

For older adults a decrease in muscle mass is a natural part of the ageing process. Less muscle mass means increased weakness and lower mobility, raising the risk of injury. Making strength training a part of your exercise regime increases bone mineral density in all ages to reduce the risk of arthritis and osteoporosis later in life.

Boost your energy levels and improve your mood

It’s no secret that physical activity elevates your endorphins, boosting your energy levels and lifting your mood. By building muscle, getting stronger and noticing changes to your body over time, strength training has been proven to boost confidence and self-esteem in men and women, leaving them to feel better about themselves. Not to mention that post workout pumped feeling!

Where do I start?

Does strength training sound like something you’d like to add into your routine but have no idea where to start? Getting help from an expert Personal Trainer is a good starting point. Your trainer can develop an strength-based exercise program tailored to you and your fitness level so you can progressively build your strength in a safe and supervised way. Many gyms also offer strength based classes in a group fitness environment. This option gives you regular sessions usually over 45 minutes with a range of equipment and focus day on upper or lower body.

The Body Factory’s team of Coaches and Personal Trainers are ready to help people of all fitness levels achieve their training goals. If you would like to find out more about strength training at The Body Factory, contact us via the information below.

If you are a beginner to exercise or need a shakeup from your usual regime, investing in a personal trainer (PT) may be what you need.

Working with a PT is a great step towards achieving your health and fitness goals regardless of where you are in your health and fitness journey, here are our top reasons why.

• They Are Your Chief Motivational Booster

PT’s live and breathe motivation. If you are feeling tired, unmotivated, or flat your PT is here to encourage you every step of the way.

If you’re a fresh face to the gym scene it may feel like you don’t know where to begin. Booking in with a PT is a great way to introduce you to the gym as well as boost your confidence and exercise knowledge.

Not only this but having a PT is also a commitment. Knowing you’ve booked in for a session each week will help you maintain motivation with your weekly exercise.

• They Will Hold You Accountable

A PT will help you set weekly goals to work towards and check in with you regularly to see what you’ve done throughout the week to achieve these.

Knowing that you have someone checking in on how your tracking will help you stick to your program in and outside the gym.

• They Will Push You Past Your Limits

It’s not uncommon to slip into the comfort zone when doing the same exercise regime for a while. In this zone, we often don’t see results because we aren’t working as hard as we could (or should).

A PT will break you out of your comfort zone, helping you to challenge yourself to keep improving and achieve some new personal bests.

• They Will Teach You Proper Form

Learning proper techniques is critical in ensuring you get the most out of your workout. Performing exercises incorrectly can also put a strain on the wrong muscle groups and increase your chances of injury.

A PT will examine your movements and help you improve your form to maximise your progress and help prevent potential injuries.

• They Will Help You Develop and Achieve Goals

Before your PT first session, they will help you decide your Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely (SMART) goals.

Your trainer will use your SMART goals to develop a personal program, specifically for you. Developing SMART goals is a sure way to set realistic expectations for yourself and progressively work towards your fitness goals. These goals will change over time as you continue to progress in your fitness journey and your PT will adapt your program accordingly.

• Yes it Costs, But…

These reasons are the great things that investing in a PT can do for you. Nothing is free but investing in your health is priceless.

Sign-up for personal training at The

Body Factory with our expert coaches and get 4, PT sessions and 4 weeks of group fitness all for $199.

Evolving Fitness Styles

There seems to be a new flavour every month when it comes to training fads and concepts. A new fitness institution or health club popping up on every corner or a coach preaching something new and improved to catch the attention of health & fitness enthusiasts.

A style and technique that continues to evolve is High Intensity Interval Training. A training method aimed at the passionate enthusiast is driving incredible results out of people right around the globe.

So what is all this fuss about, why HIIT? We’ll tell you why… As you can appreciate we have become impatient over time. We expect instant answers. Instant results. We want to sweat within seconds!

What is HIIT?

HIIT Training is a style that’s been designed to hit you square in the face from the first minute of the session, until you find yourself crawling out of the gym! A style of training that provides an interval window for maximum effort, followed by a break period to regather yourself prior to the next effort.

This method of training has proven extremely valuable and a sure thing for most of us time poor people – we are in the gym for 30-45 minutes and we leave like we’ve been hit by a bus – efficient right? Well sure it is, provided you manage and listen to your body. By this we mean the role the fatigue factor plays. Ensure that you balance your week by incorporating less intense sessions around the high intensity training and factor in adequate rest time.

It’s not only a time factor that has HIIT training training popping up all over the world, it’s the increased demand for RESULTS around body transformation! Through HIIT’s ability to increase metabolic rate & capacity, increase insulin sensitivity, and the huge role it plays on the improved levels of one’s cardiovascular fitness. HIIT is a huge contributor in the fight against weight gain and obesity issues.

High Intensity Interval Training our five ‘F’s’

• It’s FUN
• It’s FAST
• You’ll get FIT
• You’ll burn FAT
• Train with FRIENDS

The spring-time light at the end of the tunnel is fast approaching and whether you’ve been hibernating all isolation, pulled back on your exercise intensity or just want to get started, transitioning back into the gym will put a strain on your body. The Body Factory gym in Sydney’s Sutherland Shire has a few handy tips on how to ease back into a regular training routine without burning out.

Start Slow and Build Up

The biggest mistake many of us can make when starting back with high-intensity interval training (HIIT) is doing too much too soon. Start slow and ease back into exercise to build up your stamina and prevent injury. If you have been doing minimal exercise recently, we suggest starting back at the gym for two to three days a week for the first month and gradually increasing to up to 5 days. Lower intensity exercise such as light running is a one way to ease your body back into physical activity and a good option on those ‘rest days’ to keep active without putting your body under too much stress.

Rest Up

Recovery is a big part of keeping active over the long-term and important for getting the most out of your next session. There’s no denying that working out is hard work – it uses a lot of energy and can often leave us feeling sluggish. When starting back with high intensity exercise it is likely you will feel fatigued to start. We suggest you listen to your body first and foremost. It is OK to take a rest day! ‘Rest days’ allow the body to repair itself after all of the hard work you have put it through in the gym.

Stretch

Stretching is one of the most underrated components of getting back into a fitness routine. We encourage dynamic stretches both before and after your class or workout session. This will prevent your muscles becoming tight, get the blood flowing through your body and help prevent any injuries. Lower body stretching especially is critical for your movement and mobility.

Fuel Your Sessions

How you fuel your body pre and post-workout will have a huge impact on how well you both perform and recover.

Before your training session you want to make sure your muscles are full of energy and ready to go. Having a carbohydrate-rich snack one to two hours beforehand is a great way to do this. Before your next workout try having a piece of fruit, muesli bar or a slice of wholemeal toast with some avocado or peanut butter.

“After your workout is when you want to have a hit of protein for optimal recovery” says The Body Factory’s Nutritionist Maddi Parsons. Having protein within the first hour after exercise is ideal to replenish your muscles and significantly reduce muscle soreness. A protein shake, some high-protein Greek Yoghurt or a smoothie made with cow’s milk are easy on-the-go post-workout food solutions.