The 5 Components of Fitness

 For any and all weight loss goals, there are 5 main factors that will make or break your results. Doesn't matter if you're wanting to lose weight or gain muscle mass, each of these factors will help you get to these results in the quickest and safest way possible.

I've had quite a few people ask me: "What's your secret?" And to be quite honest, it is no secret at all! Diet and Exercise! It's been the most successful way of weight loss for how many hundreds of years? These "crash diets" (IE: HCG) are unhealthy. Yes, you will get results, and you'll probably get them quickly. But think of it this way: it's been a process to put the weight on, it's going to be a process getting it off. And if you lose weight quickly, you're more than likely to put it all back on just as fast. It's not easy, but the commitment is so worth it!

5 Components of Fitness:

NUTRITION: Nutrition is totally key. ROUGHLY 80% OF YOUR RESULTS WILL COME FROM YOUR DIET! I don't think I can stress this enough. You can workout all you want, still maintain unhealthy eating habits, and you'll more than likely just maintain where you're at. A calorie deficiency without exercise, can guarantee loss, but you're loss will be greater when combined with exercise. And fueling your body with the right foods and right intake amount of protein, carbs and fats is most important.

CARDIO: Rule #1: CARDIO! (Zombieland reference, in case anyone was wondering :) ) Cardio is a great way for fat burn. And a great way to keep you in shape. Cardio is meant to raise your heart rate, and keep it at a rate to burn the most fat efficiently and effectively. Along with cardio comes our "FIT" Principle.

FREQUENCY: How often should you do cardio?

INTENSITY: Do you know what your target heart rate is?

TIME: Do you know how often you should be doing cardio?

There are many tools you can use online to to individualize your "FIT" Principle, but another good way is to seek help from a personal trainer. Their advice is more accurate and more personable.

Cardio has about 7-8 hours of after burn. Which means that after completing a cardio session, you're body will continue to rapidly burn calories for 7-8 hours. Finding your target heart rate is key. There are three levels of calorie burn when you are performing cardio. The first level is Calories Consumed. Heart rate is generally low during this first level, and you are only burning calories that have been ingested. The second level is Fat Calories. This is where you're target heart rate will lie. Once you find what your target heart rate is, maintain that heart rate for 30+ minutes and it will be pure fat burn. The third level is Protein/Muscle Calories. Have you ever noticed how long distance runners are fit, but not "tight"? They look like a bag of bones generally, because they don't keep track of their heart rate. Their heart rate is cranked up so high and isn't consistent, so they're burning everything from their calories consumed to the protein/muscle and everything in between. Keeping track of your target heart rate and maintaining it will help avoid burning your muscles!

SUPPLEMENTATION: Does everyone need to be on tons of supplements? No, not necessarily. Are you able to use supplements when starting out? Absolutely! The first supplementation you should be on is a Multi-Vitamin. EVERYONE should be on a multi-vitamin. Especially if you are dieting and counting calories, somewhere you are bound to have a vitamin deficiency along with your calorie deficiency. We want to avoid that at all costs! Another key supplementation is Whey Protein. Anyone and everyone can be on protein. Whey protein is a fast release protein, and after exercise, is the best thing to consume. You're muscles absorb the most nutrients up yo 60 MINUTES after exercising, so take your shake then! For any and all other supplements (fat burners, pre-workouts, post-workouts), you may want to talk to a trainer or nutritionist or even a supplement salesperson at a nutrition store. If you're uneasy about taking certain supplements, don't take them. Do research before choosing supplements, to make sure the ones you are seeking are first off, LEGAL, and secondly, not harmful to your body and won't sabotage your goals.

RESISTANCE TRAINING: LADIES! One of the most ANNOYING things that I hear is women swearing they will NEVER lift weights because they don't want to get bulky. First off, I'd like to squash that myth by saying it is virtually IMPOSSIBLE for women to "bulk up" because we just don't have the genetics and hormone make up to build muscle the way men do. Unless you are on some SERIOUS supplementation, you won't bulk. You will build muscle, but you'll still maintain your sexy female curves. And probably accentuate them as well. I stated earlier in the cardio section that fat cells don't disappear, they shrink. Resistance training will build the muscle to surround those fat cells and keep them from swelling up again. This will also tone or "tighten" areas that are "flabby". The best way to tone is a good combination of cardio and resistance training. Resistance training also has GREAT calorie burning benefits. Earlier I mentioned that cardio has a 7-8 hour after burn. Well, guess what. Resistance training has up to a whopping 72 HOURcardio the next, then entire lower body, cardio and repeat. You're muscles are building, tightening, and repairing themselves when they are resting after a workout. When you're training with weights, you are technically "damaging" and tearing the muscles fibers, causing them to repair themselves and tighten. Thus, the soreness you generally feel after working out. Be sure to stretch efficiently after working out. You want long, lean muscles. Stretch them out for a "cool down".

ONE ON ONE EDUCATION: If you are wanting to get back into them gym or have a huge fitness goal, but not sure where to start, I definitely recommend getting one on one education with a Certified Personal Trainer. Yes, you may have to purchase a training package from them, but even if you buy 4 sessions, you will be more knowledgeable and they can help point you in the right direction to get you to where you want to be. They can help answer questions regarding the other 4 components discussed earlier. Trainers are so knowledgeable and they WANT to see you succeed! So they will not steer you wrong!

Curious to do some research of your own? One of my favorite websites with a HUGE knowledge database full of articles, workout plans and diet plans is http://www.bodybuilding.com/.