Love Notes by Jari Love

Interval Training For Fast Results

by Jari Love

Want to get more out of your workouts? Then try interval training for fast results!
There’s a little secret in the fitness world called interval training.
What is interval training? Rather than doing the same cardio exercise your entire workout, interval training alternates short, high-intensity bursts of exercise with slower, low-intensity periods of recovery.
Research has shown that such intervals of high and low-intensity activity burn more calories and build fitness quicker in a shorter amount of time.
Once designed for elite athletes, interval training is now something the average fit person can try. You don’t need fancy equipment or special training to rev up your routine with interval training.
Read on to learn more about this fast, slow, fast, slow method of training and weight loss.

Theory Behind Interval Training
By alternating high-intensity movements with low-intensity movements, you’re working both your aerobic (with oxygen) and anaerobic (without oxygen) systems. High-intensity exercise causes your muscles to produce lactic acid (waste products), which lead to muscle soreness. Too much lactic acid build up causes exercise to become exhausting and painful.
Alternating hard and easy exercise will reduce the amount of lactic acid that accumulates, thereby making exercise more comfortable, improving your endurance and increasing your speed.

Interval Length
So how long should intervals be?
The answer is, it doesn’t matter.
There are no real hard-and-fast rules about interval length. Varying lengths bring varying benefits. So how fast and how often you pick up the pace depends on you.
Beginners should aim for no longer than 30 seconds of high-intensity bursts. If you’re feeling strong and are in good shape, go ahead and push yourself a bit longer.

Know the Risks
While a no-rules approach may sound appealing, interval training isn’t for the beginner. If you’re new in the land of fitness, take your time as you increase the intensity of your workouts.
Rushing into high-intensity exercise may lead to injury. Start out slowly. Add one or two high-intensity intervals each workout. Slow down if you feel you’re overdoing it. As your stamina increases, feel free to challenge yourself.

Sample Workouts
Remember, there’s no set rule about how to do interval training. It can be tailored to your fitness level and type of exercise.
An interval-training workout involves four variables that can be changed to meet your goals: intensity of intervals, duration of intervals, duration of recovery intervals, and the number of interval repetitions.
Interval training can be casual, spur of the moment bursts of activity depending on how you’re feeling that day or if you’re working towards a more specific sports or fitness goal you can take a more sophisticated, scientific approach.
Interval training workouts have been designed for plyometrics, sprints, stair running, jump rope, speed drills, and agility drills.
A simple example of interval training for walking would be to add short bursts of jogging or alternate slower walking with brisk walking. If you walk outdoors, you could jog or walk faster between certain landmarks such as mailboxes or street signs, then slow down for a short distance.
A second example that really gets your heart pumping and improves fitness in a short amount of time includes running, rowing, or cycling. Warm up for about 15 minutes, then run, row, or cycle as hard as you can (at 90 percent of your maximum heart rate) for three minutes. Then go easy for three minutes, allowing your body to recover. Repeat these three-minute intervals of high- and low-intensity exercise three or four times. Then cool down for 10 minutes.

Increase Your Intensity
To get the most out of your interval training try the following:
• Add Resistance. Between sets of cardio do a set with dumbbells, resistance bands or with your body weight.
• Increase Speed. Really push yourself during the sprinting intervals. Remember, it’s only a handful of seconds.
• Lengthen Intervals. Add a few seconds to your intense intervals.
• Change Exercises. If you’ve been sprinting then switch to burpees or high knees.

Here are WORKOUTS that help you increase your exercise intensity.

Jari Love – original creator of Get RIPPED! DVD series and group exercise classes. The hot-selling and critically acclaimed Get RIPPED! series enables individuals of any fitness level to burn up to three times more calories than the traditional weight-training program, and has received rave reviews from fitness critics throughout North America since the first title debuted in late 2005.

How To Cut Sugar From Your Life

by Jari Love

Recently I posted an article about why sugar is so bad for you. However, cutting sugar from your diet can be challenging. I recently had a client come to me for help eliminating sugar from her diet for good. Danielle is a mom of two and works part time. Once her youngest hit 4 Danielle decided it was time to make some changes in her life, and she started seeing me and coming to my classes on a regular basis. Danielle loved the classes, but found herself craving sweet stuff all the time particularly after workouts, but knew giving in to her cravings wasn’t going to get her the results she wanted. She came to talk to me to see whether I could offer any advice not only for herself, but also for her two boys.

One of the problems with sugar is that it acts like a drug. As sugars are released into your bloodstream your blood sugar rises. Your pancreas works to regulate that blood sugar level by releasing insulin. Insulin’s job is to move sugar from your blood into your cells where you can use it as energy. However, the more refined the sugar the faster this happens and the faster your pancreas has to work in order to regulate your blood sugar levels. This puts a lot of stress on your pancreas, and sometimes, if you eat even small doses of poor-quality highly refined sugars like corn syrup, you experience those tremendous highs and lows of blood sugar spikes and crashes, which leads you crave even more sugar.

If you consume more sugar than your body needs to fuel its cells, that excess sugar is stored as fat! Additionally, if your pancreas is constantly producing insulin to regulate your blood sugar levels, your body can’t produce glucagon which is the hormone that releases fat so your body can burn it off. If you are eating lots of sugar, not only is your body storing that extra sugar as fat, it is also not burning any stored fat.

One of the reasons that your diet is filled with so much sugar is that some form of refined sugar is included in virtually every single processed food. This is yet another reason that it’s important to cut those processed and packaged convenience foods out of your diet. Even some “health foods” should be avoided due to their high sugar content. One of the first fixes Danielle made to her and her boys’ diet was to cut out juice boxes and orange juice for breakfast. 1 8oz glass of orange juice contains 25 grams of sugar which is about half the recommended daily intake for an average adult! Danielle cut out her boys’ juice intake and found this simple change significantly helped reduce their mood swings and “tired” tantrums. Danielle also cut out her morning glass of orange juice and found she was less tired half way through the morning and could forgo her sugar fix.

I also recommended that Danielle and her boys upped their protein, particularly at breakfast. A diet rich in protein keeps you full, satisfied and less likely to crave sweets. A great way to make sure that you are getting enough is to plan each meal and snack around a protein. Danielle began planning breakfasts around eggs and protein shakes which also helped her ward off those cravings.

The biggest change Danielle made to her diet was cutting out all products containing artificial sweeteners. Danielle had initially tried to cut sugar by switching to products with sugar alternatives. The problem with these artificial sweeteners is they actually interfere with our hormonal system’s ability to detect when we’ve eaten enough. Artificial sweeteners make our body think we’ve had something sweet, but when the calories aren’t there our body craves them—making us eat more food to satisfy the deficit.

Danielle got rid of all those artificial sweeteners and replaced them with whole fruit and the occasional piece of dark chocolate. Eating a piece of whole fruit when you are craving something sweet is a good option, since you can have your sweet fix, while also ingesting vitamins and minerals. The fiber present in fruit also helps slow down the sugar’s release into your blood stream thus putting less stress on your pancreas.
Danielle replaced her secret indulgence— Twizzlers licorice—with a small square of dark chocolate for those times when she just had to have something sweet. Consuming Dark Chocolate that is 70% or higher in cocoa content releases endorphins that suppress pain and stress. The flavonoids found in cocoa can also help reduce blood pressure and the B-vitamins are an additional stress busting benefit. The benefit of the cocoa, in addition to the lowered sugar content, makes dark chocolate an occasionally justifiable treat.

Danielle found that the longer she and her boys went without sugar, the less they craved it. As you begin to limit your intake of refined sugars, you’ll find that your tolerance for sugar decreases. This means that something that didn’t taste sweet before – say a green apple – now has uncanny depths of sweetness. What’s happening is that your sweet receptors are becoming more finely tuned, now that you’re not overwhelming your palate with sickly-sweet refined sugar. Danielle found she actually had more energy once she decided to kick the sugar habit, and as a bonus after only three weeks on the no sugar plan, she found she had lost an extra 4 pounds!

Remember, diet is a huge part of your weight management program, but a regular, challenging exercise routine is also a must. Not only will a challenging exercise program help you get into amazing shape, it also reduces your cravings for sugar. The endorphin rush brought on by vigorous exercise is an even more powerful feel-good-feeling than the pleasure gotten by indulging in sugary foods.

Jari Love – original creator of Get RIPPED! DVD series and group exercise classes. The hot-selling and critically acclaimed Get RIPPED! series enables individuals of any fitness level to burn up to three times more calories than the traditional weight-training program, and has received rave reviews from fitness critics throughout North America since the first title debuted in late 2005.

Homemade Chicken Soup Recipe

by Jari Love

This homemade chicken soup recipe is made without added carbs like noodles or potatoes. It’s filled with fiber, protein and lots of delicious flavor. Enjoy!

Here’s what you need…

• 1 Tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 medium organic yellow onion, chopped
• 3 carrots, grated
• 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
• 1 Tablespoon curry powder
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 quarts chicken broth
• 3 cups diced roasted chicken
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 organic apple, chopped
• dash of salt and pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• zest from 1 lemon
• 2 cups unsweetened coconut milk

1. In a large pot, over medium heat, melt the coconut oil and add the onion, carrots and celery.
2. After 5 minutes add the garlic and curry powder.
3. After a couple minutes add the chicken broth, chicken, bay leaf, apple, pepper, thyme, and lemon zest. Stir well.
4. Bring to a simmer and cook for 40 minutes.
5. Stir in the coconut milk, and some salt if desired, remove the bay leaf and serve.
6. Enjoy your Homemade Chicken Soup!

Servings: 8

Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 166 calories, 5g fat, 175mg sodium, 9g carbohydrate, 2g fiber, and 19g protein

Jari Love – original creator of Get RIPPED! DVD series and group exercise classes. The hot-selling and critically acclaimed Get RIPPED! series enables individuals of any fitness level to burn up to three times more calories than the traditional weight-training program, and has received rave reviews from fitness critics throughout North America since the first title debuted in late 2005.

DO YOU MAKE THESE 5 FITNESS MISTAKES?

by Jari Love

Stroll through any gym and you’ll notice many mistakes. Mistakes that waste time. Mistakes that put people in danger. And mistakes that are just plain crazy.
Maybe you even make a few of these mistakes yourself.
By avoiding these common blunders, you’ll put yourself on the fast track to results.

Check out the following 5 fitness mistakes and the solutions you need to avoid danger and to get fit fast.

Mistake 1: You use the wrong weight
The goal is to challenge your muscles, not to simply go through the motions. If you are able to complete 15 repetitions easily, then the weight is too light. On the flip side, if you aren’t able to perform an exercise through its full range of motion, and find yourself cheating on form, then the weight is too heavy.
The correct weights will feel challenging by your last few repetitions, but won’t force you to sacrifice form.
Mistake 2: You do the same routine
You may have noticed that most people do the same exercises each time they visit the gym. Maybe you’ve been doing the same exercise routine as long as you can remember – if it isn’t broken then don’t fix it, right?
The truth is that exercise routines have expiration dates, and that is the date that they begin to lose their effectiveness. As a rule of thumb never use the same routine for more than 4 weeks.
Mistake 3: You don’t warm up
Most people consider warm up time to be wasted time – they’d rather jump right into the heart of the routine. What they don’t realize is that a good warm up will allow you to perform at a higher intensity, which means greater results.
The point of a warm up is to increase your muscle temperature. This increases blood flow, muscle contraction and reduces muscle resistance. Your warm up should last 5-10 minutes.
Mistake 4: You use bad form
Gyms are filled with people performing exercises with bad form. The two biggest reasons are that you aren’t concentrating on the exercise, or you’re trying to lift weight that is too heavy. Lifting with improper form almost always results in injury.
Take the time to achieve proper form, by doing so you’ll avoid injury and will reap the full benefit from each exercise.
Mistake 5: You workout alone
People who exercise alone are less challenged, less accountable and typically see fewer results. It makes sense, doesn’t it? Why rush to the gym if no one is there waiting for you? Why push yourself if no one is watching? Exercising alone is a recipe for disaster.

Jari Love – original creator of Get RIPPED! DVD series and group exercise classes. The hot-selling and critically acclaimed Get RIPPED! series enables individuals of any fitness level to burn up to three times more calories than the traditional weight-training program, and has received rave reviews from fitness critics throughout North America since the first title debuted in late 2005.

Weight Loss: How I Lost Weight – 44lbs (20kg)

by Jari Love

Here’s a dose for Motivation Tuesday! Sarah has lost 44 pounds, and is making huge sacrifices. As a personal trainer and group fitness instructor, I always tell my clients they need to have a support system in their lifestyle change. Without a support system, your weight loss efforts will be incredibly hard. So read Sarah’s story, then be motivated that you can make all the changes you need to for your new health and fitness lifestyle, no matter what the consequences.

Sarah was heavily overweight most of her life. At the age of 55 and with a pre-diabetes diagnosis, Sarah came to me for advice and guidance on how to improve her health and perhaps shed a few pounds. Fast forward six months and Sarah has lost about 44 pounds BUT may be losing her husband in the process.

Working with successful businesswomen to help them gain control of their expanding waistlines as they approach menopause is as very exciting and humble experience.

To see transformations unfold is rewarding and exhilarating. Women share their successes and downfalls in a safe environment allowing them to achieve the body they are looking for.

Sarah’s husband married Sarah curves and all and does not want her to lose any more weight. This is despite Sarah sharing with her husband that she feels great, her pre-diabetes has been abated, and she would love to continue to lose another 40 pounds.

Lack of support from Sarah’s husband may be due to any of the following points.

He may have felt “safe” with her curves, believing that no one would try and steal her away.

With Sarah’s weight loss came increased self-esteem and confidence. He may have felt threatened that Sarah may leave him for another man.

Is Sarah’s husband to be vilified?

Or is it Sarah’s fault for changing the goal posts? He married a woman with curves, and she is no longer the woman that he married.

My advice to Sarah?

Encourage an open dialogue. He may be feeling insecure and if Sarah wants to stay with her husband, she needs to reassure him that though other men now find her attractive, he should not feel threatened but should be proud of any attention she may be garnering.

Include the husband in any extracurricular activities such as walking so the two of the can be gaining the benefits together.

While it is fine to have some curves (as opposed to being ultra skinny), once the curves leans towards being heavily overweight and interfering with your health action needs to be taken.

What would you do if you found yourself losing some excess weight only to find someone close to you is trying to sabotage your efforts? I would love to hear you thoughts and how you handled the situation. You can leave your comments below and I will answer everyone’s questions.

Julie Dargan is a Nurse, Naturopath BHSc and has worked in the wellness industry for over 30 years. Julie’s FREE 5 Day Kickstart Program is excellent to get you on the right track in your weight loss quest. Julie also has a private Facebook group for women over 50 and looking for solutions to halt weight gain in the menopause. Via huffingtonpost.com

Jari Love – original creator of  Get RIPPED! DVD series and group exercise classes. The hot-selling and critically acclaimed Get RIPPED! series enables individuals of any fitness level to burn up to three times more calories than the traditional weight-training program, and has received rave reviews from fitness critics throughout North America since the first title debuted in late 2005.

Food Lie #6: It’s not just genes: What it’s like to work out like a Victoria’s Secret model

by Jari Love

Food lie #6 says that being thin is all about your genetics. This couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s not the “skinny gene” that gets passed down from one generation to another, it’s the lifestyles that support being the “ideal” weight. If your parents tend to be overweight or obese, your chances of being overweight or obese are also high. But not from the genetics, but from the lifestyle that is modeled for you. Speaking of models, read this article from a fitness blogger and re-evaluate your perception of the models.

Fitness blogger Poppy Cross found out first-hand what it takes to look like a Victoria’s Secret model.

Victoria’s Secret models don’t break a sweat as they glide down the catwalk – and it’s hard to imagine they’d ever need to. Didn’t they just drop from the sky, all slender and sleek with a whisper of a waist and divinely sculpted thighs?

Not quite. The truth is that looking like an “Angel” (the brand’s upper echelon contract models) takes serious slog. Behind the lace is a “military mind and athlete’s performance”, says one blogger who has laid the truth bare.

After four months on the same “relentless and intense” exercise regime followed by the models, London-based fitness blogger and journalist Poppy Cross wrote about her experience in The Mail on Sunday.

The 29-year-old said nothing could have prepared her for the mental and physical challenge that lay in store.

“There’s a reason the VS models are known as athletes,” Cross told Stuff. “They have to have lean muscle as opposed to the regular rake-thin catwalk model. It’s about sexiness not skinniness.”

From lifting weights and running to boxing, ballet and pilates, all manner of methods are employed to get those rock-hard abs, she says.

Adriana Lima’s workout routine includes HIIT training, boxing the bag, yoga and capoeira – a type of martial art. Photo: Victoria's Secret/Instagram

“VS models all have different routines. Three months pre-show, they all increase their workout intensity. Adriana Lima admits she trains twice a day in the run-up – favouring boxing and jumping rope,” says Cross.

On her blog, Cross quotes Victoria’s Secret creative director, Sophia Neophitou-Apostolou, saying: “It’s really like being an Olympian – they have to be in peak condition.”

And as Cross learnt for herself, looking like a past or present Angel, such as Heidi Klum, Tyra Banks, Adriana Lima, Gisele Bundchen, Helena Christensen or Miranda Kerr, is no stroll through a meadow.

SO WHAT’S INVOLVED?

Genetics do play a role, says Cross. “Victoria’s Secret requires all its Angels to be 5-foot 9-inches tall and have 24-inch waists.”

But that’s just the beginning. To be a Victoria’s Secret model, you also need 18 per cent body fat or lower, says Cross.

At 5ft 9in with a 26-inch waist, Cross already had the fundamentals when starting the programme, but at 22.2 per cent body fat, she had a way to go before reaching Victoria’s Secret standards.

She was told by personal trainer Dan Roberts, who works with the models, that she needed glutes “as solid as concrete”, sharply-defined obliques, muscles in her skinny arms “to get the Gisele-esque lines” and more definition in her thighs.

Before starting the programme Poppy Cross was already very slim, but afterwards gained more lean muscle. 

That meant a lot of weight training, including dead-lifts, weighted lunges, tricep dips and press-ups. After one month she was physically and mentally exhausted, but by month three she was deadlifting 72kg.

One of the brand’s most famous angels, Alessandra Ambrosio, has said “you put all your mind, all your everything” into the role.

She tries to work out at least once a day, alternating between a lot of weights and then no weights at all. She throws in some ballet, and is a huge fan of pilates, spin classes and yoga. She also spends time running after her two kids and playing with them in the pool.

WHAT ABOUT DIET?

Foodwise, Cross was put on a calorie-restricted high-fat, high-protein, low-carb diet, which meant chicken, fish or beef with almost every meal. Sugar was out, including fruit. Vegetables were allowed initially, but on the pre-catwalk diet, it was all proteins and fats, she wrote in The Mail on Sunday. “Extreme low-carb diets push the body into a state called ketosis, which means that it primarily burns fat for energy.”

Her diet, devised by nutritionist Dr Charles Passler who also works with the models, ensured she had the nutrients required to be healthy.

By the end of the programme, Cross got down to 17 per cent body fat. Because she’d garnered so much lean muscle, she didn’t lose weight, but dropped at least a dress size and shrunk her waist.

In her blog, she says even her cholesterol levels came down marginally. Coupled with her lower glucose levels, that meant a healthier metabolic profile.

SO THE UPSHOT?

At the end of her challenge, Cross felt “healthier, fitter and firmer, which is a positive result”.

She’s also learnt how much time and effort is needed to build lean muscle. “Anyone who thinks that the VS models rely solely on starvation and genetics is wrong,” says Cross in her blog.

So then, given the hard graft, should any of us look on in envy when the Angels strut their stuff, or rather count ourselves lucky as we scoff our chips and dip?

“If you want to make it your career then you could train like them! It’s actually a privilege to look after your body on that scale and feel so physically fit,” she told Stuff.

In her blog, she says the hours and dedication required to be VS catwalk-ready would be impossible to maintain if you have a job, family or want an enriching social life (ie. where you can eat whatever arrives on your dinner plate).

Cross says even Adriana Lima claims to only do strict diets before a show – “after the show, I become normal again” – whatever “normal” may constitute for the likes of a super-being like Lima. Via stuff.co.nz

Jari Love – original creator of  Get RIPPED! DVD series and group exercise classes. The hot-selling and critically acclaimed Get RIPPED! series enables individuals of any fitness level to burn up to three times more calories than the traditional weight-training program, and has received rave reviews from fitness critics throughout North America since the first title debuted in late 2005.