The good news is there is nothing to fear! The body is a very smart machine, and will adapt to the external stress placed upon it. Activities that once were hard become easier and so the body does not have to work as hard to complete that activity. This usually happens in about 4-6 weeks. The body demands progression to produce change. To avoid plateauing and the way to ensure continued gains is to simply change your workouts. This can be done a number of ways; change the order of exercises, change the amount of weight lifted (heavier or lighter), change the rep range (fewer reps for increased weight, and more reps for decreased weight), doing cardio before after or during your workout, increase the intensity of the workout, or change the duration of the exercise. Or a combination of all of the above. Keeping the body guessing will challenge it in new ways, and will ensure continued progress to your desire goals. It will also keep your workouts fun and ever-changing, avoiding the monotony of doing the same thing over and over.

Do not be afraid of change, it is actually the best thing you can do for yourself. If you feel unsure of how to change or where to start, hire a trainer for a few sessions. Pay attention and take notes of how your workouts change from day-to-day. A good trainer will take time to teach you how to do the exercises properly and will explain how to push yourself even further. Plateaus happen to everyone, do not think you are alone. They say variety is the spice of life. Take heed of that saying when it comes to your workouts and reach new levels of excellence.

Jason is Owner and Head Trainer at J Nichols Fitness located in Charleston, SC. If you would like to contact Jason email him at jnicholsfitness@gmail.com. For more fitness related tips visit jnicholsfitness.com.

A better definition, for the purpose of this article, is to base the two exercise types on intensity and duration (time). Aerobic exercise is a lower intensity, should not increase the heart rate above 40-60% of the maximum heart rate, and will last anywhere from 20-60 minutes and more. Anaerobic exercise is higher intensity, will get the heart rate between 60-85%++ of the maximum heart rate, and can last between 10-20 seconds to 3 minutes per working set. With an overall work load of up to twenty minutes, based on the intensity of the exercise. In general, when doing anaerobic exercise you should practice a 1:1 to a 1:3-10 work to rest ratio. Again, the amount of rest between intervals will depend on the intensity of the exercise.

The benefits of anaerobic exercise are 1. Increased calorie burn over time (5-12% and more over a 48 hour period) 2. Increased strength, muscle efficiency, and muscle mass 3. Increase heart and lung functioning (heart pumps stronger, and more oxygen is delivered via to the body) 4. Increase amount of work time before muscle failure (increased lactate threshold) 5. The ability to do more work in less time.

Most runners simply want to run; faster, farther, or longer. The general idea is that running more will get you better at running. Based on the Specificity Theory, it is true that you must train for what you want to get better at, but recent evidence shows that cross training will also aid to train for that event. That is where anaerobic training comes into the picture.

Adding anaerobic training, because of the benefits listed above, will increase your ability to run farther, faster, and longer. Plus, adding anaerobic exercise is a great way to add some variety to your training regime. Incorporate 2-3 days/week of circuited weight training, sprint intervals, and anaerobic exercises such as burpees, kettle bell swings, mountain climbers, and jump rope, and you will see your running reach new heights. Not only that, but you will get stronger and fitter as well. You can thank me later.

Jason is the Owner and Personal Trainer at J Nichols Fitness in Charleston, SC. For more fitness tips see him at jnicholsfitness.com or on Facebook at j nichols fitness.

So the tabata Rx this week is on the treadmill. Set the incline to 12% and put the speed at your average 1 mile pace and DO NOT slow down.

ps. Blame Brian Mackenzie of Crossfit Endurance for this terrible workout.

Plan your beach season and be ready for it. The earlier you start, the better. There will be different protocols depending on your time frame and gender. For those of you who have procrastinated until the last month or two, you’ve still got some time. Just be ready to work hard!

Uber-Time Crunch!

Please be advised that this is not politically correct and goes against what I’ve preached. If you only have 5-8 weeks before your vacation, there is still time to be “event ready” however, it is not considered healthy. Also, note that you will not be gaining much muscle in this time frame, the focus will be on straight weight loss. If you do see increased muscle tone, it is most likely do to sarcoplasmic hypertrophy (fluid built up in the muscle) and not myofibrillar hypertrophy (actual muscle fiber size increase). Here are some tips on becoming “event ready” in an uber-time crunch. Again, please understand that this type of protocol is extremely hard on the body and shall never be done for a long period of time. I’d like to thank Rusty Moore, Mike Mahler and John Berardi for some of these tips.

1. Go into every workout in a fasted state. To boost HGH levels and give your body no other choice but to burn fat, do not ingest any type of calorie for 3-4 hours before training.
2. Do steady state cardio after every high intensity workout. Workouts such as crossfit, HIIT, and circuits release tons of HGH. Even more HGH will be released from working out in a fasted state due to the low levels of insulin because of the low amounts of food in the body (HGH and insulin are inversely related to each other). When HGH levels are high, free fatty acids are released from your fat stores into the blood stream. Studies have shown that low intensity exercise does not have much effect on HGH release but does seem to burn free fatty acids very effectively. So you have a small window of opportunity to make the most out of low intensity exercise and burn off those fatty acids. Low intensity exercise can consist of fast walking uphill, jogging, the stair master, elliptical, or  rowing for 20-30 minutes.
3. Drink tons of water to increase muscle definition. Many people believe that dehydration will result in better muscle definition however this is not the case. When water is retained under the skin, there will be a decreased amount of muscle definition. The water is most likely retained by the sodium under the skin so you’ll get that “watered out” look. Drinking more water to flush out the sodium. A good strategy is to drink lots of water and sweat it out by either intense exercise or in a sauna. You can tell if you’re drinking enough water by tasting your sweat, it should taste like water, if it tastes like salty, then drink more.
4. Wait an hour or two before eating after your workout. Back to the strategy of boosting HGH. Like I said earlier, increasing insulin levels by eating will lower HGH levels. We need to get as much use out of the HGH as possible. Don’t worry about losing any muscle, the resulting HGH boost will ensure muscle gets spared while fat gets burned.
5. Try to limit carbs in the evening. Carbohydrates are great for athletes, they keep them going. However, if you’re trying to become “event ready” carbs won’t do much for you. Carbs spike insulin levels and you cannot burn fat when insulin levels are high.
6. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but throw in a couple fasts each week meaning do not eat until dinner. This is yet another way to boost HGH levels and lower the weekly calorie intake. You’ll get ultra lean quick!
7. Even on a fasting day, workout everyday. Workout everyday for at least an hour a day during this 5 week stretch. At least 4-5 workouts need to be high intensity and 2-3 days can be moderate. It sounds excessive and exhausting but remember, this is only short term. You should never engage in this type of program more than twice a year. 
8. Understand that your diet will be very bland. Food is going to be your biggest successor so stick to the “diet foods.” Also, take out ALL alcoholic drinks, I know thats hard for some people but just imagine how many cocktails will be ready for you once you’re on vacation. So learn to like chicken breasts, salads, vinaigrette dressings, and spinach. You can use salsa to flavor everything.
9. Protein shakes can help you measure calorie intake. You may substitute a few meals with a protein shake. For the last two weeks a daily meal plan can consist of a protein shake for breakfast, a protein shake for lunch, and a chicken breast with a salad for dinner.
10. Recovery is key. Start your vacation early with a couple of massages and go stretch. Since this is a very aggressive short term routine, it’s very important that you get yourself some muscle recovery.

This program is aggressive and brutal!

Equipment: Dumbbells or kettlebells/Jumprope

A1 Push-ups on dumbbells or kettlebells: 6-8 reps

A2 Renegade Rows: 6-8 each side

A3 Double Swings: 6-8 reps

A4 Double Snatch: 6-8 reps

A5 Double Clean and Press: 6-8 reps

A6 Double Squats: 6-8 reps

A7 Double Bent Row: 6-8 reps

A8 Mountain Climbers/Speed Skaters/Jump Rope: 1 min

All exercises are done back to back. You’ll do 6 sets with no rest b/t sets (A8 is supposed to be an active recover so it won’t be all out). Alternate b/t the three exercises in A8 eg. 1st set, A1-A7, Mountain Climbers, set 2 A1-A7 Speed Skaters etc. You’ll run through the A8 sequence twice. I’ll try to get a video of the workout up by the end of the day..

A1) 1-arm shoulder press- 3 x 8 reps each side

A2) Double Squat-Press- 3 x 16 reps

A3) Renegade Row with Push-up b/t rows- 3 x 10 reps total

B1) 1-arm snatch- 3 x 10 each side

B2) Double Clean from ground- 3 x 10

C1) 2-arm bent row- 3 x 12

C2) Push-ups- 3 x 15

C3) Squat Jumps 3 x 12

D) Hand to Hand Swing 4 x 1 min rest 30 secs (for kettlebell)

Squat to high pull 4 x 30 second each side rest 30 secs(for dumbbell)

rest for 90 secs b/t sets

Complete in a circuit with no rest between exercises.

1) Bent-over row 10 reps

2) Upright Row 10 reps

3) Military Press 10 reps

4) Back squat 10 reps

5) Split Squat 8 reps each side

6) Push-press 10 reps

7) Good Mornings 10 reps

Rest 90 seconds between sets for 4-6 sets. If you can make it to 6 sets, you’ll be leanin out quick.

Finish this workout with 20 minutes of steady state cardio.

A1. 60 Jumping Jacks- Done as fast as possible, make sure they’re full jacks.

A2. 15-20 spiderman pushups- Regular pushups can be used as an alternative

A3. 20 Walking Lunges- 10 steps with each leg

A4. 20 Spiderman Climbs- 10 on each side

A5. 45-60 sec Wall Squat- These burn like crazy! Do NOT put your hands on your legs

A6. 60 sec Plank- Standard low plank. It’s harder once you’re fatigued.

A7. 5 Burpees- Make sure you get that full pushup in at the bottom

A8. 50 High Knees- 25 each side done as fast as possible

All exercises are done right after the other without any rest. At the end of the set rest 1 min then repeat. Try to see if you can make it 3 full sets.

An engineer once told me that he could make a number say what ever I wanted so lets look at the math. Studies have found that when your muscles are fueled by one liter (l) of oxygen, they will burn appoximately 20 kilojoules (kj) or almost 5 kilocalories (kcal). So lets say a person’s average oxygen uptake 3.5 l/min and they exercise for 20 minutes. That person will burn close to 330 kcals. See the formula below.

3.5 l/min. x 20 kj/l x 20 min.= 1,400 kj=334 kcals

(This formula was developed by August Krogh, back in the 1920s and has been successfully proven and tested over the years.)

So we have a base formula, now we need to consider intensity. If this doesn’t make any sense, then just skip to the end, you’ll get the gist. If you notice in this graph above, the “Effective Fat Burning” range is 55-65% of maximal heart rate. This intensity is for long slow distance running. For the interval plan, we’ll use the 15 seconds of exercise followed by 15 seconds of rest structure. (15:15, yes just like the last workout of the week posted). If this is done correctly, the average intensity should be about 95% of max. This does include the rest periods.

Okay, more math with a real world application!

1. Cardio Plan

Type of exercise: Long Slow Run

Duration: 1 Hour

Intensity: 70% HRmax: 58% VO2 Max

Maximal Oxygen Uptake (VO2max): 4.0 l/min (read this as 100% intensity)

Actual Oxygen Uptake during exercise (VO2): 2.32 l/min (58% of max)

Energy Spent: 2.32 l/min. x 20 kj/l x 60 min.= 2,784 kj = 665 KCAL

2. Interval Plan

Type of exercise: 15:15 of sprint intervals

Duration: 80 sets = 40 min. (20 mins of actual work time)

Intensity: 95%

VO2max: 4.0 l/min

VO2: 3.8 l/min

Energy Spent: 3.8 l/min. x 20 kj/l x 40 min. = 3,048 kj = 728 KCAL

So with some science and math to back up this statement, this goes to show that someone who is doing intervals is more likely to lose weight and body fat much faster than one who is just doing prolonged cardio. There are also findings that interval training can rapidly boost your metabolism as well but we won’t get into that. So the take away message here is that this interval plan burned more calories in 66% of the time of the cardio plan. Also, if we were to make the interval program 1 hour, (deadly) you would burn 64% more calories doing this than the cardio plan.

Much of the ideas and information in this post was referenced from Kenneth Jay, Master RKC and his book, Viking Warrior Conditioning.

Chose any type of exercise eg. Air Squats, Push-ups, Sprinting, Jumprope sprints, Hill Run, KB Snatches etc.

Use a timer. You’ll perform the exercise for 15 seconds at 100% intensity then 15 seconds of rest for 15 total sets. So the full set of intervals equal 7.5 minutes.

My recommendation:

A1-Jumprope sprints 15/15/15

rest 2 mins

B2-Air Squats 15/15/15

C3-20 mins of Cardio