Monday, September 26, 2011

With the 1st Week under our belt ...

We have already seen alot of new faces around the pool this year, which is fantastic as the Coachs are always looking for new members, to torture .... I mean motivate. For all the old members welcome back! I hear it is going to be another great year full of pub nights, Sunday breakfasts and of course swimming.
Just a quick reminder to new & returning members, this year we will be meeting 10 minutes before practice, to review the goals and objectives of the day. I would encourage everyone to make an effort to come out on time, as the talk really adds good insight into the practice.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Doing a Gazillion meters not cutting it? Try HIIT


HIIT - High Intensity Interval Training
Takes half the time as usual endurance training but burns 2 to 3 times more calories
What is it?
·         Involves short burst of effort 80 to 90 percent of your maximum heart rate
·         Followed by short periods of rest
·         Usually in 4 to 10 repetitions (ie 50 metre  sprints on 1 minute)
·         Endurance training is a predictable pace called ’steady state’ cardio where your body adapts to the speed and conserves energy whereas HIIT ( with bursts of all out and varied pace) keeps body from entering a comfort zone
Benefits
·         Gains in muscle endurance and exercise performance similar to that of lengthier endurance training
·         Increases amount of oxygen to muscles making blood vessels work more efficiently lowering risk of heart attack and stroke
·         Produces ‘afterburn effect’ – a metabolic boost that makes the body  expend a high number of calories for hours after workout as well as during workout