fitness facts

compiled below are some startling fitness facts and scientific breakthroughs that you ought to know.

do you know that majority of people suffering from debilitating back pain can get almost instant relief by changing the way they sit? just try the following – whenever sitting, ensure that your knees are higher than your hips. for example-

keep your feet higher than usual – use a small stool or place your feet on a higher level;
or cross one leg over other in the european style of crossing legs and switch legs every now and then;
or pull your driving seat nearer to the steering wheel.

be creative, find ways of keeping knees higher than hips while sitting, and see your back pain vanish!

do you know that the height to weight ratio is a completely outdated and inaccurate way to find out if you have any weight problems? a much more scientific way of knowing if you are in the normal weight range or overweight/obese, is actually to find the body fat percentage. a person may look slim and weigh less, but may have a body fat percentage in the higher ranges and so actually may be obese!

do you believe that aerobics is the only way to burn fat? for your body to burn fat through aerobics, your heart should beat at a particular rate for at least 20 minutes for your fat burning process to start, and this process will continue only till the time you maintain the heart rate.

do you know that eating less and missing meals (aka dieting) will actually make you put on even more fat?!

do you know that one can never lose or gain fat, but can only reduce or increase the size of the fat cells in the body?!

do you know that it is better to aim to reduce the size of fat cells and increase the lean body mass rather than to “lose weight”, and that there should be a continuous and regular monitoring to check if you are not actually losing your lean body mass, instead of reducing fat cells’ size?

do you know that one of the most efficient ways to reduce fat cells’ size is a personalized and periodized workout programme which includes weight training, aerobics and proper nutritional planning?

do you know that just lifting weights is not enough? are you following the compensatory acceleration training principle, along with the time/tension index? are you following the ipcake technique for better results?

do you know what percentage of your 1 rm should you lift to get the results that you want? for e.g., are you aware that for power lifting you should lift 85-95% of your 1rm; for bodybuilding, reducing fat cells’ size, general fitness, you should lift 65-85% of 1rm; for anaerobic endurance, like martial arts, one should lift 55-65% of 1rm; and for aerobic endurance, one should lift less than 55% of their 1rm.

do you know that if a person ‘x’ got extremely good results by following a particular programme, the chances of that programme giving you similar results is extremely rare? as each individual is different, each one responds to the same workout in a completely different manner. this is the law of individual differences, which is one of the 7 granddaddy laws which should be taken into consideration while creating a workout plan.

do you think that lifting light weights and doing many repetitions will help you to reduce your fat cells’ size, and will give you the definition that you want?

do you know that the best way to train abs is actually to use resistance and execute not more than 10 reps, as abs are predominantly type ii muscle fibers? are you aware the doing more than 10 repetitions for abs is a waste of time and energy?!

do you know that after 4-6 weeks of exercising the same way, your body completely adapts to the workout, hits a plateau, and stops responding to the exercise regime! around this time one has to ‘shock’ the systems into further growth by making significant changes in the workout, which does not necessarily mean lifting even heavier weights. do you know that proper and scientifically designed exercise programmes have shown to reduce the risk of osteoporosis, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, heart ailments, and may even reverse them in their early stages?