Monday, April 26, 2010

Why the Scale Goes Up When You Start a New Workout Plan?

Courtesy of: The Daily Spark

By Chalene Johnson

Probably the most common question I get when I release a new exercise program is, "Help! I'm gaining weight! Am I doing something wrong?" This is a common phenomenon with any new exercise program, such as Turbo Kick, Turbo Jam, Hip Hop Hustle, or others! It's especially common (and temporary) with intense strength training programs like ChaLEAN Extreme or Tony Horton's P90X.

The motivation to start a new exercise program is almost always to lose weight. However, what most personal trainers know--and most at-home exercisers do not--is that a new exercise program often can cause an immediate (and temporary) increase on the scale. (Notice I didn't say weight gain! I'll explain.) This common increase in the scale is also the reason why perhaps millions of people start and then quickly quit their resolution to get fit.

The temporary weight gain explained:
When someone starts a new exercise program, they often experience muscle soreness. The more intense and "unfamiliar" the program, the more intense the muscle soreness. This soreness is most prevalent 24 to 48 hours after each workout. In the first few weeks of a new program, soreness is the body trying to "protect and defend" the effected or targeted tissue. Exercise physiologists refer to this as delayed-onset muscle soreness, or DOMS.

This type of soreness is thought to be caused by tissue breakdown or microscopic tears in muscle tissue. When this happens, the body protects the tissue. The muscle becomes inflamed and slightly swollen due to fluid retention. This temporary retention of fluid can result in a 3- to 4-pound weight gain within a few weeks of a new program. Keep in mind that muscle soreness is not necessarily a reflection of how hard you worked. In fact, some people feel no signs of muscle soreness, yet will experience the muscle protection mechanisms of water retention and slight swelling.

Most people are motivated enough to put up with this temporary muscle soreness. Yet, many, especially those who really need immediate weight loss to keep them motivated, become discouraged and quit!

When I worked with a group of 70 test participants during the development stages of ChaLEAN Extreme, this happened. Who was the most upset and discouraged? You guessed it... the women! I'm happy to report absolutely for every single woman (and man) in our group, the weight increase was temporary and never lasted more than two weeks before they started to see a major drop in the scale. However, these people had the advantage of working with someone who was able to explain to them why this was happening and assure them the weight would come off if they stuck to the nutrition plan and stayed true to the program.

If you follow a multi-phase exercise plan, such as ChaLEAN Extreme, keep in mind that when you start each phase, your body will be "in shock" again. Don't be surprised or discouraged if you experience a temporary gain on the scale the first week of each phase.

My own personal example of this is running 10Ks. I don't do it very often, maybe once or twice a year. Even though I run on a regular basis, when you run a race, you push much harder. It's natural for me to be insanely sore the next day. It’s also very common for me to see the scale jump 4 pounds the next day from forcing fluids post race and the resulting DOMS. Even though I know the cause of it, it's still a bummer. We're all human and hard work should mean results. Hard work equals results, but our bodies are amazing machines and they know how to protect us from hurting ourselves. Soreness forces you to give those muscles a break. Ultimately you will lose the weight and you will change your metabolism in the process.

The key is understanding that this is a normal and temporary and stick with the program!

When to be concerned:
If you experience a significant weight gain (exceeding 5 pounds) that does not begin to decrease rapidly after the second week, guess what it is? I'll give you one hint... you put it in your mouth and chew it. You know it! Your food (or calorie-laden beverages). News flash, friends… exercise doesn't make you gain weight. Consuming more food than you burn makes you gain weight!

So if after two weeks you are not losing weight and have gained weight that's not coming off, it's time to take a close and honest look at your food intake. Start using SparkPeople's Nutrition Tracker regularly, and be honest.

Moral of the story:
Be patient young grass hopper. You'll be lean and mean in no time!

The True Story behind the Turbo Jam Workouts.

Editor's note: SparkPeople has partnered with Powder Blue Productions and Chalene Johnson to co-promote each other’s products and services.

(Photo courtesy of Chalene Johnson)

Have you ever experienced weight gain when starting a new workout program? Did it come off after a few weeks?

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Turbo Fire by BeachBody and Chalene Johnson

High Intensity Interval Training With Turbo Fire

By: Nancy Comee

TurboFire is the latest workout from Chalene Johnson, creator of TurboJam and ChaLEAN Extreme. TurboFire is due out in the spring of 2010. TurboFire is a High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) program that will ignite your metabolism. You will be asked to push harder, find it in yourself to give more, to not hold yourself back, and challenge yourself in a whole new way.

With HIIT you are asked to give your maximum effort in short bursts followed by a recovery period. It is intense and it is challenging. You will get such an intense workout in a short period of time that your body will burn more calories throughout the day trying to recover. Studies have show that the after burn effect can be as much as 9X high for burning calories and fat. HIIT demands that you push yourself out of your comfort zone.

There some major benefits to HIIT. One is the shorter amount of time you need to train to see some great results. The second benefit is the amount of oxygen your body uses while training. This is especially great for athletes and cross training.

HIIT uses fast twitch muscles, which are used in sprinting, as opposed to slow twitch muscles which are used in steady state cardio such as running a marathon. A sprinter has more muscle mass as opposed to a marathon runner who often has no muscles definition.

With TurboFire you can "attend" a HIIT "class" everyday, with the best trainer, the best music, and have a place in the front row. All without ever having to leave the house to get the best workout ever and get the leanest most tone body.

Chalene Johnson has been perfecting TurboFire for years. She wanted to make sure that everyone from a 25 year old ex-cheerleader to a 65 year old grandmother could do the workout to their best and still get great results.

http://www.beachbodycoach.com/TBARBRICK3643