Exercise Q&A and Infographics

[Trusylver]

This Diary thread is to consolidate many of the common exercise questions asked in the diary section of the forum.

Often the answers to questions get missed by members when they are posted in diaries (most people do not read all the active diaries)

If you have a fitness or exercise question, this thread will be a good place to ask or answer questions.

 

[Trusylver]

This was supposed to be a diary thread to consolidate exercise info that would otherwise be buried in individual diaries. It has not been used as such.

As there have been no questions I am going to include science backed infographic for both diet and exercise.

 

[Trusylver]

 

[alligatorob]

I do a Tabata class almost every day. I like it.

 

[Trusylver]

I do a Tabata class almost every day. I like it.

How does your heart handle that level of intensity ? A 4 minute Tabata leave me wishing I was dead on the gym floor lol most people never reach the 170% of VO2max needed for it to be considered a Tabata workout.

 

[alligatorob]

How does your heart handle that level of intensity ?

I find my heart rate does not get as high as it does doing more aerobic exercises. This morning I did a circuit training class first and then Tabata, my heart rate was lower in Tabata. I probably don't push as hard as some people do, I am better at stamina than peak performance. I think of Tabata as more a strength building thing. We use a lot of weights and bands. Maybe its just the way the instructor teaches it.

 

[Trusylver]

I find my heart rate does not get as high as it does doing more aerobic exercises. This morning I did a circuit training class first and then Tabata, my heart rate was lower in Tabata. I probably don't push as hard as some people do, I am better at stamina than peak performance. I think of Tabata as more a strength building thing. We use a lot of weights and bands. Maybe its just the way the instructor teaches it.

A lot of influencers have co-opted the name because of how effective it is and well researched without actually knowing what Tabata really is. It was never designed to be used with weights, the whole purpose is to improve Vo2max and the science shows a VO2max improvement by 9.2 - 15% and improvement in Maximal accumulated oxygen deficit (MAOD) by 20.9-35 % after six weeks which is massive considering the test subjects were already fit athletes.

Like a lot of things in the fitness industry marketing distorts everything, change things to make it easier and more marketable to the point it no longer matches the science while still pointing to the science as a selling point. Now some of that marketing is changing to "Tabata style" training to avoid being called out as not being Tabata.

This does not mean that intermittent or interval (interval and intermittent are different) training is bad, it just means the benefits are not the same.

In an additional note the other effects on the body of Tabata through protein expression are an interesting read including heart health and the effect on colon cancer. Tabata is also not great for fat loss.

 

[alligatorob]

Thanks @Trusylver , I learned something.

I am a bit of a victim of a small gym in a small town with just one instructor and only a few classes, she teaches all of them. I probably go to half of them every week. I am not a bodybuilder or an expert by any means on exercise. My philosophy has been that the best exercise is the one you like well enough to stick with, and this fits the bill. I like the instructor and the others in the classes, that counts for a lot. And it makes me feel better.

 

[Trusylver]

Thanks @Trusylver , I learned something.

I am a bit of a victim of a small gym in a small town with just one instructor and only a few classes, she teaches all of them. I probably go to half of them every week. I am not a bodybuilder or an expert by any means on exercise. My philosophy has been that the best exercise is the one you like well enough to stick with, and this fits the bill. I like the instructor and the others in the classes, that counts for a lot. And it makes me feel better.

That is the best way to approach it.

I can't blame a lot of instructors because to become a personal trainer involves little more than being able to pass an online test. Some certs have better course books than others. If the class is fun and not causing injury then it is a good class at it's core, the added extras come with more experience and a higher level of training/independent study