In the eclectic and colorful world of fitness , news has become a constant. Weight loss and training now go hand in hand. Variety is one of the fundamental components to keep motivation high and allow people to continue practicing constantly physical activity.
Every now and then a new fashion or a new training method comes out . Currently there are so many disciplines related to wellness that it is practically impossible not to find one that is the ideal one to help us move and directly stimulate weight loss .
It is essential that the choice of the activity to be practiced has characteristics that make it enjoyable for the practitioner himself. Only in this way will it be able to bring all the countless benefits we now know. Let’s see in detail two types of training very popular in recent years in order to evaluate the characteristic features and decide if they can actually be the optimal ones for our goals.
CrossFit: what it is
The roots of this discipline go back to the seventies. Although it only began to be known to the general public in the late nineties of the last century, when Greg Glassman and Loren Jenai founded the first gym in Santa Cruz in 1995.
The “ CrossFit”, Later registered, it was used in the United States to distinguish itself on the market to train and accredit personal trainers. Licensing to affiliated gyms, organizing global competitions and disclosing information regarding specific training according to the protocols of its inventor.
Following the great success in America, world pioneer of the great fitness movements, it is known and exported all over the world. Currently the affiliated gyms are approximately 13,000, half of which are located in the United States. Some of the practitioners follow the exercise program on their own or at an affiliated gym, following the Workout of the Day or “WOD”, which is posted daily on the company’s website.
Weight loss and training: the benefits of CrossFit CrossFit training
is very varied and complete, it intensely stimulates weight loss and touches the ten fundamental points of fitness, thus becoming one of the most complete disciplines on the current market.
- It trains cardiorespiratory endurance , which is the ability of the body’s systems to process and supply oxygen to the whole organism.
- It stimulates muscular endurance , that is, it trains the musculoskeletal and cellular systems to process, supply and use energy.
- Increase strength and remove the risk of injury .
- Improves flexibility , both joint and muscle.
- It has direct effects on potency . Understood as the ability of a muscle unit or kinetic chain to apply maximum force in a very short period of time.
- Increase your speed .
- It increases coordination , which is the ability to combine a series of different movements into a single movement.
- Develop agility .
- Improves balance and proprioception.
- It stimulates precision , that is the ability to make movements optimizing muscular efforts and disperse as little energy as possible to do so.
CrossFit athletes and practitioners practice running over various distances, rowing, jumping rope, climbing and moving objects of different shapes and sizes. In some exercises they use heavy loads by pulling them over long distances, using techniques learned from powerlifting and weightlifting. For the workouts we also use dumbbells, barbells, lifting bars, kettlebells and bodyweight exercises, called calisthenics.
Because of its characteristics so demanding from a psychophysical point of view, the CrossFit practitioner must absolutely consider the use of natural herbal supplements able to support him in the most intense workouts in order to improve physical abilities.of adaptation and overcompensation. In addition of course to follow a diet plan suited to his personal needs.
The varied typology of physical exertion requires that all the micro nutrients lost during sweating be integrated from a vitamin and mineral point of view. Secondly, it is essential that the body is helped to adapt to the increased stress-inducing load through phytotherapeutic extracts that favor the rebalancing of allostatic loads.
This is possible thanks to specific products based on Carnitine and Zinc to assist the process of using fatty acids in order to lose weight , stimulate muscle toning.and eliminate the waste products of the catabolic metabolism put in place by the intense neuromuscular and endocrine activity.
Interval training: what it is
It is a kind of training characterized by a succession of exercises that vary between high and low intensity. The periods of high intensity are generally very close to the anaerobic threshold, therefore of high effort for a short time. While recovery times can be both complete rest and less demanding activities. It can be described as a short period of effort followed by a rest period.
The main objective is to improve speed , cardiovascular fitness , but above all to promote weight loss. This type of program can adapt to any organization of exercise and athletic discipline and is essential in the preparatory routine for many sports.
The scientific concept from which he starts is that according to which the practice of high-intensity anaerobic exercise releases a greater quantity of catecholamines and GH, the molecules mainly involved in weight loss processes. While the lowering of the cardiac threshold during the recovery phases allows to oxidize a large amount of fat.
To this mechanism is added the EPOC, that is the metabolic phenomenon that occurs following this kind of training protocol and which designates an increase in metabolism and fat expenditure for several hours after the end of the same.
It has been established that EPOC, an English acronym for “post-workout excess oxygen consumption”, is stimulated exponentially as a result of anaerobic activity , giving this type of protocol the property of oxidizing more fats at rest and therefore increase weight loss in the following hours, compared to simple aerobic activity.
Specifically, this method has been designed to attack the fat deposits that are more difficult to mobilize. Like the lower back and lower abdomen for men, thighs and buttocks for women. It is a type of training aimed at weight losswhich can adapt to various types of physical activity. From the most common ones such as running, swimming and cycling, to those practiced in the gym such as weight training or bodyweight gymnastics.
In addition to the peculiarities that I have listed above, it also has the characteristics of being able to be carried out in a very short time, of being able to be customized according to individual muscle strengthening needs. Furthermore, it can be carried out with a multitude of tools thus removing the risk of boredom, typical of repetitive routines.
Specific supplementation for weight loss and training in CrossFit and interval training
To favor the slimming processes as much as possible and of fundamental importanceassociate proper nutrition with training , integrating with specific food supplements .
To optimally balance the types of physical activity described in this article, it is important to consider that there is no lack of fundamental nutrients in your daily diet. Like magnesium for its ability to promote cellular exchanges. Zinc and arginine to stimulate anabolic hormones and promote the increase of muscle tone and lipolysis. Carnitine to help convey fatty acids to the mitochondria and promote better weight loss . Drink sufficient amounts of water and electrolytes
it will serve to rehydrate and bring this essential nutrient to our body. Taking into account that CrossFit and interval training require an increase in daily fluid intake.
To be sure of getting all the vitamins and minerals it is necessary to resort to a multivitamin . With a complete and balanced spectrum of all micronutrients to avoid running into easy imbalances. Finally, in case of increased stimulating physical activity, a super production of catecholamines and adrenaline, taking a stress regulator of proven efficacy and phytotherapeutic derivation such as ginseng will make the difference between an effective weight loss program and a failed one.
