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Metafit for the midlife mumma?

Are you a 40+ female and looking for a new way to exercise that is short on time but big on results? If yes…read on!

If you’ve clicked on this post I’m going to presume you meet the following criteria:

  • Female
  • 40+
  • Currently exercising but not seeing results for the time or money you are devoting to it OR
  • Not exercising but would love to/need to start, but you don’t like gyms, and yoga and/or pilates don’t float your boat either OR
  • You feel a little intimidated to sign up to boot camp run by a 20 year old male trainer alongside his footy team-mates, but you love the idea of working hard and feeling the buzz after a tough session

If any of the above sound like you, then please read on…

OK, so I’m no stranger to pushing my body (& mind) to do heavy-duty physical things…in fact I met my hubby whilst sharing the chin-up bar at the gym!…so when I was introduced to METAFIT it was love at first sight! But doing old-school bodyweight exercises in short, intense bursts for 20 minutes until your legs are burning and you’re gasping for breath isn’t for everyone…or is it?

For the past 18 months I’ve been taking 7 metafit sessions a week. The overwhelming majority of my clients are women, and most of them would be north of 40 (or pretty close to). So why is metafit so attractive/addictive to the 40+ woman?

Here’s what I think:

It’s the RIGHT type of exercise for this age group (and I fit into this age bracket too). What do I mean by RIGHT type of exercise? Its INTENSE but SHORT, you feel ENERGISED afterwards and you GET RESULTS.

HOW? Because you:

  • Get HOT
  • Get SWEATY
  • Get OUT OF BREATH
  • Feel the LACTATE BURN in your muscles
  • Work in SHORT BURSTS
  • Work until you FEEL TRULY CHALLENGED and NEED TO REST
  • Use your own BODYWEIGHT – yep, the same weight that you drag around each day so you may as well use it!
  • FEEL yourself getting STRONGER and FITTER as you master exercises you thought a 40+ woman can’t/couldn’t/shouldn’t do! (Floor to sky tuck jump anyone?)

WHY should a 40+ woman do metafit or HIIT?

  1. BONE HEALTH – weight bearing and impact exercise are essential for bone health and maintaining bone mass at this critical phase of life. After the age of about 30, bone loss starts to outpace bone gain. In addition, the decline in oestrogen production that also occurs as we age has a negative impact on bone remodelling activity. Bone mass is reactive, not proactive. Bone must experience stress ie. load and impact, in order to remodel. Less stress = less remodelling = loss of bone mass.
  1. To build LEAN MUSCLE MASS (notice I say mass and not size) and therefore INCREASE YOUR METABOLISM – muscle tissue = metabolic tissue. The more (dense) muscle you have the higher your metabolic requirements – your body needs & will use more energy whilst at rest compared to someone who has less lean muscle.
  1. The high intensity of metafit promotes EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption) or the afterburn effect. Our bodies want to return to their resting state, but after being worked so hard during high intensity exercise, it takes considerable energy (calories) to do this. Even though the actual workout is only 30 minutes, the after effects are felt for many hours (up to 48hrs) afterwards.
  1. To MAINTAIN or INCREASE MOBILITY, BALANCE & POSTURE – the whole body functional nature of the exercises used in metafit see you getting up and down from the floor, moving forwards, backwards, sideways, using your arms and legs to push, pull, bend, lift, jump, hold etc through a full range of movement in all joints. At the same time your core & postural muscles are working to stabilise your torso and maintain posture. And the resistance is your own body – the same weight you drag around all day – nothing more, nothing less.
  1. Check the strength and integrity of your CORE & PELVIC FLOOR. If you find when you do burpees, sprints or jumps and pee your pants at ANY level…fantastic! This is 100% proof that your core/pelvic floor isn’t up to par for this type of training…yet. If this is you, please seek assistance from a specialised women’s health physiotherapist or your GP ASAP. Just like any muscles, these muscles can be trained to increase their strength and tone and your ability to control them. (Sometimes we need to experience a little of what we don’t want to do something about it!)

Are you a metafit or HIIT convert? How do you find it?

Curious to try? Come and join me at Heart Body & Soul in Glen Iris. You’ll find the timetable here. If you live a little too far away to visit me, search the Metafit Australia website for a coach near you.

 

 

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A dynamic warm-up will have you Metafit ready

Prep your body for METAFIT with a full body dynamic warm-up

Metafit sessions are tough – you work to your maximum for around 20 minutes – pushing, jumping, lunging, planking – moving your body through its full range of motion, using all of your joints and muscle groups. To get the most out of your body and your metafit session, a thorough DYNAMIC warm-up is essential.

Around 10 years ago, dynamic warm-ups started gaining popularity in the sports world as an effective method for professional athletes to prepare before an event.  Today, dynamic warm-ups are a standard routine for athletes ranging from amateurs to professionals…..even metafitters!

In this article, you’ll learn why a dynamic warm-up is so effective—whether you’re about to do a metafit session or play a sport.

What Is a Dynamic Warm-Up?

A dynamic warm-up uses stretches that are “dynamic,” meaning you are moving as you stretch. For decades, static stretching, which requires holding a stretch for 10 or more seconds while motionless, was the most popular type of warm-up for athletes and mere mortals alike.

Today it is recognised that dynamic stretching is ideal as the core of a warm-up routine for several reasons:

  • It activates muscles you will use during your workout. For example, a lunge with a twist is a dynamic stretching exercise that engages your hips, legs, and core muscles.  Whether you are doing alternate lunge jumps in metafit, or lunging for a soccer ball, the muscles involved have already been engaged during your warm-up.
  • Dynamic stretching improves range of motion. In metafit we aim to move our joints and muscles through their full range of motion therefore it is important to ensure we have moved through this range prior to adding intensity and impact so the joints and muscles are primed for action.
  • Dynamic stretches improve body awareness. If you don’t warm-up and hop straight into a metafit session, it may take a while for your body to perform optimally.  Moving as you stretch challenges your balance and coordination, skills that could help your performance and contribute to getting the most out of your session.
  • Warming up in motion enhances muscular performance and power. Studies reveal dynamic stretching before a workout can help you lift more weight and increase overall athletic performance compared to no stretching or static stretching. If you are trying to get stronger, build more muscle, or simply perform better, a dynamic warm-up routine is likely your best bet.

I hope it’s now clear why we spend a good 5-minutes at the beginning of each metafit session completing a full-body dynamic warm-up. I want you to get the most out of your session and your body. Add this type of warm-up to any pre-exercise routine and your body will thank-you.

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DIY HIIT Workout #5

TABATA – 4-16mins of HIIT

Tabata – is the name given to an exercise protocol developed by Prof. Izumi Tabata in a study he completed using Olympic speedskaters in 1996. The protocol is a version of HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), 20 seconds of ultra-intense exercise followed by 10 seconds of rest, repeated for 4 minutes. The basics of this protocol are used in a variety of HIIT sessions, but in its purest form participants work at 150% Max HR for 4 mins total!

In this DIY workout YOU can be the coach – you get to choose how many Tabtata sets AND which sets to do. Each set is 4 minutes duration, alternating between 2 different exercises – 20 sec on A, 10 sec rest, 20 sec on B, 10 sec rest REPEAT.

As with all HIIT sessions, a thorough warm-up is essential, as is working HARD in each interval – you need to be huffing and puffing, NO PACING and GREAT TECHNIQUE. Exercise descriptions follow and the exercise basics can be found here

Warm-up:

Arm circles – back/forwards

Leg Swings – fwd & back, side to side

Trunk rotations

10 Body weight squats

5 Push-ups from knees

Jog on spot – butt kicks 15 sec, high knees 15 sec, sprint 15 sec – x 3 each

Main HIIT set:

TABATA – 20 sec work/10 sec x 8 = 4 mins per set

20 sec on ex A, 10 sec rest, 20 sec on ex B, 10 sec rest – REPEAT

30 sec rest in between sets

Set 1 A. Sliders/Skater B. Mt Climbers
Set 2 A. 2-step dash B. Crucifix plank
Set 3 A. Burpees B. No-wall sit
Set 4 A. Sprint B. Split hand push-ups


Sliders/Skaters – Lower into squat position, step sideways keeping weight in heels and butt back, bring feet together, step to other side, feet together. Repeat. Stay low, head & chest up. 

Mt Climbers – In plank position (shoulders over wrists, heels over toes), bring one knee up to chest, return to plank position, repeat other side.

2-Step Dash – Run forward 2 steps, touch flat palm to ground, run back to steps, flat palm to ground. Bend at knees to keep butt down, squeeze butt to stand up, use arms in run phase.

Crucifix plank – wide arm plank, feet together, squeeze shoulder blades together

Burpees – old fashioned burpee. Hands on ground, jump feet back to plank position, jump feet in to hands, stand/jump up explosively with arms raised overhead. Repeat.

Split hand push-ups – One hand forward, one hand in normal push-up position, push-up, change hand position, repeat. From knees alternative.

Sprint – sprint on spot, high knees, pump arms

No-Wall Sit – Hold static squat for 20 sec. Butt back, weight in heels, head & chest up.

 

Cool Down:

Static stretches that target quads, hamstrings, hips, groin, lower back

 

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Add pelvic floor exercises to your daily “To Do” List – Not TENA to your shopping list!

This is a workout with a difference – this is one workout that ALL women should do DAILY. Please don’t resign yourself to adding a pack or two of “TENA” to your shopping list – act now!

Urinary incontinence (poor bladder control) is a common condition (up to 37% of Australian women*) that is commonly associated with pregnancy, childbirth, menopause or a range of conditions such as asthma, diabetes or arthritis.

Poor bladder control can range from the occasional leak when you laugh, cough or exercise to the complete inability to control your bladder. Other symptoms you may experience include the constant need to urgently or frequently visit the toilet, associated with “accidents”.

The most common problem and cause of poor bladder control are weak or too loose pelvic floor muscles, largely due to pregnancy and childbirth. However, they can be successfully strengthened with pelvic floor muscle training.

What can make these muscles too loose?

  • Pregnancy and childbirth – evidence suggests that problems can start during pregnancy, not just after birth. Do you tick any of these boxes? Women who have had multiple births, instrumental births (eg. Forceps delivery), severe tearing or large babies (4kg+) are at greater risk of pelvic floor muscle damage
  • Straining on the toilet
  • Chronic coughing – asthma, bronchitis or smokers cough
  • Heavy lifting – can create pressure on the pelvic floor and ultimately lead to prolapse
  • High impact exercise
  • Age – pelvic floor muscles tend to get weaker with increasing age
  • Obesity

In almost all cases it is possible to gain control over the pelvic floor muscles and train them to do their job well.

THE Daily Workout

The Continence Foundation of Australia provides lots of excellent information relating to Pelvic Floor exercises. Here is their description of how to activate your pelvic floor muscles and perform a muscular contraction. You can do this whilst sitting, lying or standing.

“Imagine letting go like you would to pass urine or to pass wind. Let your tummy muscles hang loose too. See if you can squeeze in and hold the muscles inside the pelvis while you breathe. Nothing above the belly button should tighten or tense. Some tensing and flattening of the lower part of the abdominal wall will happen. This is not a problem, as this part of the tummy works together with the pelvic floor muscles.

After a contraction it is important to relax the muscles. This will allow your muscles to recover from the previous contraction and prepare for the next contraction.

It is common to try too hard and have too many outside muscles tighten. This is an internal exercise and correct technique is vital.

If you have mastered the art of contracting your pelvic floor muscles correctly, you can try holding the inward squeeze for longer (up to 10 seconds) before relaxing. Make sure you can breathe easily while you squeeze.

If you can do this exercise, repeat it up to 10 times, but only as long as you can do it with perfect technique while breathing quietly and keeping everything above the belly button relaxed. This can be done more often during the day to improve control.“

If you are or have experienced bladder problems and a DIY approach to exercises hasn’t helped, I would highly recommend seeing a specialist Women’s Health Physiotherapist. For further information on this topic and a listing of Physio’s in your area, please have a look at the Continence Foundation of Australia website.

 

* Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2006

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