Close X
Thursday, November 28, 2024
ADVT 
Health

Functional Training, High-intensity Interval Training Top Fitness Trends For '16

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 30 Dec, 2015 01:18 PM
    TORONTO — For a second year in a row, Canadian fitness experts are touting functional fitness and high-intensity interval training as top workout trends.
     
    Functional fitness, which was second in Canfitpro's annual trends survey last year and No. 1 this year, involves exercises that work multiple muscle groups and mimic activities like shovelling snow or carrying groceries.
     
    "Typically, a good functional training drill would show evidence of strength, training and balance all in the one exercise, and creating muscle tension or tone throughout the whole body," said Twist Conditioning founder Peter Twist, a former strength and conditioning coach for the Vancouver Canucks.
     
    High-intensity interval training (HIIT), which was last year's top trend pick, is characterized by intense bursts of exercise followed by short rest periods. Some experts believe HIIT is a more efficient form of exercise that can minimize time spent at the gym.
     
    "Depending on what format you take, it can take you about four minutes after you've warmed up to be able to get a very good response from your cardio-respiratory system and get many — if not all — of the same benefits as you would from doing a longer lower-intensity workout," said Rod Macdonald, vice-president of Canfitpro, whose organization represents fitness professionals, health club operators and industry suppliers.
     
     
    Adding in compound exercises — those that involve more than one muscle group — can also be of benefit, said Macdonald.
     
    "You're actually going to be incorporating a lot in one single movement. And compounding those exercises can be really powerful in making the most of your time," he said.
     
    For those looking to lose weight in the new year, exercise alone is not enough, Macdonald said.
     
    "If you're eating too much, it's very hard to do enough exercise to work it off," he said.
     
    "The average chocolate bar has about 300 to 350 calories in it. The average person will maybe burn that many calories if they did 45 minutes on a treadmill.
     
    "Even if they can get through that 350 calories of that chocolate bar, they haven't done anything to lose that additional weight — and it's not just a chocolate bar they're eating that day. Healthy eating programs are critical to ... complement the exercise to ensure that they're getting the best result."
     
     
    South of the border, the American College of Sports Medicine ranked wearable technology as its No. 1 trend, including use of gadgets like fitness trackers, smart watches, heart-rate monitors and GPS tracking devices. Body weight training — involving exercises such as pushups and pullups — ranked second, and HIIT rounded out the top three.

    MORE Health ARTICLES

    Belt Getting Tighter? Study Finds A Pot Belly Risky Even If You're Not Considered Overweight

    Belt Getting Tighter? Study Finds A Pot Belly Risky Even If You're Not Considered Overweight
    New research suggests normal-weight people who carry their fat at their waistlines may be at higher risk of death over the years than overweight or obese people whose fat is more concentrated on the hips and thighs.

    Belt Getting Tighter? Study Finds A Pot Belly Risky Even If You're Not Considered Overweight

    How Low Should You Go? Details Revealed From Big Study That Challenges Blood Pressure Targets

    How Low Should You Go? Details Revealed From Big Study That Challenges Blood Pressure Targets
    Details were revealed Monday from a landmark federal study that challenges decades of thinking on blood pressure, giving a clearer picture of plusses and minuses of more aggressive treatment.

    How Low Should You Go? Details Revealed From Big Study That Challenges Blood Pressure Targets

    From Eyeballs To Hearts: Google Life Sciences, Heart Association, Team On New Research Venture

    From Eyeballs To Hearts: Google Life Sciences, Heart Association, Team On New Research Venture
    ORLANDO, Fla. — A company whose name is synonymous with eyeballs on the Internet is turning its attention to hearts.

    From Eyeballs To Hearts: Google Life Sciences, Heart Association, Team On New Research Venture

    Few Housing Options Available For Adults With Autism, Say Family And Experts

    Few Housing Options Available For Adults With Autism, Say Family And Experts
    Adam Elsharkawi, 24, will live with his parents in North Vancouver, B.C., working part-time in a bakery, and will eventually move in with his sister, Jemana, and her husband. Adam hasn't been told yet that he will one day have to move.

    Few Housing Options Available For Adults With Autism, Say Family And Experts

    Ontario To Expand Medical Referrals For Sex Reassignment Surgery

    Ontario To Expand Medical Referrals For Sex Reassignment Surgery
    TORONTO — Ontario wants to make it easier for transgender people to get a medical referral for sex reassignment surgery.

    Ontario To Expand Medical Referrals For Sex Reassignment Surgery

    Ex-Decades-long Prisoner Romeo Philion Dies After Lengthy Illness

    Ex-Decades-long Prisoner Romeo Philion Dies After Lengthy Illness
    The Association in Defence of the Wrongly Convicted, who fought to have Phillion exonerated, said he died Monday, a day after his admission to hospital.

    Ex-Decades-long Prisoner Romeo Philion Dies After Lengthy Illness