Fit_Life_July_2017

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indoor FiTnESS THE VERDICT Results: +0.2 kg (0.5%) muscle, -0.5 kg (0.7% fat), max heart rate 179 bpm (93% max), max calories burned 470 Pros: Data feedback, efficient workout Cons: Bound to class timetable, stuck indoors We repeat this format four times in total, looking to spike our heart rates higher with each effort. ‘The aim is to recover without slowing down,’ says Nick, which sounds impossible. It’s not how long you can keep your heart rate in the red zone, but how quickly you can get it to return to normal after bouts of high intensity. And after a few weeks, I should start to see my heart rate go back to normal quicker, improving my speed of recovery for anything from football to circuit training. By the end of the class, I’m drenched in sweat, despite having only done four short sprints in less than half an hour. As soon as it’s over, my workout data is in my email inbox, ready to be scrutinised. In that brief spell, I burnt a sizeable 470 calories, equal to a large portion of fries or a milkshake from McDonald’s. I take five more classes over the next three weeks, including a circuit-based session featuring weighted lunges and kettlebell swings at The Altitude Centre, but my hopes of additional sessions outside the gym by wearing an elevation-training mask are abandoned. ‘They restrict airflow and don’t change the amount of oxygen you inhale,’ explains Ellie. ‘It will strengthen the intercostal muscles and your diaphragm to help you breathe deeper, but you can do the same thing by only breathing through your nose while exercising.’ The other Virgin Active Walbrook class is called Apex Strength and is based on hill sprints. You increase the incline on the treadmill up to a max 15% gradient and ratchet up the resistance on the Wattbike, leaving you to grind your legs over to fight that resistance. These strength classes are quite brutal. I burn roughly the same number of calories, but spend longer panting and spluttering in the max heart-rate zone at above 90%. It feels more like a leg muscle-building workout than an endurance session. In my final class, encouraged to give it everything, I feel the effects of the lack of oxygen in the air. On the final steep sprint, I only manage shallow, panicked gasps of breath as searing hydrogen ions from the lactate flood my legs. When I return to a standstill, I notice the altitude-monitor reading is only 1 800m. Someone had left the door open earlier and it was taking too long to climb back to 3 000m, making me slightly suspicious that there may be a placebo effect going on. Even so, the stats suggest I’ve spent over three minutes above 90%, something that would be difficult to sustain during my sea-level workouts. Fat has nowhere to hide at altitude. In just three weeks and a total of only three hours, I have lost half a kilo, and my body fat has dropped a whole percentage point, while muscle mass has increased by 0.5%. The pain in my hamstrings and inner thigh muscles after a strength class suggests I was building not eroding them, and THE BREAKDOWN No membership required For all fitness levels Lose fat Build muscle Boost endurance Technique advice since, I have felt strong during matches. ‘If you don’t do any exercise for six weeks, you will lose the short-term gains,’ says Nick, when I ask how long this invigorated feeling will last. ‘But you’ll definitely benefit from the muscle memory.’ The Welsh rugby team use the live-high, train-low (LHTL) principle. You spend several hours a day at high altitude to get the physical adaptations, but train at lower altitudes, as you cannot sustain the same intensity in the thinner air and you could even de-train your body. This is the reason the Virgin Active sessions offer short intervals rather than endurance runs, and shows how you can add altitude classes to your training. ‘When training for a longdistance race, combine long runs with tempo runs to find your pace, and do intervals and hill sprints for power,’ says Nick. Altitude classes tick the two final boxes. ‘Do them twice a week, ten weeks leading up to race day, and you’ll be in good condition to attack the course.’ The downside is that you can only reach altitudes of 3 000m in cramped air-sealed vaults. As you get double the training in half the time, hill sprints and intervals at altitude will free up time for long runs or rides in the open, unadulterated air. Under 30 minutes Provides workout data Replicable at home SCORE 7/ 10 Photography: Gallo/GettyImages 44 july <strong>2017</strong>
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Page 1 and 2: Fitter • HAPPier • HeAltHier ju
Page 3 and 4: REEBOK LUX TIGHT CRAFTED BY FITNESS
Page 5 and 6: CONTENTS On the cover 12 Power play
Page 7 and 8: 107682 FRESH EGGS NOURISH THE BODY
Page 9 and 10: Words: Joshua White; Photography: i
Page 11 and 12: PULSE Stay sports chic in this pear
Page 13 and 14: COVER STORY You may recognise the n
Page 15 and 16: COVER STORY + CHECK HER OUT Follow
Page 18 and 19: Stronger every day IT’S TAKEN AN
Page 21 and 22: nutrition personal trainer EXERCISE
Page 23 and 24: number of circuits: Beginner Interm
Page 26 and 27: tougHen up perfected the moves? Com
Page 28 and 29: Push your shoulders down and your s
Page 30 and 31: pro advice Q is it best to use a fo
Page 32 and 33: RUNNING CLINIC BOOSTO O YOURFORM IN
Page 34 and 35: RUNNING CLINIC The dart AREA TRAINE
Page 36 and 37: www.foschini.co.za Merchandise avai
Page 38 and 39: indoor FiTnESS Heated moments Bend,
Page 40 and 41: indoor FiTnESS 16 heat and humidity
Page 42 and 43: indoor FiTnESS TTraining at altitud
Page 46 and 47: SOUTH AFRICA’S LARGEST SPORTS, HE
Page 48 and 49: Performance boosters fast track Wea
Page 50 and 51: 1. EAT MINDFULLY As we age, our met
Page 52 and 53: 6. SUPPLEMENT YOUR SKIN ‘Deep ins
Page 54 and 55: Subcibe to As A Fit LiFe subscriber
Page 56 and 57: NUTRITION NUTRITION As nice as it i
Page 58 and 59: NUTRITION vegetable matter you coul
Page 60 and 61: weight loss Can i bUy Fat burners a
Page 62 and 63: HealtHy cHef MaxiMise your veg inta
Page 64 and 65: HealtHy cHef 03 IngredIents 3 tbsp
Page 67 and 68: live well WELLNESS • LIFE LESSONS
Page 69 and 70: Send us your questions Email your h
Page 71 and 72: 2‘I ALWAYS FEEL TIRED’ When mak
Page 73 and 74: Entry on page 59 sms to win To ente

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