Quality over quantity

Training is usually summed up by the number of hours you spent  in a gym, how many games you have played, how heavy you bench press, or how far you have run, bike or swim. In joining fun runs, marathons, ultra races and the likes, one’s mentality is always ‘train hard or go home’ or ‘no pain, no gain.’ Nowadays, training has evolved to a more scientific approach. Gone were the days that we were not allowed to drink or hydrate during practice or work out. Hydration and nutrition now play a big role in training as well as in the performance of the athletes.

When you plan to get fit, the first thing that gets in your mind is running. That is because running is the cheapest and easiest form of exercise. You can do it anytime and anywhere. Running has become very popular in Cebu. I can still remember that there only few races in Cebu and the biggest then and until now is the Milo Marathon. There was also this Queen City Run and Tri City Run. Today, there are fun runs almost every weekend. The most popular now for Cebu is the Cebu City International Marathon held every January. Runners tend to get so excited and make a drastic jump from 5km to 10km up to 21km and even 42km. Some even join ultra marathon distance run not knowing the consequences they have to take.

Did you know that while walking, you carry two times your body weight?  And when you jog or run, it becomes around three times your body weight? You can just imagine how much weight or impact these will have on your joints. Meaning, the more frequent or the farther you run, the more you burden your joints. That is why I always remind my students/ clients about Quality over Quantity. I encouraged them to join shorter run distance and focus on improving their time.

The Metafit-High Intensity Interval Training or Metafit-HIIT is the best way for quality training. Instead of walking on constant pace for 30 minutes to one hour around the oval, it would be more beneficial if you put an interval of one minute walk and 30- second jog. Then after a week or two when you are stronger you can adjust already, make it a one-minute walk, one-minute jog pace. Then after a month, you can make adjustments to one minute brisk walking, two-minute jog, and 30 seconds run. By doing this, you’re giving your body enough time to recover. Even if you do this for only 10-20 minutes, it is much better than doing 30 minutes to one hour of just walking around the oval. Avoid doing longer distances. Perfect your form first like the basic function movement like one-leg exercises, squats and lunges. Improve your core strength. Bear in mind that your form will depend on how strong your core is and when your core fails, then your form will suffer. Studies show that when you train Quality over Quantity, using the Metafit-HIIT workout, you improve your performance – overall cardio respiratory (aerobic and anaerobic) capacity. You will also have an improved health – blood glucose control. (Diabetes), increased metabolism – fat burning ability. And most of all, it is time-efficient training in as little as four minutes.

The same concept of Quality over Quantity can be applied in the weight room or in the gym. I have been going to the gym for more than 10 years already and found out three years ago that I can even do a one repetition of a basic push-up. Almost all gyms in Cebu, immediately give a weightlifting regimen of 10 reps of barbell bench press, bicep, shoulder press and barbell squats etc on the first session. Again, it boils down to basic functional movement. It would be best doing body weight exercise first before moving on to loaded exercise. For instance, instead of doing barbell bench press, one can start with basic pushup. For sedentary individuals, you can start with wall pushup and progress on to a knee pushup then to a full pushup. There are hundreds of variations of pushups, which one can use or do. For a better overall fitness time efficiency, it’s better to do full body workout with a bigger range of motion. Although loaded exercise is not bad, you can always start with lighter weight and perfect the basic form.

A sample of a beginner Metafit-HIIT exercise that can be done inside a gym or at home, would be a combination of four exercises - push up, bicep curl (2 lbs dumbbells female/ 5 lbs male) or a 500ml water bottle, squats, and jumping jack. Do 20 seconds workout and 10 seconds rest as many reps as possible in 20 seconds for two rounds.

Intermediate may do side to side pushup, squat press, bicep curl, jumping jack, lunge walk and crunches. Allot 30 seconds for each exercise and 10 seconds rest for one round only. One may add (5 lbs dumbbells female/ 10 lbs male) for squat press, bicep and lunges.

For the advance, you can do full burpees, jumping jack, leg raises, pull up(band or weight assisted) and squat press. One may add (10-15 lbs dumbbells female/ 15-25 lbs male). And half-way through each exercise, if you find the dumbbell too heavy, you can always change to a lighter weight. 40 seconds of each and 15 seconds rest. You can do 2 rounds.

Remember to perfect your form before loading up heavier plates on the gym. It is also important to consult your doctor before doing any kind of physical activity.

SIDELINE: Good luck to all participants of San Remegio 80/80 Triathlon.

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Please e-mail me at alanchoachuy@gmail for questions.