Check out this study that Craig Ballantyne forwarded to me:

Recreational soccer is an effective health-promoting activity for untrained men
Krustrup et al.
British Journal of Sports Medicine 2009;43:825-831

36 healthy untrained men were randomised into a soccer group, a running group and a control group.

Training was performed for 1 hour two or three times per week for 12 weeks; at an average heart rate of 82% of HRmax for both training groups.

During the 12 week program, the soccer group improved maximal oxygen uptake (a measure of aerobic fitness) 62% more than the running group. The soccer group also lost an average of 50% more fat than the running group (6lbs vs 4lbs)

The soccer group had an increase in lean body mass of 3.75lbs, an increase in lower
extremity bone mass, a greater decrease in LDL-cholesterol and an increase in fat oxidation
during running at 9.5 km/h. The running group saw none of these changes.

The number of capillaries per muscle fibre was also almost 50% higher in the soccer training group than in running. Both groups reduced blood pressure equally.

The researchers concluded that participation in recreational soccer training, has significant beneficial effects on health profile and physical capacity and in some aspects it is superior
to frequent moderate-intensity running.

What does this tell us?

Well, think about soccer. The difference is more than adding a ball while running.

Soccer is essentially a form of interval training (although the work and recovery periods are randomized – CHAOS training as my friend Robert Dos Remedios calls it).

It’s also multi-directional, multi-movement (jumping, heading, running, sprinting, kicking, tackling, with contact) and multi-planar.

Basically this study shows that open interval training, using multiple movements and directions is superior for conditioning, muscle building and fat loss when compared to the same intensity of running.

I just wish they’d discovered that watching soccer was just as good…..

–
AC
PS – I hate calling the game “soccer”…. it’s FOOT-ball. Played with your feet….

In the past year, Results Fitness has been featured as one of America’s top thirty gyms and been named by industry consultant Thomas Plummer as the most profitable gym in the USA per square foot.

As Anthony Robbins would say – this is not to impress you – but to impress upon you that we are doing things right. As I often say – I am just a kid from a small town in Scotland that did a few things right….
One of those things, and probably what we are known for, is our training programs.

In April of this year, we’ll be running a two-day, no-holds-barred, everything revealed program design seminar – pulling back the curtain to reveal everything we do at Results Fitness to design and implement the best programs on the planet.

We get better results in less time than any of our competition.

And now we’re sharing that…

Results Fitness Biz Program Design Seminar

When: April 23rd and 24th
Where: Santa Clarita, CA

What will be covered?

• Learn the exact step by step method of program design used by Results Fitness.
• Learn what MUST be included in every single workout with your clients to get results and how to plan to fit it all in – including warm up and movement prep, prehab, activation, core, power training, resistance resistance, energy system development, and soft tissue regeneration.
• Learn about loading, progression/regression, intensity, recovery, periodization and how to include all of these in you program design.
• Be able to design a 16 week periodized training program that works. EVERY time. Guaranteed.
• Learn to write programs for various populations including obese, athletic, groups, and injured.
• Be able to write a program that you can absolutely guarantee results, charge a separate fee for program design and improve your business as a personal trainer. Make yourself more valuable!

Click Here to sign up NOW!

–
AC

“What gets measured, gets managed”
Peter Drucker
Management Theorist,
Author of 31 books.
—-

In an ongoing series to motivate everyone to keep their goals at the forefront and continue to take action — here we are again… I know I’m starting to freak you out….

But it’s Feb 24th. The 55th day of 2010 … 15% of 2009 is gone forever.

15% of your New Years Resolutions should have already been checked off…

So exactly how are they looking now?

Are you on track with those New Years Resolutions? Are you on track with your goals?

If you wanted to lose 30lbs this year – are you down fifteen percent – or 4.5lbs already?
If your goal was to do 250 workouts – have you completed 37?
If you wanted to make $10,000 more this year — are you on track?

It’s amazing how time passes so quickly. Actually it’s almost scary…

Don’t waste a single second.

If your goal is fat loss – start today
If your goal is muscle building – start today
If your goal is (insert anything here) – start TODAY !

If you’re just a little behind — adjust your plan – make up for it!

15% of this year is gone forever.

I meet a lot of people in my job, and get a lot of questions via email. I’ll talk to guys who track every single macronutrient that passes their lips, and have tried just about every program out there. When I ask them how things are going — they’ll tell me that it’s great, or that the program is working well.

But rarely do they quantify anything. How many pounds of muscle gained? How much of a strength increase have you seen in real terms?

Very few people actually measure and take stock of their efforts. If you are following a plan to lose fat – are you actually losing fat? And I mean at a rate that is acceptable for your efforts? Or are you blindly following a plan that doesn’t work, and essentially ignoring that?

I know where my progress towards my goals stand because I measure it.

When I was in the hospital for a stem cell transplant – the medical team took measurements of temperature, blood pressure and blood samples every 4 hours. Even if it meant the middle of the night (really!) – they knew exactly where we were in relation to our goal every 4 hours.

When we implement a marketing campaign at the gym — we track the results. We know, for example, how many direct mail pieces we send out, the cost of each mailing, how many inquiries we get, how many appointments are made, and how many people join the gym as a result. We know exactly how effective the plan is, and whether the return we are seeing is worth the investment.

We can see that for $X invested, we receive a return of $Y. This is important as we have expanded our gym by another 30% last year and completely remodeled the facility (after doing the same in 2008!)

We need to know where our membership stands – how many inquiries, how many new members, renewals etc and when our busiest times are – everything is measured and tracked so we can continue to grow and serve our members.

If you remember “SMART” goal setting — one of the keys is ‘M’ – Measurable. Measure your results.

As we enter the second half of 2009, it’s time to take stock of your efforts. Has your current return been worth the investment?

Again — 15% of this year is gone forever. Will you make changes TODAY or will another three months pass, then another six — and before you know it — it’s 2011…..

Don’t waste a single second. Start TODAY.

Where will you be at the 30% point – April 20th? That’s 8 weeks away. Will you be 8 weeks leaner – down 8, or even 16lbs of fat?
Will your business demonstrate 8 weeks further growth – will you be 8 weeks closer to your goals?

The time will pass anyway….

–
AC