Are you a stressed overscheduler? Celebrity nutritionist and trainer, JJ Virgin says that too often, trying to find time to put too much into a day leaves out one of the most vital activities.
She believes that exercise should be something scheduled into your weekly routine, and that if you took the time to exercise, you would reduce your stress.
Virgin recommends that you schedule it into your day. She advises to “exercise ideally in the morning or otherwise it does not happen.”
The MayoClinic.com also cites exercise as a stress reliever. “Being active can boost your feel-good endorphins and distract you from daily worries. If you're not an athlete or even if you're downright out of shape, you can still make a little exercise go a long way toward stress management. “
Virgin cautions that you not “stress” about finding time to exercise. Her unique exercise workout routines call for only 15 minutes.
On her website JJsFitclub.com her 15 minute power sessions are inclusive of burst training, entitled “4x4 workouts”.
“Each workout combines 4 bursts for each of 4 body parts (upper body pulling, upper body pushing, hips & thighs, and power core) done in a circuit.”
Virgin is partial to short burst training, which she claims, “trains your central nervous system and can help with stress.”
She said that exercise can help with stress but it depends on which type of exercise. She went on to say that long endurance style training is not the best stress reliever, because of the level of oxidative stress introduced to the body.
According to News-Medical.net, “Oxidative stress is caused by an imbalance between the production of reactive oxygen and a biological system's ability to readily detoxify the reactive intermediates or easily repair the resulting damage.”
Virgin not only says her short burst workouts are a stress reliever, her tagline for her regimen is, “Fast. Fun. Done.”
She promises fast results from doing these mini-workouts just three times a week.
Virgin says, “My 4x4 Workout© approach works miracles because it incorporates the principals of burst training (high intensity interval training) AND resistance training, the two absolute BEST ways to develop lean muscle, burn more fat, and boost your metabolism, all day long.”
JJ Virgin’s latest book "The Virgin Diet" is set to be released in November. Look for more articles featuring JJ Virgin, as well as a live chat with the celebrity nutritionist and fitness expert, in October.
Sources:
“Exercise and stress: Get moving to manage stress, MayoClinic.com.” The Mayo Clinic. Web 3 Oct. 2012.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/exercise-and-stress/SR00036
“JJ’s 4x4 Workouts – JJsFitClub.com. JJ Virgin. Web 3 Oct. 2012.
http://www.jjsfitclub.com
http://www.jjvirgin.com
http://jjvirgin.com/4x4workout
“What is Oxidative Stress – News-Medical.Net. Weatherby Healthcare. Web 3 Oct. 2012.
http://www.news-medical.net/health/What-is-Oxidative-Stress.aspx
Joanne Sgro-Killworth is a Television Fitness Expert, Certified Personal Trainer and Sport Nutritionist. She is Certified in Pilates, Pre-natal/Post-Partum, Yoga and Senior Fitness. She specializes in Weight Loss, Post-Rehab and Post Cancer Training.
Joanne's fitness plans and recipes are available globally on her website www.fitnessanswer.com. She resides in the Phoenix, AZ area with her husband and son, where she runs her personal training business, Fitness Answer, LLC.
Reviewed October 3, 2012
by Michele Blacksberg RN
Edited by Jody Smith