Every ten years or so, an old style of exercise comes back into the foreground. From kettlebells to high intensity interval training, the fitness world loves a comeback. One of the items doing this right now is the art of holistic training.
While the industry is seemingly hell bent of discovering new training methods designed to get you in and out of your local gym in less time than ever before, it's important to remember that there are a few quite basic routines which still work better than anything which has been developed in the last decade.
If you have been exercising for a while now you will have noticed that all the new workout styles out there are not actually new at all, they're simply old techniques making a comeback. Whether it's kettlebell training or hiit workouts designed for fat loss, it's all been done before. Ten years ago if you asked for advice on how to lose weight you wouldn't have been told to do either of those, because they had faded out of popularity.
The height of popularity for holistic approaches to exercise was probably the middle of the eighties, where everybody from action movie stars to athletes were adopting this technique in a bid to keep their workouts at the cutting edge of science.
The word holistic means varied. This means you're entire workout routine is going to switch between different styles and goals. This usually happens on a weekly basis and continues for a period of roughly two or three months before a new program is started.
So, what are the benefits to this often overlooked method?
The two largest advantages are listed for you below.
* Constant variation forces new muscle growth and fat loss.
* Your workouts will become more interesting as each week forces you to try something new.
If you are one of the many gym users who suffers from an inability to stick to a program once the novelty has worn off, or if you simply find it hard to break out of a plateau once your body has adapted to your exercise routine, then this method is perfect for you.
By forcing your muscles to go between different methods, such as kettlebell training, heavy barbell training and high intensity cardio workouts, you'll keep your body guessing and bust out of the toughest plateau.
However, nothing is perfect. There is one potential negative to this idea which could prove to be a deal breaker. It is very, very hard to monitor your progress when you use this concept. Think about it, by switching from high rep workouts to low rep workouts on a weekly basis it can become impossible to determine whether your major lifts have improved or not.
If monitoring your progress is of the highest importance to you then you may find that last point a hard pill to swallow. It remains the only noteworthy negative of holistic training, but it's something which some people deem to be very important indeed. However, this workout style certainly does have it's uses and if your goal is to learn how to lose weight effectively then it pays to have knowledge of several different approaches like this.
While the industry is seemingly hell bent of discovering new training methods designed to get you in and out of your local gym in less time than ever before, it's important to remember that there are a few quite basic routines which still work better than anything which has been developed in the last decade.
If you have been exercising for a while now you will have noticed that all the new workout styles out there are not actually new at all, they're simply old techniques making a comeback. Whether it's kettlebell training or hiit workouts designed for fat loss, it's all been done before. Ten years ago if you asked for advice on how to lose weight you wouldn't have been told to do either of those, because they had faded out of popularity.
The height of popularity for holistic approaches to exercise was probably the middle of the eighties, where everybody from action movie stars to athletes were adopting this technique in a bid to keep their workouts at the cutting edge of science.
The word holistic means varied. This means you're entire workout routine is going to switch between different styles and goals. This usually happens on a weekly basis and continues for a period of roughly two or three months before a new program is started.
So, what are the benefits to this often overlooked method?
The two largest advantages are listed for you below.
* Constant variation forces new muscle growth and fat loss.
* Your workouts will become more interesting as each week forces you to try something new.
If you are one of the many gym users who suffers from an inability to stick to a program once the novelty has worn off, or if you simply find it hard to break out of a plateau once your body has adapted to your exercise routine, then this method is perfect for you.
By forcing your muscles to go between different methods, such as kettlebell training, heavy barbell training and high intensity cardio workouts, you'll keep your body guessing and bust out of the toughest plateau.
However, nothing is perfect. There is one potential negative to this idea which could prove to be a deal breaker. It is very, very hard to monitor your progress when you use this concept. Think about it, by switching from high rep workouts to low rep workouts on a weekly basis it can become impossible to determine whether your major lifts have improved or not.
If monitoring your progress is of the highest importance to you then you may find that last point a hard pill to swallow. It remains the only noteworthy negative of holistic training, but it's something which some people deem to be very important indeed. However, this workout style certainly does have it's uses and if your goal is to learn how to lose weight effectively then it pays to have knowledge of several different approaches like this.
About the Author:
Writer: The UK's most watched fitness instructor, Russ Howe PTI teaches classes of hundreds how to lose weight online every week. Discover holistic training with his free guide today.