Carb Loading

When it comes to major athletic events, it is important for athletes and the weekend warriors to understand not only the importance of carbohydrate loading, but how to properly and safely carb load.

Carb loading has been scientifically proven to increase levels of muscle glycogen storage and is best used in athletic events that require increased levels of continuous energy expenditure.  Examples of individuals that would benefit from carb loading prior to a major event include distance runners, swimmers, bicyclists, tri-athletes, and cross-country skiers.  Also, athletes that perform continuous yet stop and go sport play, such as soccer, lacrosse, and tournament play tennis, can also reap the benefits of carb loading.

Carb loading should occur 3-7 days prior to the major athletic event (also important to taper exercise during this time period).  The amount of carbs that an individual should consume differs dependent upon the size of the athlete.  It is recommended that the individual should consume 6-8 Grams or 8-10 Grams per Kilogram of body weight dependpent upon the type of endurance event (kilograms can be found by dividing your body weight by 2.2), which should account for 70-80% of your caloric intake.  It is crucial for the individual to ensure they are receiving the daily dietary requirements for protein and fat, still.  It is also extremely important to not consume excess calories with carbohydrate loading.  The only shift in caloric intake should occur with the percentage of carbs taken in compared to the regular diet.

Example: 3 days prior to event – weight 160 pounds = 72 Kilograms (160/2.2) = 432 Grams of Carbohydrates throughout day (72 x 6).

Timing the carbohydrate loading stage also plays a major role in the individual’s performance.  The last large meal should occur 15 hours prior to the athletic event.  The individual in training should also have a small carbohydrate based breakfast 3-4 hours before the event.

Recommended Schedule: 7 Days Prior to Athletic Event 

Day 1: Depletion Exercise (optional)
Day 2: Mixed diet, moderate carbohydrate intake, tapering exercise
Day 3: Mixed diet, moderate carbohydrate intake, tapering exercise
Day 4: Mixed diet, moderate carbohydrate intake, tapering exercise
Day 5: High Carbohydrate Diet, tapering exercise
Day 6: High Carbohydrate Diet, Tapering Exercise or Rest
Day 7: High Carbohydrate Diet, Tapering Exercise or Rest
Day 8: Athletic Event/Competition

As always, feel free to consult our MidwestFit Team with any questions or concerns!

Tempo Run for Speed Training

Your running pace should be constant and difficult to maintain. It should not be impossible to reach the 20 minutes, but the point is to push yourself to run harder and faster than you normally would on a distance run. This is a great tool for increasing speed on future distance runs, boosting metabolism, burning calories, and working on lower body strength/endurance all in a short workout.  Speed Training

Stretch/Warm Up

Tempo Run – 20 Minutes or 2.75 miles

Stretch

OR

Stretch/Warm Up

Bike 30 Minutes with Medium Resitance

Strength Training Workout

This is the essential, most effective, most BA, and basic style on how to increase your strength and to get stronger in every major muscle group of your body.  This will increase the strength in all the major muscle groups of your body and will greatly increase your overall core strength.  That’s right, utilizing barbell workouts and barbell movements that are multi-planar exercise are by FAR the best way to increase your overall strength and core strength.  Try this one out.  If you are pressed for time, utilize this workout as a 4 round circuit.  If you want to work on pure strength and have the time, perform each exercise in it’s own series of sets, resting 3 minutes between sets.

NOTE:  Your Front Squat and Bench Press should be EQUAL.  Obviously if they are not, do not perform the same weight for both, but a test of TRUE Upper Body vs. Lower Body Strength is that your Front Squat and Bench Press should be equal.

All lifts 80% of 1RM

Warm Up – 3 Minute Jog, 1 Minute jumping jacks,  20 Squats no weight, 20 push ups

1. Deadlift – 4 Sets of 5 Reps
2. Back Squat – 4 Sets of 5 Reps
3. Bench Press – 4 Sets of 5 Reps
4. Push Press - 4 Sets of 5 Reps
5. Hang Clean – 4 Sets of 5 Reps

Videos to help you learn new exercises – How to Hang Clean and How to Hang Snatch These exercises can be easily performed and learned in your workout and these workout videos will teach you how!

- MidwestFit Team

IF LOOKING FOR AN ENDURANCE WORKOUT, TYPE IN ENDURANCE INTO OUR SEARCH BOX ON THE TOP RIGHT!

How to Increase Your Speed with speed training is a question that is commonly asked among individual’s new to distance running, and the answer is not running faster on your long runs, but increasing your V02Max with short burst, high intensity interval training.  For example, Running 800 Meters at an increased pace (compared to your race pace and much faster than your race pace), resting, and repeating the exercise bout has been proven to help increase overall speed on distance runs and overall speed in general.

Speed Training

Run 1 Mile
Rest 4-5 Minutes
Run 400 Meters
Rest 2 Minutes

Repeat 2-3 Rounds

Need some extra fun?! After circuit, sign up for our FREE Ab Workouts eBook and pick one and perform!

- MidwestFit Team

Strength Training Workout

This is the essential, most effective, most BA, and basic style on how to increase your strength and to get stronger in every major muscle group of your body.  This will increase the strength in all the major muscle groups of your body and will greatly increase your overall core strength.  That’s right, utilizing barbell workouts and barbell movements that are multi-planar exercise are by FAR the best way to increase your overall strength and core strength.  Try this one out.  If you are pressed for time, utilize this workout as a 4 round circuit.  If you want to work on pure strength and have the time, perform each exercise in it’s own series of sets, resting 3 minutes between sets.

NOTE:  Your Front Squat and Bench Press should be EQUAL.  Obviously if they are not, do not perform the same weight for both, but a test of TRUE Upper Body vs. Lower Body Strength is that your Front Squat and Bench Press should be equal.

All lifts 80% of 1RM

Warm Up – 3 Minute Jog, 1 Minute jumping jacks,  20 Squats no weight, 20 push ups

1. Deadlift – 4 Sets of 5 Reps
2. Front Squat – 4 Sets of 5 Reps
3. Bench Press – 4 Sets of 5 Reps
4. Hang Snatch – 4 Sets of 5 Reps
5. Hang Clean – 4 Sets of 5 Reps

Videos to help you learn new exercises – How to Hang Clean and How to Hang Snatch These exercises can be easily performed and learned in your workout and these workout videos will teach you how!

- MidwestFit Team

IF LOOKING FOR AN ENDURANCE WORKOUT, TYPE IN ENDURANCE INTO OUR SEARCH BOX ON THE TOP RIGHT!

Workout Routine

Monday– Total Body Weight Training

Tuesday- High Intensity Cardio Training

Wednesday– Total Body Weight Training

Thursday – Endurance and Fat Burning Cardio

Friday – Rest

Saturday – Total Body Endurance Training

Sunday – Endurance Cardio/Fat Burning Cardio

Fat Burning Cardio for Weight Loss

Finish off the week with some fat burning, moderate intensity cardio. You should be burning 400-700 Calories on this one while being able to burn fat using it as your main fuel substrate!

Warm Up – Flutter Kicks 1 Minute – Push Ups 20 – Body Weight Squats – 20

Run – 50 Minutes @ Moderate Pace

or

Bike – 70 Minutes @ Moderate Pace

After the workout, sign up for our FREE Ab Workouts eBook and pick one and perform!

- MidwestFit Team

TOTAL BODY FITNESS

Time for you to test out our new, FREE Body Weight Workouts eBook!

Pick one of the 15 Body Weight Workouts and complete it according to the directions.  Put full effort into each one and they are great, effective, and quick (20-30 minute) workouts that you can do anywhere.

We get a ton of request with people reaching out to us about having some sort of user friendly resource that they can use while they are on the road for the basic upkeep of their overall healt and fitness.  One of the most efficient ways this eBook can be utilized is for individuals who simply may not have enough time to head to the gym some days, but still want to sneak in a super effective, high intensity exercise workout to not only maintain their current fitness level, but in some instances improve it by challenging themselves with brand new exercises they have never performed!  After prescribing individuals with their own travel/at home programs, we decided to streamline the concept for our MidwestFit Community for them to utilize on the road or at home when they need quick and effective workouts that require no equipment.

Do us a favor and pass this link on for the free Travel Workouts eBook to a friend so everyone can use it as a solid tool of body weight workouts for work travel, vacation travel, or when you just don’t have time for the gym.

Rest!

Read why Rest and Recovery is important.

Have you seen our FREE Abs and Core eBook?!  It comes with 15 Ab Sculpting Workouts that focus on training your entire core to help develop lean muscle around your midsection to burn fat and blast away calories!  It’s Free!!! Why not check it out?

Tempo Run for Speed Training

Your running pace should be constant and difficult to maintain. It should not be impossible to reach the 20 minutes, but the point is to push yourself to run harder and faster than you normally would on a distance run. This is a great tool for increasing speed on future distance runs, boosting metabolism, burning calories, and working on lower body strength/endurance all in a short workout.  Speed Training

Stretch/Warm Up

Tempo Run – 20 Minutes or 2.75 miles

Stretch

OR

Stretch/Warm Up

Bike 30 Minutes with Medium Resitance

Time for you to test out our new, FREE Body Weight Workouts eBook!

Pick one of the 15 Body Weight Workouts and complete it according to the directions.  Put full effort into each one and they are great, effective, and quick (20-30 minute) workouts that you can do anywhere.

We get a ton of request with people reaching out to us about having some sort of user friendly resource that they can use while they are on the road for the basic upkeep of their overall healt and fitness.  One of the most efficient ways this eBook can be utilized is for individuals who simply may not have enough time to head to the gym some days, but still want to sneak in a super effective, high intensity exercise workout to not only maintain their current fitness level, but in some instances improve it by challenging themselves with brand new exercises they have never performed!  After prescribing individuals with their own travel/at home programs, we decided to streamline the concept for our MidwestFit Community for them to utilize on the road or at home when they need quick and effective workouts that require no equipment.

Do us a favor and pass this link on for the free Travel Workouts eBook to a friend so everyone can use it as a solid tool of body weight workouts for work travel, vacation travel, or when you just don’t have time for the gym.

Check out this great Cardio Workout! Warm Up – 5 Minute Walk/Jog, 1 Minute Jumping Jacks

Circuit: 3 Rounds – Little to NO Rest!

1. Burpees – 10
2. Run 400 Meters (Fast!) (1/4 Mile)
3. Kettle Bell Swings – 20 (heavy weight)
4. Plank – 1 Minute
5. Flutter Kicks – 1 Minute
6. Run 400 Meters (Fast!)
7. Mountain Climbers – 1 Minute

This should take around 26-36 Minutes – Fly through it!

Check out our MidwestFit YouTube Page for Videos!

- MidwestFit Team

NEED SOME MORE AB WORKOUTS? FREE Ab Workout eBook

Time for you to test out our new, FREE Body Weight Workouts eBook!

Pick one of the 15 Body Weight Workouts and complete it according to the directions.  Put full effort into each one and they are great, effective, and quick (20-30 minute) workouts that you can do anywhere.

We get a ton of request with people reaching out to us about having some sort of user friendly resource that they can use while they are on the road for the basic upkeep of their overall healt and fitness.  One of the most efficient ways this eBook can be utilized is for individuals who simply may not have enough time to head to the gym some days, but still want to sneak in a super effective, high intensity exercise workout to not only maintain their current fitness level, but in some instances improve it by challenging themselves with brand new exercises they have never performed!  After prescribing individuals with their own travel/at home programs, we decided to streamline the concept for our MidwestFit Community for them to utilize on the road or at home when they need quick and effective workouts that require no equipment.

Do us a favor and pass this link on for the free Travel Workouts eBook to a friend so everyone can use it as a solid tool of body weight workouts for work travel, vacation travel, or when you just don’t have time for the gym.

Body Weight Workout Routine

Monday– Total Body Weight Training

Tuesday- High Intensity Cardio Training

Wednesday– Total Body Weight Training

Thursday – Endurance and Fat Burning Cardio

Friday – Rest

Saturday – Total Body Endurance Training

Sunday – Endurance Cardio/Fat Burning Cardio

Fat Burning Cardio for Weight Loss

Finish off the week with some fat burning, moderate intensity cardio. You should be burning 400-700 Calories on this one while being able to burn fat using it as your main fuel substrate!

Warm Up – Flutter Kicks 1 Minute – Push Ups 20 – Body Weight Squats – 20

Run – 50 Minutes @ Moderate Pace

or

Bike – 70 Minutes @ Moderate Pace

After the workout, sign up for our FREE Ab Workouts eBook and pick one and perform!

- MidwestFit Team

TOTAL BODY FITNESS