High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is the new black of fitness training. It has received a lot of media coverage in the last few years for being a quick fitness fix for anyone wanting maximum results in minimum time. It’s basically short, intense bouts of exercise broken up with short periods of rest. HIIT makes it possible to torch far more calories than steady state cardio because you can push your heart rate over 85% again and again. The HIIT effect means you can get up to nine times the fat loss of regular cardio training and you can continue to burn calories for hours after your workout. It also amplifies benefits of cardiovascular exercise for metabolic and heart health.  

But HIIT isn’t a one-size-fits-all-fast-track-to-fitness for everyone. The key research demonstrating the benefits has focused on “healthy, active adults” – people without medical conditions or injuries who are involved in up to five hours of fitness per week. HIIT is for people who already exercise consistently and want to move up to the next level. It’s designed as a twice or thrice per week substitute for regular cardio, not as a replacement for an entire regime. HIIT is a powerful tool but it’s a very specific one and not the only one available to you.  

Intensity in exercise exists on a continuum and there are many ways to gradually tweak it upwards. Trying a different sort of exercise will likely increase the intensity of your session. For example, if you’re used to your weights program you could make it more intense by interspersing a two minute row every couple of exercises. This will burn more calories due to both the time spent on the rower and your heightened heart rate throughout the whole session. Your challenge need not be a short cardio blast, it just needs to be something new such as a different group fitness class. It’s important to change up your workouts for your body to create new adaptations, but the type and gradient of the changes is up to you.

Too  much intensity too soon can be counter-productive for weight loss. It can motivate you to pre-eat to perform in the session and over-eat afterwards to compensate for feeling shattered.  It’s difficult to gain physical condition from high intensity training if you are under stress and not getting adequate sleep.  If you come to intense exercise from a stressed state you are more likely to get injured or sick and it will take you longer to recover. I see many overweight gym members working at high intensity, having to rehab complex injuries, and never actually changing shape. Check out my article on overtraining if you think this might be you.

Exercise is there to enhance your health and move you towards your goals. Overdoing it on the intensity can give you the opposite result. A sensible, gradual approach to increasing workload will give you the best value for the time you put in, and the most enjoyment too.

Regular exercise is an important part of your health and wellness but it’s possible to have too much of a good thing!  Physical exercise damages muscle fibres.   Rest allows them to recover and reconstruct in stronger formations.   So physical gains actually occur outside of the gym.    “Overtraining” is the fancy way of saying “too much exercise”.  It’s an imbalance between work and recovery.   There are five dead giveaways that you’re doing too much.   

Number one is a drop in performance.   You have less strength, endurance and co-ordination.   Physical tasks you could handle effortlessly become difficult.  Even though you’re hitting the gym each day, you’ll feel progressively weaker, slower, and more lethargic.   

Number two is a drop in results.   When hormones are normal you’ll find that losing fat and gaining muscle is basically a matter of healthy diet and healthy activity.   This no longer holds true when you are overtraining because your hormones get out of whack.  Testosterone plunges and cortisol rises.  This slows down metabolic rate and increases insulin resistance, leading to your body holding tight to fat.     You’re also more likely to have strong carbohydrate cravings because your body is seeking quick energy.   To make matters worse, you’re more likely to succumb to the cravings because you’re exhausted.   Besides, you’re burning it all off with your exercise, right?   Probably wrong!

Number three is an increase in injuries.   As you train in an increasingly weakened state you’ll find yourself aggravating old injuries, creating new ones and find odds aches and pains that just won’t go away.    It could be poor form, it could be muscle overuse, it could be muscle tightness.   It’s probably a combination of all of them and it means your body is not a very comfortable place to be.   

Number four is an increase in illnesses.    If you’re exercising in a healthy manner you will develop a stronger immune system and will find you don’t get sick too often.   However if you’re overtraining you’ll suddenly find yourself vulnerable to every lurgy floating about.

Number five is a drop in morale.  That’s hardly surprising when your performance is going down, your weight is going up and you’re struggling with injuries and illnesses.  You feel drained and sluggish both in and out of the gym.    Exercise no longer elevates your mood, it makes you feel worse.   You start to lose motivation to exercise at all.  

The better you get at listening to your body the more successful you will be in meeting your goals.     The good news is that overtraining can be managed or prevented with some very simple strategies, check out my article to find out how.    

Aging affects everyone differently but it seems to be a lot kinder to those who keep their health and independence.   Staying fit doesn't guarantee you'll always be well but it improves the odds and enhances quality of life.   

A healthy heart is a great place to start.  The heart becomes less efficient as it ages, meaning a decline in energy and endurance.    Regular physical activity can help maintain a healthy weight, lower blood pressure and reduce stiffening of the arteries.   

Throughout adulthood you lose some of the mineral content in your bones, meaning they shrink in size and density, becoming more susceptible to fracture.  By age 80 it's common to have lost as much 5 cm in height due to the compression of joints, spinal bone and spinal discs. Strength training can help rebuild bones and reduce the risk of osteoporosis.

Strength and flexibility in muscles also decreases with age.  This can make it more challenging to perform everyday activities that require lifting, pushing or pulling.  When you are young you take these skills for granted but as you age they are not a given.   Reduction in lean muscle mass can also cause difficulty with co-ordination and balance.

With these changes in the nature of bones and muscles it’s no surprise that around 1 in 3 New Zealanders over 65 suffer a fall each year.  Falls can cause a range of injuries. The seriousness of the fall and the recovery period largely depend on your fitness and health.  Many people who fall develop a fear of falling again which causes them to limit their activities. This leads to reduced confidence and loss of fitness which then increase the risk of falling.   

The body works on the “use it or lose it” principle - mobility and functionality are keys to independence and important to protect.  This principle applies to the brain as well, check out my article on how exercise helps with cognitive function. Regular exercise also supports healthy sleep patterns.  Circadian rhythms change as you age, often causing a reduction in quality and quantity of sleep.  Expending physical energy is a great way to promote better sleep, and that helps with brain function and quality of life too.  

The gym is a fun, safe environment for exercise. A gym program can be adapted for any physical limitations or health concerns and it’s great to exercise in a safe, supervised environment close to water and amenities. Every new interest is an opportunity to stimulate the brain and interact with people of different ages and lifestyles.  

Clearly age need not be a barrier to fitness and vitality.    A lifelong investment in health and fitness pays great dividends in quality of life.     

My clients are healthy active people and seem to inherently know when the time is right to stop exercise prior to birth and when the time is right to re-start afterwards. If you had an active pregnancy and an uncomplicated natural birth you might get LMC clearance to exercise as soon as a week or two after the birth.  Most women require a longer period for their body and energy levels to recover, check out my article on how to recover appropriately from your pregnancy.  

Initial exercise should be gentle with the aim of gradually increasing endurance. Pregnancy places mechanical stress on the body so the rebuild may require some rehabilitation. Common post-pregnancy ailments are sacroiliac joint pain, pubic symphsis, lower back pain and abdominal splitting. I regularly liaise with my clients’ physiotherapists to help them rehabilitate back to full functionality.

Once you’re fully operational the top priority is to regain some lean muscle mass. The body recovers from most aspects of pregnancy naturally - the uterus contracts to close to its former size in about six weeks and the body’s ligaments return slowly to their former length and elasticity. Unfortunately, muscle tissue doesn’t respond in the same way, so it is necessary to introduce weight training to return your muscles to their former length, strength and functional capability.  

This change in muscle mass explains why the body feels so different after having a baby. Most of my clients who have exercised through the pregnancy find that the number on the scales returns to normal within a month or two but body composition is quite different. It’s partly hormonal, it’s partly from being relatively sedentary for the best part of a year and it’s partly from being at an age where lean muscle mass is starting to decline anyway. Whatever it is, it’s common to lose “weight” but still feel like a marshmallow. I certainly did both times!

Getting into some resistance training is the best way to resurrect your pre-baby body and of course it has the added benefit of increasing your metabolic rate, making weight management even simpler. Once you’ve addressed lean muscle mass you’ll find that any exercise which raises the heart rate will burn calories and support weight loss.  It’s important to choose the type of exercise you enjoy. Caring for a baby is all-consuming and the little time out you get should be spent as enjoyably as possible.

If you did the groundwork in pregnancy and prior then the rest will follow. With time and patience there is no reason why your post baby body can’t be just as good, if not better, than before.

As a PT I’m often asked whether machines or free weights are best for building lean muscle mass.

Both have their pros and cons.  Machines force an idealized posture, making them a good choice for people new to exercise. They can be a great tool for rehabilitation because they’re pre-set using only the muscle and angle the machine allows. However machines do not allow a full range of motion or encourage the body to stabilise for itself. Free weights such as dumbells and barbells require the body to move in a more natural fashion and activate stabilisers as well as main muscle groups.

In recent times a third option has emerged for building lean muscle mass. “Functional Fitness” is the new black of exercise, using a variety of tools and toys to create complex movements that mimic everyday life. Functional exercises tend to be multi-joint, multi-muscle, multi-plane activities using upper and lower body simultaneously. These exercises emphasise core control and build strength in stabliser muscles as well as target muscles. Functional fitness tools include weight bags, TRX, VipR, kettle bell, swiss ball and bosu ball.

Like free weights, functional exercises can support the body’s ability to stabilise and balance when performed correctly. A strong functional body is more versatile and less prone to injury.  But ironically, many people pursuing functional fitness end up injured and ultimately less functional than when they began. The more freedom a type of exercise gives, and the higher the intensity it’s performed at the more important it is to have correct technique.   

The best type of exercise for an individual client will depend on their physical condition and their goals.  Many exercisers just want to lose 5 or 10kgs in the most efficient way possible. Each individual needs to make the choice of how functional they need to be and what level of risk is acceptable to achieve it. Some people enjoy complex high intensity exercises, some like lots of toys, some like a lot of traditional free weights and some are most comfortable on machines. Most people like a mix over time.

Any type of exercise can burn calories and build lean muscle mass as long as the program is well constructed and regularly changed around. The key to a program’s effectiveness is adherence and the key to adherence is enjoyment. Focus on what you like to do and the results will follow.

Once you have clearance from your LMC and you understand where to be cautious it’s time to get busy with the five focus points for exercising during pregnancy.  

The five focus points support the body in counteracting the weight gain at the front.

The first is moderate intensity cardio exercise which helps with weight management and gives strength and endurance for labour and delivery.   It improves circulation and promotes heart health for both mother and baby.   There is no type of cardio exercise that’s off limits as long as it’s it’s comfortable and without the risk of impact to the bump.  

The second focus area is the lower body.   Leg strengthening exercises help the lower body support the weight of the bump.    Squats are particularly helpful to build up muscle strength for labour.  

Weight gain affects posture so the third focus area is upper back strengthening.   You’ll need strong postural muscles for the many hours you’ll spend holding your baby.   Without them you’ll find yourself slumping forward when you’re tired which can create neck pain and general discomfort.    Exercises such as the cable row or dumbbell row are comfortable ways to build strength in the upper back and stability in the core.   

The forth focus area is balance, which can be compromised when centre of gravity changes.  Exercises done on an unstable surface in a controlled environment, for example sitting on a swiss ball, encourage you to keep a sense of where you are in space and use your stabilizer muscles to stay balanced.   These are important skills if you lose your footing out in the street.   


The fifth important area is the core.    You need to be gentle but light cable twists and kneeling alternate arm / leg work are safe, appropriate and useful addition to the standard pelvic tilts and kegal exercises.   

The gym is a great environment for a pregnant person.  You’re close to all the stuff you need – cold water, snacks, bathroom, fans, seats, medical attention and lots of chit chat!    

Pregnancy is not a time to push through pain.   It’s a time of gentle exercise, ideally a little and often, always mindful of the primary purpose which is to build a strong incubator.     Always keep the most important goal in mind – a healthy baby and a healthy Mummy through pregnancy, birth and beyond.     Check out my tips for recovering from birth and returning to exercise.  

Exercising through pregnancy has many great benefits for mother and baby.   Once you have clearance from your LMC you’re good to go, as long as you observe the five key safety principles.  

The most important thing to avoid is overheating. The baby can’t cool itself in the womb so it’s critical to avoid over-exerting yourself, stay hydrated and dress for success with cool comfortable clothing in removable layers.     

Changes in blood pressure can also be a challenge. It’s important to warm up and cool down thoroughly and change positions gradually. Avoid exercises that position you on your back after the first trimester because this position can hinder blood flow to and from the heart. Standing still for prolonged periods is not recommended, especially beyond 20 weeks.   

The third area to be aware of as pregnancy progresses is increasing levels of the hormone relaxin. It softens muscle fibres and ligaments in preparation for birth. This makes it easy to overstretch and tear muscles so it’s important to avoid high impact activities, quick direction changes and over-enthusiastic stretching.

Abdominal exercises are another area to watch. Avoid any exercise that places significant load on the abdominals or pelvic floor including abdominal curls and hovers.  

The fifth important safety point is to keep an appropriate intensity. When I first trained 20 years ago the rule was that pregnant women were not to elevate their heart rate over 140 beats per minute. We now understand that everyone is different and appropriate intensity depends on the individual, her level of fitness prior to the pregnancy and of course health and mood on the day which can be extremely variable! It is ok to start an exercise program in pregnancy even if you were inactive prior to pregnancy but the intensity must begin at a low level and progress very gradually. Intensity, pace and volume of all exercise should be set according to your ability to keep good form, core stability and regular breathing.  

Once you have clearance to exercise and you’re confident with the safety requirements you can move on to consider the five areas to focus on during pregnancy.