What Is Holistic Training?

By Howe Russ


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.

Despite the constantly evolving world of fitness, the workout styles you can see on display in any gym or fitness magazine have existed for years. The industry operates on a fifteen year cycle, with old techniques disappearing from the public eye for a while and then making a comeback a few years down the line. So the next time you ask for tips on how to lose weight, bear in mind that the answer you'll be given could be older than you are. This can be seen already with kettlebells and fat loss boot camps.

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.

Is there any actual benefit to this method of exercising?

The two largest advantages are listed for you below.

* A weekly change in your program will stimulate new gains and fat loss.

* Gym sessions become intense, interesting affairs rather than drawn out, predictable nonsense.

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.

Monitoring progress is the toughest part of this type of routine. As exercise enthusiasts switch between high intensity interval training, high repetition endurance work and strength based sessions every seven days it can lead to confusion when trying to monitor your progress.

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.




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