As promised in my last blog entry, here are some tips to a healthier and more successful exercise routine. There is a tip here for everyone, from experienced fitness buffs to absolute newbies. I originally intended on 15 tips, but I always like to surpass myself, so here are 16:
1. Vary your repetitions in weight training. If you normally do 4-6 reps for your "working" sets, take a couple workouts where you do 8-10. Also, vary the weight you use. Incorporate "light" days with your "heavy" days in your weekly schedule to avoid injury and improve recovery.
2. Train in a different environment to "freshen" your perspective. If you like to swim, try training with a different club for today. If you run on a treadmill, get outside and try a road or trail run.
3. Get off the machines and try free weights. Get someone knowledgeable to show you some basic movements, and give those a shot for awhile. Free weights improve balance, coordination, and require assistance from the other muscles to help stabilize your body, thus making you stronger throughout.
4. Try the freeweight barbell squat. It's one of the most important exercises you will ever do.
5. Legs and feet sore when you run? Perhaps it's time for new shoes, a flatter running surface, or a dropback in mileage for a week or two. Don't try to run through it.
6. Pick up a jump rope and use it. Here is a great video by a renowned expert in jumping rope, Buddy Lee: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PG0Vgww1XhY
7. Lift weights for strength a minimum of twice per week, using compound movements that work the major muscle groups of the body. Best exercises include: squats, overhead barbell press, deadlifts, power cleans, bench press, chinups (with weight if possible--otherwise your bodyweight is the resistance).
8. Perform aerobic exercise of 30 minutes or more in duration at least three times per week. One workout should be longer and slower (up to an hour or more), one should be moderate paced and continuous (@30 minutes), and one should be an interval session consisting of 15-30 minutes of alternating higher intensity exercise periods with light "active" (means you keep moving) rest. There are exceptions to this basic format for athletes, of course, but as a minimum this works well for most average fitness buffs.
9. Never exercise on an empty stomach (low blood sugar + exercise = VERY hungry later). And never exercise on a full stomach (anything more intense than a light walk could result in cramps and stomach distress).
10. Don't do static stretching before intense exercise. Rather, do a short warmup, then perform light dynamic stretching (movement stretching). Save the "stretch and hold" stuff for afterwards.
11. Get at least an hour more sleep on the days you exercise to help boost recovery. And try not to do a higher intensity workout on days you've had little sleep, or you risk injuring yourself.
12. Variety is important in training success, but not at the expense of consistency. Changing your workout all the time doesn't give your body anything to adapt to, and thus you don't improve. But doing the same workout every time, month after month, will certainly lead to stagnation. Look at variety as the spice in a recipe: a little goes a long way.
13. Feeling depressed? Get moving. Get up right now, go out the door, and walk around the block. Then come back inside, grab a couple light dumbbells and press them over your head 15-20 times. Then go call a friend and have lunch with them. Call me if you have to. My number is 404-583-8034.
14. If you're really out of shape, 3 bouts of 10 minute exercise sessions each day will work very well for you. Do 10 minutes of any exercise in the AM, then 10 more at lunch, then ten more in the evening. For someone very unfit, accumulation of physical activity is the key, don't worry about what kind, as long as it doesn't put you at an injury risk. Set the habit to get moving now.
15. Soreness is not a sign of a great workout, it is a sign that you did too much. Training a sore bodypart can lead to tendonitis or injury, and a long layoff. Rest it, work your way up slower next time, and you will train longer and safer.
16. Burpees are a great, great exercise, and can be done anywhere with NO equipment. Stand with your hands by your side. Drop down to a squat with hands on the floor in front of you, then kick your feet back as you drop to pushup position and bring your chest to the floor. As you push back up, bring your feet back to the squatting position, and without pausing, jump straight up as high as you can reaching your hands to the sky. Try to do 5-10 to start and work your way up to 3 sets of 20. A great standard is being able to do 100 in under 10 minutes. Here is a video on how to do the burpee: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxrFducMgYQ
Be healthy, my friends.
http://upandrunningatl.blogspot.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment