Why do athletic movement work? They force you out of your comfort zone, as well as training your abs. They also help you build more explosive power. Let’s look at a few simple exercises you can do to build this athleticism.

Upper Body:

Ballistic Pushup – assume a pushup and lower yourself to the floor; instead of pushing up like your normally do, push yourself so hard that your hands move off the floor. As you do so, do a hand clap and straighten your arms so they land palm first onto the floor as you maintain upward pushup position. Repeat for additional repetitions. Take care however as these pushup are very rigorous and you need to have strong shoulders to perform them correctly.

Reactive Pushup – as with a normal pushup, assume the pushup position and lower yourself to the floor. Push back up normally, but as you do so, lift your left hand and touch your right shoulder during the upward movement. Lower your left hand then, do another pushup, but use the opposite hand to shoulder. This is one repetition. Repeat for additional reps.

Purpees – assume a pushup position and execute a burpee, an exercise with which most are familiar. However, now you are beneath a pull-up bar so, as you execute the burpee and explode off the floor, grab the pull-up bar on the way up and continue into a pull-up position. What you’re actually doing is adding a pull-up at the jump of the burpee, but without losing motion. Lower yourself to the floor and perform the next repetition.

Lower Body:

Seated Jump – sit on the end of a flat bench with your feet firmly on the floor about shoulder width apart, open hands cocked near hips. In one motion, throw your hands upward and explode from the bench as you jump as high as you can. Return to starting position and repeat next repetition. For a more rigorous exercise you could perform a double leg straddle in lieu of this exercise.

Single-Leg Sit to Stand – using same flat bench, sit on the side of the bench with feet facing away from bench. Place your right foot on the floor as you extend your left leg in front of you. Using your right leg, stand (without letting left leg touch the floor) to an upright position. Sit slowly back down and alternate legs. Once both legs have been repeated once you have completed one repetition.

Lunge: 10 Point Multi-directional – this exercise is accomplished using a clock position as a guide. Since 90 percent of people are right handed, let’s begin with the right leg. Starting position is standing with feet hip to shoulder width apart. Take your left leg and step forward to 12 o’clock into a lunge position; return to start and step with right leg to 10 o’clock; return to start. Step to 9 o’clock, which is more of a stretch than a lunge then, return to start and step to about 8 o’clock and lower yourself into lunge then, back to start and step to 6 o’clock lowering yourself into a full lunge. You have done one leg now, do the other leg. Once you have completed the other leg, you have performed one full repetition.

Bear in mind that the lunges, stepping with left leg toward 9 and 8 o’clock are more like a stretch than a full lunge as you may be accustomed to. The same is true at 3 and 4 o’clock with your right leg stepping back. We use this technique to help athletes such as hockey players develop greater athleticism and have a great ability to do close footwork at speed. At first, this exercise may feel a bit awkward; as you gain more experience, the exercise is quite rapid. Also, when you finish first with the left leg, the first motion with the right leg is to step to 6 o’clock first then, 4, 3, 2, and 12 o’clock. Have fun with it.

Aerobic Fitness
Aerobic activity, i.e., that cardio you’re doing is the cornerstone of most fitness-training programs. Aerobic activity build your cardiovascular endurance from causing you to breathe faster and deeper. This helps to maximize the amount of oxygen in your blood. Your heart will beat faster, thereby increasing blood flow to your muscles and back to your lungs.

The better your aerobic fitness, the more efficiently your heart, lungs, and blood vessels transport oxygen throughout your body. There are several benefits to this. It makes it easier to complete routine physical tasks and rise to unexpected challenges, such as running to your car during a snow or rainstorm. It also pumps more blood to the muscles, which helps them heal more quickly in event of injury.

Aerobic activity includes any physical activity that uses the body’s large muscle groups and that increases heart rate. You can try walking, jogging, sprinting, biking, swimming, water aerobics and many others that includes such mundane daily tasks like vacuuming and shoveling snow.
Doctors recommend 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week or 150 minutes of moderate activity. Try a combination of interval training, biking, jogging, etc. to fill these requirements. It may seem like a lot, but spreading the minutes over 3-4 workouts per week reduces the time requirement per workout considerably.

As mentioned, you can also try high-intensity interval training, which involves alternating short bursts of intense activity (around 30 seconds) with subsequent recovery periods (around 3 to 4 minutes) of lighter activity. This will yield best results if you’re in shape for it. If you haven’t exercised for a while, start with simple walks, and slowly increase your intensity by doing the same distance faster each time. You can get in shape rather quickly and then, move on to more intense exercises you’d like to do.

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Strength Training
The fitness of your muscle groups, termed muscular fitness, is another key component of your fitness-training program. These types of exercises will help you increase muscle strength, bone density, and muscular fitness. By building lean muscle mass it can help you manage or lose weight because lean muscle mass burns more calories than deposits of fat on the body. Strengthening your muscles will improve your ability to do almost any daily activity with ease. The best programs will require you to perform strength training 2-3 times per week. If you’re more advance then, 5-6 times per week.

Almost every gym and fitness center has lots of resistance machines, free weights, Olympic weights, and other gear and devices for strength training. While a gym will have more variety of such equipment, you don’t need to invest in a gym membership or expensive equipment to reap the benefits of strength training. As an example, you can use hand-held weights such as dumbbells or homemade weights, resistance bands, books, or other heavy objects. However, if you’re trying to build large muscles, these will have their limits. Additionally, you can perform full-body exercises that can be extremely challenging such as pushups, pullups, abdominal crunches, purpees, burpees, jump-split squats, and leg squats.

Core Exercises
Your core is comprised of the muscles in your abdomen, lower back, and pelvis. These muscles help protect your back, as well as connecting upper and lower body movements. Core strength is a key element of a well-rounded fitness training program. And, it is extremely important as you age. You likely know a many people who constantly complain of lower-back pain – this is often the result of weak core muscles.

The reason is that core exercises help train the muscles mentioned above to brace the spine and enable you to use your upper and lower body muscles more effectively, i.e., the literally tie the upper to lower body and are a mandatory requirement for performance at a high level in sports. What is a core exercise? A core exercise is any exercise that uses the trunk of your body without support, such as bridges, superman’s, planks, sit ups, fitness ball exercises, and others.

Balance Training
Balance exercises can help you maintain your balance at any age, but are particularly useful as you age. In fact, the older you get, the more important it becomes to include balance exercises in your programs. Why? Because balance tends to deteriorate with age; this can result in falls and fractures, which can become fatal for older adults.

Anyone can benefit from balance training because it also helps to stabilize your core muscles. Try standing on one leg for increasing periods of time to improve your overall stability. Make sure that you flex the knee you’re standing on. For a more challenging movement, try the following:

1. Stand on your left leg and bring your right foot up beside the left knee (this is your starting position).
2. Extend your right leg in front of you, straight, with a slight flex in the knee – like you’re kicking someone in the groin, hold for five seconds. Retract the leg back to starting position and hold five seconds.
3. Next, extend the leg directly out to your right side like you’re a kicking someone in the knee with the side of your right foot (again the leg is straight out) – hold five seconds in this extended position and then, retract back to starting.
4. Finally, bend forward slightly to counterbalance and push the leg behind you into an extension like you’re kicking an opponent in the groin with your heal – hold for five seconds then, retract back to starting position and hold for five seconds more.
5. Now, stand on your right leg and repeat the same motions with your left leg. It’s fun and challenging. And, if you were a martial arts student this would be a triple kick in three different directions.

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Flexibility and Stretching
Flexibility is an important aspect of your physical fitness. It is important at all ages and in my view is mandatory in a fitness program. This is because stretching exercises help increase flexibility and, the more flexible you are, the easier it is to perform any activity. As you age, you become stiffer; stretching will counteract this and improve the range of motion of your joints, promote better posture, and increase blood flow, as well as relieve stress and tension when performed on a regular basis. One of the best times to stretch is directly after your workout. Your body is already warmed up and thus, receptive to stretching. If you’re going to run or perform some intense exercises during your workout, you may also wish to consider stretching prior to the workout. A time of about 5-10 minutes is sufficient. However, if you’re a competitive martial artist, you need about 20 minutes, perhaps more depending on your goals.

If you have a good trainer or have developed your own program, you’ll stretch during every exercise period. Martial arts, yoga, and related activities help promote flexibility as well – why not try them?

Regardless of whether you create your own program in our ‘My Workout’ section, develop your own, or use a personal trainer for your fitness-training program, you need to include the above elements into that program—aerobic fitness, strength training, core exercises, balance training, and flexibility and stretching. You do not need to fit each element into every exercise period, but factor in at least two for each period. This will help promote great health and fitness into your lifestyle.

Let’s concentrate on high volume training, which you should do every once in awhile because it will shock your system and generally help you overcome a plateau.
High volume training is a style of training that involves working out for extended periods of time, performing a high number of reps and sets, or both. As an example, you may perform 10 sets of 10 reps for a particular exercise, 8 sets of 8 reps, etc. Generally, a high-volume workout is associated with a bodybuilding split routine, but full-body workouts also can be high volume.

For bodybuilders, this style of training began back in the day as it were with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Reg Park, Franco Columbo and others. While there are some that minimize this type of training, like all other training regimens, there is a place for it and, it works well.

It is common during high-volume workouts for a strong athlete to lift 70,000 pounds or more in one workout session. Even during the old days Arnold Schwarzenegger’s routine evolved into a system where muscle groups were worked 3 times per week in which he would lift about 90 sets of each major muscle group per week. Talk about no pain, no gain.

To this day, high-volume training resembles what Arnold did. But, just like Arnold, it is not a program that you stay on week after week. Try it for a couple of weeks and move onto other regimens.

Generally, high-volume training is broken into two part: time and sets. A high-volume regimen requires about 120 minutes of workout time not including rest. Thus, when you go to the gym it’s about a 1.5-2 hour process. In terms of sets, a high-volume workout is about 20-30 sets per body part.

The reason you do not wish to do high-volume training all the time is because once you surpass about an hour of workout time, you can begin to cannibalize muscle mass, which is why this type of training is not good for natural bodybuilders or athletes long-term and exactly why you do it only for 1-2 weeks to shock your system. And again, as stated above, move on to other regimens. If you are a beginner, I would discourage you from using high-volume unless you have near perfect technique. It takes discipline and persistence. Done correctly, a high-volume daily workout regimen is exhausting. Besides, you should remember that the initial shock that comes from undertaking a weight training routine, and the resulting anabolic boost, outweighs the limitations of the training system.

For my clients and athletes, I limit the rest period between sets to maximize time efficiency, which shortens the workout and makes high-volume training more viable for training for longer periods if you wish.

Before you begin a high-volume routine, let’s set a few basic rules. When we talk volume and intensity in strength training, “volume” refers to how many reps or sets are performed, and “intensity” indicates how the weight load, i.e., the greater the weight the more the intensity. This also can be expressed as a relative percentage of your maximum capability. For example, if you can do only one repetition at 300 pounds, then 150 pounds represents 50% of your one-rep maximum (1RM).

Thus, it stands to reason that when you perform 10 sets of 10 reps for any body part that the weight you’ll be lifting is much less than you may under normal circumstances. Warm up first with each body part then, start with about 30-40 percent of your maximum weight load(s).

As a rule of thumb following is my definition in terms of sets/reps for use during high-volume training.

Very-high volume: 36-plus sets
High volume: 25 to 35 sets
Medium volume: 12 to 24 sets
Low volume: 4-10 sets

Also, I typically have my athletes, bodybuilders, and other use the greater number of sets/reps for the smaller muscles. As an example, a bicep curl may be done 10-12 sets for 20-12 reps while a leg workout would be 8 sets of 8 reps. However, there is no magic number; you can work any body part for the highest reps/sets. It’s really about being smart and listening to and feeling your body.

In a very real sense, you’re doing a trade-off between neural and metabolic process in the body depending on which type of workout you perform. Further, I’m not a believer in the ‘one set to failure’ methods since I train competitive athletes and special operations groups in military fitness in addition to the average person or bodybuilder, you need to simply perform, all the time, not some of the time.

Briefly, no one type of training works for you all the time thus, you need to mix it up. So, let’s give you a routine for two weeks that’ll push you. Afterward, go back to your other regimen(s).

Letting the scientist come out in me, I do not believe in reducing periodization, which has been around the bodybuilding and athletics scene for about 20 years. I’ve found through constant monitoring of athletes that alternating periodization generally works better and research from Europe and Russia confirms that or, their research supports my own experiences in this area. Thus, do not do linear, but alternating periodization, if you work with periodized programs, which many have no idea what they are or how to design them.

Alternating periodization in high-volume workouts would look something like the following:

Sets per Workout; Reps per Workout; Week(s) of Workout (respectively)
20-25; 12-15; 1-3;
10-15; 6-8; 4-6;
15-20; 10-12; 7-9;
10-12; 5-10; 10-12;

As you can see, periodized workouts have rest built into them. Also, count only the work sets in the total, not warm-up sets.

Now that you are ready, the short program below (designed from our ‘my workout’ program on the homepage, is only for two weeks and thus, not long enough to appear as the alternating periodization schedule above. Also, no cardio, weak area, or other exercises were added. However, you can see that you’ll need to eat your Wheaties. Enjoy.

Week: 1 Day: Mon
Warmup Exercises – 3 sets for 8 reps per exercise unless otherwise noted.
In-Place Squats (no wt.)
Glute Ham Raises
Jump Rope (2 min. x 3)

Core Exercises; Reps per Set
High Pulley Curls; 12/ 12/ 12/ 10/
Seated Dumbbell Triceps Extensions; 12/ 10/ 10/ 10/ 10/
Close_Grip Bench Press; 12/ 12/ 12/ 10/ 10/
Incline Press; 15/ 10/ 10/ 10/ 10/ 10/
Dumbbell Flys; 10/ 10/ 10/ 10/
Standing Leg Curls; 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/ 15/
Machine Adductions; 15/ 12/ 12/ 10/

Warm-Down Exercises
Dumbbell Slings 3 sets X 7 reps
Bicycle Crunches 3 sets X 8 reps
Lunges 3 sets X 9 reps

Week: 1 Day: Tue
Warmup Exercises – 3 sets for 8 reps per exercise unless otherwise noted
In-Place Squats (no wt.)
Toe Touches
Jogging (5 min.)

Core Exercises; Reps per Set
Close-Grip Lat Pulldowns; 15/ 15/ 15/ 12/
Deadlifts; 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/ 10/
T-Bar Rows; 12/ 10/ 10/ 10/ 10/ 10/
Bridging; 12/ 10/ 10/ 10/ 10/ 10/
Seated Press (bar behind neck); 12/ 12/ 10/ 10/ 10/
Bent-Over Lateral Raises; 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/
One-Arm Dumbbell Press; 15/ 15/ 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/

Warm-Down Exercises
Mountain Climbers (1 min.)
Broomstick Twists 3 sets X 8 reps
Front Split Stretch 3 sets X 12 seconds

Week: 1 Day: Wed
Warmup Exercises – 3 sets for 8 reps per exercise unless otherwise noted
Split Squats
Glute Ham Raises
Dumbbell Slings

Core Exercises; Reps per Set
One-Arm Dumbbell Tri Extensions; 15/ 15/ 15/ 12/ 12/ 12/
High Pulley Curls; 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/
Dumbbell Flys; 15/ 12/ 12/ 12/
Barbell Pullovers; 15/ 12/ 12/ 12/ 10/
Incline Press; 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/
Seated Barbell Calf Raises; 12/ 10/ 10/ 10/ 10/ 10/
One-Leg Toe Raises; 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/

Warm-Down Exercises
Dumbbell Slings 3 sets X 7 reps
Broomstick Twists 3 sets X 9 reps
Front Split Stretch 3 sets X 12 seconds

Week: 1 Day: Thu
Warmup Exercises – 3 sets for 8 reps per exercise unless otherwise noted
Standing Leg Curl
Glute Ham Raises
Dumbbell Slings

Core Exercises; Reps per Set
Triceps Extensions; 15/ 15/ 15/ 12/ 12/
Seated EZ-Bar Triceps Extensions; 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/
Preacher Curls; 15/ 15/ 15/ 12/ 12/
Chin Ups; 12/ 12/ 8/ 8/ 8/
Seated Barbell Calf Raises; 15/ 15/ 15/ 12/ 12/
Hack Squats; 12/ 12/ 12/ 10/ 10/
Angled Leg Press; 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/ 10/
Front Press; 12/ 10/ 10/ 10/ 12/ 12/
Nautilus Lateral Raises; 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/
Bent-Over Lateral Raises; 12/ 12/ 8/ 8/

Warm-Down Exercises
Mountain Climbers (1 min.)
Step Ups (no wt.) 3 sets X 9 reps
Relaxation (any type) 3 sets X 12 seconds

Week: 1 Day: Fri
Warmup Exercises – 3 sets for 8 reps per exercise unless otherwise noted
Front Dynamic Kicks
Sit Ups
Biking (5 min.)

Core Exercises; Reps per Set
Hyperextension; 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/
Dumbbell Bench Press; 15/ 15/ 12/ 12/ 12/
Decline Press; 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/ 10/
Dumbbell Pullovers; 10/ 10/ 10/ 10/ 10/
Low Pulley Bent-Over Lat Raises; 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/
Lateral Raises; 10/ 10/ 12/ 12/ 12/

Warm-Down Exercises
Chin Ups 3 sets X 7 reps
Toe Touches 3 sets X 9 reps
Front Split Stretch 3 sets X 10 seconds

Week: 2 Day: Mon
Warmup Exercises – 3 sets for 8 reps per exercise unless otherwise noted
Split Squat Jumps
Sit Ups
Pull Ups

Core Exercises; Reps per Set
Triceps Extensions; 15/ 15/ 12/ 12/
Three Part Curls; (21s) 12/ 12/ 12/ 10/ 8/ 8/
Pushdowns; 15/ 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/
Incline Dumbbell Press; 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/
Cable Crossover; Flys 12 sets for 12 reps each
Dumbbell; Flys 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/
Hack Squats; 12/ 12/ 8/ 8/
Machine Adductions; 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/

Warm-Down Exercises
Swim
Broomstick Twists 3 sets X 8 reps
Side-to-Side Stretch 3 sets X 12 seconds

Week: 2 Day: Tue
Warmup Exercises – 3 sets for 8 reps per exercise unless otherwise noted
Side Dynamic Kicks
Roman Chair Side Bends
Walking (5 min.)

Core Exercises; Reps per Set
Stiff-Legged Deadlifts; 12/ 10/ 10/ 10/
Sumo Deadlifts; 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/
Cable Back Kicks; 15/ 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/
Floor Hip Extensions (Kick Backs); 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/
Standing Machine Hip Abductions; 15/ 15/ 12/ 12/ 12/
Hammer Lifts; 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/

Warm-Down Exercises
Mountain Climbers (1 min.)
Hyperextensions 3 sets X 9 reps
Lunges 3 sets X 8 reps

Week: 2 Day: Wed
Warmup Exercises – 3 sets for 8 reps per exercise unless otherwise noted
Standing Long Jumps
Step Ups
Jogging (5 min.)

Core Exercises; Reps per Set
Reverse Pushdowns; 15/ 15/ 15/ 12/ 12/ 12/
High Pulley Curls; 15/ 15/ 15/ 15/ 15/
Barbell Pullovers; 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/
Dumbbell Pullovers; 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/
Dumbbell Flys; 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/ 8/
Cable Adductions; 15/ 12/ 12/ 12/
Leg Extensions; 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/
Seated Leg Curls; 12/ 15/ 15/ 15/ 12/ 12/

Warm-Down Exercises
Shoulder Flexors 3 sets X 10 reps
Step Ups (no wt.) 3 sets X 9 reps
Relaxation (any type) 3 sets X 12 seconds

Week: 2 Day: Thu
Warmup Exercises – 3 sets for 8 reps per exercise unless otherwise noted
In-Place Squats (no wt.)
Russian Twists
Reverse Pec Deck

Core Exercises; Reps per Set
Low Pulley Curls; 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/
Three Part Curls; (21s) 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/
Triceps Dips; 12/ 15/ 15/ 15/ 12/ 12/
One-Arm Dumbbell Rows; 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/
Dumbbell Shrugs; 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/
Seated Pulley Rows; 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/
Standing Leg Curls; 15/ 12/ 12/ 10/ 10/ 10/
Lying Leg Curls; 12/ 10/ 10/ 10/ 10/ 10/
One-Arm Dumbbell Press; 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/
Bent-Over Lateral Raises; 15/ 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/
Nautilus Lateral Raises; 15/ 12/ 12/ 12/

Warm-Down Exercises
Shoulder Flexors 3 sets X 7 reps
Sit Ups 3 sets X 8 reps
Chin Up Hangs 3 sets X 10 seconds

Week: 2 Day: Fri
Warmup Exercises – 3 sets for 8 reps per exercise unless otherwise noted
Height Jumps
Dumbbell Side Bends
Dumbbell Slings

Core Exercises; Reps per Set
Hyperextension; 12/ 10/ 10/ 10/ 10/ 10/
Sumo Deadlifts; 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/
Barbell Pullovers; 15/ 15/ 15/ 12/ 12/ 12/
Close_Grip Bench Press; 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/
Low Pulley Lateral Raises; 15/ 15/ 12/ 12/
Barbell Front Raises; 15/ 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/ 12/

Warm-Down Exercises
Walking (5 min.)
Toe Touches 3 sets X 9 reps
Walking Lunge Stretch 3 sets X 12 seconds

Aerobic exercises consume calories as your body breathes in or utilizes oxygen. As a rule of thumb jogging, running, biking, walking, and similar exercises fall into this category. These exercises and other low-intensity activities begin to burn excess calories and fat after about 40 minutes. Because of this it is considered that long-term, low intensity exercises are the best at burning fat, but is that true? More on this later. When your exercise intensity becomes greater than the rate at which your body can supply oxygen, you have shifted into the anaerobic category. Typical exercises in this category are sprinting, weight lifting, and other high intensity training regimens – these are short-term activities.

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Factually, any exercise you perform will burn calories. To burn more calories, you need to increase your intensity and/or duration of your workout. Then why the argument about anaerobic versus aerobic? It boils down to the effect on the cell, which I’d like to make an analogy about so we can keep this discussion simplified.

Assume that individual cells in your body are like the gas tank on a car, only you have many more ‘tiny’ gas tanks. To go anywhere you need to put gas in your tank. When your tank is empty, you cannot travel any further. If we transfer this basic scenario to your cells, your cells are filled with glycogen, which is like the gasoline in your car tank. This is the energy that you need to exercise. However, the kind of exercise you do has a significant effect on the glycogen, i.e., fuel level in your cells. This is why the constant discussion between exercise types.

Let’s compare two exercises, one that fits into each category. First, we’re all familiar with jogging. As we jog, the energy in our cells, i.e., the glycogen, begins to become depleted or to empty, just like the gas in your car tank. As we continue the exercise, the cells will eventually run out of gas (glycogen). At that point in time, there is no longer enough energy in the cells to recover or to continue to fill the cells with glycogen since it takes awhile for the body to complete the restoration cycle. Thus, you have essentially run out of gas. However, you can keep exercising and many do. Because the cells are now emptied of glycogen, the body looks for other sources of energy to burn. Generally, the easiest form or energy to utilize is protein. As a result, the exercise you’re doing begins to force the body to attack protein sources to satisfy it’s need for energy. These protein sources are generally your muscles. The result is that if you run too much or perform any long-term, low-intensity exercise for more than about 60 minutes at a time, you will actually deplete your muscle mass.

Second, let’s consider sprinting, which is an anaerobic activity. It’s a high intensity, short-term exercise. It’s effects on your cells are different. When you sprint, the glycogen level in your cells rapidly deplete/empty, but since you must rest for a little after each hard sprint, the glycogen level restores itself quickly. This process will continue over and over as you do your sprints. Your little gas tanks, i.e., your cells, will empty and then refill while you rest. It takes about 20-30 seconds generally to replenish the glycogen, longer if you’re out of shape.

After about 20-40 minutes of total sprinting time, not counting your rest periods, the glycogen in your cells cannot recover and you’ll then be at the same state as in the jogging example discussed above. What’s the main difference? By performing anaerobic activities for long term, your cells become depleted of glycogen and cannot recover. You’re running on fumes and you need energy. Come on, you’ve done this with your car before, haven’t you? Consequently, protein energy sources are sought, which generally results in muscles being cannibalized for energy and therefore, muscle mass is lost. With anaerobic activities, the same process occurs. But, after 20-40 minutes of total exercise not counting rest periods, one is usually too tired to go on. Since you stop, although the glycogen in your cells is gone, you do not force the body to seek further energy and thus, you preserve muscle mass.

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The best examples I can give you of this is to ask you to compare a marathon runner to a track and field athlete. At first glance you will notice that marathon runners and other long distance runners have a relatively slender build with minimal muscle mass except in the legs. In contrast, the track and field athlete has a very muscular physique. The difference in training has resulted in this stark contrast. Does this mean that you shouldn’t run and only sprint? Certainly not! But, you need to decide what your goals are when you plan your exercise program. The best way is to incorporate both activities into a well-rounded program. Despite this there are some guidelines.

If you wish to build and maintain good muscle mass, do not run over 3-5 miles per day in your program. If you wish to maintain lots of muscle mass, concentrate primarily on sprinting type activities and do not run over 3 miles per day. The important point is not that one form of activity is better than another, but that you must make a choice on what you want to accomplish with your fitness and physique goals.

Before I end this, I’d like to create at least a little controversy. Have you ever heard, “It’s pretty obvious that to lose the maximum amount of fat, you must concentrate on aerobic activities rather than anaerobic activities?” If you haven’t you will. Is this true? No! Actual statistics kept on sports athletes show that track and field athletes average 1-3 percent less body fat than marathon runners. Why? The answer is simple and one that you have heard and will continue to hear many times. “The best way to burn fat is to build lean muscle mass and eat a balanced, nutritious diet!” That’s exactly what track and field athletes do. It’s not that marathon runners and those who do similar types of training don’t, it’s simply that when they perform exercise for so long, the body cannot supply the necessary energy and muscle mass is cannibalized as needed for the duration of the exercise, i.e., running 10 or more miles per day.

Next time you’re in the gym go outside and try some sprinting. Afterward, finish up with a bike or swim. You’ll get the best of both worlds and be glad you did. Have a healthy and happy day.

Generally, just being on the road and away from home will cause a major disruption in all your routines, especially your fitness program. The average person will have a different sleep pattern, tend to eat differently, and just feel a little lazy. When this happens, desires and regimens that you’ve been so persistent with, coupled with the inconvenience of your favorite facility, will quickly decrease your motivation and make you lose the small opportunities you do have to work out. Following is some information on fighting this common problem.

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Stay Motivated – Reduce Intensity
Any disruption in your routine can be disastrous to your fitness program. At My Health and Fitness, many of us are constantly on the go. Consequently, we’ve tried to solve this problem for you. Because you’re away from your favorite gym or trainer and those late business dinners and hectic days take their toll, the easiest type of workout to do is a non-weight workout that doesn’t require equipment. However, most do not know what to do and don’t plan ahead for the trip.

To solve that problem for you, simply go to our website workout section and update your personal fitness profile to choose the traveling workouts. Each workout can be done in your hotel room within 30-40 minutes. They’ll keep you active in your program and maintain your discipline. In certain ways, these workouts are designed to lower your expectations, but to keep you going. The best thing of all is that you can access them anywhere you have access to the Internet. Choose how many days to workout and you can print an individual workout for each workout day. Thus, when the wheels of that plane leave the runway, your workouts don’t have to be left at home.

If you find yourself with sufficient facilities, continue your own workouts, but regardless of which workout you choose lowering your intensity or expectations will keep you going.

At MyHealthandFitness, we are of course all avid fans of fitness and know how difficult it is to find the time while on the road. Thus, maintaining even a lower intensity program can help you. For those who continually over train, you know who you are, working out with one of our traveling programs or with your own reduced intensity workout, can help your tired muscles recover. Who knows, perhaps on your next trip you’ll return more refreshed than when you left.

From experience, maintaining a current fitness and strength level is much easier than rebuilding it. By working out with lower intensity exercises or cross training with exercises such as running, you can maintain any gains you’ve made and won’t have to worry about feeling guilty for not doing that body-busting workout you’re accustomed to doing. More importantly, this concept can work for a period of several weeks if necessary with as few as two workouts per week. Why? Because it is much easier to maintain muscle mass by lighter workouts than to build it!

While on the road it’s also difficult to find the same kind of facility you may be accustomed to. This is particularly true if you desire to use specific equipment that the road gym doesn’t have. And, the unavailability of this equipment can be immediately disheartening. Thus, by lowering both your expectations and intensity, you overcome this problem.

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By slowing down and being forced to cross train or use an alternative form of exercise may actually rejuvenate or revitalize your body. You’ll wind up with more energy than you had. Remember that any program that is longer than two weeks is easily adapted to by your body, which reduces available gains. This is another reason why MyHealthandFitness Traveling Workouts are good for you. Plus, they’re scientifically proven to work! Also, because the workouts are lighter and different, you’ll likely feel move invigorated and performing better in your business meetings.

Traveling Fitness Tips:
1. Choose any activity that will keep you active, no matter how light.
2. Plan ahead. Print one of our programs or make your own before you leave. Check with the hotel, do they have a workout center? Is one nearby?
3. Commit to at least 20 minutes of exercise per day, even if only push ups, sit ups, in-place squats, splikt squats, lunges, and or calisthenics.
4. Set the stage early. Exercise the first evening or day of your arrival. If it’s late, get invigorated for your first meetings by an early morning workout – plan to arise early do so. Working out early will relieve stress and fatigue, help your body adjust to jet lag and your new surroundings, and if you get busy later in the day, well you’ve already worked out. Thus, you won’t need to feel guilty; by working out early, you’ve reaffirmed your personal commitment to do so, which is a big plus mentally.
5. Your planner: ink in your exercise time! No time at all? Walk stairs – avoid escalators and elevators. Walk everywhere you can at a quick pace. Do anything that can elevate your heart rate and feel good about it. Seems like there’s always a nearby park; take advantage of it.
6. Try a variety of easy exercises in your room or near your hotel. Swimming in the pool, lunge walking or split squats in your room, jogging, or other exercise(s).

Make sure to pack some basic exercise gear for your trip – running shoes and apparel.

You can also try a local exercise channel on your television or Internet site(s) – there’s lots of them available. The bottom line is to ‘just do it’ like the Nike commercials say. Our traveling programs will get you to sweat a little and best of all, they’re always different, invigorating, and downloadable at the touch of a finger. Don’t forget your road snacks.

Within athletics, primary concerns are injury prevention and improved performance. Speed, agility, explosiveness, flexibility, balance, and kinesthetic awareness are integral components to becoming a successful athlete. All of these have little, if anything, to do with bodybuilding. However, many of us desire these attributes. The neat thing about it is that no matter who you are, you can gain some of these attributes through training.

Traditional forms of weight training applied by bodybuilders become more involved with producing specific hypertrophy. Regional hypertrophy, as it has been called, is possible when incorporating specific variations of an exercise. Although possibly an effective method to induce these particular gains, traditional bodybuilding programs often negate properties of muscular and structural joint balance. For example, many of us do biceps curls and then, work on the triceps. The reason most of us do this is because we see everyone else doing it and it’s what many bodybuilders do. But, why do we do them? The answer is that you must do both exercises to maintain elbow and shoulder joint integrity and help strengthen weak areas that stabilize these joints. If you apply this principle to all your training, you begin to see the importance of using a great variety of exercises, but more importantly, also a variety of methods.

A recent study exposed strength and range of motion imbalances of bodybuilders compared to non-bodybuilders. Results showed increased susceptibility to shoulder injuries, which means that there was lack of other training methods involved and also lack a strengthening supporting muscle groups. The latter is usually a lack of not using other methods. As an analogy, this would be similar to eating the same food every day. After awhile, you would develop deficiency problems with various nutrients and health would suffer. Maintaining healthy structures and preventing injuries should always be of primary concern whether you’re an athlete or a bodybuilder.

If you participate in sporting events you should take advantage of your time in the weight room to improve performance. This is especially true for those who play recreational sports such as soccer, football, and others on school and city league teams. It will require a blending of styles that can be very effective for recreationally inspired individuals.

Take Our Challenge – Test and Improve Your Flexibility!

Perform the following tests before and after our combined training approach. These will help give you other methods to test improvement.

Heel Elevated Overhead Squat, i.e., Snatch Squat: Place heels shoulder width and atop a 2×4 or weight plate, squat down until thighs are parallel while holding a long stick or broomstick directly overhead (grip stick about shoulder width), with arms completely extended. If your arms bend or are forced forward, you have tight muscles in the shoulder anterior.

Hip Flexors and IT-Band: Lie in a supine position with legs extended, completely pull one knee into your chest while leaving the other relaxed. If your extended leg comes off the ground, you have tight hip-flexor muscles. If the extended leg rotates outward, you have a tight IT-band.

Ankle Flexibility: Standing with feet together facing a wall, lean forward while keeping your heels in contact with the floor. Touch both your chin and chest to the wall. Attempt to see how far back from the wall you can get. A distance of less than 18-inches would be reason for concern.

Groin Flexibility: Lay on your back in a supine position with legs extended. Cross one leg over the other so that the ankle touches the opposite quad just above the knee. Desired flexibility will allow the upper leg to rest parallel to the floor.

Standing Broad Jump: From a standing position on two feet, jump the furthest distance possible. Measure the distance from your heels to the starting line.

Training for Muscle Development and Muscular Control

For each movement you perform, there is what is termed a motor unit that is responsible for that movement. At the heart of movement is the motor unit. Each motor unit consists of a motor neuron and the muscle fibers that it innervates, i.e., activates. When excited, the entire motor unit contracts. It is a combination of numerous motor units that differentiates contraction intensities.

There are two basic types of muscular fibers, fast and slow twitch. Slow-twitch fibers contract more slowly but have a greater potential for prolonged energy production like in a marathon race. Thus, you might say that these slow-twitch muscle fibers are metabolically programmed for aerobic performance. Fast-twitch fibers are the opposite. These contract much faster and are metabolically programmed for short bursts of anaerobic activities. An example would be a quick sprint or an Olympic strength lift.

To become more athletic, you must work both muscle types. Confining training to one method or the other will not give you the best long-term training results. Also, sprinting and similar fast-twitch activities help stave off loss of vigor with aging.

The Combined Training Approach

A combined training approach is one in which both high force (slow speed) and high speed (high power) applications are used simultaneously to improve a variety of physical parameters, especially flexibility and athleticism. Please remember that the words high here do not mean that you need to be able to perform a 300-pound squat. Use the principles set forth and work at your own pace.

High force training typically uses resistance over 80% of the 1RM (see our Tools Section to calculate this for yourself). Generally, this type of training results in the greatest maximum strength gain. In comparison, high force contractions are also necessary to fully recruit fast twitch muscle fibers and training increases this potential. Good examples of exercises that do this are squats and a power cleans.

Let’s look at what happens with each kind of training. Training with high force parameters typically means that the greater the force requirement, the slower the movement potential. Continually training with high intensities limits flexibility. One reason many bodybuilders are not very flexible.

Excessive high intensity training has also been shown to impair performance of multiple training requirements. The overuse of high force training can result in reduced sprint performance, jump performance, and agility. Over the long term, maximal strength can also be reduced in response to similar training methods, even without the presence of muscular damage.

Combining high force training with high power training gives the capability to train a broader range of muscular groups, develop greater functionality of the muscles, and create a better synergy between muscle-fiber types. Doing this is crucial to the development of athletic prowess and developing greater flexibility and agility. This also means that you can use lighter weight loads to gain better results. Lighter resistance intensities can enable greater power outputs to be achieved. Performing movements at higher velocities can also allow for greater capabilities during other high power movements. The result is a greater coordination of muscle recruitment and activation leading to improved performance. Since most sports rely greatly upon explosive recruitment of fast-twitch fibers, training these pathways are of special concern.

Using Speed-Strength training movements is an extremely effective method to train for explosive power, increase flexibility, improve agility, strengthen the overall body, and recruit maximum muscle involvement. These activities allow for greater adaptation of reflex motions while moving at very high rates of speed. What happens when we compare weightlifters to power lifters and bodybuilders? The latter two have greater power outputs and vertical jumps.

In regards to all “Snatch” and “Clean” movements, it is more important to train the second pull. This is from the knee area and upward. The second pull requires the greatest force outputs during these lifts. If you are unfamiliar with Speed-Strength lifts, refer to our Exercise Demos.

The Program

Any exercise program, even one for advanced participants, should generally evolve from one of low intensity and higher volume to that of high intensity and lower volume. A periodized training approach can enable greater gains to be reached while reducing the chances of overtraining.

You must gradually increase intensity and volume with some eventual maintenance of volume being reached, i.e., a standard amount of total weight used in your workout that would be typical of every workout until you modify your program. Typically, during the first three weeks, your body becomes accustomed to the exercises and adjusts for the intensity. After this initial period is when you would notice or anticipate improvements being accomplished. If you’re brand new to these types of exercises, try all the lifts with dumbbells first for several weeks or even months before using an Olympic bar.

A Typical Workout

Warm-up: Perform a general and specific warm-up for approximately 15 minutes prior to starting each workout. Examples are 3 sets and 6 repetitions each of step ups (lower body), hyper extensions (mid section), and front raises (upper body).

Snatch Squat: Using a very wide grip, extend the bar directly overhead. While keeping the arms extended and the bar directly over the ears, perform the traditional squat movement. You must use very light weight here to begin. Or, use a long stick and perform this movement as a warm up.

Front Squat: Use the traditional clean grip in this exercise to make learning and performing other speed-strength lift easier and more efficient. Try 5 sets of 6-8 reps as a start with a light to moderate weight or about 70-80% of what you would do at this level with a squat.

Snatch Pulls or Clean Pulls: Choose one of these exercises and perform 5 sets of 5 reps and focus on using the hips for power while keeping a straight and firm back.

Clean or Snatch High Pulls: Using the specified grip, perform the explosive movement lifting the bar to approximately chin height. Begin the movement from the weights resting position on the floor.

Incline or Flat Bench: Perform an incline or flat bench press exercise on a typical workout day. You can easily change flat bench to incline bench and follow the same pattern of progression. Try 5 sets of 8-10 reps.

In lieu of the above two exercises, try this one. Keep the bar in a parallel neutral position while keeping the elbows fairly close to the body while performing this lift.

Other Exercises: Add some shoulder, arm, and back exercises to your program for variety and tying in weak point areas that will help decrease chances of injury over the long term. These could be curls, triceps presses, rows, seated presses, raises, and so forth. Mix it up each workout day for best results.

Adjusting Your 1RM – If you can perform 4 reps more on the maximal set as was performed on the set prior with the same intensity, raise the maximum next week 5-15 pounds.

See our Workout Section and Tools Section to help you in adjusting your goal training weight and for sample workouts, especially the strength and professional sample workouts.

Question: I have a trainer certification but would like to learn more about muscle groups. What muscles are primarily worked with a triceps pushdown?

Answer: The major muscle groups worked with this exercise include the triceps brachii lateral, long, and medial head and the anconeus. Sub groups include the extensor carpi muscle in the forearms, parts of the deltoids, pecs, biceps, and crachialis.

Question: What are the major foot positions while performing squats?

Answer: The major position of the feet, all with feet parallel to each other are with the feet wide, each about 4 inches past each shoulder; a position where the feet are about shoulder width apart, i.e., bring each foot in about 4 inches from the previous description (this is the most common position for performing squats); and feet close together, about 4 inches apart (this position requires more balance so, user lighter weight loads at first).

Question: What is the difference in muscle groups worked depending on width of feet in a squat?

Answer: The wide stance will work the vastus lateralis, gracilis, adductor magnus, and gluteus maximus muscles more. With the shoulder width stance, the muscles worked the most are the front quads or quadriceps femoris with some work on the adductors. The very close stance will really blast all the quadriceps muscles. To determine how they work, perform, with a light weight, multiple reps with your feet positioned in each stance. You’ll soon feel the results from each stance change.

Question: I have a trainer certification but would like to learn more about muscle groups. What muscles are primarily worked with a triceps pushdown?

Answer: The major muscle groups worked with this exercise include, the triceps brachii lateral, long, and medial head and the anconeus. Sub groups include the extensor carpi muscle in the forearms, parts of the deltoids, pecs, biceps, and crachialis.

Question: What are the major foot positions while performing squats?

Answer: The major position of the feet, all with feet parallel to each other are with the feet wide, each about 4 inches past each shoulder; a position where the feet are about shoulder width apart, i.e., bring each foot in about 4 inches from the previous description (this is the most common position for performing squats); and feet close together, about 4 inches apart (this position requires more balance so, user lighter weight loads at first).

Question: What is the difference in muscle groups worked depending on width of feet in a squat?

Answer: The wide stance will work the vastus lateralis, gracilis, adductor magnus, and gluteus maximus muscles more. With the shoulder width stance, the muscles worked the most are the front quads or quadriceps femoris with some work on the adductors. The very close stance will really blast all the quadriceps muscles. To determine how they work, perform, with a light weight, multiple reps with your feet positioned in each stance. You’ll soon feel the results from each stance change.

The basic job of being a personal trainer is to exhort, teach and help people to exercise correctly. In this regard you have the responsibility to educate, motivate, plan and coach your client to help them get the best from their workouts and exercise programs. Whether you design the program or someone else, it is essential that you perform you duties in a professional manner. And not only do you have the above responsibilities to your client, you must also be charged with constantly educating and motivating yourself so the client can have the best there is to offer.

As a rule of thumb, a personal trainer usually has hourly sessions during which clients are helped with their workouts, whether using weights, machines or performing aerobics, walking or flexibility training. During the workout, trainers should monitor and record each client’s progress using methods such as body fat testing, resistance loading, and heart rate levels. This will empower you to give advice about lifestyle changes and more general information about health and nutrition.

Typical job prospects as a trainer range from working in health clubs for chains such as 24-Hour Fitness and others, to corporate clients, spas, resorts, cruise ships, and individuals to name a few. Corporate fitness and well being is a large part of the fitness training industry and many trainers work for corporate firms providing workplace health and wellness programs.

Perhaps the most appealing job as a trainer is to set up your own business as a personal fitness trainer. MyHealthandFitness will be offering you valuable advice in these areas with future articles.

Let’s look at a typical position description and the general responsibilities for a professional trainer:

JOB TITLE: PERSONALTRAINER

REPORTING TO: GENERAL MANAGER

PURPOSE: To provide a comprehensive one-on-one educational fitness program for members to assist them in achieving individual fitness goals.

JOB DESCRIPTION AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

As a personal trainer with XYZ health, it is your responsibility to provide a comprehensive one-on-one educational fitness program that promotes health and fitness through realistic goal setting and education. You will strive to produce independent fitness practitioners by providing each with in-depth information on equipment usage, lifestyle management, fitness concepts, general health, nutrition, and ultimately, how to design their own personal fitness program.

ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS:

All trainers must possess valid certification in a personal training program from a recognized provider or at least a bachelor’s degree in a sport, exercise physiology, or fitness-related field. Trainers without either of these requirements must acquire a certification within six months of hire date. Dependent upon experience, some candidates may also need to successfully complete a practical exam. It would be wise to already have this certification before applying for such jobs since there are so many who already do have these requirements.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Each trainer is responsible for tracking client paperwork.
• Attend all in-service training meetings/seminars/courses.
• Accurately record client training sessions for payment purposes.
• Communicate client program progress and/or problems with the appropriate manager.
• Take pride in each and every client, assisting him or her in every way possible.
• Conduct personal training sessions within the policies and guidelines established by XYZ health.
• Be punctual and conduct yourself in a professional manner.
• Successfully complete and update CPR and first aid training.
• Maintain personal training certification through continuing education.
• Maintain personal training insurance.
• Always go the extra mile. Think about what your client wants and give them basic information in the form of articles and other materials to keep them informed, motivated, and knowing that you care about their well being and progress

PERIODIC DUTIES

1. Review risk management and emergency procedures established by XYZ health.
2. Participate in supervisory training sessions and seminars.
3. Represent the XYZ program on an as needed basis.

Perform other duties as assigned by managerial staff as needed.

As you can see, the role of a personal trainer is considerably more than watching a client exercise. You must be ever vigilant to ensure proper technique, always being the coach, maintain a positive attitude, and a host of other factors.

Do you have what it takes?

Personal trainers must have a multitude of skills. You should be analytical, self motivated, patient, nurturing, persistent, organized, an effective motivator and most importantly a good listener.

You must enjoy working with different kinds of people. While it’s not required to look like a body builder to be a trainer, you should be the example in leading a healthy lifestyle to be a good role model for your clients. If you think you want to go this route or if you are already here read the following:

Choose a Certification – There are many choices of association for getting certified. If you already have an employment location in mind, call and ask them what certifications they require. If you don’t know where you’ll work, take some time to research the web sites of major organizations to find out, how much the certification costs, what the pre-requisites are, if they offer a workshop/exam in your area or a home study program. The most popular certification organizations are: ACE, ACSM, NCSF, NFPT, and ISSA

Obtaining Employment – You should use every resource at your disposal to seek the employment you desire. Examples include networking with friends, clubs and other trainers and using your local phone book. Phone some fitness and health clubs in your area and ask them if they employ personal trainers, what they charge, the typical type of training given and so forth. Ask about availability of jobs and the procedure for filling out an application. Use the Internet, newspapers, fitness magazines and other resources.

Setting Up Your Own Business – If you have never done this please do your homework. It’s not easy and requires lots of research and study. For example setting up your home business requires: choosing a business entity (i.e., sole proprietorship, partnership, etc.), choosing a business name, registering your company, getting liability insurance, setting up your gym (if you’re training from your own home), targeting potential clients, marketing and many other skills. You may wish to go to your local library and read topics about setting up your own business. These can be a big help.

Market Yourself – Once you get things going it’s time to get your name out to the public. This means placing ads, making flyers, developing newsletters, business cards, creating an informational web site or giving seminars to bring in the business. As with any business venture you’ll need to spend a lot of time at your local copy center or have access to a computer, printer, word processing software, papers, pens and other office supplies. You must be prepared to present or discuss your qualifications anywhere you can. As a rule of thumb the more professional you wish to be the greater will be the price you pay. Offering free consultations and seminars is a great way to get people in the door.

Improve Your Skills and Education – Continue your education. If you want to keep your certification and be a great trainer you’ll have to continue to educate yourself. Always seek out and separate fact from hype, you owe it to your client. Don’t believe everything you read because many times it may not be totally accurate. Most organizations require a certain number of hours to complete during a 1- or 2-year period. There are some companies whose sole job is to offer you continuing education courses. These include Body Basics, Desert Southwest Fitness and others.

Become Indispensable to Your Clients – Being successful at this or any job requires work, talent, skill and experience. Obtaining a certification is no guarantee that you’ll either get clients or more importantly be able to keep those clients. To improve upon your skills, consider joining national organizations and attending personal trainer summits, workshops and seminars. Always network with others in the industry so you can know what’s new and to exchange ideas. Find out what others are doing to keep their clients interested in exercise.

Other Options – You don’t have to work in a gym or even work for yourself. Personal trainers work in all kinds of different areas such as corporate fitness, cruises, resorts, spas, online training and more.

Becoming a Professional Trainer – Dr. Tindall feels that you don’t progress from personal to professional status until you have had at least 7-10 years experience in the training profession. Only experience can teach you what books and classes cannot. Being a professional trainer means you have mastered the art and science of training and greater expertise than simply teaching or educating a client about a particular piece of equipment or exercise. It means you can discuss at any level details about nutrition, physiology, the effects of weight load on joints, stability training, all muscle groups, muscle types and what makes each perform and a host of other factors. It means you are as comfortable training a professional bodybuilder as you would be a professional speed athlete and that you know the purpose of every lifting and training technique to get the best performance from each individual.

Ask yourself, “Can I train a bodybuilder, a field and track athlete, a football player and a martial artist equally well for his or her chosen event?” If your answer is no, you are still a personal trainer and you should keep reading this site and pursuing your studies, education, and experience. So, once you’re an established personal trainer there are even more opportunities available to you. You can consider consulting, fitness writing, athletic coaching (with the proper education), group fitness instruction or even opening your own gym. Whatever you choose, you’ll find that being a professional trainer provides everything you love in a job. It gives you flexibility with your schedule, the ability to help others reach their goals, and the satisfaction that you get when you help others achieve what they didn’t know they could. Are you ready for that?

You are taking an important first step on the path to physical fitness. The next step is to decide that you are going to be physically fit.

The decision to carry out a physical fitness program requires a lifelong commitment of both time and effort. You must make it a lifestyle! There are no quick remedies or magic fat burning pills that will give you a great body, make you physically fit, or reduce your body size through fat loss. Exercise must become one of those things that you do without question, like breathing, eating or brushing your teeth.

Unless you are convinced about the benefits of fitness and the risks of not being fit, you will not succeed with your goal. We encourage you to read all the Q & A sections on the MyHealthandFitness web site, especially those on Diet & Nutrition and Health & Wellness. Use this information to peak your interest and begin a fitness program today.

Patience is essential. Dr. Tindall stresses the two most important factors on your way to a healthier body and lifestyle: 1) Get started on a fitness program as soon as you can; 2) Gradually increase your workout intensity as your body becomes accustomed to the exercises. Don’t try to do too much too soon and don’t quit before you have a chance to experience the rewards of improved fitness. You must Drive for It, Intensify It, and Desire It! You will not regain in a few days or weeks what you have lost through years of inactivity or a sedentary lifestyle, but you can become revitalized, vigorous, and add years to your life if you are persistent. And, you can fight the aging process through becoming more fit. The prize is worth the price.

Following, you will find the basic information you need to begin and maintain a personal physical fitness and exercise program. These guidelines are intended for the average healthy adult. It tells you what your goals should be and how often, how long, and how hard you must exercise to achieve them. It also includes information that will make your workouts easier, safer and more satisfying. For information on specific or related issues for children, seniors, or women, see those sections under our Fitness section in the left side menu. Only you can do this, no one else can do it for you. This is your own walk and journey through life; make it an exciting one because you don’t get a round-trip ticket. So, make no excuses, just get started and enjoy the rewards of being fit.

CHECK YOUR HEALTH If you’re under 35 and in good health, you don’t usually need to see a doctor before beginning an exercise program. However, it is always recommended, just in case and we at MyHealthandFitness urge you to see your doctor before you begin any exercise program. If you are over 35 and have been inactive for several years, you must consult your physician. Other conditions that indicate a need for medical check-up are high blood pressure, heart trouble, family history of early stroke or heart attack, dizzy spells, extreme breathlessness after mild exertion, arthritis or other bone problems, severe muscular, ligament or tendon problems, other known or suspected disease(s), and if you are relocating from sea level or low altitude to a high altitude geographic region. Generally, vigorous exercise involves minimal health risks for persons in good health or those following a doctor’s advice. Far greater risks are present from habitual inactivity and obesity. These individuals must begin slowly and gradually increase exercise duration and intensity.

DEFINING FITNESS

Physical fitness enables us to perform up to our potential. Fitness can be described as a condition that helps us look, feel and do our best. Specifically, it is: “The ability to perform daily tasks vigorously and alertly, with energy left over for enjoying leisure-time activities and meeting emergency demands. It is the ability to endure, to bear up, to withstand stress, to carry on in circumstances where an unfit person could not continue, and is a major basis for good health and well-being.”

Physical fitness involves the performance of the heart and lungs, and the muscles of the body. Because what we do with our bodies also affects what we can do with our minds, fitness influences mental alertness and emotional stability to a certain degree.

As you undertake your fitness program, it’s important to remember that fitness is an individual quality that varies from person to person. Fitness is influenced by age, gender, heredity, personal habits, exercise, and eating practices. You cannot alter the first three factors but, it is within your ability and control to change and improve the others where needed.

KNOWING THE BASICS

Physical fitness has four major components, or “parts” for which there is widespread agreement.

Cardiovascular Endurance: The ability to deliver oxygen and nutrients to body tissues over sustained periods of time. Jogging and swimming are among the common methods used for measuring this component. You can also ski, bike, and perform other activities to do this.

Muscular Strength: The ability of a muscle to exert force for a brief period of time. Upper-body strength, for example, can be measured by various weight-lifting exercises such as bench presses, arm curls, and others.

Muscular Endurance: The ability of a muscle, or a group of muscles, to sustain repeated contractions or to continue applying force against a fixed object. Push-ups are often used to test endurance of arm and shoulder muscles.

Flexibility: The ability to bend joints and flex muscles through their full range of motion. The sit-and-reach test is a good measure of flexibility for the lower back and hamstrings (backs of the thighs). As we age, our flexibility decreases unless we counteract it by performing stretching and other physical activities.

Body Composition is also often considered a component of fitness, but not one of the major four. It refers to the makeup of the body in terms of lean mass (muscle, bone, vital tissue, and organs) and fat mass. An optimal ratio of fat to lean mass is an indication of fitness, and the right types of exercise will help decrease body fat and increase and/or maintain muscle mass.

A WORKOUT SCHEDULE & PROGRAM

How often, how long, and how hard you exercise, i.e., frequency, duration, and intensity, and what kinds of exercises you do are determined by what you are trying to accomplish, i.e., set specific goals. Your goals, your present fitness level, age, health, skills, interest and convenience are among the factors you will need to consider. For example, an athlete training for professional competition would follow a different program than a person whose goals are good health and the ability to meet work and recreational needs.

An exercise program should include something from each of the four basic fitness components described previously. Each workout should begin with a warm-up and end with a warm-down (cool-down). As a general rule, space workouts throughout the week and avoid consecutive days of hard exercise. However, this will vary for professional level athletes and other who work out more intensely. Following are the amounts of activity necessary for the average, healthy person to maintain a minimum level of overall fitness. Included are some of the popular exercises for each category. If you do not have a program, see our Workout Section and look at some of our sample workout programs that include a variety of activities.

WARMUP: 5-10 minutes of exercises such as a stationary bike, walking, slow jogging, sit ups, arm or trunk rotations. Low intensity movements that stimulate movements to be used in the exercises can also be included in the warm-up.

MUSCULAR STRENGTH: A minimum of two, 20-minute sessions per week that include exercises for all the major muscle groups. Lifting weights, i.e., resistance training is the most effective way to increase strength. This can be accomplished by use of free weights or machines.

MUSCULAR ENDURANCE: At least three, 30-minute sessions each week that include exercises such as calisthenics, pushups, sit ups, pull ups, and weight training for all major muscle groups.

CARDIORESPIRATORY ENDURANCE: At least three, 20-minute sessions of continuous aerobic (activity requiring oxygen) exercise each week. Popular aerobic conditioning exercises include brisk walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, jumping-rope, rowing, cross-country skiing, and continuous action games like basketball, racquetball, and handball.

FLEXIBILITY: 10-12 minutes of daily stretching exercises performed slowly without using a bouncing motion. This can be included after a warm-up or during a warm-down.

WARM-DOWN: a minimum of 5-10 minutes of slow walking or biking or other low-level exercise combined with stretching. Also, be sure to include a body-core exercise.

USE CORRECT PRINCIPLES

The keys to selecting the right kinds of exercises for developing and maintaining each of the basic components of fitness are found in these principles:

Specificity: Choose the right kind of activities to affect each physical fitness component. Strength training results in specific strength changes. Train for the specific activity you’re interested in. For example, optimal athletic performance is best achieved when the muscles involved are trained for the movements required as in sprinting, speed-strength training, ballistics, and plyometrics. Training like a marathon runner will not make you a good strength or speed athlete.

Overload: Work hard enough, at levels that are vigorous and long enough to overload your body above its resting level, to bring about improvement. As a general rule of thumb, develop and maintain a light to moderate sweat throughout the duration of the workout. An easy method is to stay within 70-90% of your maximal heart rate based on individual age while working out. See our Tools Section to calculate yours.

Regularity: You cannot store physical fitness. As with the basics of nutrition that you do on a daily basis, at least three balanced workouts per week are necessary to maintain a desirable level of fitness. These should last at least 60 minutes each as a minimum. Ideally, about five hours per week would be a good target. Over a six day period, this would be 50 minutes per day.

Progression: Increase intensity, frequency and/or duration of activity over time in order to improve. Setting and striving for goals will be your basis for progression.

Some activities can be used to fulfill more than one of the basic exercise requirements. For example, in addition to increasing cardiovascular endurance, running builds muscular endurance in the legs, and swimming develops the arm, shoulder and chest muscles. By selecting the proper activities, it is possible to fit parts of a muscular endurance workout into a cardiovascular workout. This will be more efficient cardiovascularly and save time.

MEASURING YOUR HEART RATE

Heart rate is widely accepted as a good method for measuring intensity during running, swimming, cycling and other physical activities. Exercise that doesn’t raise your heart rate to a certain level and keep it there for 20 minutes will not significantly contribute to cardiovascular fitness.

The heart rate you should maintain is called your Target Heart Rate. There are several ways of calculating this number. One of the simplest is: Maximum Heart Rate (220 – age) X 70%. For example, the target heart rate for a 40 year-old would be 126, i.e., [(220 40) x .70 = 126]. Or, See our Tools Section that will automatically calculate your MHR.

WEIGHT CONTROL

The key to weight control is keeping energy intake (food) and energy output (physical activity) in balance, i.e., calories consumed should equal calories expended. When you consume only as many calories as your body needs, your weight will usually remain constant. If you ingest more calories than your body needs, you will put on excess weight and likely, fat. If you expend more energy than you take in you will burn excess fat.

Exercise plays an important role in weight control by increasing energy output thus, calling on stored calories for extra fuel. Recent studies show that not only does exercise increase metabolism during a workout, it also causes your metabolism to stay increased for a period of time, up to 6 hours, after exercising, allowing you to burn more calories.

How much exercise is needed to make a difference in your weight depends on the amount and type of activity, and on how much you eat. Aerobic and anaerobic exercises burn body fat. For example, to lose a pound of weight one would need to burn about 4100 calories. About 3500 of these would be from fat and 600 from protein, which is typically cannibalized in the process. At an average jogging pace, it would require 9 hours to burn this number of calories. This would be equivalent to jogging about 30 to 40 miles depending on the size of the individual. You would not do it all at once, but over time thus, one can see that long-term goals are more important. By consuming 100 calories per day more than the body needs, a weight gain of 10 pounds could occur during a one year period. Likewise, eating 100 calories less than one needs would result in a weight loss of about 10 pounds per year.

Weight can be taken off and kept off by doing 30 minutes of moderate exercise each day if you do not eat excessively. A combination of exercise and diet offers the most flexible and effective approach to weight control.

Since muscle tissue weighs more than fat tissue, and exercise develops muscle to a certain degree, it is normal for those who first begin an exercise program to actually increase in body weight. This increase in weight is due to an increase in muscle density caused by the workout, i.e., muscle weighs more than fat. Well muscled individuals, with relatively little body fat, invariably are “overweight” according to standard weight charts. If you are performing a regular program of strength training, your muscles will increase in weight, and normally your overall weight will increase as well for the first few weeks of training. Body composition is a better indicator of one’s condition than body weight.

Lack of physical activity causes muscles to decline through atrophy, i.e., to shrink, and if food intake is not decreased, added body weight is almost always fat. Once-active people, who continue to eat as they always have after settling into sedentary lifestyles, tend to suffer from “creeping obesity” caused by somatopause or slowing of the metabolism and lack of energy and also sarcopenia, which is actual loss of muscle with age. Thus, people in this condition just get fatter or in politically correct terminology, they become “anorexically challenged.”

WHEN TO EXERCISE

Just prior to or after work are popular times for exercise. However, this does not mean that they the best times. A late afternoon or early evening workout provides a welcome change of pace at the end of the work day and can help alleviate stress. Early morning workouts can invigorate one and get their mind and metabolism up for the day at work so they are more alert and energetic.

Factors to consider in developing a workout schedule are personal preference, job and family responsibilities, availability of exercise facilities and weather. It’s important to schedule workouts for a time when there is little chance that they will be canceled or interrupted because of other demands.

Avoid strenuous exercise during extreme hot weather, or within two hours after eating. Heat and/or digestion both make heavy demands on the circulatory system, and in combination with exercise can be overtaxing.

CLOTHING

Exercise clothing should be loose-fitting to permit freedom of movement, and should make the wearer feel comfortable and self-assured.

As a general rule, you should wear lighter clothes than temperatures might indicate. Exercise generates great amounts of body heat. Light-colored clothing that reflects the sun’s rays is cooler in the summer, and dark clothes are warmer in winter. When the weather is very cold, it’s better to wear several layers of light clothing than one or two heavy layers. The extra layers help trap heat, and it’s easy to shed one of them if you become too warm.

In cold weather, and in hot, sunny weather, it’s a good idea to wear a cap or hat of some sort. Wool watch or ski caps are recommended for winter wear, and some form of hat that provides shade and can be soaked in water is great for summer.

Rubberized or plastic clothing should not be worn as they cannot “breathe” and thus, interfere with the evaporation of perspiration, which can cause body temperature to rise to dangerous levels.

DIET (A Nutritional Plan) AND EXERCISE: THE BEST COMBINATION

Eat a nutritionally balanced diet that has variety and exercise regularly. It’s simple, if you burn more calories than you eat, you lose weight. If you eat more calories than you burn, you gain weight. The average person in the U.S. eats 4000 calories per day when they should probably eat only about one-half that amount. The fact is, food is just too readily available in the forms of snacks and fast food, making it easy to over indulge. You must have will power and resist the temptation to constantly snack or overeat.

Adhere to the resting energy expenditure (REE) (see our Tools Section to calculate yours). This is the number of calories needed to maintain current body weight without exercising. To obtain an average, multiply your body weight by 10 and add 200 calories. For example, a person weighs 100 pounds so, 100 x 10 + 200 = 1200 calories that would be needed to maintain the current body weight at 100 pounds without any exercise added to their daily routine. If the person begins an exercise program, on days that exercises are done, the amount of calories expended in the exercise would have to be added.

For example, Jennifer jogs for an hour and burns about 400 calories. Because she needs 1200 calories in the resting state, i.e., her REE, she also needs to add the 400 calories she used in exercise. Thus, for this exercise day, she would need 1600 calories to maintain her current weight of 100 pounds. In the following chart are the numbers of calories burned for each hour of the listed activity, based on about 150 pound person. See our Burning Fat section for a more complete listing of different activities and calories burned. These are some of the most common activities. Calories burned vary in proportion to body weight thus, these figures are averages.

Activity & Calories Expended per Hour

• Bicycling 6 mph 204
• Bicycling 12 mph 410
• Jogging 5.5 mph 450
• Jogging 7 mph 610
• Jumping rope 750
• Running in place 550
• Running 10 mph 810
• Skiing (cross-country) 700
• Swimming 25 yds/min 290
• Swimming 50 yds/min 500
• Tennis (singles) 400
• Walking 2 mph 210
• Walking 4 mph 320
• Weight lifting 720
• Speed-Strength 900

Before making any major dietary changes, you should check with your doctor. Dietary changes you can make on your own include, avoiding sweets and salty foods and cutting down on fat in your diet, especially saturated fat and also eating more fruits and vegetables. For more information, please explore the Burning Fat Section

DON’T MAKE OR USE EXCUSES You can make a long list of excuses for why you’re not more active. You’re too young, you’re too old, you’re too busy, you’re too tired, you’re in good shape for your age, or you’re too something. Unless you have a medical problem or are recovering from an injury, these are just excuses, flimsy ones at best. No matter what your age or fitness status, there are exercises that can work well for you. The next time you think about getting fit, don’t ask “Who has time?” or make an excuse, instead, ask yourself, “Who doesn’t want to feel better, live longer, and enjoy life more?”

Here are a few questions we have answered many times for people getting started.

Question: How can I get going and keep going on an exercise program? Do you have some tips for me?

Answer: Consistency: The U. S. surgeon general recommends physical activity “most” days of the week. Dr. Tindall recommends 5-6 days per week for 45-60 minutes per day.
Duration: Begin with about a 10 minute session each day for the first week. Try to lengthen the session about 5 minutes per week as you progress, i.e., 10 minutes first week, 15 minutes second week (hold two weeks here), 20 minutes fourth week, and so on. Over the course of 2-4 months gradually increase to your goal time per session.

Intensity: Generally, exercise at a level that you consider, “somewhat hard.” You should be perspiring and breathing a bit heavily, but still be able to carry on a conversation. Typically, this is about 70-75% of your maximum heart rate. Please calculate it by going to our free calculator in the “Tools” section.

Involve Friends, Family, or Co-Workers Letting them know what you’re doing keeps you accountable. For example tell your friend or spouse that you won’t be getting home until 7:00 pm because you’re going to exercise after work…

Track your progress Recording your program in an exercise log not only keeps you honest but also lets you see how you improve over time. Visit our “Training Log” section.

Question: How much water should I drink each day? Also, what are some other things I should look for when training?

Answer: You should explore our web site thoroughly, but Ill list a few things you should look for below. Please explore the “Health & Wellness, Diet & Nutrition, Training Nook, Fitness Issues” and other sections of our site after you have read these.
Fluids: On average, you should drink about 64 ounces of water each day. Active people should drink even more.

Overtraining: A common problem for all. Signs that you are overdoing it include fatigue, difficulty sleeping, frequent colds, and injuries. The best preventive steps are to lessen training duration and reduce workout frequency for a few weeks. If symptoms disappear, slowly work back into your training cycle.
R.I.C.E.: At the first sign of injury, apply the RICE rule: Rest, Ice, Compress and Elevate. The sooner you do it the sooner you will recover. Please see the “Doctors Corner and Injuries” sections.
Sleep: Make sure you get enough sleep. On average, adults need eight hours of sleep a night. If you start having trouble sleeping, it may be a sign of overtraining.

Target Heart Rate: Your target heart rate equals 50% to 80% of your maximal heart rate (220 minus your age). Please see our “Tools” section to calculate your target heart rate.

Abdominals: Six-pack abs may be a fashion statement in most gyms, but strong abs also enhance posture, support the back and help you perform better in any sport. Do abdominal work at least every other day. As with your other exercises, use a variety of ab exercises as well.

Equipment: Try a new piece of equipment at the gym such as the versa climber (a real tough workout), elliptical trainers, stair climber, recumbent bike or treadmill.

Flexibility: Regular stretching helps keep muscles long and supple. Improve flexibility through basic stretches (do it gently and don’t bounce). This is particularly as you grow older.
Group classes: For those who always work out alone, try group exercise. You may find new motivation, learn new skills, or meet new workout partners.

Hills: Climb hills to burn more calories and improve cardiovascular strength instead of the same old cardio routine.

Interval training: Add short bursts of speed to any aerobic workout. For example, if you stationary bike, try 10 seconds as fast as you can go then, slow speed to moderate. Repeat this for 10-20 reps, i.e., it will consume 10-20 minutes. It’ll tax you and improve your cardiovascular endurance.

Sprints: Try a tough sprint workout to get the heart going and increase vitality and virility, especially as you age.

Question: I was very sore after not having exercised for awhile. Now, I don’t feel like doing it anymore. What should I do?

Answer: This is probably the main reason why people quit working out after just starting. It is also the reason many avoid starting an exercise program because we find that after our first workout we are sore and achy. This specific reason often keeps people from making fitness a habit, i.e., part of our daily routine.

What many forget is that the “warm up” and “warm down” portions of our work out are essential. You can sometimes skip the warm down, but never, ever, skip the warm up. Warming up get your muscles ready to work. It starts the blood flowing and the heart pumping so that you can exercise thoroughly without pulling anything or depriving your muscles of oxygen. The warm up should include stretching all your muscles, flexing and deep breathing.

When you next perform your exercises, don’t overdo the first day. Take it easy, use light weights and only about three sets of up to only 8-12 repetitions per set. You must gradually build to a full workout. This will help not only avoid injury, but will also reduce initial soreness after a long hiatus from fitness. After your workout, warm down. This can involve slower exercise and stretching. The stretching will get your muscles back to their resting length, the flexing will ease your stretched ligaments and the breathing will slow your heart rate back down and keep the oxygen flowing. Attempt to maintain a light sweat during your workout and be persistent so you can make fitness a lifestyle for yourself.

This is the basic outline for getting started. Let MyHealthandFitness help you on your quest for a healthy, fit body and lifestyle. It will absolutely change your life! Try a sample menu by visiting our Diet Plans section and a sample workout by visiting our Workout Section. You’ll be glad you did.

Carla Sanchez, former IFBB Fitness Pro and James Tindall, Ph.D. have trained some of the finest athletes on the planet. Even with the very specific goals most of them have, it’s not always a bed of roses to keep them going. If it’s difficult for those whose goals are very specific, how much more difficult is it for the novice? If you’ve ever felt like just quitting, read our tips below. They are not all inclusive, but encompass the major points. So, let the good times roll and keep your workout turbo charged.

Be Specific about your program. You must set specific goals if you hope to achieve your desires. If you’ve been using the same old routine, obtain a new, more difficult workout that will push you. And, if you’re not already doing so, try a periodized workout. They are very challenging.

Emphasize the positive: Don’t say to yourself, “I can’t.” Tell yourself, “I can and I want to be physically fit.” A positive mind-set makes all the difference. If you’re part of a team, buoy each other with positive comments. Like a rotten apple in the barrel that can contaminate all the others, one person with a negative attitude can cause a downward fitness spiral for him or herself and all others on a team or those associated with.

Be realistic: Work out at a level that you can perform, not easy, but not so hard that you can’t accomplish your exercises in a given period. If you find your program too difficult, do as much as you can in a specific time period and try to increase your intensity each workout until you can perform all you are given to perform or all that you are trying to accomplish.
Think long term: You must be both patient and persistent. If you’re trying to get a specific look or attempting to attain a specific fitness level or skill, it will not likely happen in a few weeks or even months. Pick a fitness hero and find out about them. How long has he or she been involved in fitness, bodybuilding, or sport? You’ll likely find they have been at it for awhile. There are no short cuts, only hard work and dedicated effort. If you desire to be fit and muscular, it will not happen overnight. Is not the joy in the journey rather than the destination?

Reward yourself: Whether you’re an amateur or training for that elusive Mr. or Ms. Olympia, you must treat yourself occasionally. As you continue to train hard and are persistent, you should feel free to treat yourself. The treat can be in the form of a specific food or time off. Sometimes when we become too rigid, each step we don’t accomplish or each goal we fail to meet at a specific time can become self defeating, which creates a mental negativity and mindset. Accentuate the positive and remember that no one is perfect and not every goal will be achieved on time. Thus, don’t go on a binge or extended hiatus, but temper your training with small rewards that ease the stress. Over the long term, the rewards of consistent training will be self evident.

Make it convenient: Select a training facility and/or trainer that allow you easy and frequent access. If you have to travel long distances to accomplish your training goals, training will not usually last. Those who are able to do this usually have very specific goals that only a specific trainer or facility can fulfill. However, even though training may not be as convenient as having a gym at home or a block away, don’t make excuses for not doing it. If you find it impossible on some days to get to the gym, there is always the opportunity to walk, jog, bike, or do pushups and sit ups around your home or apartment. Actually, you should expect such to occur and develop an at home or traveling workout as a fallback. See our “Workout” section for some of these.

Setbacks: It is inevitable that all of us, at one time or another will as they say, “fall off the wagon.” There are an endless number of setbacks that can occur in the marathon of life and fitness. Whether it is an injury, sickness, or a mental attitude, take charge. The longer you delay in getting back on the program, the harder it is to establish new habits.

Goals: Set new, yet specific goals to reinvigorate your stale workout regimen. If you’ve been doing the same old bodybuilding stuff for awhile, switch it up with interval training, sprints, and speed-strength type exercises. Ask yourself, “What would I like to do this year?” Based on your answer, set a specific, attainable goal for it then, design a training plan to achieve it.

Improvise: Face it, sometimes, no matter what you plan; you just get bored with your workout. So, don’t take it so seriously. Its early spring, you’ve been working out inside all winter and you just can’t take it anymore. The suns shining and you ache to get outside. But, you know you’ll feel guilty if you slack off. The answer, take your workout to the outdoors. Go to the local park and pursue your workout with a more playful attitude. Oh! What’s that, there are no bench presses or squat racks? Not to worry. Here’s what Jim and Carla do. Challenge yourself. Begin a slow jog around the park. At each 45 second interval perform 10 squat jumps (in place) or 10 triceps pushups then, resume your run. Each time you pass a picnic bench, do 20 triceps dips on the bench and superset this with 15-25 pushups. Resume your run and jump routine. After 10 minutes or so you’ll have a great sweat going. Next, try walking lunges for 3 minutes then; resume your run/jump/dip pattern again. There are endless ways to mix it up and challenge yourself. You can utilize weighted vests, medicine balls, running chutes and lots of other equipment that’s easy to carry. Maybe you didn’t get in that 300 lb bench or squat, but you had fun, took the boredom out of your workout, reduced your stress level, and broke your workout monotony without sacrificing your fitness level.

Keep track: Maintain a daily training log. Keep track of weight loads, physical stresses, i.e., how a particular lift and load made you feel, and length and duration of exercise. Make special notes of pains or soreness and whether certain exercises accentuate them.

Nutrition: Dr. Tindall recommends an abundance of vegetables each day and 2-3 servings of fruit. Watch your carbs and eat healthy. Treat yourself here once in awhile to break the monotony of your diet. If you eat a balanced diet that has variety and use moderation, you’ll look and feel great.

Variety: Avoid getting stuck in a rut. Every exercise program you perform should mix a variety of strength, cardio, flexibility, and relaxation exercises. Plan your program so it has a good mix and switch it up all the time. Monotony is the key to lack of progress. One of the main benefits of the workout programs that MyHealthandFitness designs for your is that they are never the same thus, they keep the body guessing.

Rest: One cannot work out all the time without periodic rests being built into your training. Without rest there will be fatigue, overtraining, plateaus, possible injuries, and a very negative mental attitude. To avoid this, plan periods of rest during the year. The rest periods will vary based on the individual. Sometimes they will occur less frequently than desired due to an extra competition you wish to compete in, travel, etc. As a general rule of thumb, Dr. Tindall recommends you take a rest period at the end of each 12 weeks, especially if you are training intensely, i.e., the advanced level. For the first week you do nothing but rest, no exercise of any kind. By the way, snowboarding, skiing, biking and the like do not qualify as rest. This will help you recover and rest the body from the long strenuous workouts you’ve been doing. On the second rest week, perform a variety of cross-training exercises. Try walking, biking, anything different than what you were doing in training. Workout at an easy to light/moderate pace. Then, on the third week, begin a slow buildup (see below).

Week 3 – resuming workouts after 2-week break:

Day 1, lift light to moderate weight loads; 50-60% MHR for cardio,

Day 2, lift upper light to moderate loads; 55-65% MHR for cardio,

Day 3, lift moderate to moderately heavy; 65-75% MHR for cardio,

Day 4, lift moderately heavy to light heavy; 75-80% MHR for cardio,

Day 5, lift light heavy to heavy; 80-90% MHR for cardio.

MHR = maximum heart rate.

At the end of this period, begin full blown workouts once again. If you’re in a hurry, which would nullify the concept of rest, you can use week 3 in lieu of week 2, but not recommended.