Guidelines & tips to help you succeed.

Training Guidelines

Short and Sweet Workouts

Keep weight training session to 60 minutes or less.

I believe that intensity and benefit begin to decline after 60 minutes. In fact, overtraining can also occur if lifting weights for more than 45-60 minutes per session. So, stay focused, keep the intensity and energy high. *This is especially the case if your goal is weight or fat loss.

Stay With It

If you want to see results, then once you begin an exercise program, it is crucial that you stick with.

Being consistent is key. If your exercise program calls for a frequency of 3 to 4 times per week, but you only do it one per week, you will never get your desired results. You must be dedicated and consistent for your body to respond. *Again, this is very important if one of your goals is weight loss. Even the consistency of lifting weights will pay great dividends with weight loss. Exercise will boost your metabolism, but only the frequency and consistency of the workouts will keep it up!

Rest Days are Important

In most cases*, always allow for a rest day between working the same muscle group.

For example, don’t do a leg workout two days in a row. Always allow for a rest day in between. However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do anything. Maybe you can do an upper body workout in between your leg days. *There is an exception to this; however, it isn’t for everyone. Working the same muscle group on consecutive days should be done with guidance.

Active Rest Days
Can Be Fun

I know, active rest sounds like a contradiction.

However, it is actually an extremely beneficial component to your exercise regimen. Active rest just means participating in an activity that is not intense and uses your muscles in a different way. For example: The day after an intense leg workout, maybe you take a long walk/hike, do yoga or pilates or even just stretching would be considered active recovery. But if possible, make it fun!

WORKOUT TERMINOLOGY

Rep (Repetition):

One complete movement (start-to-finish) of an exercise.

Example: If you were asked to perform an arm raise. One “rep” would be the process of raising and lowering your arm one time. So, if a workout called for you to do 8-10 reps, you would raise and lower your arm 8 to 10 times.

Set:

The number of repetitions performed without stopping.

Example: Expounding on the example above, after you finished doing your 8 – 10 Reps, you would have completed one “Set”.

Rest:

The amount of time you take to rest in between Sets.

Example: After finishing a Set, you might be told to rest for 30 seconds before beginning your second Set.

Tempo:

The speed used to complete a single Rep. Tempo is denoted with 4 numbers each representing seconds.

Example: A tempo of 3-1-2-1 would involve
• 3: Take 3 seconds to raise your arm
• 1: Once raised, hold it for 1 second
• 2: Take two seconds to lower your arms
• 1: Pause for 1 second before repeating the exercise

Superset:

Alternating between two different exercises. Performing one set of one exercise, then one set of a different exercise. Then repeating the process. Move quickly from one exercise to another, not allowing much time for rest between each set.

Example: A superset of Sit-ups and Push-ups would be
• One set of Sit-ups
• One set of Push-ups
• Second set of Sit-ups
• Second set of Push-ups

HIIT:

High Intensity Interval Training is an enhanced form of interval training. It is an exercise strategy alternating periods of short intense anaerobic exercise with less intense recovery periods. HIIT is a form of cardiovascular exercise. A typical HIIT session will last 30 minutes or less. These short, intense workouts can improve athletic capacity and condition, improve glucose metabolism and fat burning.

WORKOUT TIPS

Warm-up

You should always warm-up the muscles prior to beginning a workout. This should only take 5+ minutes. You could choose to get on a treadmill or elliptical for 5 minutes. Or you might even just walk for 5 minutes. However, make sure that the intensity is high enough to really warm-up the muscles. However, if it isn’t possible to get on a machine or walk, you can also do 20-25 reps of your first exercise with light weight, or even do a really good stretching session.
Cool down

All exercise sessions should conclude with a 5-minute cool-down and stretch. Again, this can be 5 minutes on a treadmill at an easy pace.
Stretching

Stretching is extremely important. With activity, and age, our muscles and tendons begin to tighten. Stretching lengthens the muscles and tendons helping us maintain better range-of-motion, increase exercise performance and reduce the risk of injury.
Form

All exercises should be performed with the body aligned correctly for the specific exercises. If there is a question about your form, or you do not feel you are doing it correctly…don’t do it. Always get clarification on form if needed. Injuries can occur from using improper form during exercise.
Progressing

As you exercise, your goal should be to increase the amount of weight you are using as often as possible. You might not be able to increase the weights every session; however, you should be able to make small weight increases every week or so. You will only see improvements if you gently push yourself to increase your weights when appropriate.

No PAIN no GAIN?

Good pain vs. bad pain

Good: Mild muscle discomfort is to be expected when exercising. If you are pushing your body for gains, then muscle “pain” is to be expected. However, this pain should only be felt while you are doing the exercise.

Bad: Pain that is sharp/stabbing, in the joint, causes swelling or discomfort of any kind. Other than the “pain” felt in the working muscle, nothing else should hurt. This type pain can sometime occur from improper form or execution of the exercise. However, that isn’t always the case. Especially when dealing with previous injuries, arthritis, etc.

Fatigue and Soreness

Fatigue: Fatigue following a workout is common, especially if you’ve really challenged yourself. However, it should not leave you completely exhausted. With rest, or even active-rest, you should feel reenergized and ready for another workout. If your fatigue lasts several days, then you may have over done it. With examination of what your exercise schedule has been over the previous few days can help determine if you have over-trained, or if there is something more going on.

Soreness: Delayed-onset muscle soreness is both normal and common! Anytime you begin an exercise program after being sedentary for an extended period of time, or try an entirely new activity it is very common to experience muscle soreness. When you start feeling sore will vary from person to person. However, it typically can start as soon as a few hours, but is at its peak at about 36-48 hours after.