I’ve recently started back working out, and I have tried to be as consistent as I can. I am working on making working out a priority (like bathing), because for many reasons it is a matter of life and death. As a former athlete, I have been known to go overboard when starting a workout regimen. My workout plans are lofty at best and sometimes down right impossible. It’s hard when as a teen you were accustomed to very strenuous workouts and now you’re thirtysomething and the old body is not like it was at 16. So with all that being said, I’ve been doing a little research of my own to find the right workout schedule. I mainly wanted something that would be easy to do and yield results at the same time. I found this wonderful article, and I’ve since tried the tips that were presented. I must say, this workout plan is very easy to stick to and it seems realistic. No more feeling guilty because I can’t dedicate 2 hours 7 days a week to exercise. I decided to share my research results below…
Technically:
1. Our bodies are built to survive, so when you exercise for long periods of time (often and consistently) your body thinks it needs to hold on to fat for energy. Doing short (12-15 minute), intense exercise sessions builds strength and burns calories, but not fat, so it “feels safe” using fat stores for energy after exercise.
2. Resistance training (using extra weight) helps build lean muscle mass (and strong bones), and muscle burns more calories than fat.
3. If you are obsessing over things like fat grams and not eating a nutritious diet, your body will reserve energy (store fat) to survive.
Realistically:
1. Varying your exercise is the most effective and efficient way to stay lean and healthy. You must do some longer exercise to build cardiovascular endurance, burn lots of calories, and yes, even burn fat during exercise – your body will not click in to “save” mode unless you exercise for long periods of time, regularly and often.
2. You must do resistance training in order to build muscle and strong bones.
3. Nobody wants to exercise more – and we don’t want to train our bodies to need more exercise to stay fit. So exercise efficiently – two short, very intense (relative to your level of fitness) training sessions weekly, like a 15-minute fast run/walk or fast cycling sprint intervals, and two moderately long, moderately intense sessions (30-45 minutes) of strong walking, cycling, or yoga, with one long day (60-90 minutes) of a moderately paced walk/hike. That’s a great five-day/week training schedule.
4. Instead of adding more days to your workout schedule, add a weighted vest to your training. This is the most efficient way to build muscle while burning calories. For more information, go to http://www.walkvest.com/.
5. Eat moderately – stop counting fat grams and calories and look at how much food is on your plate! And eat more nutritiously by eating foods that are natural and unprocessed.
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So far, I’m mixing walking, jogging, elliptical trainer, swimming, dancing and resistance training. I have made some index cards with each type of exercise listed above. The cards only tell me the intensity and time frame of my workout. It’s up to me to choose the activity. It feels much more spontaneous and exciting that way. Everyday, I pull a card and whatever it says, I do that. I also have several dance videos lined up in order to learn the routines and jam for about an hour. Seriously. As far as nutrition goes, so far I’ve cut out soft drinks, fried foods and sweets. I will soon cut down on breads, and pastas but I’m taking it slowly first. I hope this was as enlightening to you as it was me…. I’ll keep you posted on how I’m doing.
Hey Paula! I’m excited about your workout plan! I know you can stick to it and achieve the goals you set for yourself. Tha dance videos actually sound fun! Sorry to hear about your blogs, that sucks.