Ok, I'm sure I'm not the only one who's New Year's resolution is to get in shape. (What's wrong with round? Round is a shape.)
I have little in the way of fitness credentials. I'm not a personal trainer or dietitian, etc. In fact my job involves the health of plants much more than the health of people, and if I were in top shape I probably wouldn't be looking for support here. However, I've played sports for as long as I can remember, I coach a high school rugby team, I've been in and out of shape several times, and I know what works for me; maybe it'll help you out too. If I'm wrong I hope someone will correct me, that's part of why I'm here too; to learn.
Fitness on Kos? I know it's a political blog, but one of the things I love about it is that its a community of people from all walks of life, with all different backgrounds, and expertises. We've come together to improve our political system, our minds, & the world around us; why not join me after the flip and improve our bodies too.
anotherdemocrat & jlms qkw have posted the first 3 diaries in this new series, check them out if you're just joining us.
The Plan
So you made your resolution, you signed up for the gym membership, you got a new pair of running shoes & you're ready to go. Or are you? Are you just going to show up at the gym willy-nilly? Are you just going to jog/walk when you fell like it? This has been my workout plan for the past year or so and believe me, it probably won't work as well as you would think.
A good plan has two important parts:
- Reasonable Goals
- A way of Tracking Progress
The Point System
The best way I've found for me to do this is to set up a point system. Basically, give each exercise a number of points & give yourself a goal for the number of points per week. This works well to me because it gives a large range of flexibility. I don't normally go kayaking, but if a friend invited me to go, I could give it a point rating and work it into my workout schedule without a hitch. On the other side, if I can't do the workout I had planned, a point system lets me easily add a workout or increase the intensity of my next workout.
Setting Points
I start with a basic exercise/set of exercises and give that a point ranking of 1. This basic exercise should be simple, something you can do in your home with a minimum of equipment and should only take 15-20 minutes. For instance my basic exercise routine is as follows
Basic Workout
(1) set of 25 squats
Alternate 4 times
(1) set of 50 situps (total of 200)
(1) set of 20 pushups (total of 80)
(1) set of 25 squats
This might be more than some people are able to do, it might be less than some can do. The point is that it's simple; I only need some floor space, a towel or exercise mat, and from experience I know it only takes me about 15-20 min. When we get to scheduling you'll see why this is important.
I give this basic workout 1 point. Everything else gets rated based on this, easier workouts get less points (.25, .5, .75) Harder workouts get higher points (2, 3, 4) Setting up what points what workouts get is a little subjective, but try to be honest. For timed workouts: running, biking, etc. (Go by time, not distance. As you get more fit, the same distance will not give you the same benefit.) I typically give every 1/2 hour of walking 1 point, every 10 minutes of running 1 point, 1 hour of biking 1 point, etc.
I set up my point system to actually give a slight advantage to aerobic exercises & less to strength exercises. Adjust the points to reflect your fitness goals.
Schedule
I find a one week schedule works well for me. Some basics of the way I set up my basic schedule are:
Give yourself rest days -
Your body needs a rest, it needs to be able to rebuild and recuperate especially if you're doing intense workouts. Give yourself 2-3 rest days spaced throughout the week. I like to start by reserving 1 rest day for the end of my weekly schedule this day is also the day I know I'm usually least busy, this give me a chance to catch up on my points if I miss a day.
Space out the rest of your rest days, I usually put my other rest days on days I know I'm going to be busy. That way I'm not adding one more thing into a stressful day.
Alternate workout types-
Break workouts into two categories: aerobic exercises like walking, running, biking, etc. & strength exercises like weight lifting, sprinting, etc. If you're going to work out two or more days in a row, by alternating exercise types, it allows different sets of muscles to rest while you're working on others.
For instance, my workout schedule looks like this
Mon. - Aerobic
Run
Tues. - Strength
Gym - Back & Biceps
Pull-ups
Lat Pull-down
Machine Rows
Bicep Curls
Rugby Squats
Wed. - Aerobic
Run
Thurs. - Strength
Gym- Chest & Triceps
Bench Press
Inclined Press
Decline Press
Flys
Fri. - Rest
(Fridays are my busiest day)
Sat. - Aerobic
Whatever I feel like or have time for, biking, hiking, running, etc.
Sun. - Rest
(this is my makeup day)
I fit in my basic workout when I can, or in place of scheduled workouts when something comes up. This fits my schedule further by placing the running on Monday & Wednesday, those nights I coach, so I just stay late after practice and run for 20-25 min. Sometimes I can get the kids to join me.
Keeping Track
So you've got your plan, you've got your schedule. Now you have to keep track.
Well you don't really, but it helps a lot. Get a notebook that you carry with you to the gym, set up an Excell spread sheet on your computer's desktop, set up a private blog on blogger.com or any of the other free blog hosting sites to keep track. What ever works best for you.
Keep track of the date, what you did, how long you walked, how much you lifted, how many sets, etc. Keep track of everything you can.
One note on weight:
Weight fluctuates, don't become weight obsessed, it's not the only mark of fitness. A much better one is how quickly your pulse drops after strenuous aerobic exercise. Like the stock market, an overall trend in weight is what you want to look at rather than a day-to-day comparison. My suggestion is to weigh yourself no more than once a week. And remember muscle weighs more than fat, at some point you might see a bounce as your fat decreases and your muscle increases.
By keeping track of your workouts you can better assess whether or not you're meeting your goals or not. It's very encouraging to look back a month or two and see how much you've improved. On the other hand, if you haven't improved much it might give you the push you need to step up your workout a notch.
Finally; consistency and perseverance are the two biggest factors in increasing fitness. Walking a half hour a day will increase fitness more than running for an hour each week. Get a buddy, a partner to join you in your fitness quest. Use your partner to motivate you and push you, help your partner stay motivated. Even better, find a cause and a group who will help you with your goals like anotherdemocrat has done with Hill Country Ride for AIDS. There's many groups out there, I've worked with The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. These groups are usually a lot of fun, and you're helping out great charities in the process. Get fit, have fun, raise money; win, win, win.
And now for the obligatory Poll.