What New Year's Resolution did you make this year? Maybe it was to live healthier, drop those last few pounds, or get in shape. Many of us start off each year with the best of health and fitness intentions, only to lose sight of our aspirations once our hectic lives take over. In fact, research shows that one out of two novices stop exercising within two months of starting an exercise program.
Start this year off with a new approach -- a concrete, realistic goal. When you make goals such as "getting in shape" there's no way to determine when you've achieved it. So, choose a specific objective. Will you run a 10K this spring or, perhaps, a marathon next fall? Or, do you want to enter a bodybuilding contest or commit to spinning classes three times a week? Once you've made it clear what your objectives are, take charge of yourself. Keep a training and food diary, recording your workouts and food intake. Also, find different ways to stay motivated. For instance, recruit a training partner or buy yourself something special as you come closer to achieving your goals.
With this in mind, we want to help you start off 1999 with a bang. For those of you beginning a workout program, here are a few guidelines to help you get started. First, you want to develop a fitness base. With a gradual approach to training, you will be more likely to stick with your objectives. So, don't jump on every weight machine in the gym or run 10 miles every day. Not only will you be sore and exhausted but also burnt out, and you just started. Instead, start exercising three times per week, with a day of rest in between. Warm up for 20 minutes on the bike, treadmill or stair master at a moderate pace. Then, hit the weights. It's a good idea to first get some expert instruction. Hiring a trainer for a couple of weeks can give you the skills and confidence necessary to make sense of all the equipment in the gym.
In the first 12 weeks of working out, the novice should perform one set of 12 to 20 repetitions for each body part with a minute rest between each set. Be sure to master proper weight-training techniques. Remember not to let momentum take over in an effort to lift more weight than you can manage. Don't worry about the amount of weight you lift because any amount of resistance will be more than enough for those of you just starting out. Keep in mind that the connective tissues, which as its name suggests, connect body parts, are very vulnerable to injury. You should be able to control the weight throughout the optimal range of motion. By controlling the movement, you will be able to get a better mind-muscle connection -- an association between the exercise performed and the muscle being worked. An experienced bodybuilder can perform a ten-pound bicep curl and get a connection because he/she has established this important mind-muscle connection. A great way to get this association is to place your hand on the muscle being worked. For example, do a one-arm bicep curl while placing the opposite hand on the muscle being worked.
If you are a seasoned exerciser with a well-established routine, it is never too late to set a concrete goal and revamp your workouts. In fact, fitness enthusiasts actually do too much. Sometimes, these dedicated souls take working out to extremes, wanting to do as much as possible with the mind set that more is better. This approach to exercise will inevitably lead to injury as a well as a plateau in your training. The best way to go above and beyond what you're doing now is to shake things up a bit. However, if you are overtraining, you may need to add another rest day. You're overdoing it if you get irritable easily and can't sleep even though you may be physically exhausted. Other signs of overtraining include chronic colds, anxiety, concentration problems, and chronic injury.
To get over a dreaded slump in your workout routine, you have to work smarter. Performing the same exercises with the same weight in the same order is no way to make gains. Learn different exercises and add them to your routine. Also, change the order of the exercises and train with a new repetition and weight sequence.
As you incorporate this new approach to strength training, use a stopwatch, or a watch with a second hand, to time your rest between sets. Typically, people lift as much weight as possible with a lot of rest between each set. A better idea is to lift less weight, do more repetitions and take less rest. To determine how much rest try this experiment. One week, rest one minute after each set; the second week, rest two minutes; and the third week, rest three minutes. You'll soon discover what level of condition you are in, and if you need more than three minutes to lift the same weight you normally lift.
In conjunction with less rest, plan a three to five week phase in which you approach strength training as a body builder, not as a power lifter whose every lift is near his/her one rep maximum. The cornerstone of bodybuilding is to use sufficient weight and optimal range of motion, not to lift as much weight as possible. Put tension on the muscle using concentration and proper form and resistance. With this in mind, if three to six repetitions are your typical set, try eight to 12 repetitions per set.
And remember, take it one day at a time. People tend to have an all-or-nothing approach when it comes to exercise. If obstacles happen to come your way, learn from them and move on. Tomorrow is another day.
Roger Power
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