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6 Weeks to Fitness for Absolute Beginners - Week 3

By , About.com Guide

Updated December 16, 2009

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Welcome to Week 3 of your 6-week program. This week, you'll see some big changes in your schedule from previous weeks. We're upping the ante by splitting your cardio and strength workouts, giving you 3 days of cardio and 2 days of strength training. By splitting your workouts, you can give more energy to each routine, which may allow you to improve your performance and do more with your exercise time.

You can sign up for the email version of the course to receive weekly newsletters detailing a workout schedule with cardio, strength and flexibility workouts.

Focus On…Tracking Progress

One of the most important things you'll do on your exercise journey is track your progress. Knowing where you are and how you're improving is essential for staying motivated. This week, your goal is to think about how you want to track your progress. Some ideas:

  • Weight Loss - Weight loss is a popular way to gauge how you're doing, but remember that weight loss is often slower than we expect and it may take weeks or months to see significant changes. You can measure this by weighing yourself, taking your measurements (as you might have done during Week 1), getting your body fat tested and/or noticing how you look or how your clothes fit.
  • Workouts Completed - Another way to track your progress is to focus less on the results of what you're doing and more on the journey. If you want to lose weight, you know you need to exercise regularly. Setting a goal to complete a certain number of workouts each week may help you stay focused on the process while being able to celebrate your accomplishments.
  • Health Improvements - Exercise can do more for you than just help you lose weight. It may also help you sleep better, give you more energy or make daily tasks easier. Think about what you'd like to improve (e.g, being able to walk up the stairs at work without passing out, being able to play with your kids or grandkids without getting tired, etc.) and make a note of it in your weekly checklist. Each week, check in with yourself to see how far you've come.
  • Strength and Endurance - It's motivating when you see and feel yourself getting stronger. Keeping track of how many sets, reps and how much weight you're using each week can tell you if you're getting stronger. You can also keep an exercise diary and write down your experiences. You'll start to notice when exercise gets easier and you suddenly have to work harder to get to the same level of intensity. That can be very motivating!
What other ways could you keep track of how you're doing? Think about that this week as you go through the workouts and decide what you want to track to make sure you're making improvements.

Day 1: 30-Minute Cardio and Stretch

Today's cardio workout builds on previous workouts, taking you up to 30 minutes of continuous exercise. You'll stay at a moderate pace, like previous workouts, and finish with a relaxing stretch.

Day 2: Total Body Strength and 10-Minute Yoga

Today's strength training workout offers more exercises than previous workouts, which means more intensity and challenge. For this workout, you'll perform 2 sets of 15 reps of each exercise, resting 20-30 seconds (or more if needed) between sets. As always, skip any exercises that cause pain or discomfort and modify the workout as needed to fit your fitness level, preferences and goals. There's no cardio scheduled today, but you should warm up with 10-15 minutes of light cardio before your strength workout. You also have an optional 10-minute yoga routine to try. The exercises are done on an exercise ball, so take care with the moves and skip any that are too difficult.

Day 3: Active Rest

There's nothing on your schedule today, but try to stay active as much as you can by taking breaks, walking, stretching and moving. Some ideas:

  • Wear a pedometer throughout the day and try to get at least 5000 steps
  • Walk around the house every time a commercial comes on during your favorite TV show
  • Walk 2 laps around the parking lot at work before you go in
  • Walk the dog for an extra 5 minutes

Day 4: Interval Cardio and Stretch

Today's new interval workout increases your workout time to 25 minutes and it also takes you a little further out of your comfort zone. In the past 2 weeks, you've stayed within Level 5-6 on this Perceived Exertion Scale and today you'll go into Level 7, an intensity that should feel more difficult. By challenging yourself, you'll burn more calories and build endurance even faster than previous workouts.

Day 5: Total Body Strength

  • Workout 1: Total Body Strength
    Type: Strength Training
    Length: 2 sets of 15 reps, 30-45 Minutes
    Level: Beginner
    Equipment Required: Various weighted dumbbells, a barbell, weight bench, ball and a band.
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Day 6: 30-Minute Cardio and Stretch

Weekly Calendar and Check In

Use your weekly calendar to keep track of your schedule and fill out this weekly checklist to track your progress.

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