Starting an exercise program can be confusing, even with (or, maybe because of) the wealth of information out there telling us how to get started. We know to do cardio and lift weights, but one question is much harder to answer: How much, how hard and how often do we workout to reach our goals?
The answer depends on you - Your goals, your fitness level and your lifestyle, but there are a few questions you can ask yourself to find out if you're on the right track.
1. Am I Following the Basic Exercise Guidelines?You probably know the basics of an exercise program: Cardio, strength training and flexibility workouts. The confusing part is figuring out how often, how long and how hard you work at each of these elements. How much exercise you need is different for everyone, but one way to assess your program is to compare it to the guidelines set out by the American College of Sports Medicine. These guidelines are broad and leave plenty of room for interpretation, but they do provide a basic framework to help you figure out if you’re on the right track.
- Frequency:
- For Better Health or Beginners: At least 3 times a week
- For Weight Loss or More Advanced Exercisers: 5-7 days a week
- Intensity:
- For Better Health or Beginners: Moderate intensity - Moderate intensity is about a Level 5 on this Perceived Exertion Scale, 70-80% of your maximum heart rate (MHR) or at a level where you’re working but you can still carry on a conversation.
- For Weight Loss or More Advanced Exercisers – A variety of intensities that include:
- High Intensity - Level 8-9 perceived exertion, 80-90% of your MHR or working at a level where you’re breathless. Example: High intensity interval training (HIIT). Suggested schedule: 1-2 times a week.
- Moderate Intensity - Level 5-6 perceived exertion, 70-80% of your MHR or working at a level where you’re just out of your comfort zone but can still talk. Example: Cardio Medley Workout. Suggested schedule: 2-4 times a week.
- Low Intensity - Level 3-5 perceived exertion, 60-70% of your MHR or working at a comfortable level. Example: A long, slow bike ride. Suggested schedule: 1-2 times a week.
- Duration:
- For Better Health or Beginners: Working up to 30 minutes of continuous movement
- For Weight Loss or More Advanced Exercisers – 30-60 minutes, depending on the intensity of your workouts. High intensity may be 20-30 minutes, moderate workouts, 30-60 minutes and low intensity, 60 or more minutes.
Strength Training Recommendations
- Work All Muscle Groups – Your strength workouts should include exercises for the entire body, including: The lower body, chest, back, shoulders, biceps, triceps and abs
- Work Your Muscles 2-3 Nonconsecutive Days Each Week - How often you train will depend on the program you’re following, but you want to avoid working the same muscle groups two days in a row. Below are a few examples of how to schedule common strength training programs:
- Total Body: Monday/Wednesday/Friday
- Basic Split Routine: Upper Body: Monday/Thursday, Lower Body: Tuesday/Friday
- Sets and Reps
- For Beginners – 1 set of 8-12 reps
- For Intermediate/Advanced - Multiple sets (2-4) of 6-12 reps, depending on your goals
- Use a Challenging Weight - We only get stronger and build muscle when we use more weight than our bodies can handle. That doesn’t mean you should pick up a weight you can’t lift at all, it means choosing a weight you can only lift for the desired number of reps. If you're doing 10 biceps curls, you want a weight that will allow you to do 10 reps with good form. The last rep should be very difficult, but not impossible.
- Use Good Form - Lifting weights is only effective if you do the exercises with good form. Good form will be different depending on the exercise, but it usually means having good posture, doing slow, controlled movements rather than swinging the weights and keeping your abs engaged during each exercise.
- Stretch your muscles after your workout when your muscles are warm. Stretching cold muscles could lead to injuries
- Avoid bouncing. Hold each stretch for 15-30 seconds and, for the best flexibility results, do each stretch 2-3 times
- Stretch the muscles you used during your workout with a focus on any chronically tight areas like the lower back, hips and hamstrings
Next Question: Am I Getting Results?
