SHORT DESCRIPTION: Learn how 15 minutes once a week can ensure success in your
fitness training.
BODY OF ARTICLE: Copyright 2006 J Lance Curtis
I see it everyday. You do too, but you may not recognize it. Someone, maybe you,
walks into the gym/fitness center, pauses, looks around, pauses some more, and
looks around some more. On and on it goes. This is the mark of someone who
doesn’t know what their workout routine will be that day.
Shoot, they may have not decided which body parts to work. And so they look
around trying to decide what exercises to do, based on which equipment is
available or how sore their muscles are, or even how tired they feel.
Basically, it’s like grocery shopping on an empty stomach, without a menu plan,
maybe even without a list, feeling like you are starving. When you get home you
may have blown your entire grocery budget on the wrong foods, even though those
foods looked good at the time of purchase.
Planning your workouts for the week ahead is the best way to increase your
productivity during your gym visits. This planning time gives you a perspective
on your fitness goals that just running off to your workout cannot.
Finding the best time for this planning, in an already overly busy schedule, can
be challenging. However, it is definitely worth the effort. Within a few short
weeks you will be able to plan an entire week of workouts in about 15 minutes.
Since most people run the rat race Monday – Friday and use the weekends for play
and downtime, I will assume that workouts are done Monday – Friday as well.
(With an occasional Saturday if you choose to skip the Friday workouts.)
This presents Sunday as the best day for you to jot down what you plan to do for
the following week. Here are a few tips to help you get the most from your
planning session and thus, the most from your workouts, without having to spend
hours at the gym.
Know what time demands lay ahead for the next week. If you normally hit the gym
at 5:45 but Susie has gymnastics at 5:30 then you know you have to juggle the
activities. If Susie is ok with you not watching practice, this may be a great
time to squeeze in a workout. However, because you probably need to pick her up
by 6:30 your workout time is at a premium. Know this going in and planning for
it helps you accomplish your fitness goals while taking care of the family as
well.
Know what body parts you are working on which days, and why. Haphazardly
combining muscle groups will actually stunt your progress. For example, my
personal clients perform their upper leg workouts as a standalone session. This
gives total focus on one of the biggest groupings of muscles in the body. Your
body can respond by dedicating all the available resources on the legs.
But also know that your chest and back can be worked effectively together.
Shoulder and arms make a nice combination. By knowing this, and planning your
workouts accordingly, you will skyrocket your success!
How much cardio you do and when is important. Spacing your resistance training
to allow for recovery can open up days that can be devoted to cardio alone.
Because you are planning for this you can enter the gym knowing what you are
doing with the confidence of knowing why. This avoids “feeling guilty” because
you worked on one or two body parts and not all muscles. It amazes me that some
people will beat themselves up for doing something positive, simply because they
do not know (or plan) enough to realize the positive aspects of their
activities.
Spend 15 minutes once a week and begin to unlock the dream body that is locked
up inside you!
RESOURCE BOX: Lance Curtis is a personal trainer and author of “7 Keys to Unlock
The Sexy Dream Body Inside You!”
To claim your free copy go to http://ThePersonalTrainingGuru.com