By now you’ve begun to settle into your routine for the year. You wake up, eat your daily meals, go to class, maybe pop in for a shift at your job and do assignments.
I’m hoping that a mandatory part of your routine is exercise.
This week I’m talking about beginning a basic workout program. Depending on your goals, you’ll be doing different types of workouts and training, but here’s a simple one for people looking to use weights for the first time.
Resistance training is amazing for your body because you build strength, build muscle, burn fat and look and feel great.
A good way to begin a weight training routine is to do a full body workout three days a week, with one day’s rest between each workout for muscle recovery. It can take your muscles up to 48 hours to recover from the strain of working out.
When you hit the gym, you should be prepared to be in and out within an hour.
Assuming you’re pushing yourself the whole time, your body won’t have the energy to use its full potential after an hour’s workout. Start by doing some light to moderate cardio – just enough to work up a sweat. I like using the spin bikes for five to ten minutes, coupled with some medicine ball slams.
Now you’re ready to do some warmup stretches. This isn’t the time to be holding poses for half a minute. You want to be doing ballistic and dynamic stretches – stretches where you don’t stop moving.
Make circles with your arms, swing your legs back and forth, rotate your shoulders, etc. This limbers you up for the important part.
Your body is limber. Your heart is pumping. Your mind is in the zone. Now hit the weights. You want to work out your whole body, so do exercises that target multiple muscle groups, with extra emphasis on “pull” exercises. Do pull-ups or chin-ups for your upper back and biceps, squats or dead lifts for your legs, glutes (butt), and lower back, and bench presses and shoulder presses for your chest, triceps and shoulders.
To find workout routines and programs, look them up online or hire a personal trainer. I like to use the Men’s Health website or bodybuilding.com.
Also, don’t be afraid to ask the J.B.
O’Keefe desk staff or someone at the gym for help or an explanation on how to use a certain machine. People will respect you a lot more if you make sure you’re exercising right, rather than trying something and doing it wrong – risking bodily harm.
In order to understand a workout program, you’ll need to know the lingo. If I do one bicep curl, that’s one repetition or “rep.” If I do 10 reps, rest for 30 seconds, then do 10 more, I just did two “sets” of 10 reps. Depending on your individual goals you’ll need to do different amounts of sets and reps at different weights.
If you want to bulk up, aim for lower reps at heavier weights. Say you’re doing lunges. You’d do three or four sets of five to six reps, holding a weight that brings you to exhaustion at the sixth rep.
If your goal is to tone muscle, aim for three sets of 12 to 15 reps (with a lighter weight). And if you’re going for general strength, do three sets of eight to 12 reps. Again, no matter what your goal, use a weight where you can’t lift or push any more after the final rep.
Don’t forget: Variety is the spice of life.
Your body is an amazing tool. It adapts quickly to exercise. (Although you likely will be sore after your first few workouts.
That’s normal.) You should be upping the weight you’re using the second an exercise starts to feel easy. After a few weeks of working a muscle group one way, try activating them with a different exercise, so you don’t plateau. If you’ve been doing standard push-ups for a long time, do them with your feet on a large ball.
This will also activate your core.
Now, it’s been around 45 minutes in your workout and you feel like a champion.
It’s time to do a cool down lap on the treadmill or bike. Light cardio only.
Then you can do your long-awaited static stretching. Make sure to hold each pose for 20 to 30 seconds. Feel the burn.
Now hit the showers, and down some protein. A protein shake is nice, but a tall glass of skim or chocolate milk will do as well. Your muscles will need to start repairing themselves right away. Go home, rest for a day, and then come back.
Welcome to the world of weightlifting.
Alex Vietinghoff is a certified Ski Instructor, works at the J.B. O’Keefe Fitness Centre, and is currently studying to be a Personal Trainer through Fitness NB. He is also vice-president student life of the St. Thomas University students’ union. Questions or comments about his column? Contact him at [email protected]
