Pick a Spot

Everybody has their own place that they prefer to do their workouts. Many walkers and runners find the outdoors to be the best place place for them to that ever so important workout in. Others find that they like the social aspects of a fitness club. A lot of people are the most comfortable doing their workout at home.

There is no right or wrong place to work out. The important thing is that you find the right place for you so that you will continue your commitment to fitness. I personally have gone the whole route when it comes to exercising. I started out taking classes at the local community college which eventually led to my teaching the classes. I think that group fitness can be one of the most motivating experiences if you do not mind participating in exercise with a group of people. The instructor often sets the tone of the class. The right instructor with the right group of people along with super charged music and fun routines will have people going back for more day after day.

I have both, worked at a fitness club and been a member of a fitness club. I personally was not always comfortable in this type of atmosphere as a client or as an instructor. I found the competition for clothing, exercise machines, trainers and space not very desirable. However, fitness clubs do have a lot to offer their clients. Many have flexible hours compatible with the working crowd. Early morning hours, lunch hours and the time in between the workday's end and the dinner hour are very popular for many and the clubs tend to staff the clubs and offer fitness classes at these times for convenience. Memberships can come with perks like "free" gym bags and water bottles. It's all individual.

I spent a lot of fitness years walking outdoors. I found that if I put music that I loved on a walkman I could go forever. My favorite route was walking the neighbourhood especially in the nice weather. Walking or running on paved surfaces can have it's toll on the knees and back after a while though.

My favorite workout environment is in my own home. For many years I worked out in my living room. You do not need an elaborate set up for home workouts. Many people purchase expensive equipment such as treadmills. If you are inclined to use equipment and if it keeps you motivated then by all means go for it. Setting up a workout environment in your home does not have to be costly. If you have a DVD player or VCR with a television set up in an area where you have room to move, you could start right there. There are numerous videos and DVDs to chose from for all levels of fitness. To go with your videos you might need some resistance equipment. Resistance bands, dumbbells and body bars are relatively cheap. You will need various weights or levels of resistance to allow for progressive resistance. Also, the larger muscles need more of a load than do the smaller muscle groups. You might consider a step for step aerobics and for strength training. The step can double as a weight bench. For floor work, a nice mat is in order. Make sure you have the proper footwear for your activity and comfortable clothing such as shorts and T-shirts. Keep lots of water close by.

The one disadvantage of home workouts is the chance of interruption. If you can unplug the phone or lower the ring tone, the voice mail can pick up for you. If you can workout while alone you won't have someone around to interrupt with questions or comments.

Wherever you decide to workout, try to stick with it. If you find it unbearable, then try another environment. One of them will work out for you so pick your spot.

Putting the Fun in Fitness

Who said that exercise can't be fun? If you pick an activity that you don't like then I guess it won't be fun. The key is to find something that you like and then try to stick to it. My first love has always been music and dancing. So when I saw the DanceFit group dancing their way down the street in our local Canada Day, I decided that this was for me. I did some research and found that our community college offered Dance Fit classes twice a week. I signed up for them during the next session. I loved it. I went faithfully twice a week until my instructor invited me to be an instructor. I thought this was the coolest thing! I will now be paid for doing something that I loved. I attended the instructors workshop and taught my first class at a community center in Amhertsburg, Ontario. I taught DanceFit then Dance and Stretch for several years.


My next love was cardio kickboxing. I designed my own cardio kickbox class with super charged music at our local Aikido dojo. I am still doing cardio kickbox workouts. Recently, I found a program offered by BeachBody.com called Turbo Jam. This is a set of videos/DVDs of kickbox and dance moves done to really motivating hip hop and funk music. The moves combined with the music are so energizing and so much fun that you do not feel like you are doing a workout. Recently I was chosen to be a Turbo Jam House Party host. I see it as another way to promote fitness to my friends and family. The workouts are fun and if they like them, that will be great but my intention is to get them interested in a program that they can stay with because they find it to be fun. That is what I want for everyone: to be healthy and to have fun doing it.

Stepping It Up!

One way to know that you are staying active is to count your steps. You don't actually have to count every step that you take. You can buy a pedometer or step counter that will do it for you. I have been counting my steps for about 2 years. If you know approximately how many steps are in a mile you can figure out how many miles that you have walked each just in the course of your normal every day activities. If you have just a simple step counter then you can make an educated guess that 2000 steps is approximately one mile. More sophisticated pedometers allow you to program your weight and length of stride so that your distance can more accurately be measured along with the amount of calories that you may have burned in a day. Most sources say to aim for at least 10,000 steps. This is an approximate distance of 5 miles.

Where can you find a pedometer? Many of the ones that I used came right from a cereal box. Special K offered them in the box about 2 years ago. They were actually pretty accurate. I have used several different commercial brands. I have a drawer called my "Pedometer Graveyard". The batteries die out or they fall which messes with the electronics. I have lost several of the Special K ones. I was successful in keeping 3 different ones going. The first was one by the Source called the Nexxtech Talking Pedometer with Heart Rate Monitor. Another good one that I used was the Freespirit Fitness Pedometer from Sears. The one that I am most impressed with is the Omron Walking Style. It not keeps track of your steps but it also keeps track of your aerobic or cardio steps seperately. The Omron is a little more expensive but it is worth the money.

So find a good pedometer and start "Stepping It Up"!

Putting it Together

We have the tools for putting together a program. The next step is to put it all together. The first consideration is what level the exerciser is at in a fitness program. If you have never exercised or have not exercised for a period of time, it is best to start out at a beginner level. Someone who is of an average fitness level would exercise at an intermediate level and someone at an above average fitness level would exercise at an advanced level.

One very important aspect of any workout, no matter which level you are at, is the warm up. The warm up gradually increases the muscle temperature to reduce the chance of injury to the muscles and joints. It helps with neuromuscular fascilitation by warming up nerve impulses so that they can travel faster once exercise begins. It allows the body time to adjust to the increase blood flow that occurs during exercise to help the body's need for increased oxygen. It helps to prevent the early onset of fatigue by preventing early accumulation of lactic acid. The warm up also allows the exerciser time to prepare for the workout on a mental level by taking away the focus on normal daily tasks and focusing on the workout at hand.

During this warmup there will be an increase in the exerciser's heart rate, blood pressure, respiration and body temperature. The warm up should bring the heart rate to a moderate intensity and should consist of 3 to 5 minutes of gradual activity. A beginner may require a longer warm up. The type of activity involved should be continuous, rhythmic, large movements often rehearsing the moves that will take place in the actual workout. I prefer to use some type of lower level cardio activity in my own warm ups. Stretching is best left for the end of the workout or the cool down to avoid stretching cold muscles which could lead to injury.

The cool down is as important to the workout as the warm up. In between the cardiovascular component and the next component, usually strength, there should be a 3 to 5 minute cardiovascular recovery where heart rate and blood pressure gradually decrease. This is important in the removal of waste like lactic acid, prevention of venous pooling and injury prevention. This is an active recovery with movements similar to those in the warmup with a gradual reduction in exercise intensity.

The cool down is the portion of the workout where flexibility moves can be included. The muscles should be warm to facilitate stretching. A relaxation portion can be included for a mind and body cooldown.

So let's put it together. To start we can warm up with light cardio moves for about 5 minutes to get our heart rate up to a moderate intensity in preparation for the cardio. I think something fun like a 30 cardio kick box workout should get things going. A 5 minute cardio cool down to bring down our heart can bring us closer to our resistance workout. After a lower body, upper body and core workout, we can do our final stretch and relaxation. It's not always this simple but if you can find a way to make this fun you will be more open to doing this 3 or 4 times a week. Hope you enjoyed the workout:)

Activity Recommendations

I encourage clients to follow the guidelines introduced by Health Canada, Canada's Physical Activity Guide to Healthy Active Living (1998) which was introduced to help Canadians with physical activity choices. It is recommended by scientists that an individual should accumulate 60 minutes of physical activity for health benefits. The Activity Guide recommends:

1. Endurance (cardio)-4 to 7 days per week of continuous activity for the heart, lungs and circulatory system. Time recommendations are as follows: 60 minutes for light effort activities such as strolling, 30 to 60 minutes for moderate effort activities such as brisk walking or biking and 20 to 30 minutes for vigorous effort activities such as aerobics or running.
2. Flexibility-4 to 7 days per week of gentle stretching for joint mobility and to keep muscles relaxed.
3. Strength-2 to 4 days per week of resistance activity for muscle and bone strength and to improve posture.

For my American friends, the American College of Sports Medicine (ASCM) has also established quidelines for basic levels of physical activity. These guidelines are as follows:

1. Cardiovascular activity-recommendations to accomplish 30 minutes or more of moderate intensity physical activity on most days of the week. The 30 minutes do not have to be consecutive. In other words, it is accumulative. You can do 2 15 minute sessions or 3 10 minute sessions.
2. Muscular conditioning-perform 1 set of 8 to 12 repititions of resistance training moves for the entire body to maintain and develop muscular strength and endurance.
3. Flexibility-should be performed daily with stretches for all of the major muscle groups for mobility.

So we have 2 different sets of guidelines that are similar in some ways and different in others. Both were developed to encourage physical activity in populations that have become increasingly inactive over the decades. The main message delivered by both is that we need to do cardiovascular activities, such as walking and running, for our heart and lungs, strength training for our muscles, bones and joints and flexibility activities (stretching) to keep our muscles supple and our joints mobile.

Through the use of these 2 sets of guidelines putting a fitness program together can be fairly simple or very complicated. You need to be sure the 3 main elements are present in the proper proportions. Not everyone fits into the same category in physical activity so programs need to fit the individual. Everyone has their own fitness level that they can begin at and everyone has their own individual needs. Some people have certain limitations which need to be considered when they are about to start a fitness program. Another consideration is the likes and dislikes of the individual. Not everyone is going to enjoy the same activity. So finding the right program for an individual can present a challenge when presented with different variables.

Be Flexible

A very important aspect of fitness that is often overlooked is flexibility. The flexibility portion of your workout helps to relax and rejuvanate your muscles which have worked so hard for you. This part of the workout can also help the mind and spirit to recover along with the body.

Flexibility training is best implemented after the cardio and strength portion of the workout. The muscles are warm and pliable and are more conducive to stretch to a new range of motion.

There are several benefits to flexibility training.
-Stress and tension in the muscles are reduced.
-Flexible muscles assist with posture
-Flexible muscles lessen the risk of injury both in exercise and in daily activities
-Flexibility can enhance performance of activity, daily and sport related.

This component of your workout should last from 5 to 10 minutes. Each muscle group should be stretched after working them. The length of time that each stretch should be maintained is from 10 to 30 seconds and they should be repeated 2 to 3 times. Be sure to work within your own limits. Never force or "bounce" a stretch. This could lead to injury. Be sure to breath with each stretch.

There are several resources available that give excellent examples of stretching or flexibility routines. The book titled "Stretching" by Bob Anderson is an excellent resource. I have mentioned the website http://onlinefit.com/ in an earlier entry. I find it to be another excellent resource for stretching with demonstrations of specific exercises for each muscle group. There are also several videos available. The Firm Power Yoga is an excellent program for flexibility. The moves are simple and easy to follow.

Your routine does not need to be complicated. Sometimes simple is better as long as the you are getting the results that you expect.

So get out there and be flexible!