What kind of exercise program is this? This is a 3 days on, 1 day off exercise program. You choose whichever level suits you with the idea being that over time, you would progress to a higher level when you feel you are ready.
I see that you sell exercise equipment, are these workouts designed to just promote your stuff? We write each workout completely independent of whether or not we sell that piece of equipment. For example, we don't carry kettlebells yet, but we of course prescribe kettlebell exercises where appropriate in a workout sequence.
Our goal is that by offering an awesome free workout resource, we will be remembered as the go-to for exercise equipment.
How long will each workout take? The workouts will generally take 30 to 60 minutes. On days where you might feel pinched for time you could expedite the warm-up and go right to the main event, although this is the exception, not the rule.
I want to break-up the workouts into 'chest' days or 'leg' days but your workouts don't seem to work like that. What's up with that? Our workouts don't work like that because we want to get you in the best shape of your life, and breaking up your body as if it's not an integrated unit is counter-productive to getting you into great shape. You'll see a lot of full body sequences with a metabolic conditioning component built into this full body sequence. Occasionally, we'll specialize in certain areas, but not very often.
When I click on a given exercise, it doesn't list which muscle(s) is being worked. Why don't you list that? Because most exercises that you do in our program are not muscle isolation exercises. We focus on exercises that require a full body response. A squat for example works too many muscles to list.
If you're thinking in terms of 'toning' a certain muscle or muscle area and are specifically looking for that kind of information, then this site may not be for you.
We do however offer an extensive library of all exercises, whether or not they illicit a full body response. We put this library together because we do believe that every exercise movement has value. In a physical therapy situation for example, you might see more use of isolated type movement patterns.
Do I need to belong to a gym to do these workouts or can I do them at home? It all depends on how much equipment you have at home. We will never prescribe exercises that require gym machines (with the exception of a Concept II rowing machine), so you should think about buying staple exercise tools so that you can get the workouts done at home.
People who are successful with fitness set their lives up so they have the option to workout at home, the gym, or when traveling.
What if I can't do some of the exercises in your program? There will be times where you won't be able to do the workout because an exercise is either beyond your ability or you don't have the equipment. In those cases, you should sub out the exercise for something that closely resembles that exercise. Here are common substitution examples:
Barbie Pushups for Pushups
Rowing for Running and vice versa
Step Ups for Box Jumps
Tuck Jumps or Jump Rope (depending on fitness) for Double Unders
Jumping Pullups or Horizontal Pullups for Pullups
... to be continued
You can also scale the weights or reps to your ability if you feel that what is listed is too much.
Why aren't you telling me how much weight I should lift for some of these exercises? Because we don't know your physical abilities and inherent strengths and weaknesses. We will do our best to give ranges in the comments section but you will need to use your common sense when determining which weight to use.
The general rule of thumb is to choose a weight that is 'difficult but manageable' to complete the number of reps indicated without compromising your form.
You indicate what to do for a warmup in the workout description but don't provide links to the warmup exercises or indicate how long we should do the warmup. Why not? All of the warmup exercises can be found in our exercise library. There is a link to the exercise library at the bottom of every page, including this one. Please reference the warmup exercises that way.
In terms of how long you should do the warmup exercises, that is largely an individual choice, although we will sometimes indicate how many reps you should do. Remember that you should do each exercise to warm-up and not fatigue. When warmup session is over, there should be beads of sweat on your skin. If not, then continue the warmup sequence.
Finally, feel free to add your own warmup exercises to the ones we suggest. The warmup is a chance for you to work on inherent musculoskeletal weaknesses (i.e. with therapeutic exercises). If you've ever been in physical therapy for a joint/muscle pain, then the warmup is a place to recall those exercises and get them into your warmup routine in addition to what we prescribe.
What is SEE? SEE is an acronym I use to describe 3 interrelated necessities in life. Sleep, Exercise and Eat. Might seem just a cute little neat acronym but I've learned to live my life by it.
You see, when I was younger, I was this really good athlete that could get by on just the 'exercise' part. I could be up late, eat what I wanted and still perform at a pretty high level. I was 22.
Now I'm 38. I've always had bad sleeping habits, especially when my 2 kids were very young. My immune system suffered big-time. When your sleep is off, sugar and caffeine become a lifeline of energy. And so the cycle goes...
It got to a point with me where I knew I needed to fundamentally change SLEEP. I trained myself to shut-down earlier - before 10:30. My mental acuity climbed appreciably. My diet improved mostly because I had the energy to care. I stopped getting sick (kids being older helped too) and the quality of my workouts improved dramatically. None of this happened overnight, but over a period of 9 months, I was able to look back and say, "wow - i am in a different place."
At 38, I feel close to that 22. As long as I keep that sleep in check.
So folks, you can pump yourself up to get on a workout regimen all you want. If you're not getting a consistent quality 8 hours of sleep, you won't last more than 3 weeks on that workout program. Unfortunately, that's reality. We're human.
Take a look at your life. Are you treating yourself well? Are you getting the sleep you need and the food your body needs? If not, why not? You might have to dig a little deeper to understand that 'why not' - and I'm not speaking from an almighty pillar. I'm speaking from having been there myself.
|
