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Personal Training for Older clients at Shape Up Fitness & Wellness Consulting

How Long Should A Workout Take?

We are asked many times how long a workout should take. The answer is not that simple. Sure, there is the optimum length but even that depends on the person’s fitness level, age, and willingness to commit time.

Research indicates that it is better for people to have more frequent, shorter workouts than only a few long workouts.

So, yes, ideally I would like you to go through a 10-15 min warm up sequence including foam rolling, some stretching, corrective & activation exercises. After that I would like you to work out for 60 min and then cool down for about 15 min.

But it is not going to happen for most

For most people this is simply not going to happen. So if 30 min is all you can do then it will have to do. Working out 30 min 5 days a week is always better than 90 min one day a week and then wait until the following week for the next workout.

Sometimes we don’t even have 30 min. A lot of our accountants are slammed at this time of the year. They work from 6 or 7 in the morning until 1 or 2 at night. Do some chin ups, run up and down the stairs, do some push ups, planks, etc. There is always something that can be done.

There is not really I don’t have the time. You might not have the time for a full on workout, but you might have enough time for one exercise here and there.

Today is the day

Today is the day to get started. Stop waiting for the perfect time. It will never come around. Start working out your day. It is not about a six pack, or a perfect butt. It is about your health & well being.

Yours in health & fitness,

Michael

 

Maybe you are too focused on losing weight!

I know this almost sounds like a sacrilege but maybe, just maybe you are too focused on losing weight? As a personal trainer every year around January people come in and want to lose the weight around their gut, butt, thighs and a mutitude of other body parts. The reasons vary, some say it is because they want to loook good at their or a friend’s wedding, thy want to fit back into their skinny jeans, wear a cute dress, etc.

These are all valid reasons, don’t get me wrong. But having been in my profession for a long time, I noticed that those who made weight loss their sole goal don’t make it nearly asoften as people who seek for other things as well.

Weight Loss usually does not go smoothly, we have bad days, we have our period, we have family festivitis and partying. If you are able to dodge all those blullets you are doing really well but then you find out you shot yourself into your own foot. The iron discipline you are maintaining fires back and all of a sudden you are sick of being always in control, of being the person in the restaurant who asks for no oil, no seasoning, no salt, etc. You blow it, maybe just for a week or so but bam, some of the weight is back and we feel defeated.

The question is obviously what do you need to do be doing?

  1. Eat the calories/ food that is allowed by 411fit.com, myfooddiary.com, weight watcher, nutritionists. They usually know what they are doing (don’t get me started on weight loss clinics, though). Starving yourself more because you want that success a little faster is just going to set you up for failure.

  2. Allow yourself a little indulgence here and there; calculate it into your daily amount of food. If you forbid yourself those little pleasures you will be so attuned to them that you will cave to them sooner or later and the damage is going to be considerably higher because you feel like f*** it.

  3. Be silly, celebrate the little successes, and don’t just look at the big picture. Flex your muscles in the mirror and admire your guns, feel with your hands how that belly has gotten a little flatter and wiggle your buns to feel how they are transforming into “buns of steel”. Bring fun into it, don’t be too serious.

  4. Exercise does not have to be torture, be proud of yourself if you can run a little longer, walk a little faster, do a push up more, etc. Feel how your body strives to please you, strives to do better and adjusts. Sure it is hard but see what you can do now versus just two weeks ago. Take pleasure in it and don’t plunish yourself by telling yourself that you suck because someone else can do more (NEWSFLASH: there is always someone who can do more, is faster, thinner, etc).

  5. Meet and greet other people who work out,m who enjoy a class, run / walk, etc. They are a great support group. Make friends in your gym insted of being scared of everyone. You are not the only one who feels uncomfortable standing next to the chick that is in perfect shape with spandex clothes or next to the dude who could be Adonis. Most people are uneasy at a gym and don’t mind a friendly smile ore a short conversation.

  6. Get other goals, I have said it many times before. Sign up for a race, a walk, a body sculpting competition, etc. It will keep you focused.

  7. Sign up for a newsletter / blog. There a lot of enthusiasts out there who are great motivators. Sign up for their blog or newslettter. Some are funny some motivate.

  8. Get a friend involved, train with a buddy, but don’t take it as an excuse if the person cannot make it to the training. Just see it as and additional perk.

  9. Get a personal trainer or a boot camp instructor. Nothing is as consistent and motivating as someone who loves to “torture” people in a good way 🙂

I hope this was of help.

Michael Anders

http://www.shapeupfitnesswellness.com/

704 777 3743

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