The sound of metal hitting against the floor; the trail of sweat (maybe tears) leading you to the racks; the sight of ~swole~ people all around you pumping iron to their blaring tunes; the rapid pounding of your heart before even touching a cardio machine. Ahhh yes, the overwhelming sensation one may feel when walking into the gym for their very first time.
Sooooo 2020 was the year you were "going to start going to the gym," but now you can't workout because coronavirus (*says in the voice of Cardi B*).
You may find yourself saying, "I guess I'll try again next year" or "I'll start once the gyms open again." While there are REAL excuses as to not being able to go to the gym right now, there are no excuses as to why you can't get fit at home. In fact, this is the best time for those wanting to start your fitness journey.
One reason is that you can workout in the comfort of your own space without feeling self-conscious about what you look like or your current fitness level. Although modifications and creativity for utilizing home products as workout equipment may be required, any type of physical activity is better than not moving at all.
On the other hand, some of you may be avid gym-goers struggling to find the motivation to physically challenge yourself while at home. I know for me personally, I've been worried about losing the gains I've made over the past few months and backtracking on my fitness journey. This is even more of a reason as to why doing at-home workouts and staying active during this time of quarantine is important for preventing muscle wasting and keeping your body toned.
Thankfully, technology has made workout programs more available to people at home. Many gyms and fitness influencers have been posting exercises and hosting live classes. While social media is blowing up with fitness routines (or at least mine is, shoutout to my FBI agent), I think it's important to start with the basics and grasp an understanding of the terms used in workout videos and what kind of exercises you should be doing in order to achieve your goals.
Starting is usually the hardest part of a fitness journey. Sometimes it's because of the intimidation of the surroundings or a loss of a battle for motivation. Many times it’s because people don’t exactly know what to do or where to start. Even being an avid gym-goer myself, I still sometimes face this problem. Whether it’s because the gym is full and equipment is taken or sometimes it’s because I’m impatient about my goals and can't decide on a workout plan to stick with.
The following are some tips and relevant basic fitness information for beginners starting their fitness journey and for those trying to get back into the swing of things.
Basic Terms/Types of Workouts:
1. Aerobic/Cardiovascular Training: Increase your heart rate and blood flow
Running, cycling, walking, swimming, dancing, etc.
2. Flexibility training/stretching: Increase your joint range of movement
3. Strength/Weight/Resistance training: Increase the strength and endurance of muscles
Weight lifting, Free Weights, Resistance bands, etc.
4. HIIT: High Intensity Interval Training
Short periods of high intensity exercise (15-30 secs) followed by a short period of rest in between
Helps you burn more calories and boosts metabolism
Should be done no more than 2 days/week with at least 48 hours of rest if participating in this training and working the same muscle group
5. Tabata: high-intensity interval training consisting of 8 sets of 20 seconds exercise with 10 seconds rest in between each set
Not intended for beginners or those with a lower fitness level
6. Superset: Performing 2 exercises back to back without a rest break in between them
7. Set: The number of times a specific exercise is performed
8. Rep: The number of times you repeat an exercise movement during a set
9. Warm-up: Used to increase blood flow and prepare the body for further training
Usually lasts about 10 minutes
10. Active Recovery Day: Doing a lighter intensity exercise to allow your muscles to recover from previous workouts.
11. Cooldown: Includes activities that slow breathing after performing more strenuous exercise.
A cooldown is important because if you stop cold turkey from an exercise and your heart rate drops too fast, you could pass out.
*If you are just starting out and lean more towards the deconditioned state, begin with light to moderate intensity exercises.
*Consider your personal health and fitness levels, including injuries, before trying to engage in exercises and training programs.
*Modify exercises rather than trying to improperly push through movements that are more difficult for you.
Tips to make your workout more beneficial:
1. Determine what your goals are.
Set a SMART goal. (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely)
Is your goal to lose weight? Build muscle mass? Tone? Improve cardiorespiratory fitness? Etc.
By determining your goals, you are able to better stay motivated and focused on achieving them. You are also able to select more appropriate exercises to perform and therefore will develop a routine.
2. After determining your goals, determine a schedule.
Come up with a realistic workout schedule and decide which days you will focus on what. Whether you decide to do a split routine or a push/pull routine, etc.
Moderate-intensity exercise should be performed at least 5 days/week OR vigorous-intensity exercise should be performed at least 3 days/week OR a weekly combination of 3-5 days/week of moderate and vigorous exercise
3. Start by focusing more on technique first rather than lifting as heavy as you can.
If you are using lighter weights, do more reps
Heavier weights: fewer reps
4. Really think about the muscles you are targeting as you contract them to perform movements.
5. Try to workout within your target heart rate (THR) range.
Your THR is about 50-70% of your maximum heart rate. You can use the Age-Predicted Max HR Equation (220 - age) to find an estimate of your maximum heart rate.
6. Include fun physical activities.
7. Get a workout buddy. (BUT SOCIAL DISTANCE DURING THIS QUARANTINE AND DO IT VIRTUALLY)
This helps hold you accountable.
8. Join fitness classes.
While the COVID-19 is limiting our ability to physically workout in a shared space, virtual fitness classes and workout videos are a great way to hold yourself accountable. Facetime workouts with friends are also a great way to be active, social, and connected all at once.
9. Stay hydrated.
10. Don't rest too long between sets. Your rest interval depends on your fitness goals.
11. Be patient and consistent.
12. Fitness also includes overall wellness. In order to achieve your goals: nutrition, hydration, and sleep also play a big role.
Stay tuned for more fitness & wellness posts in which I'll go into deeper details about the basic topics introduced in this post.
XOXO,
Alyssa Ashley
P.S. Have questions or topics you'd like for me to discuss? Leave a comment or contact me!