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Start Your Fitness Plan ~ Phase 2
In Phase 1 we discussed beginning a cardio program. The other component, according to American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) guidelines, is to do resistance training 2 to 3 times per week. They recommend performing 8 to 10 exercises but don’t fully explain what muscles those exercises should target.
They are referring to the following major muscle groups in your body
Chest
Abs
Back
Arms
Legs
This can be achieved in a variety of ways; with free weights, with circuit machines (those big hulking metal things at the gym, or Curves are examples), less traditional methods would include some mind/body disciplines like yoga or Pilates.
An example of an exercise routine that would cover these areas are . . .
1. A chest press or dumb bell fly
2. Abdominal crunches (your six pack!)
3. Oblique twist (sides of the lower abdoment)
4. Lat Pull (for the back)
5. Bicep Curls
6. Tricep extentions (back of the arm)
7. Squats
8. Calf raises
This would be just barely enough to cover the basics. It’s not a bad place to start. As you get stronger and want some more variety you can start adding in exercises or trying different types of resistance training.
What do you think? Does it sound like a good place to start? As always feedback is appreciated and welcome.
Lisa
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Hi Lisa,
This is funny because there were lots of responses to “Phase 1″ – what happened to folks for “Phase 2″?
As you know I love weights/resistance & don’t love cardio. So I’ve tricked myself (a little trickery goes a long way).
I incorporate legs for all my arm/upperbody workouts (standing lunges, walking lunges, squats, step ups along with curls, triceps, shoulders, etc.). It gets my heart rate up quite a bit (legs are big muscles & the heart has to work harder) and it does 2+ exercises in one. Voila! Cardio!
I’m also not a big ab fan (but I must say, as I get stronger, I enjoy them more), so once again I employ trickery.
Push ups on the swiss ball (feet on ball) with a “tuck”/”jacknife” in between push ups. And there’s nothing like a plank, eh? For my obliques, cross body mountain climbers are killer – I typically do them on a step. This is hard for me and always gets my heart rate up. And if I use gliders, it gets my legs a good way cuz I have to engage my legs for the entire motion.
Reminds me… gotta add the gliders to my home goodies.
Cheers!
PS I almost forgot! I do chest press on the bench and do leg raises too. Trickery on the ab front ;-)
Kris, I’m glad you’re enjoying my blog, lol … your workout routine seems fine. It sounds like your heart rate is elevated properly and you’re getting a good workout in. I guess the only thing I would say is if you’ve been doing this for a while you might want to hire a personal trainer for a one-off session to tweak your routine. He/she can give you some exercises that are a little more advanced than what you’re doing now and can also improve your form. Mountain climbers, for instance, are notoriously done wrong by most people!
Just some thoughts, good luck with your exercise plan and please feel free to ask any more questions you want …
L–