THE BIG FOUR YOU NEED TO KNOW

Is your workout program checking all four boxes?

I often get the question, “What should I include in a fitness program?” Unless you are training for something very specific, here are 4 essentials you will want to include weekly to have an effective, well balanced fitness program:

STRENGTH TRAINING
CARDIO
STRETCHING
CORE

The Nitty Gritty:

WEIGHTS / STRENGTH TRAINING...

something to challenge and build your muscles.

Strength training:

Increases Metabolism - Somewhere between the ages of 30-35 we begin the downhill slope of losing our muscle mass. Muscle is our major caloric burner so if you want to keep burning fat around the clock, you need to be building or at least maintaining your muscle mass.
Builds Strength – Not just for the obvious muscle strength, but it also strengthens the resilience of your bones, which prevents injuries and osteoporosis later in life.
Raises Youthful Hormones - Strength training is anti-aging because it can raise your HGH and DHEA levels naturally (which we also lose as we age).
Ups your Attractiveness - Not only will you be younger internally, you will look externally more youthful and attractive.

Examples of strength training:

Weight training
Bands
Body weight exercises (squats, lunges, push ups, pull ups),
TRX

CARDIO TRAINING...

exercise that VERY important heart muscle and the lungs!

Cardio Training:

Increases Your Energy
Greater Endurance and Lung Capacity – you breathe better
Health Boost – lowers blood pressure, decreases risk of heart attacks, cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and depression.

Examples of Cardio Training:

Walking
Running
Cycling
Swimming
Elliptical
Rowing machine

Remember: It Gets Easier! The more often you do cardio, the more your body is builds additional capillaries / more avenues to transport blood and oxygen through your body.

STRETCHING...

is great to improve mobility, increase your range of motion, prevent injury (such as sciatica and back pain), and help you recover faster from workouts. There are two kinds of stretching you want to include, both active and passive.

ACTIVE STRETCHING – this is something you will want to do before a workout. Think of working through the range of motion, warming up the joints, waking up the body, and developing mobility.

A couple of examples are:

Leg Swings – before a run or walk
Arm Circles – before a row

PASSIVE STRETCHING – to be done at the end of your workout. This is the type of stretching that comes to most people’s mind when they think of stretching. Pause, and hold in the position for 30-90 seconds.

Areas to stretch:

Hamstrings
Quads
Glutes
Hip Flexors
Chest
Lats

CORE...

strengthening and adding endurance to your abdominal and back muscles. Having a solid core helps with balance, helps you to breathe better, keeps your more stable, and prevents back injuries.