Where to get started...

Here’s a scenario… You just went to the local gym and signed up for a monthly membership. You’re excited – ecstatic because this time you’re motivated, and you’re going to get the job done! Just wait until Monday rolls around. And as the weekend passes by, you maintain your excitement, but a slight hint of fear also starts to creep in because the gym is new, unfamiliar territory, and you might not be sure about how to go about it or where to even begin. Monday rolls around (early morning in my case), and your apprehension mixes with the excitement to create a not so literal bundle of nerves in your stomach, and off to the gym you go – bound and READY to meet your goals. Then you walk into the gym, put your things in a locker, and look out into the common space full of machines and other [hopefully] motivated gym-goers. And a swarm of questions overwhelms you, making you feel completely LOST….

“Should I stretch first or do a warm up – what kind of warm up? Maybe cardio first, but elliptical or treadmill...? and how long? Stairmaster… NO WAY, I already trip over my own feet. I should do strengthening too – upper body or lower body, machines vs. dumbbells, but I can’t forget I had that neck injury a couple months ago, so no aggravating that…”

…. And on and on until finally you find a treadmill, turn the speed up to 3.0 mph and walk for a half hour while watching the newest episode of Frontier on Netflix. After that half hour is up, you’re still not sure what to do, but the elliptical and bike look like safe bets, so you walk over and bust out another 20 minutes. And the cycle of becoming a cardio zombie begins.

Sound familiar anyone? Well you’re not alone! I found myself in that exact same scenario when I first started really trying to get in shape about two years ago. My constant mindset was that putting myself through cardio hell for at least an hour every morning would pay off eventually. But guess what – it didn’t. After a couple months of that same mindless but fatiguing routine, I wasn’t seeing great results – I weighed slightly less, but had very low tone, felt weak, and was exhausted all the time. That wasn’t very motivating, so I let myself be frustrated for a while and then decided it was time to figure this fitness thing out! There were 2 main questions I sought to answer:

1.     What are the most efficient and effective types of exercises that should be included in a given       regimen to optimize results?

2.      How many days and what time of day – if any – is best to work out?

Let’s start by addressing question #1: “What are the most efficient and effective types of exercises?”

That answer may be different dependent on your individual goals; however, one aspect of a work out regimen that was identified by nearly all my sources as essential to obtaining improved physical fitness is strength training, NOT cardio.^1-4 Now please don’t misinterpret… I’M NOT TELLING TO CUT CARDIO OUT OF THE ROUTINE. What I am suggesting is that cardio should not be the center of your routine. Why? Because while cardio is great method to burn fat (especially coupled with a proper diet), it can also result in the loss of lean muscle mass. That lean muscle is directly correlated to metabolic function and the ability to burn calories during times of both activity and inactivity throughout the day.^1-3 Translation: more muscle = better metabolism = more calories burned. So break out the dumbbells everyone! Place your focus on COMPOUND exercises, which emphasize the use of multiple muscle groups to perform a specific action. My work out sessions are broken up as follows throughout the week:

Days 1,4: lower body, Day 2: chest/triceps, Day 3: shoulders, Day 5: back/biceps. Each work out consists of 1 warm up set (half weight) and 3 working sets of 4-6 compound exercises based on the area of focus. In terms of rep ranges, maximum hypertrophy of muscle tissue is shown to occur when exercises are performed within an 8-12 rep range. In other words, when performing an exercise i.e. overhead dumbbell presses, if you’re able to perform 10 reps WITH GOOD FORM and feel you could still do a couple more, increase your weight 2-5 pounds (dependent on starting weight); however, if you’re performing that same overhead press and can barely make it to 8 reps, you may want to consider lowering your weight. Aim for the 8-12 rep range for three full sets before moving onto the next exercise. And don’t forget to rest between sets! At least 90 seconds is recommended to let the muscles properly recover before performing the next set.^1-3 Always remember: GOOD FORM IS KEY TO PROPER STRENGTHENING – so get strong but stay humble. 

*Note: It is still important to perform some cardio throughout the week in order to optimize cardio vascular efficiency and burn fat, but know that cardio should be performed AFTER strengthening exercises to allow for max effort to be put into your lifts. You don’t want to already be fatigued before you even start strengthening exercises. The recommended amount per week is 3-4 half hour sessions at a moderate intensity level.^2,3 Typically, my workouts are ~1 hour long when I perform weight training only only, or ~1.5 hours when cardio is included.

Fun [or not so fun] fact: After the age of ~35 years old, adults lose about 0.5-1% of their muscle mass each year – women tend to fall on the higher end of that spectrum. This is a natural condition called Sarcopenia, and if nothing is done to address it, muscle mass and associated metabolic rate will continue to decrease with time. So not only is strength training recommended to obtain peak physical condition, but it is REQUIRED simply to maintain that lean muscle mass we possess.^1,2,4,5

Onto question number #2: “How many days and what is the best time of day to work out?”

               Typically, 5 days per week is the optimal amount for maximum efficiency, allowing for 2 heavy lower body strengthening days and 3 heavy upper body strengthening days. One important factor to remember is that performing compound exercises within the 8-12 rep range cause microdamage to muscles in order to allow for proliferation of stronger, thicker muscle fibers. Therefore, while the strain is necessary, it is also just as necessary to allow for proper healing time (at least 2-3 days) before working the same muscle group again.^1-4 Of course, not all schedules might allow for 1-1.5-hour work outs 5 days a week. Rest assured, you can still achieve GREAT results from working out 3-4 days per week – you’ll just have to be as efficient as possible.

As I addressed in my previous answer, I typically work out 5 days a week and allow for 2 rest days. My favorite time to work out is early in the morning between 5:30 and 6 am when I am able to drag myself out of bed. Trust me… after over a year and a half, that’s still a difficult task sometimes. But man do I feel good after my work out is done. My day is started off right, I’m happier and more upbeat, and I have significantly more energy. In general, the best time to work out is the time that allows you to be as consistent as possible with your regimen.

               One additional area that I didn’t originally focus on but became more and more prominent a factor as I continued my research was the role that a healthy diet in achieving optimal health. Have you ever heard the saying, “a proper fitness routine is 80% diet and 20% exercises”? Well I’m not sure who came up with those numbers, but that person was definitely on the money. Performing exercises is only part of the puzzle; until nutrition becomes a main focus, the routine is not complete. I’ll dive headfirst into nutrition and working out in my next blog post, but I do want to address supplements briefly in this one. Are they required in order to get in shape and improve your fitness level? The quick answer to that is no. BUT can the right supplements help you along the process – absolutely yes. Again, more about this whole topic in my next post… STAY TUNED!

If I had one key message for you to take away from this blog post, it would be this: “Work smarter, not harder.”  Still unsure how to  go about that in the health and fitness world? Good thing I'm here to help you out! Until next time everyone.

~Desi

Warrior Fit – Warrior Ready – Warrior Strong

Sources used:

1.     Venuto, T. (2012). Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle. New York. Harmony Books.

2.     Matthews, M. (2014). Bigger, Leaner, Stronger. 2^nd Edition. Florida. Oculus Publishers, Inc.

3.     Matthews, M. (2015). Cardio Sucks. 2^nd Edition. Florida. Oculus Publishers, Inc.

4.     Mayo Clinic Staff. (22 April 2016). Getting Stronger, Leaner, Healthier. Healthy Lifestyle Fitness. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/strength-training/art-20046670

5.     Walston, J.D. (23 June 2014). Sarcopenia in Older Adults. US National Library of Medicine. National Institute of Health. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4066461/