MAKING YOUR ANTI-AGING FITNESS

WORKOUT PROGRAM MORE EFFECTIVE

There are three key elements to an effective body building program:

1. Mind Focus
2. Staring Out Right
3. Managing Your Workout Program

Mind Focus

To make your workout really effective you must focus and concentrate each and every minute you exercise. You have to perform using the right form that will employ the target muscle and you have to focus like a laser beam on the sub-muscle group.

The chest muscle group should be separated, for example, into 3 groups, each one of them to be worked separately: the upper, the middle and the lower muscles. But the most important is putting your mind into action and focus your thoughts on the specific sub-muscle group.

You think about the sub-muscle group and your mind gives a command to engage the specific muscle while isolating any other muscle.

Starting Out

If you are just starting out, be patient. Any muscle that hasn't been worked hard in more than a week or so will let you know within 24 hours that it has been stressed. That's OK. You will be sore at first. You should be sore at first. But that goes away.

• Start light, ease into hard work. For most people, fitness is not a competitive activity, but one of self-realization. Do only what is right for you, and don't worry about the person at the next machine. Resist the temptation to do more than you can.
• Whenever you start a new exercise, make certain that you master the correct form. Use weights with which you can complete, with good form, three sets of 12 to 15 reps. Only then should you increase the weight.
• Start with a program and schedule you will be able to maintain. Fitness is a long term proposition not a short term endeavour.

Managing Your Workout Program

Warming Up

Warming up takes two forms - overall, and specific. For the "overall" part, it's always a good idea to begin any strength workout with a short aerobic exercise to "get the blood" flowing. This should be a 5-10 minutes low intensity warm-up, and is not a substitute for a more focused aerobic workout.

"Specific" warm-ups are done before you begin heavy lifting with any given muscle group. The first time you work a muscle group you should do 10-12 reps at 60% to 75% of your intended first set weight. When combined with stretching, warming up will help prevent injuries and allow you to get the most from your workouts. If you allow a muscle group to cool by resting too long, between exercises, you should warm it up again before heavy lifting.

Sets and Reps

Reps or Repetitions: The number of times a movement is done consecutively without stopping.

Sets: A set is a group of repetitions. By choosing the proper combination of sets and reps you can shape the effect of your workout. Note that the number of sets doesn't include warm-ups

Working to Maximum Exertion Point

Also known as “working to failure” Performing an exercise until you are no longer able to complete another rep and maintain good form. Once you have advanced beyond the starting point, you will want to optimize your workouts.

To increase definition or add muscle mass you should to do each set to failure. That means selecting the right weight, and/or changing the weight between sets.

Use Soreness as Your Guide - It’s a common myth to never exercise a sore muscle. Instead, determine how sore you really are. If your muscle is sore to the touch or the soreness limits your range of motion, give the muscle at least another day of rest. If not, use light aerobic activity and stretching, and light lifting, to help alleviate some of the soreness.

In designing your total fitness program you need to consider your fitness goals. Are they to:

How to Determine Exercise Intensity

When exercising, it's important to monitor your intensity to make sure you're working at a pace that is challenging enough to help you reach your goals, but not so hard that risk injury.

There are a variety of methods for determining exercise intensity levels. Common methods include the‘talk test’, the target heart rate range and the Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE).

Perceived Exertion Scale

Perceived exertion is how hard you feel your body is working. It is based on the physical sensations a person experiences during physical activity, including increased heart rate, increased respiration or breathing rate, increased sweating, and muscle fatigue.

The standard Perceived Exertion Scale is the Borg Scale of Perceived Exertion, which ranges from 0-20.

Practitioners generally agree that perceived exertion ratings between 12 to 14 on the Borg Scale suggests that physical activity is being performed at a moderate level of intensity.

How to Use the Perceived Exertion Scale

While doing physical activity, note how heavy and strenuous the exercise feels to you, combining all sensations and feelings of physical stress, effort, and fatigue.

Do not concern yourself with individual factors such as leg pain or shortness of breath; focus on your total feeling of exertion.

Choose the number from 6 [no exertion at all] and 20 [maximal exertion]
Adjust your activity to your goal exertion rate.

Typical Goal Levels

When to adjust your intensity.

• Walking moderate-intensity activity "somewhat hard" (12-14).
• If muscle fatigue and breathing is "very light" (9 on the Borg Scale) increase his intensity.
• If exertion was "extremely hard" (19 on the Borg Scale) slow down his movements.

Using Borg Scale to Estimate Heart Rate

Multiply intensity rating by 10 to get a fairly good estimate of the actual heart rate during activity.

Next: Choosing the Right Type of Workout To Reach Your Goals