Step 6: Exercise Plans
Suggested Supplies
Exercising can be simple and take few supplies or more complicated. It all depends on how you decide to burn those calories. Here are a few things you might want to have:
-Good Shoes
You don't have to go anywhere fancy to get good shoes. The good friends at Academy Sports and Outdoors have less expensive prices and their employees will know what to look for depending on the kind of exercise you plan on engaging in primarily. Without good shoes, working out can become painful, which will make you want to stop.
-A water bottle or some bottled water
You always need access to water during a workout. It is essential. You might be thinking that you'll need a sports drink because you're being active. Don't be fooled. That's you pouring calories into your mouth as you try to burn them! Unless you are running marathons or engaging in an intense sports game, you don't need sugary sports drinks. Water is fine.
-Smartphone or iPod/Book or TV
One of the biggest complaints I used to have about working out was that I had nothing to do on the machines. If you're going to ride a machine, you might want to have something to do when you get there. I would suggest that you tie some entertainment into any kind of exercise, whether you're listening to music, reading a book, or watching your Netflix que. It helps your workout time feel more like your free time used to. You're just not sitting on the couch anymore!
-Gym Membership?
Having a gym membership can help you by putting all of the fanciest, newest tools at your disposal as well as offering exercise classes. It can also be expensive and intimidating for people who are self conscious about their bodies or their lack of knowledge about exercise. Use your own best judgement. Will you use the gym membership? Are you better off just taking brisk walks around your neighborhood or following along with an exercise video for now? If you are not comfortable going to a gym, don't go.
Making Your Exercise Plan
Now it's time to consider how to make a plan to exercise. A major consideration for this will be when to fit it in. I would recommend aerobic activity at least 30 minutes a day, 6 times a week if not 7. How will you do this? Will you wake up early every day to fit it in? Will you go after work? Do you have enough breaks during your workday to break up your workout into two 15 minute sessions or even three ten minute sessions?
Another thing to consider is that your starting plan should be simple. It's important that you experience success early on and add more pieces later. Here's what your first plan might look like:
Mon-Sun: 30 minutes of walking with 5 minute stretch after.
That's it. Maybe within a few months you'll want to add strength training. Strength resides in your upper and lower body and in your core. You can do exercises for each muscle group on certain days of the week. Here's what that plan might look like:
Monday - 30 minutes of walking with upper body strength
Tuesday - 30 minutes of walking
Wednesday - 30 minutes of walking with core strength
Thursday - 30 minutes of walking
Friday - 30 minutes of walking with lower body strength
Saturday - 30 minutes of walking
Sunday - 30 minutes of walking
You can choose from a wide variety of exercises in the different areas. Here is a comprehensive list of exercises . You should try to choose 2 or 3 exercises for each area of your body and choose a reasonable amount of repetitions of the motion to start with. Maybe this is 10. Over time you may work your way up to 20 and then more. There are also things called sets where you do a certain amount of repetitions and then rest for a moment before doing more. Be sure to switch up the exercises periodically to challenge your muscles.
Later on, you might want to add more aerobic or anerobic exercise. I prefer to do around an hour of exercise each day and this can really speed your weight loss. You may want to add new and different activities to interest you. Whenever the exercises feel easy, make them feel harder. There is a difference between being hurt and being uncomfortable. Exercise should not hurt but it should feel uncomfortable. If it's comfortable, you are not being challenged.
Lastly, remember that you can record your physical activity in your calorie journal. Most of the aforementioned smart phone apps and websites will calculate for you how many calories you've burned or the machine might have a display that tells you. It should be noted that the calories you burn are not to be replaced through eating unless you are doing an excessive amount of exercise. It's just helpful to record your calorie burn for personal reference.
Exercising can be simple and take few supplies or more complicated. It all depends on how you decide to burn those calories. Here are a few things you might want to have:
-Good Shoes
You don't have to go anywhere fancy to get good shoes. The good friends at Academy Sports and Outdoors have less expensive prices and their employees will know what to look for depending on the kind of exercise you plan on engaging in primarily. Without good shoes, working out can become painful, which will make you want to stop.
-A water bottle or some bottled water
You always need access to water during a workout. It is essential. You might be thinking that you'll need a sports drink because you're being active. Don't be fooled. That's you pouring calories into your mouth as you try to burn them! Unless you are running marathons or engaging in an intense sports game, you don't need sugary sports drinks. Water is fine.
-Smartphone or iPod/Book or TV
One of the biggest complaints I used to have about working out was that I had nothing to do on the machines. If you're going to ride a machine, you might want to have something to do when you get there. I would suggest that you tie some entertainment into any kind of exercise, whether you're listening to music, reading a book, or watching your Netflix que. It helps your workout time feel more like your free time used to. You're just not sitting on the couch anymore!
-Gym Membership?
Having a gym membership can help you by putting all of the fanciest, newest tools at your disposal as well as offering exercise classes. It can also be expensive and intimidating for people who are self conscious about their bodies or their lack of knowledge about exercise. Use your own best judgement. Will you use the gym membership? Are you better off just taking brisk walks around your neighborhood or following along with an exercise video for now? If you are not comfortable going to a gym, don't go.
Making Your Exercise Plan
Now it's time to consider how to make a plan to exercise. A major consideration for this will be when to fit it in. I would recommend aerobic activity at least 30 minutes a day, 6 times a week if not 7. How will you do this? Will you wake up early every day to fit it in? Will you go after work? Do you have enough breaks during your workday to break up your workout into two 15 minute sessions or even three ten minute sessions?
Another thing to consider is that your starting plan should be simple. It's important that you experience success early on and add more pieces later. Here's what your first plan might look like:
Mon-Sun: 30 minutes of walking with 5 minute stretch after.
That's it. Maybe within a few months you'll want to add strength training. Strength resides in your upper and lower body and in your core. You can do exercises for each muscle group on certain days of the week. Here's what that plan might look like:
Monday - 30 minutes of walking with upper body strength
Tuesday - 30 minutes of walking
Wednesday - 30 minutes of walking with core strength
Thursday - 30 minutes of walking
Friday - 30 minutes of walking with lower body strength
Saturday - 30 minutes of walking
Sunday - 30 minutes of walking
You can choose from a wide variety of exercises in the different areas. Here is a comprehensive list of exercises . You should try to choose 2 or 3 exercises for each area of your body and choose a reasonable amount of repetitions of the motion to start with. Maybe this is 10. Over time you may work your way up to 20 and then more. There are also things called sets where you do a certain amount of repetitions and then rest for a moment before doing more. Be sure to switch up the exercises periodically to challenge your muscles.
Later on, you might want to add more aerobic or anerobic exercise. I prefer to do around an hour of exercise each day and this can really speed your weight loss. You may want to add new and different activities to interest you. Whenever the exercises feel easy, make them feel harder. There is a difference between being hurt and being uncomfortable. Exercise should not hurt but it should feel uncomfortable. If it's comfortable, you are not being challenged.
Lastly, remember that you can record your physical activity in your calorie journal. Most of the aforementioned smart phone apps and websites will calculate for you how many calories you've burned or the machine might have a display that tells you. It should be noted that the calories you burn are not to be replaced through eating unless you are doing an excessive amount of exercise. It's just helpful to record your calorie burn for personal reference.
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If I'm remembering correctly you want to space the workouts because working the muscle causes little tears and ruptures in the muscle tissue and it takes a day to heal itself. Which if you are eating enough protein will result in increased muscle mass. Again this is all if I'm remembering correctly as it has been over a decade since I first learned this all.
Running is a struggle for me. It's still tough for me to keep proper form which is key to keep injury free. Therefor, I listen to specific running music while running. Google "pod runner" for good running specific music that won't interfere with your concentration.
You can get audiobooks at most local libraries. An old school CD player is required unless you rip the books to your iPod. Just delete them when you're finished with them and turn the CD's back in.
the problems i have are twofold: i have an extra lumbar vertebrae which, while theoretically makes no difference, i've experienced the same pain and discomfort that many others with this condition have described. i also have a misshapen hip socket from being hit by a car when i was a child.
all this combined to make it absolutely miserable for me to walk more than 20ft or so. my feet would get what felt like electric shocks in the balls , my knees would have a grinding ache, my hips would burn, and my lower back would start to spasm. regardless, i had to walk 10k/day - my dog was out of control and being a border collie mix, that's what it took to keep him more or less calm while i was gone during the day.
i finally caved and stopped buying the $10 cheapie shoes when i kept walking through them every three weeks - i mean literally: you could look on the sole of the shoe and see the imprint of my foot coming through. i started with a $40 pair of nikes - big mistake! my feet are "yeti" feet - size 6W - and nikes are cut for a long, narrow foot. then i tried converse - $50. they lasted 3wks and i had to take them back to the store because they were literally disintegrating: the uppers pulling off the soles and the grommets pulling out of the fabric. then i bought a pair of reeboks with those fancy air chamber systems - those lasted about a month before the chamber on the left popped.
skechers - that's what the answer is for me. i never had any discomfort wearing them - i was told keep it to 20min/day the first couple days and gradually work up. i wore them the first day the entire day because i forgot i had them on. i was walking here, walking there, walking everywhere and i realized i wasn't even thinking about it! i have 4 pairs of skechers, all about a year old, and still good to go. yes, they're about $150/pair but if i'd left it at $10/pair, i'd've spent $120 on shoes and still had no shoes to wear!
However, back to the concentration thing. When I get tired and the little man in the back of my mind starts saying, "it's okay to walk," I start getting sloppy form. I simply tell myself, "I don't need to quit. I still have legs. I still have my breath. I still have the energy. I may want to quit, but I don't have the quit. I still have plenty in me." I check my form from head alignment all the way down to down how my foot strikes and where in relation to my center of gravity. The little man shuts up for a little while.
I can't do that while listening to an audiobook or even popular music. I'll be going along and next thing I know I've stopped running without realizing it. Then I have to concentrate on running again, then I'll not know what happened in the last five minutes of the story.
I agree, an audiobook can really put me off my game and slow me down too. I am a slow runner as it is, so most of the time it doesn't bother me. ;-) Every race I complete is a victory. Great points!