1. What exactly is your goal for starting a workout program?
Do you want to slim down? Do want to slim down and tone-up? Or, do you just want to gain muscle and have no desire to slim down? Maybe you’re only interested to increasing your flexibility, or just improve the way you generally feel. There could be dozens of different goals; you just need to identify your own. This will help you narrow down very quickly what type of exercise program is right for you. (I’ll post more on specific goals and workouts that go along with them later on.)
2. How much time a day or a week are you willing to set aside to exercise?
I have found that not having enough time is the number one reason people I know stop exercising or don’t exercise in the first place. It is very easy, especially in the fast-paced world we live in, to lead extremely busy lives. Most often, if you try to “find extra time” to exercise, it won’t happen, because you don’t have any extra time. The key is to set time aside, cutting some not-so-important activities out of your day. So how much time can you set aside? Some programs take an hour or more a day, and some just 15-20 minutes. This also goes back to your goals. If you want quick results, you’re going to have to spend more time everyday. So make the assessment of time an honest one, and you’ll be much more empowered to diligently exercise.
3. What are you going to spend for the workout programs?
You know what you can spend on workout programs, so I’m not going to go too much into that. But I will say this…more often than not if you spend some money on exercise you will exercise more. I feel that investing money brings a feeling responsibility and accountability. For example, when I bought my adjustable dumbbells for $300 (which is a lot for me and my wife) my wife gave me that look that said, “You better use these, or else…”. And if I didn’t use them, every time I would look at them I would think that I had wasted a bunch of our money. That’s a small motivation factor that I think is worth while. But having said that, there are hundreds of websites, and youtube videos that are that have great ideas for a free workout program. I would explore those options anyway, whether or not you buy into a program.
Here are some examples of fitness goals and elements of a fitness program geared toward each goal.
• Sliming down- Cardio! Cardio! Cardio! This is they key and should be your main emphasis. Getting your heart rate up through cardiovascular exercise elevates your metabolism and burns a lot of calories. But don’t forget about resistance/weight training. There are studies showing that weight training actually helps with cadiovascular endurance, and vice versa. Don’t make the weight training your main focus, maybe doing only 1-2 per week. And you don’t need to use a lot of weight. Body weight exercises like push-ups, pull-ups, and lunges are great for a workout program to help you slim down.
• Slim down and tone-up- Find a program that keeps your focus on cardio, but includes more weight training with heavy weights. I would recommend doing a weight training session in between each cardio session if this is your goal.
• Build Muscle- Throw on the weights and start eating more! In my opinion, gaining muscle is much harder than loosing fat, and the key is heavy weight doing sets of 6-8 reps. Find a program that focuses on all muscle groups, and find a partner to lift with so you can push yourself. Don’t forget about cardio. There are studies showing that cardiovascular exercise helps with weight resistance exercise. Just be sure you’re lifting more than you’re running.
• Feel better- Get a balanced system going and find something you think you’ll enjoy doing. Most people feel better when they touch on all aspects of fitness- cardiovascular strength, muscle strength, and flexibility. Find a program that includes these three things.
Hopefully by reading these few principles you’ll have a easier time finding the right workout program for you. These are just a few examples of some goals you may have. We’ll recommend some specific programs later on for you to check out and see if they are right for you.