Most people during the New Year tend to go straight into training, working out 6-7 days a week without slowly building up the training load. This however can lead to early injuries, as your body systems may not be quite ready to take on the increased loads.
Tips to help increase your training load:
Slowly increase the number of training days in a week – If you haven’t been exercising start off with 2-3 days of training with rest days in between. Once your body starts becoming accustomed to the exercises then build up to 4 – 6 days of training.
Gradually increase exercise intensity – start training off with a light to moderate intensity to get back into the swing of things. Once that becomes easy to do then build up on the intensity and load. For example, train yourself to run at a moderate intensity interspersed with some walking for the first 1-2 weeks and then gradually pick up the pace and spend less time walking. Try to avoid the feeling of: “last year I was running x km or lifting x kg and that was easy so I’ll just start off with that.
Be sure to take things slow and be conscious of how your body is moving and feeling. Listen to your body.
Warm up and cool down after every training session.
Stretch after you exercise.
Ensure you keep yourself hydrated!
Keep motivated with your exercise but be sure not to burn yourself out early on in the year.
Home workouts during the holiday season
Are you taking a break from doing your usual workout but still want to stay fit and work on a few exercises at home? There are many exercises that you can do at home that use minimal gym equipment.
Here are a few exercises to help you along with working out at home:
- Leg work out – lunges, squats, step ups, thigh stretch, hamstring curls with swiss ball
- Abdominal toning – chest lifts, criss cross, roll downs, mountain climbers, side plank
- Arm exercises – push ups, dips, bicep curls, chest press with dumbbells, skull crushers
- Gluteal toning – bridging (single or double leg), clams, side kick series, prone hip extensions, skating, theraband squat walks
- Spinal mobility exercises – book openings, side to side, cat/camel, mermaids
- Cardio – jump squats, walking lunges, skipping, high knees jogging on the spot
- Choose 2-3 exercises from each body region and perform 8-10 repetitions with 3-4 sets of each. An example of a work out would be:
- Bridging
- Book openings
- Clams
- Side to side
- Chest lifts
- Criss cross
- Push ups + mountain climbers
- Squats
- Squat with bicep curls and green theraband tied above the knees
- Walking or jump lunges
Remember to watch your form when doing a home exercise program and always stretch after you exercise.
If you are unsure about how to do any of these exercises, please send us an email to admin@mindheartbodycentre.com.au and we can send you some pictures with instructions.