Posts Tagged ‘beginner’

I used several of these 10-minute solutions DVDs back in college when I was at my heaviest and was looking for something that I could do in my apartment after classes and homework since I didn’t have a whole lot of energy leftover to go to the gym. I had a very hard time deciding to write about these 10-minute solutions DVDs. Mostly because of the emasculating effect I felt. To be honest, nowhere does it say these DVDs are for women, but it’s pretty easy to see that anyone with a Y-chromosome is not in the target audience.

Aside from that it’s pretty easy to recommend these DVDs as a good place for beginners! If you’re not familiar with how they work, it goes like this. Each DVD is made up 4-6 workouts based around some theme like kick-boxing, abs, legs, etc. Each workout is only 10 minutes long. You get to decide which workouts you do and in what order you do them.
10 minutes may not sound like much, but string 3 together and you have a 30minute, targeted workout that will definitely have you feeling a burn. Studies are showing that several small chunks of exercise are as effective as one single large chunk. So if you can’t seem to find the time to do a whole workout, make it a goal to work through the DVD over the course of a day!

Like any DVD cardio program, you’re going to get what you put into it. But the style and presentation is definitely geared more towards beginners than the hardcore cardio crowd. If you’re new to home fitness programs and want to dip your toe in before committing to an expensive set of DVDs, this is a good place to start. Or, if you’re looking for a simple, easy way to get off the couch and start a basic exercise program these are perfect for that too.

FYI: My personal favorite was the boot-camp DVD, since it had lots of kick-boxing elements and I felt was more of a all-around workout than some of the others.

A lot of people get turned off of weightlifting of doing certain kinds of lifts (mostly leg workouts) because they know the next day it’s going to hurt to even get out of bed. Couple that with some fatigue and you have a genuine excuse for not lifting, or at least not trying as hard.

The Marines love to tell everyone “Pain is weakness leaving the body” and they’re not far off. The soreness in your muscles after a tough workout is your body’s way of telling you that it’s been pushed hard and is responding to that by building up and strengthening its muscles. So it’s a little more accurate to say that pain is strength entering the body… Yeah I know, doesn’t sound as cool.

Either way, unless you’re a sadist, sore muscles are no fun. Here’s a few tips and tricks to keep the pain to a minimum:
• Drink lots of water
• Ibuprophen
• Constant stretching throughout the day
• Gently massage the muscle
• Work out again!

I know when you’re stiff and tired from yesterday’s workout, the last thing you want to do is work out again. But doing some light cardio will get your blood pumping which will keep the muscles from tightening up, and also help flush your system of lactic acid, the stuff which is making you feel sore.

Of course prevention is always better than a cure, so try doing this next time when you work out:
• Stretch before anything else
• Warm up with 5-10 minutes of light cardio, like jogging or jumping jacks
• For new exercises do a first set of extra light reps
• For new muscles being worked, go easy the first few times
• Sip water throughout your workout
• Cool down with 5 minutes of cardio
• Stretch
• Drink lots of fluids after exercising

I wish I could say that there was a simple way to prevent muscle soreness resulting from a good strong workout, but it isn’t really possible. Part of exercising is getting your body to work anerobically. When the body works in that mode it builds up that lactic acid and you will be sore. The best thing you can do is just flush that acid out of your system as quickly as possible.

Given time, and I know this sounds strange, but you may come to enjoy it. Try taking it as sign that you worked hard and for that hard work your body is growing stronger. No need to get all macho and proud, just a simple smile when you stand up and feel those burning quadriceps.

Chances are when you first went to the gym, started a new workout, or did any new exercise you were pretty sore for the next few days. But if you stuck with whatever new exercise you were doing you saw some pretty significant gains in the first few weeks. This is due to 2 reasons:

1. Neurological: The first few times you do something you will be a bit shaky until your body adapts and “figures out” how it should go. Once your body has learned the new exercise you will do it better without any new muscle growth.

2. Physiological: Any new type of stress you put on your muscles is going to cause muscle growth in muscles that weren’t used very much before. This means that there will be a quick adapting period in the first few weeks of doing an exercise with large amounts of strength gain.

But what about after those first few weeks? You probably noticed you weren’t very sore anymore, and the shakiness had disappeared. Whatever the exercise was, you most likely stuck with it for several weeks to several months. But even if you worked hard you found that the gains were nothing like in the beginning and over time the resulting strength gains slowed down and may have even stopped.

This is called plateauing. It’s a pretty common term in weight lifting circles, and refers to a point when a certain exercise fails to deliver any benefit no matter how hard the person tries. It can also refer to a specific level of fitness that a person is having trouble moving past.

There are several ways you may plateau, and depending on the way, there will be a different solution to overcome this.

Stopped losing weight: Your body has reached an energy balance. As I’ve described before, you have as much energy coming into your body as is going out. Either cut the calories, or increase your level of exercise. Or, you can increase the amount of protein you are eating (Protein powders are great for this)and increase your exercise. This will allow your muscles to grow and burn more calories at a resting rate allowing you to lose more weight.

Stopped gaining strength: Again you have 2 options. The first is to increase your eating and let your muscles grow bigger and stronger. Or, change the exercises you are doing. Frequently changing your exercise routine enables continual “fast growth” like what I described in the beginning of this post. People often call this “muscle confusion” and many multi-week exercise plans use this method.

In summary, the 2 best things you can do for yourself when exercising and/or losing weight is to make sure you are getting enough food to fuel your muscles, and to continually change your exercise routine every few weeks. This will ensure that muscles are always growing at a peak rate and that they have the supplies they need to do all that growing.

I’ve mentioned before how cardio should definitely be a part of a balanced workout plan, and typically when I talk about cardio I mention running or biking. But another great option is to take a cardio class.

Many times a gym will offer these classes free of charge with your membership and are offered throughout the day.  These classes have certain advantages over just the regular cardio machines:

• In a group environment, so motivation and friend making are much easier
• Different classes uses different moves and music
• Ladies, classes are almost completely women so you can feel comfortable
• Guys, classes are almost completely women (aka good odds)
• You can expect to burn 1000-2000 calories per class
• Instructors will regularly update courses to keep thing fresh and challenging
• Some classes will offer or include yoga and stretching

There are some things you should consider though:

• If you have joint problems a cycling (spinning) class may be best
• Instructors are manically cheerful… it can be infectious
• These classes start at certain times, coming in late can be awkward so plan ahead
• Like any form of new exercise it will kick your butt for a week till you adjust

There are several types of classes out there and each gym will have a different name for them, but here’s a sample of what you will typically find and what they involve:

Kickboxing: As the name implies uses a lot of punching and kicking combinations, great for burning calories. Guys won’t feel quite as awkward in these types of classes. The punching and kicking can be hard on the joints so a good stretch will pay off before starting.

Dance: Guys will feel the most awkward here, and there won’t be many in the classes. It can burn as many calories as most kickboxing classes, but is easier on the joints. Still expect to get a good burn, but unless you big into the hip hop scene don’t expect to learn many useful dance moves.

Spinning: The instructor leads a group on a virtual bike ride using variable resistance bikes. These classes typically have the most even split of guys to gals. Don’t let the name fool you, these classes probably burn calories the fastest (upwards of 2000 if you push yourself). Bring a water bottle and a towel.

Weights: These classes will use light weights for resistance to moves. Expect some crossover of dance and kick boxing moves, blended with your typical weight lifting moves. For beginners, pick as light a weight possible, because I guarantee these will kick your butt the first few times.

Yoga/Stretch: Don’t expect a large calorie burn in these classes… or a whole lot of guys. If you’ve been having joint pains, looking to increase flexibility, or relax a bit try these classes out.