“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,” said Lao Tzu. So are you beginning a workout routine for the first time or after a long gap? Read on…
Warm Up: The warm up is an important component of such a beginning since the muscles in the body need to be conditioned to sustain the exercise that follows and also to get all the internal systems like the cardio-vascular (heart and blood flow), cardio-respiratory ready for the routine. Sudden pressures on the muscles and internal systems can lead to injury and even prove fatal.
A warm up raises the body temperature, enhances blood flow and lubrication at the joints, improves the neuro-muscular coordination and generally improves the body’s ability. It usually consists of dynamic stretches targeting joints and muscles. Specific warm-ups target specific areas of the body.
Cool Down: Cool downs are important to restore the blood flow (while exercising, blood flow is shunted from non-active systems like digestive and reproductive systems to active systems like the muscular systems etc) and they bring down the body temperature as well, stretch the tense muscles and restore chemical balance in the body. Cool down usually has static stretches which need one to hold the muscles in stretched positions for 20-30 seconds, deep breathing and relaxation exercises.
Many of us opt to skip the warm-up and cool down session to save time or to give more time to the main work-out believing that it will bring the desired results faster. Needless to say, that would be highly inadvisable.While beginning a routine, maintaining regularity or frequency is more important than increasing the duration or intensity. A good and effective routine will have a balanced strength training and cardio component. These guidelines apply to both – men and women. And for the umpteenth time, weight training is strongly recommended for women since it only strengthens the muscles, and does not cause them to bulk up. It is ok to begin a weight training routine in the first week itself, provided it focuses on full-body conditioning and includes all muscle groups with lesser weight and average number of repetitions. It is more important to focus on the technique of lifting, posture and the ‘form’ of the exercise in order to build up on it later. The form is very important to focus on the right muscles so that they develop proportionately and also to avoid muscular imbalance and postural deformities.
Cardio activities: These are those activities which utilize the whole body, especially leg muscles and target the heart and are the best way to begin since they are ideal to condition the cardio-vascular and cardio-respiratory system, which form the foundation of any activity – exercise or otherwise! Cardio activities in a gym set-up usually range from treadmill, cycle, cross trainer, rowing machine to group classes like Aerobics, Kickboxing and its variants. Cardio workouts need to usually last at least 20 minutes and can go up to 60 minutes, continuously, or cumulatively over a few breaks in between if it gets extremely challenging. The 20 minute target is required for the fat resources to takeover from the carbohydrates and other sources and begin providing energy to sustain the exercise activity. It is better to stick to walking and use jogging as progression option weeks down the line. A speed of 4 – 6, as seen on the treadmill screen is good. Avoid using any pre-set programs on the treadmill or cycle and instead stick to the manual mode of varying speed and intensity.
Slow and steady definitely wins the race!