January 2, 2010
Topic:
New Year New You
The month of January is considered by many health professionals as the “Newbie month” and if you’re one of the millions of Americans who are about to venture into the fitness arena for the first time or again our fitness expert Wes Cole has your road map to your resolutions.
1. Start Slow - In the real world, the boot camp workout till you vomit programs don’t work because you’ll just quit. You need to ease into a new workout program not just for physical safety but mental safety as well. It’s crucial at the early stages that you develop a positive mental connection to your chosen gym, sport, and trainer, whatever. If you get to that point that you’re dreading it all day it’s a matter of time before failure. Try this. It’s called the five minute rule. Do only five minutes of cardio, five minutes of stretching and five minutes of weights. I don’t care if you barely break a sweat or only have time to get 2 sets of push-ups in. Just do it everyday and add five minutes a week. Build up to where you’re working out an hour. If you give your body time to adapt you’ll be amazed but don’t expect to become an overnight health nut.
2. Hire a trainer – If you don’t intelligently deal with an injury, you could turn something that’s minor, into something that’s major. Overzealously stretching damaged tissue or maintaining the “no pain, no gain” attitude, are things that will get you hurt. Remember, if your knee is bad and you decide anyway to go run, you’ll carry an unnatural gait which could lead to a back problem. If you hurt your back and try to work the upper body, your damaged back muscles won’t be able to contract hard enough to stabilize the spine. Use your head when injured. And remember, these days everyone is a web MD. There is a reason doctors and therapists go to school for years to be able to treat and diagnose injuries. Your best friend who is a plumber by trade might have good intentions when he’s giving advice but probably knows little about medical injuries.
3. Find a sport - Albert Einstein once said doing the same thing and expecting different results is the very definition of insanity. If the gym has never worked for you don’t go. Take up a sport, commit to running a marathon or go ballroom dancing. Look around Tulsa. There’s adult indoor soccer and basketball teams, rugby and rowing clubs, boxing gyms, martial arts schools. Sometimes the best strategy is something different.
Question from viewers:
Laura
I always feel lost in the gym. What are some good guidelines for a great workout?
Gene
Do I use machines or free weights? Do I do high reps or low reps? Cardio before or after? Exercise seems so confusing. Help!
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