Exercise For Beginners - Setting Up A Complete Program

Exercise for Beginners - Setting Up a Complete Program - From Paige Waehner, A well-rounded program includes cardio, weight training and flexibility. Knowing how to implement these components can be confusing. Should you do cardio and strength training on the same day? Which one should you do first? This will depend on your goals, schedule and fitness level, which means there are endless ways to set up your workout program. Below are some basic guidelines for getting started with a complete exercise program. For Beginners: You should start slowly with a basic cardio program and a full body resistance training routine. You'll want to have recovery days to allow your body to rest and your muscles to heal from your new routine. A typical beginner program will include about 3 or so days of cardio and about 2 days of strength training. If you're not sure about your fitness level, you can take the quiz, What's Your Fitness Level to get insight and resources to help you get started. Below is a sample schedule just to give you an idea of a typical week of workouts: Monday: Cardio-20-30 minutes, stretch Tuesday: Full Body strength training, stretch Wednesday: Cardio-20-30 minutes, abdominal workout, stretch Thursday: Rest or yoga Friday: Full Body strength training, stretch Saturday: Cardio-30 minutes, stretch For Intermediate/Advanced Exercisers-Goal: Weight loss and health: If you've been exercising for a while and your goal is to lose weight, you want to shoot for 20-60 minutes of cardio about 5 times a week. Your strength training schedule will depend on what type of workouts you're doing (e.g., total body training or a split routine). You can do cardio and weight training on the same day, depending on your time constraints. It doesn't matter which one you do first, so vary your routine and try different combinations to find the one that is right for you. Sample week of workouts: Monday: Cardio-30 minutes, Upper body strength training, stretch Tuesday: Cardio-45 minutes, core/ab workout, stretch Wednesday:Cardio-30 minutes, Lower body, 30 minutes, stretch Thursday: Rest or yoga Friday: Full Body strength training, stretch Saturday: Cardio-60 minutes, stretch For Intermediate/Advanced Exercisers-Goal: muscle gain: If you're trying to gain muscle mass and strength, focus on your strength training routine. Doing too much cardio beforehand can make you too tired to lift. Since you'll be using more weight and doing more exercises for each muscle group, you'll typically do a split training routine and less cardio. Here's a sample week of workouts: Monday: Chest, shoulders and triceps, Cardio-20 min. Tuesday: Legs and abs, Cardio-20 minutes Wednesday: Back and biceps, no cardio Thursday: Rest or yoga Friday: Full Body strength training-1 hour, stretching Saturday: Cardio-30 minutes