Today I want to give you an overview of a DIY workout plan that you can do every week. These workout types are what I would consider to be the basics of making sure that you’re balanced in your workout and you’re getting the best results.
I want to preface this by emphasizing that hitting each of these types of exercise categories is best case scenario. Have to skip strength training three days in a row because you only had a chance to take a long walk around the field at your kids’ soccer practice? Awesome! Don’t feel bad about that. Any workout is always better than no workout. I always say,
The best workout is the one you actually do.
So, first of all, I just really wanted to make that clear. Best case scenario does not always happen. If we set ourselves up with that expectation that we have to do this perfect workout scenario or none at all, we’ll often find ourselves more in that just going to skip it category.
I’m more concerned about your daily habits and consistency than doing the perfect workout, or doing the perfect regime, or making sure that this day you work abs, and this day you work legs—none of that matters as much as being consistent and just being active every day.
But so many people find themselves frustrated because they hit the gym on a routine basis, but can’t quite seem to get the scale to budge or wonder if they may be leaving out an important component. (Just how important is strength training, after all?) And if you’re going to show up and do the work, you may as well get the best results!
Other people may not know where to get started in an exercise program, because all the household advice can add up to confusion and overwhelm.
So, let’s dive in.
The first basic that I want to cover in a well-rounded workout plan is strength training. Strength training is something that a lot of us maybe struggle with. As a personal trainer, it is what people often come to me the most wanting advice on or help with. The thing that is critical about strength training is that it actually helps you burn fat faster, and for longer. While is is true that cardio burns more calories during the actual workout, the thing about having a lot of muscle fiber is that it actually boosts your metabolism 24-7. The more muscle fibers you have, the more you are burning everyday—when you’re at work, when you’re driving in your car, when you’re going to the grocery, when you’re sitting in a meeting—you burn more calories.
So, what is strength training? It can be anything that’s using your muscles to push against a resistance, or to work against gravity. We often think of lifting weights, but things like push-ups, squats, and even power yoga can be a great way to strength train. So, those can all be choices for you. I want to see you strength training, just twice a week, 20-30 minutes. That’s it! Forget about working certain muscle groups together and on different days. For everyday fat-burning and strength-building, two total-body strength training workouts for 25 minutes twice a week is all you need.
Now, cardio. Let’s talk about 2 different types of cardio. There’s steady-state, and there’s interval-based cardio. Research tells us that interval-based workouts can really give us more fat-burning potential, and they can make us feel amazing afterwards. It also leads to more calories burned, because you get that after-burn effect. Whether you’re on the elliptical machine, running, swimming, or biking—push the pace for about 1 or 2 minutes, and then back off, and just go at a recovery pace, much slower than you would normally go.
So, twice a week, let’s do an interval training of some sort for about 20-25 minutes; and then once a week, I’d love to see you do some type of steady-state, which just means that you’re kind of going at a consistent pace. You’re not killing yourself; you can breathe—this could be a hike, a long walk, a long bike ride. This works well on the weekends when you have a little bit more time. You do want to aim for about 45-60 minutes once a week. This is going to help build endurance. This is also going to be one of the best ways to get true mental benefits from exercise, because you’re really creating some time away from technology and chores and external pressures without pushing yourself too hard.
I don’t want you to do interval-based training more than a couple of times a week, because it’s hard on your body, and your body recovers during rest. Sleeping at night, and resting, and just making time either within each work out–or at least devoting a time once a week for an extended stretch session—these recovery items are going to do more for increasing fat burning and muscle strength, than pushing it hard every day. The muscles do not grow until they are in a rested state.
So there you have it. We’re strength training for 20 to 30 minutes twice a week. We’re hitting interval-based cardio twice a week for 20 to 30 minutes, we’re doing one longer steady-state workout each week, and we’re adding stretching in to the tail-ends of our workout and maybe once a week for a longer period on our days off. It only takes a few hours a week, tops, to supercharge our energy, increase our longevity, and score a flat, lean midsection.
What are you doing to commit to adding into your workout routine this week?
Start burning fat today with my free 25-Minute Yoga + Cardio Circuit Workout Video.
