Workouts

Top 10 tips to kick off your new exercise regimen.

1. Don't forget to stretch - But only very lightly after some sort of warm-up activity.  The most important stretching is done at the completion of your exercise.  Stretching prior to lifting can actually weaken the muscles you are about to train/strengthen - plus you really don't have much to stretch out until after the activity anyway.
2. Add Fartleks to your walking, jogging or running routine - Most definitely the worst name ever for a type of training exercise. Prounounced "fart lik", it is a method used to enhance training and helps combat boredom during a run.  You simply insert boosts of a faster pace for 10-60 seconds, followed by slower periods to catch your breath.  I like to do these outside using telephone poles to space out where my faster and slower sections begin and end.  It also is a great method if you are trying to get to the point of being able to run even a mile.  Try walking followed by short bursts of jogging to build up your endurance.
3. Give your usual push-up a big boost - Choose burpees or bastardos (a burpee with a push-up... and a terrible name).  From a standing position, squat down with your hands on the floor.  Then jump your legs back into a plank (or the upper position of a push-up).  Jump again and pull your legs back into the squat position, and finishing by jumping straight up.  Repeat.  The bastardo takes it one step further by having you complete a push-up once you have jumped back into that plank position.  I imagine it got this name because when you're doing the exercise, all you're wondering is who those "bastardos" are that came up with this. ;)
4. Add some resistance to your leisurely walk - If your preferred form of cardio is on the treadmill or walking around your neighborhood, add some weights to the routine.  The addition of weights that strap on your ankles or your wrists may seem negligible at first... until you get going some distance and then you'll start to feel muscles working that you never knew you had. 
5. Don't short-change your abs with poor sit-ups - No matter whether you choose a crunch or sit-up to work those abs, don't put all kinds of effort into contracting as you lift up and then throw in the towel when you return your body to the floor.  A sit-up/crunch should be a gentle motion, both in the rising and the returning position.  If you let your body weight slam you back to the floor, you've missed an abdominal strengthening opportunity by not controlling the downward movement too.
6. Jump Rope - Jumping rope is a great cardio exercise and you can do it anywhere, which is great for those who have a hard time getting away from the house to exercise.  Try adding even more intensity by trying to get going fast enough and high enough to get that jump rope around 2x on occasion.  Jumping rope is also a great thing to do when you first start working out and then after a few weeks see if you've increased your jumping endurance.

7. Toss in strength training at the end of your cardio - If you're training for the World's Strongest Man Competition, this wouldn't be the way to go.  Strength training after your cardio does reduce the brute force you may have and could limit the amount of weight you are able to lift.  But if your preferred method of exercise is something like jogging, my simple suggestion is just to be sure to add some weights to that routine.  An easy strengthening exercise is the wall squat where you lean up against a wall and squat down until your knees are at a 90-degree angle (looking like you're sitting on a chair).  Hold this position as long as possible.  The added muscle you gain from this type of exercise will improve your jogging endurance too.
8. Tone those sweet buns - If you're bored with the same old lunges, mix it up a little with a little jump as you move from the low lunge position to the same position on the opposite leg.  The quick contraction to force the jump inbetween lunges will literally kick your butt muscles into high gear.
9. The best type of exercise to do... is the kind you are willing to do.  Yes exercise should be fun, and any athletic activities you can find are the best.  But for routine exercise, you truly need to find something that fits your lifestyle and appeal to you.  The best time of day to exercise first with this too as the time of the day when you are able to exercise, or like to exercise, is the best time of day to do it.  What works for one person will not work for another.
10. Don't beat yourself up.  Cut yourself a little slack, but not too much.  No one exercises everyday of the entire year.  Accept the fact that there will be days you cannot fit it in, and move on making the next day better.  Stressing yourself about exercise opportunities you've missed will only create unnecessary increases in cortisol - and nobody wants that when they're trying to get their bod in shape.