This fitness program will be ideal for both Beginners and Pros, one thing you have to keep in mind is to remain consistent with it. There have to be two approaches, a short-term goal, and a long-term goal, the idea is to approach the system with the mindset of making it a successful lifelong program.
Lifelong practices are the sort of practices where you approach a program or a goal with the intention of life-long practice, where once you decide to exercise with a set of skills and practices that you can carry on for the rest of your life.
The next step is to Assess the progress along the way, fine-tuning, making adjustments along the way, and making it as close to your routine as possible. As Jocko Willink says
Discipline and a set system will not restrict you in life, it will only give you the freedom to do things you love and make it an enjoyable and fun part of life that you look forward to it every day
Having a plan will make things easier not only for short-term benefits like looking a certain way but long-term benefits too where you feel your best self every day.
A pro tip I would like to give you is to write down what you did the day before and add emojis in front of it. If it was easy add a smiley, if it was hard add a sad face, it will give you a clear idea of what was easy and how to make it a little challenging with time.
Remember, having a structure is key, it will make the entire process so much more manageable. One thing you need to consider is to make the plan according to your needs and what you want to achieve with it. Most people fall under these three categories,
1) Those who want to lose weight, 2) Those who want to gain weight, and
3) Those who want a fit and active lifestyle.
I will be honest, most people belong to the upper 2 types the third type is pretty rare. Whatever your reason for starting to exercise the benefits will have a long-term impact on your life for sure. If you want to lose weight the plan should focus on fat loss, which can be achieved through a combination of strength and endurance training (dumbbell and cardio workout), more endurance training that will get your heart rate up would be great.
If you want to gain weight the plan should focus on building strength and muscle hypertrophy which can be achieved through a combination of dumbbells and resistance bands, more reps and increasing weight over time will be a great approach. And for those who want to lead a fit and active lifestyle, it should be a combination of weight training and endurance work with both distributed evenly across the whole week.
Tip #1 - Identify the Goal
Identifying the goal is the easiest step, all you have to do is ask yourself which category mentioned below you belong to.
1) Those who want to lose weight.
2) Those who want to gain weight.
3) Those who want a fit and active lifestyle
The next is identifying short-term and long-term goals both, thinking for the next month but also thinking for the next year.
I remember my exercise physiology professor Sir Jam once asked in the class, which goal should be made first the long-term goal or the short-term goal. The whole class said to make the short-term goals first and then the long-term goals.
I disagreed and said the long-term goal should be made first because the short-term goal should be made like a little staircase toward that long-term goal. And he agreed almost immediately. Similarly, your long-term goal could be anyone from the above list, but the short-term goal should be baby steps in that direction.
Tip #2 - Identify the defender
Ask yourself, “What’s stopping you?
Look at your previous experiences and start walking backward.
If it's injury or burnout, work on that first. Do you feel any pain during exercise? If yes, go see a doctor or consult your local physical therapist first. If you get tired really quick, go get your iron checked. Are you anemic or do you have any other underlying nutritional deficiency? Always remember
“Exercise does not cause any pain it only help to reduce the pain"
Choose the programs based on your previous failures.
If it was not interesting, why was that?
Why did you stop the exercise program before? Why didn’t it work before?
Another tip is to reduce friction. Make some promises to yourself.
Make it specific add time, days of the week, and place of exercise.
Print it or take a screenshot. And put it on the mirror or as a phone wallpaper.
Tip #3 - Choose the number of days and time
It has to be realistic, look at the life schedule. Don't make over-the-top new year resolutions that you know you will never do like exercise every day or do one hour training sort of plans. They never work.
Keep it realistic. Always start small and slowly increase the difficulty over time.
Tip #4 - Order of exercise
The most important exercise should be done first. Whether it is to build a muscle group or a specific position that you find most difficult. Do it first so the rest of the workout will be easy.
Prioritize Endurance training before lifting weights if Fat loss is important. Identify the best days and the worst days of the week and work around it.
Tip #5 - Intensity and volume
Pick the amount of intensity, reps, and total sets. Add Progressive Overload. Overload is the golden keyword here specifically progressive overload. Now, the term may sound very intimidating but believe me, it’s not.
In simpler words, progressive overload is the process where you make your exercise a little more challenging with time. Let’s say you just started running, you run for 5 minutes at your maximum speed until you can no longer continue, you repeat the same approach every day until it is hard but as soon as the 5-minute run gets easier, you add more time or add some weight to your ankles.
You can increase sets, reps, weight, tempo, and frequency, or reduce rest intervals.
Head close to failure, in simpler words, do an exercise with all the energy you have, and don't stop until you can physically no longer continue.
Tip #6 -Rest and Recovery
Rest and recovery are equally important if not more. You need to give your body proper rest and time to heal until you train again.
Having an optimal rest day will not only increase your performance the next time you do the workout but will significantly improve your body's ability to adapt to it.
Don’t forget to add a personal touch
Research suggests that Specific training programs are more effective as compared to a different thing doing a bit of everything. The set plan avoids any confusion, makes you stick to it and you’ll actually see results quicker. The program should be unique to you, just like the unique person that you are.
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