Firstly, the number one aspect of any form of training is the mental one. So get clear about WHY you want to achieve the body of your dreams. Establish in your mind that this is a priority and then reconcile yourself to the fact that your goal is a worthy one and one that will require you to move beyond your comfort zone (on the couch).
Secondly, take this as a holistic set of problems that has resulted from poor lifestyle choices and thus one that requires a multi-faceted solution. This includes:
Diet
Exercise
Sleep
Lowering Day-to-Day Stress
Hygiene
Grooming
Study the body, and all of the above
Initially you will want to join or rejoin or re-acquaint yourself with the gym. Start with 3 sessions a week. Do not try to run before you can walk here either. Settle on a timetable of: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Each session, to start with, will include the following elements:
- light cardio to warm up. E.g. 10 minutes on the treadmill @ 6.5km/h on a 0.5% incline.
- large muscle group and compound muscle group exercises - think pull-ups, squats, leg press, bench press, abdominal raises, lat pulldowns.
- Limited yourself to two exercises per body part; three sets per exercises with reps going from (1st set) of 15 on a light weight to (2nd set) 12 reps on a moderate weight then finally 8-10 reps on a more challenging weight. Not too challenging now you here!
- Make use of the wonderful Power Plate should your gym possess them. Just avoid positioning your head directly above the vibrating place - this brain jarring is the one and only real danger of this form of exercise (whole body vibration).
- Make abdominal exercises a staple of all three workouts for your first month to six weeks in the gym.
- Always cool down with light cardio so as to gentle bring your heart rate down to normal.
And remember, like this post, Rome and your body were not built in a day! Next time we'll chat about nutrition and supplementation.
Do you think people in a weakened state - say from disease or chronic ill-health could still attempt these sorts of transformations?
ReplyDeleteI would be very careful; and obviously it all depends on how severely they are affected. Having said that ALWAYS check with your doctor I'd imagine is the only sensible advice. Can't wait to read instalment number two!
ReplyDeleteThe closest I get to a gym is about 60kms! Surely the hands on outdoor's stuff I do should count as much if not more than the hardship of being hauled up in a pampered air-conditioned toning gym somewhere?
ReplyDeleteWhere do you stand on machines? Like the benchpress machine or the pectoral fly machine vs. free weights? I find the machine easier.
ReplyDelete