TIME to Shape-Up

Getting into shape takes time. Years ago, I learned in a health and fitness course when the average person seeks to get into peak physical condition, it will take months of hard work.  Conversely, for the person who is in peak physical condition it only takes about two weeks of no physical activity to degenerate a large percentage of the health advances they have made.  This means time and consistency are two necessary ingredients to getting in the kind of workouts that will make a difference in your overall health.

One of the most common complaints from those who have a hard time getting fit is they simply do not have time to put in the effort toward their health goals.  While time may be difficult to come by, there are ways to adjust our schedules in order to find the minutes necessary to begin seeing a difference in our health.  Here are a couple of courses of action that may fit your schedule in order to create the time you need to make a difference in your physical well-being.

30 Minutes A Day Plan – Often trainers and fitness gurus tell us exercising at a reasonably elevated heart rate for 30 minutes a day will get us on track to seeing results.  In this 30 minutes a day plan, the goal is to warm-up for the first five minutes, work hard for about 20 minutes, and then cool down for the final 5 minutes.  What you do in those middle 20 minutes is up to you, but it should be something cardio-vascular related (running, biking, etc.)  This will get your heart rate up, the sweat going, and soon enough the pounds coming off.  Using the first 5 minutes and the final 5 minutes to do proper stretching, warm-up, and cool-down activities helps insure you against injuries.  There are a number of 30-minute plans out there available for purchase, online, or through TV (ie – FitTV)

Every Other Day Plan - This kind of plan is ideal for the person who cannot make an every day commitment, but has enough flexibility in their schedules to take time out of their schedule 3 or 4 days a week.  There is a catch to this kind of plan.  You will need to devote additional time to the days that you are working out.  Your workouts will need to be around an hour long.  For runners, this is the ideal kind of workout, because it helps you get the miles in you need through out the week, but gives your body an “off-day” to recover.  Warming up and cooling down is still a big part of this exercise plan.  Taking 5 to 10 minutes at the beginning and end of your workout to stretch, prepare, and help your body recover guards against injuries.

Design Your Own – You can design your own plan, but keep these keys in mind.  You will need to work out at least 3 days a week to see results.  The fewer the days that you workout, the longer your workouts will have to be.  (You can see this demonstrated in the two plans above).  If weight loss is the goal, some form of cardio workout will have to be an element of your workout.  Whatever you choose to do, make sure that you are taking time to warm up and cool down.  An injury is not something that you want to deal with.  Proper stretching, warm-ups, and cool-downs can help!

Whatever weekly workout routine you choose must be paired with making wise nutrition choices.  Watch your calories closely.  It may not be the latest fad or a complex system, but simply watching diet and committing the time to exercise will go a long way toward getting you to your health goal.