Workout Routines - Here’s the best
approach for selecting an effective program

WHAT'S THIS PAGE ABOUT?

This page is about the important aspect of Workout Routines. It also proposes a commonsense mindset when deciding on a routine (or combination of routines) to use for maximum gains in health related fitness, as well as contribute to total physical fitness. Why do we talk about gaining lean mass and losing weight?

SHOP AROUND

Looking at health and fitness magazine covers, or top stories and articles of other popular media, and one will easily note how they portray physical excellence. At any one time, these media offer an immense availability of workout routines and programs promoting an array of results. So it’s easy right? You just pick up a copy of the most appealing magazine or sign up with an online resource, select one of the workout routines in the publication (given that the cover models endorse it), and you’re done, right? Sorry, wrong.

FIRST THE BAD NEWS

It’s not simply a case of handpicking a routine from a cover story like “your best summer workout program”, “lose 15 pounds in a week” or “get huge fast”. The images, buzzwords and catch phrases are amazingly impressive, but beware – keep a clear head! Yes, they effectively sell the body-beautiful concept, but who is the media at large actually talking to? And why are these promises made?

Unfortunately, answers to those questions are not on this page and I doubt you will find them anywhere. But one thing is certain. This kind of marketing lingers because people continue to take the bait. Without being sufficiently informed, they often find themselves buying or signing up for something because of the fancy packaging.

It is impossible to expect someone to use just any workout program, follow it blindly and expect the same results displayed by the models promoting it. The publishers are simply doing their best to sell their products and don’t mind if you “believe” that you will obtain the same results as their models do. You may, but nobody will guarantee it.

I experienced this first-hand, floundering around a bit until I became more informed and then devised the Sensible Physical Fitness Program for myself. I subsequently managed a lifetime best condition and was in an excellent position to continue improving and optimizing the program for my own particular characteristics and response-potential (something one can only gauge based on trial, error, correction and success). I found this a great beginner-intermediate program because it allows users to adjust it according to their specific situations.

As already mentioned on the FAQ page, there is unfortunately no “best” or one-size-fits-all workout program or routine. Otherwise, the health and fitness industry would have a very boring and predictable place and most people would walk around with tailor-made bodies of enviable shape and condition. Unless you have some experience in exercising using workout routines, or some physical training savvy, you will NOT know where or how to start and will be taking a shot in the dark. It may be a lucky shot, but that’s highly unlikely, and how much money are you willing to bet on that?

THEN SOME GOOD NEWS

With your thinking cap on and your mind made up to succeed, you can achieve something great and long-lasting. Allow me to point out that I’m not intending to begrudge the health and fitness concepts marketed by the general media – I myself subscribe to several of the popular ones. By all means, there are many related publications which make for good reading and carry lots of valuable resources. However, do not merely follow anything blindly.





Only by adopting an informed approach will you be able to realistically plan and successfully follow a workout routine and be better positioned to interpret your goals and fine tune your periodic results to achieve the end-objective.

WHERE TO BEGIN?

By using a realistic, practical and yes, you guessed right, “sensible approach”. First things first – take off the blinders. One of the most important aspects you’ll need for a body transformation program is a questioning and a thinking mindset. Do not take everything at face-value. The Health and Physical Fitness industry is not sincere. Neither is it commonplace to science. Results are neither empirically substantiated nor guaranteed.

Even though you can have a plan, a vision, remain solid in your resolve to succeed and realize a particular kind of physical condition, there are so many other players involved like diet, age, inherited genetics (somatotype) and of course the type of workout routines adopted. We are talking about a multi-faceted project here. This again relates to my own experience with the Sensible Physical Fitness Program.




Some key points on selecting workout routines

Although they seem rather simple, it's more difficult to put into practice:

• You have to work with all of the above-mentioned variables and exploit their contributions to your advantage. Although an excellent physical condition is attainable, it’s not as easy as 1-2-3.

• Read widely and intuitively to understand the topics of health related fitness, physical fitness, nutrition plans and physical activity.

• Ask experts or enlist in the help of a qualified fitness trainer. (You can also contact me. I would be more than willing to dialogue with you on the Sensible Physical Fitness Program or any of the topics covered on this Site.)

• Think and question everything to stay on top of your evolving condition so that you can gauge your progress and alter course as and where necessary.

• Last but not least, remember that no one person or source can give you ALL the answers, simply because nobody HAS all the answers. Health and physical fitness is a thinking person’s game. Be dedicated, work at it and stay abreast of developments in the industry.

THE EFFECTS OF PHYSICAL EXERCISE

Whatever physical exercise activity or program you engage in, it is useful to briefly note the enhancement of functional capacity of the muscles, organs and bodily tissues (read more about the benefits of exercise). The changes can also be referred to as the “Training Effect”, and result from the stress and overload of physical exercise.

Regardless of the activities you primarily undertake, you will want your body to be stronger, more efficient and less susceptible to disease. To optimally achieve this, one should include both Aerobic Exercise (Cardiovascular Workouts) and Anaerobic Exercise (Weight Workouts and Strength Training Exercises), thereby training both the slow and fast-twitch muscle fibers. These activities will cause a number of physiological and biochemical changes to occur, not to mention positive changes to the metabolism and anatomy.

I deem it Important to include activities which will boost the health related fitness components and also include time for meditation and relaxation to harmonize my faculties. You may already have specific goals in mind like wanting to add muscle mass or lose 3 inches around your waist; or maybe you simply want to improve your running and interface this with effective relaxation methods.

CONSIDER THIS BEFORE DECIDING

What are you in the market for? What are your objectives? You may even find that in consultation with a health expert or fitness trainer that you want to revise your objectives.

Are you currently following workout routines or fitness programs? Are you merely interested in losing a little weight and finding ways to be more attuned to your body by participating in Yoga classes?

These and more are the types of questions you need to be asking yourself as there is a whole host of training methodologies with related principles and outcomes. The choice is usually up to the individual.

Here are some take home lessons to consider as keys to successfully completing workout routines:

• Assessing and understanding the “where I am now” point. This is vital when considering possible workout routine candidates you can realistically follow, whether done alone or by consulting the information resources or with the assistance of a certified trainer.

• Once you know where you're at, you can start plotting your course of action. Cardinal to successfully maintaining a workout routine is to plan, execute and record your progress by means of a workout plan or exercise log.

• There is a lot of emphasis on a combination of your desired outcome, a no-holds-barred assessment of your actual individual condition and genetic predisposition (somatotype), and the lifestyle, finances and time you wish to set aside. If you are an “average everyday person” (see the FAQ), ensure you carefully prioritize your physical fitness activities so that you free up the necessary time to do your workout routines.

• Don’t worry now about “how” you will find the time. The boost in your morale from your initial progress will be enough motivation for you to improvise ways of fitting it in.

• Partake in the types of physical activities that appeal to you. Following an intense strength training workout routine even if you’re not into gaining weight, simply because Mr X told you it worked wonders for him, is not advisable. You will soon lose interest and risk packing in the whole health and fitness thing.

  This is one of the reasons I do not engage in Yoga or Pilates. I have profound respect for these physical fitness techniques and the benefits they foster, but they just do not fall within the scope of my own health related fitness interests.

SENSIBLE WORKOUT ROUTINES

Below you will find a choice of two top programs which will go far to bring you excellent levels of health-related fitness:

This is an great beginner/intermediate-level program to be followed over a 3-month timeframe. It's also a program which will allow you to plan and complete a body transformation you may have thought was never possible;

This is a 1-month program aimed primarily at the fit and healthy individual who has returned from vacation having had a good time, but with some added pounds to shed.

FOR SAKE OF CLARITY, LET’S CONSIDER THE MESSAGE ONE MORE TIME IN A SENTENCE

The "best" workout routines are the ones that you adjust and optimize so that they work for you and yield good results by capitalizing on your own particular condition, objectives and inclinations.

Best of luck with your workout routines and fitness endeavors!

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