Five Full Body Workout Tips
- Start with body weight exercises. Think old school lunges, push-up and squats, working towards lifting your body weight with correct form and range of motion before you actually start lifting weights. Once you have that mastered, try compound exercises, which will burn the most calories and let you work all of your muscles with fewer exercise.
- Use a circuit-type routine and keep your rest periods short. Pair upper-body exercises with lower-body and go back and forth between the two. By doing exercises while standing rather than seated at a machine, you’ll get more results for all of your muscles rather than just isolating the benefits to one muscle group, as machines often do.
- Try to keep 24 sets per workout in total – for example, two sets of 12 exercises or three sets of eight. Try to keep the workout to less than an hour, by using weights that challenge you (remember, you can always drop down to a lighter weight).
- Take at least one day off a week to let your body rest and recover. Remember, you achieve results from your recover y period. If you’re not the type to “rest and recover,” then try meditating, yoga or a simple relaxing walk to breathe, think and pray. Even your mind needs to be recharged.
- In order for your body to keep changing, you need to CHANGE UP your routine. Every four to six weeks, think outside the box or even outside the gym. From biking to boot camps, there is enough variety that can keep you active and moving.
When you’re short on time or get bored with your regular routine, try this fab WOD (workout of the day). After a five or 10 minute warm-up, try to build up to completing this cycle five times and keep track of your time. Don’t forget to stretch after you’re done.
Short on Time Full Body WOD
(Equipment Needed: Medium/Heavy Weights or Exercise Bands)
10 Burpees (no equipment)
10 Squats with Shoulder Press (weight or band)
30 Count Mountain Climbers (no equipment)
10 Bicep Curls w/ Reverse Lunges (weight or band)
10 Full Sit-ups (no equipment)
Mind.Body.Spirit
Every sunrise is a new beginning to start fresh, to renew our thoughts and improve our bodies all to create the best version of ourselves. As we do so, notice and celebrate the small steps and simple pleasures along the way.
image: Bigstock.com
