How to Exercise: Part Two I 7 Principles of a Real Workout

By TimoTopp | July 22, 2019 |

Too busy? Not motivated? Unsure what to do?
Everything you need to know is right here in this article.

In this two-part article I will help you overcome exercise excuses, reveal what constitutes a ‘real’ workout and help you understand how to exercise from get started to advancing appropriately and progressively.

PART TWO

The 7 pillars of a ‘real’ workout and understand how to exercise from getting start to advancing appropriately and progressively.

I have been helping people to exercise for over twenty years. I have just been seen it all. I’ve heard all the excuses, shared in a few tears and been part of hundreds of wonderful life enhancing success stories. I know what works, what doesn’t and what you need to do. This article cuts to the chase of everything you need to know about exercise. In part two we look at the 7 pillars of a ‘real’ workout and how to go about exercising safely and effectively, from Getting Started to Getting Serious.

The 7 pillars of a real workout

When you think about a workout there are two things that come to mind: Cardio and weights. Having worked in many gyms all over the world, I have observed the same dynamic for years. ‘Mostly’ guys in the weights area and ‘mostly’ girls in the cardio area. I say mostly because there are plenty of people who do both but typically this a common dynamic. There is more to working out than just cardio and weights. When you understand the principles of a ‘real’ workout, exercise will be more effective and give you better results. I believe there are seven key components of a ‘real’ workout:

Flexibility

Our ability to move freely without stiffness, aches and pains is one of the fundamental components of a physically healthy body. Think about how supple a baby is compared to an elderly person. As we age flexibility declines and with it, our ability to move effectively. Unless you are into yoga, flexibility is overlooked. At best you might spend two minutes at the end of a workout doing some stretches. It’s something we all need to do more of. The better the range of motion of a joint, the more effectively the body can move, without risk of injury or discomfort.

Core strength

The trunk is the foundation of all movement. Just as a house needs a solid foundation, movement requires a strong core. Core strength is not just about ab strength, it is our ability to stabilise the trunk so the limbs can move effectively and there’s more to building core strength than sit ups and planks. There’s a lot to discuss, the key message here is building correct core strength is an important focus for effective exercise.

Strength

Lifting weights and strength training exercise is important for everyone, not just guys wanting to get big. Everyone needs to build strong muscles to help with our ability to lift things in life, maintain muscle tone to look good and help with weight loss. It is particularly important for the elderly to maintain physical capability and fall prevention. Anyone of any age can start improving strength. And girls, don’t skip weights because you are afraid of getting big. It takes a lot of effort to build muscle mass so it won’t happen accidentally. You need to do it for effective fat loss.

Cardio fitness

Being physically fit improves endurance and our ability to do things well for longer periods of time, not just to be able to run further. The fitter we are the better we will perform at the things we need to do, whether that be at work or at play, doing what you love. Cardio fitness improves our ability to pump blood and transport life giving oxygen to every part of the body. And guys, being fit will help improve your ability to lift weights and get better results, so don’t skip it.

Agility

Being agile is our ability to move with ease in different directions. Think of a dancer or a boxer moving with grace or a soccer player moving swiftly past a rival team mate. Agility is massively overlooked in training in favour of very linear push and pull strength exercises and steady state cardio where movement is constant in one direction such as running, swimming or cycling.

Speed

When most people go for a run they tend to run at one speed. Having a gear box of different speeds is really important, such as running slower for longer and conversely running shorter distances at faster speeds and incorporating sprint drills such as running up stairs or hills. The key message is to diversify both the speed of weight training lifts you’re your cardio gearbox. However, this is a more advanced technique that comes after basic strength and fitness has been developed.

Power

Power is the ability to exert force with speed which means moving or lifting objects quickly. Power represents the top of the training pyramid and this type of exercise should only be attempted once all the other principles have been soundly developed.

How to exercise safely and effectively

What has always concerned me is seeing people do workouts that are way beyond their current fitness level, particularly when they are with a personal trainer! In karate you start with a white belt, build your skills and progress to higher belts with more complexity and intensity. Exercise is exactly the same. You don’t start with kettlebells when you have never lifted weights. You don’t start with a 5km run or hill sprints when you can barely jog to the bus stop without losing your breath. Exercise must be appropriate to the fitness levels you are at. Otherwise there are two things that commonly happen: you can’t sustain it because it’s too hard and uncomfortable and secondly there is a greater risk of injury.

So, here’s is a guide on how to start exercising and how to progress appropriately. Everyone is different and this is general advice to give you a better perspective on how to exercise safely and effectively.

Get started

You haven’t exercise in years, you are feeling unfit and may be have some minor injuries or health concerns that make you wary of what to do.

Cardio

The best exercise to start with is walking. It’s simple, low impact, you can do it anywhere at any time and you don’t need to go somewhere specific, such as the gym to do it. You just have to walk out your front door. But here is a big tip. You must walk briskly! Having been an outdoor PT for may years, I see so many young things out for a morning exercise walk but it horrifies me how slowly they are going. The speed must be faster than your normal every day pace and swing your arms too. Start with two to three brisk walks for 30-40 minutes. Note, you don’t start with jogging – start with brisk walking first.

Bodyweight exercises

Your bodyweight is the best place to start to build strength. In fact, you should not load with weight if you can barely do basic bodyweight exercises such as squats, lunges and push ups properly. Start with two bodyweight strength sessions per week.

Get in touch for a free bodyweight exercise program.

Flexibility and core

Stretching should be a big part of your focus when getting started to help improve flexibility as should building core strength with appropriate exercise selection.

Intensity

The focus of exercise when getting started is on good form (posture and technique) at a moderate level, with sufficient rest breaks.

Get into It

You have been exercising for 6+ weeks with brisk walking, bodyweight workouts and some basic weight exercises, stretching and building core strength. Now we can start to take it up a notch. Here’s how.

Weights

Now that you have built some basic strength you can start to add more exercises that are slightly more complex, increase the weight, reps, sets and weights and reduce the rest.

Cardio

Increase the intensity of walking by adding in short intermittent jogs for 30 to 60 seconds, 5-10 times aiming to gradually build the length of the interval and the frequency. You can also start short jogging sessions at a comfortable pace for 20-30 minutes.

Complexity

Start to add more variety and complexity into your training with more diverse workouts, drills, different types of lifts. You can start to add in exercises and drills that address agility, speed – such as interval sprints – and some basic power movements. You may consider adding a sport or outdoor pursuit such as soccer, kayaking, busy walking, mountain biking to add variety.

Intensity

Once you have built a base level on strength and fitness, you can start to increase the complexity of movements, increase speed, volume of exercise, number of reps and weight lifted and reduce rest breaks. However, always continue to exercise with caution so you don’t over-do it.

Get Serious

After exercising for 3-6 months you are ready to ‘get serious’! This is where you can safely play around with a whole range of drills and complex movements that cover all of the 7 fundamental principles of a ‘real’ workout such as power lifts, kettlebells, interval training, speed drills and complex 3-dimensional weight training movements. Plus have a mixed range of exercise pursuits. However don’t get complacent, always maintain good form, spend time stretching and allow your body sufficient rest between workouts.

Don’t forget too…

When it comes to working out safely always ensure you do the following, whatever level you are at:

Warm up

Spend time physically and mentally preparing your body for exercise even for playing a sport or activity such as golf or going for a kayak. This will help you get more out of your game or workout and reduce the risk of injury. The more intense or complex the workout, the longer your warn up should be. Ensure it raises your heart rate and addresses the muscles you are going to be using.

Exercise with good posture and form

Always ensure you exercise with awareness of your posture and execute exercises with good technique.

Listen to your body

Always take care when exercising and observe the signals your body gives you. This relates equally to beginner and the seasoned athlete. Beginners need to be careful not too over do-it and seasoned exercises must be careful not to be complacent.

Feel pain or dizzy – STOP

If you ever feel pain that’s not quite right or you feel dizzy or faint – STOP – sit down or lay down and rest well past feeling fine again.

Cool down

Don’t skip the stretching at the end of a workout or activity. Not only is it important for flexibility, it will help with recovery so you don’t ache quite as much the next day.

Summary of the 7 pillars of a ‘real’ workout

1. Flexibility to promote ease of movement.

2. Core strength being the foundation of all movement.

3. Strength and the ability to lift things in life and stay lean.

4. Cardio fitness to improve how long you can do things for.

5. Agility, the ability to move in different directions with grace.

6. Speed, your natural gear box to do things at varying speeds.

7. Power, the pinnacle of exercise, exerting maximal force, fast!

Summary of ‘How to Exercise’

Get started

If you haven’t exercises in years and feel unfit start with brisk walking, bodyweight strength exercises first, then add in some classic weight exercises and plenty of stretching. Exercise at a comfortable and moderate pace and take plenty of rest breaks. Aim for 3 workouts per week. Follow this phase for a minimum of 6 weeks

Get into It

After building some basic strength and cardio fitness, start to take it the intensity and complexity up a notch. Add intermittent runs into your walks or start jogging for short periods of 20-30 minutes. Add in more complex strength exercises, increase weight, reps and sets and reduce the rest interval. Aim for 3-4 workouts per week. Follow this phase for 6-12 weeks.

Get Serious

After training consistently for 3-6 months you can start to add in more complex workouts, movements and drills that include 3-dimensional lifts, power movements, sprint and interval cardio drills and a diverse range of activities and sports.

Summary of the do’s and don’ts of exercise

• Ensure your warm up to optimise your activity and prevent injury.

• Exercise with good posture and technique.

• Listen to your body and it’s signals.

• STOP if you feel pain or dizzy.

• Don’t skip stretching

The best way to do it right

The best way to understand exercise and do it safely, appropriately and progress at the right level is to get professional advice. A trainer will help with motivation, accountability and help you to workout at the right level for you, work around injuries and health concerns plus make it more fun and diverse than anything you can do on your own. Like every other aspect of life, if you want to understand it properly it makes sense to get lessons.

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