Building Blocks of At-Home Workouts
At-home workouts come with a certain level of accountability and self-motivation and, often times, it can seem much more motivating to stay snuggled in bed on the day of an early morning workout.
Let's break down the structure of an at-home workout in hopes that you'll find motivation to create your own!
1. Frequency.
When it comes to exercise, the first step of organizing a plan is to determine what’s realistic for workout sessions per week. Attempt to workout consistently the first 4 days of the work week, leaving Friday and the weekends as optional. When determining the frequency that your body is able to manage, please take into account special health concerns/conditions.
Do you have any cardiac diseases such as coronary heart disease or hypertension? Are you managing a metabolic disorder like obesity, diabetes, or osteoarthritis? Do you suffer from any respiratory and pulmonary disorders: asthma, bronchitis, emphysema? Are you experiencing any symptoms of joint and bone disorders: lupus, arthritis, osteoporosis? Do you have an autoimmune disease: multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis? Are you pregnant or do you have any lingering injuries?
Take a minute, review your weekly routines, consider your current health status and set a realistic intention for what your body and lifestyle can handle.
2. Type.
Choose to make 50% of your workouts cardiorespiratory and 50% of your workouts strength training. Balance is best for the body. If you've got a specific goal, such as training for a 5K or toning up for summer, then this may differ a bit. But, try to stick with the 50/50 plan. It definitely makes it simple to figure if you exercise 4 times per week. If you chose that it's realistic for you to workout once per week then spend 50% of the time you have during that one workout on cardio and 50% on strength. If you chose 3, 5 or 7 times per week then your ratio might look more like 2 days cardio to 1 day strength, 3 days cardio to 2 days strength or 4 days cardio to 3 days strength …not quite 50/50 but it’s a fluid concept.
Flexibility should also be a regular part of every workout regimen (whether it is more cardio in nature or a form of resistance training) as stretching helps muscles and joints to recover from a workout or can act as a stand-alone workout as in yoga or pilates. Flexibility and stretching also holds many mental benefits and can be a huge facet of self-care.
3. Duration & Intensity.
The length and intensity of each workout session will differ from individual to individual. The recommended duration for cardio workouts is 30 minutes at a moderate intensity. When it comes to resistance there are many more factors but the ACE fitness recommendation for healthy adults is to complete 2-4 sets of 8-25 repetitions. ACE also highlights the overall goal and intention of the strength workout are factors in determining what’s appropriate.
When it comes to planning the duration and intensity of your workout you must take note of your current level of activity. Where do you fall?
-Sedentary: Little to no exercise. Typically involves a lot of time sitting at a desk or watching television and activity performed during daily routine is low-intensity.
-Lightly active: Someone who engages in light exercise or sports 1-3 days per week.
-Moderately active: Moderate exercise or sports 3-5 days per week.
-Very Active: Hard exercise or sports 6-7 days per week and your heart is working at maximum efficiency.
-Extremely Active: Hard daily exercise or sports plus physical labor job with your heart working at maximum efficiency.
Cardio workouts should hover around 30 minutes in length but with varying activity intensity depending on your current level of activity. If you find yourself on the sedentary end of the spectrum then performing 30 minutes, once or twice per week, at a lightly active level of intensity is sufficient until you build greater stamina. If you are more lightly or moderately active, you can push yourself a bit more into a moderate range of exertion and a higher frequency throughout the week.
One key test that you can give yourself is the “Talk Test”. While performing your cardiorespiratory workout, state a phrase out loud. Listen to how “breathy” it sounds. Easy to speak? Continue on. Difficult to speak? Slow it down.
Over time, the duration or intensity of a workout may grow.
When it comes to duration and intensity for strength training consider your current levels as well. Does much of the lifting that you perform involve carrying the laundry baskets up a few flights of stairs, maybe it involves lower body squatting to unload the dishwasher or if you’re chasing a toddler around then you may be performing extra strength exercises more regularly than you think! If you are sedentary, then start a resistance training workout without weights or opt for a workout that uses body weight. Eventually you can add in light weights (1-3 lbs) or a set of light resistance bands. If you find yourself more moderate in muscle tone, then hand weights, resistance bands and body weight are all options to incorporate in a workout. The key thing to observe here is the way your body feels one or two days after a resistance workout. If you are extremely sore to the point where you can’t move, then you exerted too much too soon. Scale it back a notch.
4. Content.
So now that you’ve got the basics down….what to do in the actual sessions? Search online for ideas, download an app from our recommended resources or pair up with a friend to create an adventurous circuit.
In whatever forms of exercise you choose, make them movements that you enjoy!
What’s next?
For more movement ideas head to our Aspen Wellness Resources or to view a few suggested phone apps visit our Aspen Wellness Recommendations.
References:
ACE Group fitness instructor manual: a guide for fitness professionals. (2011). San Diego, Calif: American Council on Exercise.