On more than one occasion I've set crazy fitness and weight loss goals. I've promised myself I'd spend ridiculous amounts of time in the gym in the hopes of speeding up my results. Now don't get me wrong, in general it is true that the more you exercise, the quicker you'll see changes in the body. However, going to hard too fast is a recipe for burn out and exercise injury.
Progression is the third and final exercise principle you need to keep in mind to ensure you are exercising effectively and safely. The principle of progression implies that there is an optimal level of overload that should be achieved and an optimal time frame to achieve it in. If you increase your overload too slowly, then changes in your body happen more slowly. If you increase your overload to quickly then you are more likely to suffer from extreme soreness and exercise injury; both of which will put an end (temporary or permanent) to your exercise.
Here are some exercise guidelines you need to keep in mind to help ensure your workouts are progressing at an optimal rate:
- Always perform a proper warm-up. Take 5 to 10 minutes to slowly warm-up your muscles and joins. Your warm-up should consist of low impact movements that mimic the type of exercises you will be doing in your workout.
- Always cool down. Slowly lower your heart rate with low intensity exercises for 3 - 5 minutes. Then your ready for a good stretch. Hold each stretch for 20 - 60 seconds and repeat 3 times for best results.
- When performing longer, steady-state cardio sessions try to maintain your target heart rate. This is a standardized number based on your age, which is pretty accurate. However, listening to your body is the best thing you can do during your workout to know that you are pacing yourself properly.
- When performing High Intensity Interval Training for the first time it's best to do it with a knowledgable trainer. If implementing HIIT on you can use a heart rate monitor or the perceived exertion chart below while exercising. In general when starting your intense intervals should be shorter with longer exercise breaks such as 20 seconds intense vs. 30 seconds moderate. As your body adapts and your fitness improves you can increase the intense intervals and decrease the rest intervals.
- When weight training always perform a warm-up set of a lower weight and increase the weight slowly. For muscle toning you should be able to perform 10 - 12 reps safely (and 6 - 8 reps for muscle gain). If you are able to do more than 12 reps (or 8 reps) then it is safe to increase the weight at 3 to 5 pound increments.
As you apply the three fitness principles: Overload, Specificity and Progression into your exercise regimen you will see quick and safe results.
As always, you can find free weekly home workouts and healthy living tips at my WOWbodyNOW blog.
As always, you can find free weekly home workouts and healthy living tips at my WOWbodyNOW blog.
Click HERE to get to the Killer Workout of the Week.
Previous blog posts by Evin
- Get Specific & Get What You Want
- The Secret to Improved Fitness & Weightloss
- Don't Let Unforeseen Circumstances Derail You
- Fit Like Your Hero 2 Minutes At A Time
- Family Fun & Fitness: Backyard Summer Fitness Course
- The Ability to go the Distance Lies Between Your Ears
- Destroy Fat Workout
- How to Avoid Overeating at Summer BBQ's
- Out Of Breath Workout
- Conquering Weightloss Sabotage: 2 Quick Tips
- Final Week : Get Your Booty Beach Ready
- Week Three: Get Your Booty Beach Ready
- Week Two: Get Your Booty Beach Ready
- Week One: Get Your Booty Beach Ready
- Introducing Evin Himmighoefer
*DISCLAIMER: Not all exercises are suitable for everyone and this or any other exercise program may result in injury. To reduce the risk of injury in your case, consult your doctor before beginning any exercise program. The instructions and advice presented are in no way intended as a substitute for medical counseling. The creators, producers, participants, distributors of this program and connected media disclaim any liabilities or loss in connection with the exercises and advice herein.
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