By Jason Greenspan
Believe it or not, designing the right fitness program is a science and requires knowledge and a thought process. The average fitness enthusiast will go to the gym and pick random exercises (which is better than not doing anything), but that can create burnout and eventually lead to some sort of injury
When going to the gym, you want to pick exercises and various aspects of fitness that make most sense for your goals, level of activity or fitness experience, likes/dislikes, time constraints, occupation and of course, any orthopedic or metabolic issues. So as you can see, proper fitness programming requires knowledge and skill if done properly and efficiently.
For example if your goal is to improve balance and overall strength, but you have never exercised before, then the first step is to increase stability of the core and mobility of the joints that require mobility. The core is made up of the abdominals, low back, hips/pelvic floor muscles and your buttocks. The joints that require mobility that in most people are typically tight are the mid back or the thoracic spine, ankles, hips and shoulders. Also, working on balance exercises such as the tandem stance or one leg stand is also important not only to increase balance, but to work on the strength of your feet, ankles, hips abdominals and low back.
If time is an issue: Perform exercises that work a lot of muscle at once, such as a squat over a leg extension machine or a push-up as opposed to a chest press machine. Also try a circuit: Move from one exercise to the next without much of a break. Or if you’re an advanced fitness enthusiast, you can combine two movements in one, such as performing a squat and row together.
Not a fan of exercise? Find exercises that are fun and challenge your brain and body. How about tossing a ball to a friend to build upper body strength and power or doing a balance exercise and talking at the same time. This will add an increased challenge to the balance exercise, but only incorporate this if you’re advanced. Also, adding cardiovascular drills in between strength exercise is another way to improve cardio and strength in one session and is a lot more fun than standing around and doing multiple sets of one exercise.
Job requires sitting a lot? Make sure to perform exercises in a standing position and emphasize more pulling exercises like rows versus pushing exercise like the push-up. This will help with to improve your posture. Sitting can make your back muscles weak, which can cause you have a rounded shoulder posture. Also emphasize stretching the front of your body like the hip flexors, chest and shoulders as they get tight from sitting all day.
Suffer from an orthopedic issue? Perform exercises that will help to increase stability around the area of concern and to restore range of motion which typically suffers when a body part has been injured. The most important thing to keep in mind is that you should always have clearance from a doctor or if you think your issue doesn’t require a visit to the doc, then make sure you listen to your body and perform exercises that won’t make the issue worse. This is where a qualified trainer or physical therapist can help.
For more information or to set up a free consultation to ensure your program makes most sense for you, contact us either by email or phone.
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Silver Stars Fitness
850 7th Ave (West 54/55th Street)
646-573-9724
info@silverstarsfit.com
www.silverstarsfit.com
Jason Greenspan is the CEO/Founder of Silver Stars Fitness. He has over 20 years experience in the fitness industry and designing fitness programs for men and women over the age of 50. Jason is certified by the American Council On Exercise and the National Academy of Sports Medicine as a personal trainer, corrective exercise specialist, orthopedic exercise specialist and older adult specialist.