How to Build a Workout Routine You’ll Actually Stick To
We all know that regular exercise is key (along with good nutrition and sleep) to good health. It’s true that regular walking will keep you fit. But today many people don’t live in walkable communities, so they get in their cars to drive to the supermarket to buy food. Then drive to the gym, to pay a fortune to be bored running on a treadmill, while watching the news or listening to pounding music.
Check direct debits, many people still pay for gyms they no longer use!
If you have low energy, paradoxically one of the best remedies is regular exercise. This is because it gets oxygen flowing into your heart. Regular exercise is also great to help people with anxiety or depression.
Although yoga and Pilates are popular, neither for most people are going to be done enough to make much difference for burning calories or building muscle. Regular cardio and strength training also boost your metabolic rate (so you can eat more!) and help you sleep better at the end of the day.
Although in a perfect world, we would all walk around public parks and go for a swim, in reality most people can’t do that. Town planning is now designed for driving and there are not many public pools to benefit from. So taking a conscious decision to build an active fitness routine, can keep you fit and healthy. And also is good incentive to give up unhealthy habits like smoking and drinking too much alcohol.
Why combine cardio and strength training?
It’s important to combine both:
Cardio exercise (walking, running, cycling, swimming) trains your heart to pump more blood with each beat. This ends up lowering your resting heart rate, which reduces strain on cardiovascular systems. This in turn helps to lower ‘bad’ cholesterol, which can help to prevent the build-up of plaque in arteries (the main cause of heart disease).
Good blood flow to your brain also helps to support learning and memory. And can also help to reduce dementia risks in later life.
Strength training (using weights or your own body weight) builds lean muscle muss. This not only keeps metabolism healthy (to avoid weight gain) but increases bone density (protecting against osteoeporosis). And keeps muscles strong to protect joints from injury (say if you fell over).
Workout online with Fitbymik
A great way to get fit is to use online videos in your living room, which combine cardio exercise with strength-training. If done with guidance from a qualified teacher, this is a safe and effective way to get healthy and strong.
All qualified teachers will include a warm-up and cool-down for muscles, to avoid injury.
Fitbymik is a great online channel by a qualified fitness coach from Canada. Her classes are effective and safe (including pregnancy versions). From 15-minute weight workouts to cardio and evening stretch routines). Just get yourself a pair of dumb-bells (she recommends 4.5kg for most workouts or slightly less for upper body) and get fit from home. You can then cancel your gym membership!
Once you have gone through the scripted routines a couple of times, you could mute the sound, and play your favourite music. Aim for 5 cardio sessions a week (30 minutes each) and two full-body strength-training sessions.
Combined with good nutrition and sleep, you’re sorted!
Lucy Wyndham-Read is another qualified trainer, who offers bodyweight exercises for all ages (no weights required). Everything is safe, healthy and fun.
Become a conservation or dog-walking volunteer
The Conservation Volunteers is a charity that offer ‘Green Gyms’ nationwide. Help to clean up litter or plant trees, with free tea and biscuits included! Or volunteer for Clean UP UK or become a beach clean volunteer.
Another idea is to become a dog walking volunteer (for local shelters or older/disabled people in your community).
How to lose weight with regular exercise
Combined with healthy food, regular exercise is the key to lose weight. Do this slowly (around 1 to 2lbs per week to avoid muscle loss, fatigue or ‘baggy skin’ issues. If you are 10 stone overweight, you could expect to get back to normal weight in around 1.5 years (building healthy habits to last a lifetime).
If you are a couple of stone overweight, it should only take you 3 to 6 months to get back to your ideal weight. Following a consistent routine of 5 days cardio and 2 days strength training (along with healthy eating).
You don’t need expensive ‘workout clothes’
A simpler and more affordable option is simply to wear a simple organic t-shirt and joggers (you could even exercise in your pyjamas before your morning showers!) As long as they are comfortable and breathable, you don’t need anything else. And if workout out from home, you don’t need to buy expensive designer trainers!
If you prefer workout clothes, Wellicious is one of the few brands made with biodegradable elastane, rather than ‘recycled plastic bottles’. Which leach microplastics from washing machines into the sea (if you wear them, launder in a microfiber filter).
