A Fitness Blog by an AFAA Certified Personal Trainer at the Plex!
Listen, BC. I have a goal. I have a goal to help you become fit and healthy by teaching you the proper ways to “Plex.” So you want to be beach bod ready? Start now. It may only be April, but to actually tone up, a week-before-Plex-craze isn’t going to work. Think about it, girls. Did your one-week-Plex-rush before Halloween result in six-pack abs? Did your one-week-Plex-aholic-stage before Spring Break result in rock solid legs? Unless you were already a skinny-mini with these features, the answer is probably not.
Through these blog installments, I’ll give you pointers on how to effectively Plex. To start off, you need to have a healthy attitude about working out. Exercising isn’t all about the superficial benefits. Being fit is about improving your overall quality of life. Just because you’re thin doesn’t necessarily mean you’re physically fit!
Being fit will help prevent diseases such as Coronary Heart Disease, which, according to the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA), is the leading cause of death in the United States and throughout the majority of the developed world. Heart attacks, strokes, and hypertension all fall under the umbrella of CHD.
Exercise also helps prevent many forms of cancer. For women, it’s important to know that a risk factor of breast cancer (as with many cancers) is obesity. AFAA recommends maintaining a healthy body weight and moderate or vigorous physical activity as ways to lower your risk of breast cancer.
Another important health benefit for women: prevention of osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is the loss of bone density and is extremely common among the aging female population. While there are no cures for this disease, exercise, especially weight training, has been shown to reduce one’s risk.
A more obvious reason to exercise is to prevent obesity. According to AFAA, approximately 66% of adults in the United States are overweight and 32% are obese. “[Obesity] is associated with increased incidence of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, degenerative arthritis, certain cancers, reduced life expectancy, and early death,” says AFAA in its Personal Fitness Training: Theory and Practice textbook. “It increases the likelihood of hernias, hemorrhoids, gall bladder disease, varicose veins, and makes breathing more difficult.”
It’s easy to see that working out and becoming fit is much more important than having a tight tummy and toned legs (though those “side effects” aren’t shabby either!). AFAA names other benefits of exercise that are especially relevant to the college population. For example: decreased anxiety, enhanced performance of work and sport activities, improved sleep, improved immune function, and increased endurance and energy.
Ok, so now that you know how great exercising is, how do you make it a habit?
The first thing is to develop a schedule. The key to developing a workout habit is to make it a priority. Do this by finding an hour three to five days a week to get to the Plex. Think about it, that’s only three to five hours out of your entire week. Three to five hours that you probably would have spent procrastinating or doing other frivolous things, right?
Once you have a schedule, plan your workouts accordingly. If you can only make it three days a week, you’re going to want to combine cardio with total body weight training and conditioning. However, if you have a more flexible schedule, you can alternate days of cardio and weight training.
The American Council of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends moderate-intensity exercise for 30 minutes for five or more days a week. If you can’t make it five days a week, however, opt for 20-25 minutes of a vigorous workout.
Weight training should be performed on three, non-consecutive days a week. If you’re doing a total body work out, do it every other day. Your muscles need time to recover! If you are working out everyday, simply alternate the muscles you work each day.
Another key aspect of making exercising a habit is your attitude towards working out. Instead of thinking, “Ugh, I have to go work out…” think to yourself, “Yes! It’s workout time!” Everything in life is about your attitude so take control of your workout attitude! Tell yourself you love those 15 minutes on the Stairmaster and get pumped for that plank; it will make all the difference in the world!
Make plexing you time. One of my favorite parts of working out is that it’s pure me time. I get to listen to some tunes and work off all the stress from the day. However, I love the Plex because it’s social time too. For instance, I look forward to going to CrossFit (check it out, great class!) because there’s a solid core of us who have been going since September and are now “CrossFit friends.” Making friends while exercising? What’s better than that?
Another helpful tip for developing a workout habit is mixing up your workout! Keep your schedule, but try out different classes or forms of workouts. Change your cardio routines, ab workouts, arm exercises, and so on. Don’t go to the Plex and do the exact same thing every time. Not only will you become bored, but your body will acclimate to the workout, and you will reach a plateau. So keep yourself and your body interested. Don’t fall into the wrong kind of habit!
The last tip I’ll give is to set goals. Do exercises like planks, push-ups, and pull-ups and measure how long or how many you can do. Write it down! Then, as you continue working out, work towards a goal. For instance, set a goal for a two-minute plank-hold, or 10 push-ups. When you achieve your goal, you’ll feel fantastic and will be encouraged to keep going!
So there it is, HC BC readers, the first installment of my Plex Personal Trainer blog. Check for future installments about how to effectively do Plex! Next up? Tips on having an effective cardio workout!
Happy Plex-ing!
Photo Sources:
http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/ath/plex/index.html
http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/ath/plex/fitness/