Making an exercise plan out of lots of possible ingredients

June 15, 2009 1:47 PM

Help me devise an exercise/etc. plan for the summer combining at least some of the following ingredients: elliptical machine and/or DDR (i.e. cardio), weight training, one hundred pushups, core training, yoga, stretching, progressive muscle relaxation, meditation, beginner salsa dance class, martial-arts class, racquetball. Also important: how to ease into it gradually so I don't get overwhelmed and quit.

So I've got ~4 months of summer during which I'm not doing too much else. I'd like to start exercising regularly, but there are lots of possibilities on how to make that happen, and I'm not sure how best to integrate them. As background, during the school year I've somewhat-irregularly done some reasonable exercise, mainly elliptical machine, weight training, and core training. At my best I'd end up doing at least one of these per day; more often I'd end up doing one of these 3 times per week; and at my worst I'd go weeks without any real exercise (which is where I am right now, using the excuse of finals/end of school crunch taking all my time). By "core training" I mean a specific 30-minute series of exercises, many of which involve one of those big inflated exercise balls, targeted at strengthening one's "core" muscles.

I'm trying to accomplish a few things, which pretty much map directly to the different categories of exercise:

1. I hear cardiovascular exercise has great benefits, both long-term and for mood/clarity of thought/general health/etc. So that seems worthwhile. And DDR is fun, and I can read papers while on the elliptical, so that's nice.
2. I'd like to "look good naked," in the words of the movie American Beauty. Which is my primary motivation for weight training/strength training. Past experience shows that I can achieve results I am quite happy with without doing anything special here, i.e. investing about 1 hour 3 days per week.
3. I have some pretty bad tension in my back, both lower and in one particular muscle in my upper-right back. I know general core training and weight training helps with this, but probably some concentration on yoga or stretching or progressive muscle relaxation in its own right would be helpful. And meditation has lots of benefits; it'd be neat to start that.
4. Finally, it'd be pretty cool to learn how to salsa dance (beginner classes start Wednesday, I'll at least go to the first one) and/or some martial art (we have free classes for two forms of karate, but they're pretty much ongoing, so I'd have to jump in and hope they'd be nice to newbies---maybe bring a friend). Somewhat similarly, racquetball seems like a fun sport, especially if I could get a friend interested.

I was thinking something like: week 1, salsa class Wednesday + 30 mins aerobic every day + 10 minutes basic stretching before going to sleep; week 2, substitute weight training for aerobic MWF; week 3, consider adding core training and/or yoga Tuesday-Thursday; week 4 onward: see how manageable things are and where to go from there. But I really don't know. And I am confused, for example, as to whether or not I should do cardio and weight training on the same day, or whether I even need dedicated cardio when there are all these other activities that presumably get my heart rate up.

OK, I guess that's it. Sorry for such a long question :-/. Pretty sure it's unique enough compared to all those other "help me exercise" questions to warrant its own, at least :). Although I might be overthinking this slightly, I figure it'd be better to get some definite feedback and set up a plan, rather than flailing wildly in various directions and never really achieving anything. It'd be nice to get myself in a place where I have a "routine" that just becomes part of my life, especially since I could probably then carry over at least some of it into the school year.

posted by Jacen Solo to Health & Fitness (11 answers total)

Response by poster: OK, if that's the direction people are thinking in (yeah, I guess I could have anticipated that), then maybe the part of the question to focus on is "how do all these things interact?" E.g. cardio same day as weightlifting, what makes what redundant, etc.

(Also, to clarify: it's a lot easier for me to quit during the school year; during the summer I am much better about sticking to an exercise plan.)
posted by Jacen Solo at 2:02 PM on June 15, 2009

Best answer: I'm overwhelmed just looking at your list. The point of exercise is to get fit and stay fit by continuing to exercise, and that's done by choosing effective activities that you will enjoy. What would be the point of starting a salsa class for one week and then dropping it for something completely different in week 2? That's not a workout plan, that's ADD. (Note: am ADD myself.) If salsa sounds like something fun to do, COMMIT to it. Now if you try it and don't like it, don't feel obliged to continue.

Try something as simple as this:

Every day: meditation, simple stretching and yoga. Not power yoga or anything ambitious: just a few poses that help you stretch and address your trouble spots. If you have no yoga experience and want pro guidance, try a few classes to get started, but your daily stretch and yoga should be no more than 5-10 minutes.

2-3 days a week: a proper, structured weight training routine. If you focus on compound movements and free weights, your core will be well taken care of. Go to Stumptuous for some routine ideas. Avoid intense cardio the same day, but do warm up a little before lifting.

Wednesday: the salsa class for fun, cardio, flexibility, coordination and hanging out with people. If you like it, keep going, but if you don't, stop.

3 days a week (up to 5 days a week IF and WHEN you make everything else work well together first): some kind of steady state cardio for a few weeks (the elliptical is fine, although getting out on your bike, if you have one, could be more fun), then try mixing things up with intervals, which are a bigger cardio challenge and help you lose more fat.

All the other stuff, like 100 pushups, put on your calendar for next winter. Martial arts is cool, but if you have a decent base of cardio fitness, strength and flexibility first, you'll progress faster. In addition, martial arts is something you really should commit to, rather than dabble in, so getting more focused this summer will also be good prep.
posted by maudlin at 2:29 PM on June 15, 2009 [2 favorites]

Follow the daily WODs on crossfit.com two, then three, then four days a week. Maybe find a crossfit gym and do the coached WODs.
posted by rr at 2:33 PM on June 15, 2009 [1 favorite]

On re-reading, you weren't talking about dropping salsa after a week -- I wasn't kidding about my ADD! -- but still, your list was dumping too much on yourself too quickly. Daily stretches, weights and cardio splitting up the week, and one fun class you have to commit to each week: that's plenty. If you can maintain this over an entire summer, you'll be way ahead of most people.
posted by maudlin at 2:33 PM on June 15, 2009 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I started your regimen about a month ago. Here's a couple thoughts:

1) **The routine is everything**. Don't allow a single thought to let you "skip it" (just) today. If that means keeping deodorant, a fricken toothbrush, flipflops, and 3 pairs of gym clothes at the gym (like me) then do it. As quickly as possible, ascertain what it takes to ensure you don't wimp out. Be prepared to shell out cash to ensure consistency.

2) Dancing will not make you physically tired, but it may require copious extra hours. I spend 4 hours a night, two days a week (having started Tango 3 mo ago), and am still unsatisfied with my inability. Salsa's probably different although I guarantee you will want to stay afterward for the informal practice; but my understanding is Karate has a fairly slow progression.

3) Consider buying a big jar of whey protein, to supplement your diet. At the advice of the Internets, I've ramped up my eating to just more than I'd like; thankfully I found a deli I enjoy instead of having to prepare it--I don't think I could do it on my own.

4) The one thing I wish I could do is set up a meeting with a trainer for a couple weeks to plan a machine rotation. As it is, I work whatever isn't too sore or that I didn't do the day before. I probably am not pushing myself enough, because of this. I start the session with a mile of running (physical distance; worked my way up an eighth of a mile at a time to start; no stopping) to get the heartrate up. That's enough cardio for me--I know I can do more fun aerobic activities once I have the muscle to protect my joints. The wisdom is don't spend >45min in the gym if you can help it, otherwise your body cannibalizes muscle for food--it also keeps you moving. You know to repeat at a machine 3x before moving on, right? Read up on basic workout flow.

5) There are two types of yoga classes: ones where you can't do the full poses by the end of the class, and ones where you wonder when the burn will start. Make sure you're doing the second. Soon enough, breathing will indeed become 50% of the work.

6) I found discussion of my meditation with an experienced co-sitter to be essential yet still unfulfilling, and tried to supplement it with a book.
posted by gensubuser at 2:40 PM on June 15, 2009 [2 favorites]

I've been doing the weight training regime suggested on stronglifts. I like the structure and the emphasis on proper technique. It's free and comes with a handy excel worksheet.
posted by maxpower at 3:14 PM on June 15, 2009

errr... make sure you're doing the first. Good teachers will toss out accomodating adaptations very freely, and they can still do you a lot of good.
posted by gensubuser at 6:10 PM on June 15, 2009

Best answer: Righto. My current exercise routine - which is more or less something I've been doing now for *years* - is similarly varied & intensive as what you describe.

(Better put, I basically tweak it day by day & month by month, depending on what works & doesn't work for me, and that's what I've been doing all that time).

Main recommendations:

1. Have a stable set of (preferably group) classes that form the core of your routine, two days apart from each other - eg M/W/F or Tu/Th/Sa. These should be non-negotiable. For me, that's 3x 2hr Capoeira classes a week, but you could just as easily substitute weightlifting, team sports, whatever. Just commit to these three sessions, to start with.

2. See if you can build regular cardio into your general daily lifestyle - I like to cycle to work, for example. This adds a general background level of activity & fitness that just becomes part of what you do. Stretch afterwards.

3. Add on top of that whatever takes your fancy - right now, I'm doing 2x weights sessions & 1x circuit class per week, but at other times I've done yoga, pilates, gone for swims or bike rides, whatever.

4. THIS ONE IS KEY: The stuff in Category 3 you should feel prepared to drop if you feel weary or sore or have any kind of niggling injury.

Category 1 is non-negotiable. Category 2 should just become part of your routine, but isn't essential (over time, you'll get used to it & probably not even think about it). But in theory you are supposed to work out one day, rest the next, work out again, rest again. This means that the 'satellite' training you do on your non-'core' days is entirely optional, and it's the added extra that could lead to injury or overdoing it, so listen to your body & rest if you need to.

Good luck, and most importantly, have fun!
posted by UbuRoivas at 8:20 PM on June 15, 2009 [2 favorites]

Follow the daily WODs on crossfit.com two, then three, then four days a week. Maybe find a crossfit gym and do the coached WODs.

I don't think it gets any better than this. Crossfit is a training program with low time investment (workouts are ~30min long) and enough variation to keep you interested. The system also utilizes personal benchmarks, which are another great motivator.

Most importantly, though, CF gives you a workout foundation so you're not worrying about whether cardio and lifting are okay on the same day (answer: they are, but cardio should come last and you shouldn't do it often!). You can work into the system slowly -- 2 days on, 2 days off or even 3 workouts a week-- and integrate yoga and salsa as you see fit. If you become a fitness nut you can "cash in/out" with various exercises before each daily Workout.

If you decide to try CF, note that stretching is paramount--you'll struggle with movements if you don't develop your flexibility. Also note that eating and sleeping are very important. In fact, they directly influence whether you stick with the program after the first 2-3 weeks. Re: looking good naked...yeah, that's not a concern. And the flexibility is a plus! :D
posted by achompas at 5:16 AM on June 16, 2009

What are your goals? Do you want to get stronger? Gain muscle? Lose fat? Increase your endurance? All of these goals will be trained for in different and sometimes contrary ways. Not having any goals and doing a little bit of everything, as your question seems to imply, can lead to halted progress after a few weeks.

Crossfit is excellent and will kick your ass, but you've got to know how to do all the movements, and if strength is your main goal it's not the best way to get there.
posted by ludwig_van at 9:07 AM on June 16, 2009

Heavily seconding what ludwig_van said about being clear about what your goals are. In fact, it's always the very first question that any gym advisor will ask you, and they're very capable of advising whether or not your program supports your goals.

They love nothing more than giving training advice, so I'm always asking "Hey, what if I did some of X?" or "What would you suggest if I wanted to improve my Y?" - make use of them, they're a great resource.
posted by UbuRoivas at 6:00 PM on June 16, 2009