I believe that every second counts when it comes to improving your
fitness level. Admittedly, walking an extra five minutes a day is not
going to get you through a marathon. The real aim with getting people
active is to build confidence and gently ease your body into movement.
This comes with the hope that a little bit of extra activity will
eventually lead to more. The feeling of accomplishment and joy that
comes from making it to the top of a flight of stairs without being
breathless may not seem like a big milestone to you if you’re an avid
exerciser. For someone who’s typically inactive, it’s a huge
accomplishment and a wonderful step toward attaining an improved sense
of wellness.
For today, lets keep it simple and work using number of repetitions
as your guide. I’ve learned through experience that great results can be
obtained when you get into the habit of doing things right from the
start. I love to teach basic movement patterns and have people get
confident achieving a set number of repetitions in their own time with
no focus on the clock. This beginner’s workout will include doing the 5
most basic exercises in repetitions.
When you practice executing good form for each rep, you’re getting
the maximum benefits from that exercise, and you’ll be working your
joints and muscles in the way they were designed to move. It can feel a
little bit slow and sometimes even boring to do things right, but the
important things in life tend to be the least interesting! I assure you
that once you get comfortable with the basics, you can race against the
clock and add in more dynamic movement patterns. The 5 beginner’s
workout moves I’m going to talk you through can be progressed into
advanced moves.
Not just for beginners
If you’re reading this and are past the basic stage with your
personal fitness, let me tell you that even the pros go back and focus
on the basics to rebuild their foundation every few months. Consider
taking a day to slow things down, focus on your breathing and body
posture.
3 sets of classic moves
The aim of a foundation workout is to perfect your form. Take your
time, listen to your body and try to perform all sets. Just know that if
your form starts to suffer, then stop and rest before continuing.
Foundation workouts are about movement confidence, and strengthening
essential muscles and tendons. I see this phase as one that sets you up
for future workouts.
Perform between 12-16 repetitions of each move. Rest for 60 seconds
in between each set (a set is once you have completed 12-16 repetitions
of the 5 moves). Aim to do 3 sets.
Squats: This is the basic movement that works
your glutes (one of the largest muscles in the body), legs and
stabilizers in your back and feet.
Modified Push up:
This is called a total body exercise because it literally works all of
your major muscle groups. It’s especially great for core strength, and
the chest and back.
Lunges: Lunges are simply a step forward and a
step back. A lunge can be done in many ways and is great for learning
balance, developing leg strength and working your hip flexors that are
an important muscle of the core.
Crunches: Performing crunches is great a great way to work the abdominal muscles.
Hamstring bridge: This exercise works your core muscles and your hamstrings, it is great for working on your balance and pelvic floor muscles.
Work slowly on each move focusing on your breathing and counting your
reps. You don’t want to work to failure with a foundation workout, so
aim to complete a minimum of 12 reps. If you can’t complete 12 in good
form, make a note of how many you can do and start working towards
getting to 12 reps. This may take you a week or 2-3 weeks if you haven’t
worked out in while.
Repeating this workout 2-3 times a week in addition to your daily
activities will help you slowly progress your muscular strength and
control. Next week I will show you how you can advance the basics and
use timing to progress these exercises into a calorie torching routine.
Remember to have fun with this beginner’s workout.
Written by Samantha Clayton, AFAA, ISSA. Samantha is Director of Fitness Education at Herbalife.
