Everyone has their own unique workout plan, but most of them involve the same old type of exercise: long, sometimes boring bouts of low-impact cardiovascular exercise such as jogging on a treadmill or going the same speed on an exercise bike.
When it comes to weightlifting, many people also make the mistake of relying too much on machines, as they are easier to access, easier to figure out how to use, and just easier in general than free weights.
Of course, after reading that sentence, it should come as no surprise to many that they are not as effective all-around as free weights, something I’ve taken into account in my own workouts.
My personal workouts are designed to get more effectiveness in less time by increasing the intensity of the cardio, and weight-lifting wise, I have begun doing almost all free weights.
Here’s my own personal workout plan, developed over the past 7 or 8 years during which I’ve become an active gym member.
Cardio workout: Two days a week, I do high-intensity interval training either on the exercise bike, running, or even running hills at the local park.
On the exercise bike, I typically alternate between an average pace and a high-intensity pace, going about 60% of my maximum effort for one minute and then launching into riding at about 80-90% of my maximum effort for 30 seconds.
I repeated this procedure for about 12-15 minutes before taking a break. Because being seated on a bike is not as taxing, I do this for about 30 minutes each time or a little more.
If I’m running on a treadmill, I use a similar ratio of effort to time between jogging and running, but I only do about 8 to 10 minutes before resting as it is more difficult.
As shown by Mercola.com in this article, just ten minutes of brisk exercise has a huge effect on your metabolism and biochemistry in general.
For an even more difficult high-intensity exercise, I go to the local park and run up hills, usually doing so about 10 times and stopping to rest for a minute and a half or so each time. This ensures my heart will get pumping and I will burn fat more efficiently.
Weightlifting workout: My own personal weightlifting workouts are usually aimed at building or maintaining my muscle. As someone who is fairly young-looking I have often tried to maintain size, although I’ve gotten away from that for a while.
My main goal is to be well-rounded and do two exercises for each body part each weak.
The following exercises are the ones I usually never miss: skullcrushers (for triceps), lateral raises (shoulders), seated chest flies, dumbbell curls (biceps), and for the legs squats and deadlifts.
I usually do between 6-8 reps at a high weight each time and change up my routine so that I don’t work the same muscle groups without giving them enough reps. To change things up, I might add a different incline to the routine or add variations such as bringing my feet closer together or sitting down on my curls to add more weight.
All things considered, I try to keep my own personal workouts simple and high intensity. To supplement this schedule I will catch a yoga class or play some full court basketball whenever the opportunity affords itself.
The key to my routine, however, is to work out efficiently in the cardio department. I’ve found this method much, much better for burning fat than jogging or running at an average speed for long periods of time.
It’s totally worth it, even though I’ve been told to stop running at full speed on the treadmill by gym personnel in the fast.
That poor worker simply doesn’t know what he’s missing in his workout.