40-Minute Workout
For optimal well-being and quality of life, it’s essential that you take personal fitness seriously. As we know this is rarely easy with our busy lives. However, gaining muscular strength and endurance, maintaining a healthy weight and adopting good habits that involve lots of physical movement are key components that will make you feel and look your best at every stage of life.
According to the American Heart Association, being physically active helps prevent heart disease, improves circulation, and potentially can prevent stroke. They suggest 150 minutes per week of moderate exercise or 75 minutes each week of vigorous exercise. There are creative ways to get the time in, even dividing your workouts into smaller daily segments. To increase your potential of achieving your fitness objectives, find a fitness buddy so you can be held accountable to show up and workout.
This blog will address a solid 40-minute aerobic workout that can reap excellent benefits for your physical health and your overall well-being. It involves a Warm-up, High Intensity exercises, Strength Training, Cardio, and Cool-down.
The key to a successful 40-minute workout is to use your time efficiently. Try to do a 40-minute workout at least 3 times per week if possible. Get ready … work hard and you will see results! Vary your workout routines for the sake of muscle confusion. Never get stuck on one particular workout for more then two weeks.
To activate your core, start with deep inhaling through your nose. Fill your stomach and sides with air.
Then move onto about 10 dynamic movements that you will perform for about 30 seconds each. To warm up it is also recommended to use a foam roller to release any spasms or adhesion you may have throughout your skeletal muscular system. Try not to stop to rest, but move in a controlled way and smoothly go through the warm-up. You want to warm up the muscles, not wear yourself out.
One option is to walk on a treadmill to warm up. Some other warm-up exercises to consider are high knee march, arm circles, deep body squats, torso rotations, boxer shuffle, jump rope, alternating knee hugs, walking lunges with side stretch, arm and hip rotations, walk-out planks, inner thigh stretch, and rocking lunges. Make sure that you pay attention to proper form. Form is very important!! For additional information on specific exercises for warm up or for proper form, you can view videos from the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and other professional sports organizations.
The more intense the exercises in your workout will be, the longer your warm-up should be. So 5 minutes for beginners and up to 10 minutes for higher intensity workouts.
High Intensity Exercises: 5 minutes
This is where you will want power exercises that require your maximum effort. You can do heavy kettlebell swings, medicine ball slams, jump squats and push-ups, to name a few. These power moves boost your heart rate and really rev up the calorie burn. Generating force quickly is one of the goals here. Choose 2 high-intensity power moves and do each for about 15 seconds. Then rest for about 30 to 40 seconds. Do this for 5 rounds; this will take about 5 minutes. If you want to ramp it up or are in good shape already, substitute the rest period with a low-intensity skill, such as holding a high plank or performing bodyweight squats.
Strength Training: 20 minutes
About half of your 40 minute workout, or roughly 20 minutes, should focus on strength training. The benefits of increasing your muscle mass include that your body will burn more calories at rest (higher EPOC), also known as increasing your metabolic rate. Strength training also can help you prevent injuries and improve your posture.
Consider pairing a lower-body exercise, such as a squat or a deadlift, with an upper-body exercise, such as a bent-over row, and a core exercise, such as a plank. Activating multiple joints at the same time is beneficial for improving overall muscular functionality. The number of reps that you should do will depend on your fitness level and goals. This is where working with a personal trainer can be beneficial. To gain more muscle mass, 6 -12 reps should work provided the weights are heavy enough that you can go to 12 feeling challenged but still using good form. Form is critical at all stages!!! Seek professional assistance to master the form so you don't end up getting injured. Too many people end up at a physical therapist or a chiropractor practice because they performed an exercise with a bad form.
After you perform all of the reps for each of the 3 exercises, take a 30-45 second rest. Then repeat that set a total of 3 times. It should take about 6 minutes to go through all 3 sets. You can pair different moves to fill up the rest of the time.
Interval Cardio: 10 minutes
The last 10 minutes of your 40-minute workout will be cardio. Steady-state cardio is a good option for this 10-minutes. You could do a stair-climbing machine, stationary bike, run on the treadmill. Do steady cardio or Tabata style workout exercises. The point is to get your heart rate up and burn calories without putting overly intense pressure on your body.
Sample rounds could include burpees, mountain climbers, and jumping jacks, completing 3 circuits with 10 reps in the first round, 15 reps in the second round and 20 reps in the third round. Other exercises like walking lunges with a kettlebell, pushups, lunge jumps and walk-outs (inchworms) work well (do 3 circuits).
Post-Workout Cool Down: 5 minutes
Take some deep breaths and get your heart rate down slowly. Walking is an excellent way to do this and cool down after exercise. For a few minutes keep moving and have the blood circulating, which may help minimize any soreness the next day.
It’s a good idea to stretch your legs, arms and chest. Here are some examples to consider. Legs: Pull your leg up behind you to stretch your hamstring, or slowly touch your toes. Chest: Lace your fingers behind your back; straighten your arms and look toward the ceiling. Cross your arm across your body placing the other arm under the elbow. Core: Do the Cat/Cow Pose. Get on your hands and knees; inhale and lift your chin gently and look up toward the ceiling (cow). As you exhale, round your back toward the ceiling like a cat stretching its back. Slowly release your head toward the floor, then repeat several times. The key is to hold your stretches in cool-down position for 10-30 seconds each. Generally, wait for the nervous system to respond before releasing the stretch.
Modifications and variations of the exercises in your 40-minute workout can be done if you have any physical issues. As always, consult your doctor or a personal trainer prior to starting any exercise regimen.
Imagine that your health is like a giant puzzle. For a moment, consider all of the various “pieces” or variables that will make it complete for the healthiest you possible. Then just remember 3 words, the main pieces of the health puzzle: Nutrition, Exercise, and Sleep. This blog will address that third piece of the puzzle: Sleep. (Please don’t yawn until the end of the blog, at which time you are free to enjoy the benefits of 40 winks as long as you are not driving a car or operating heavy machinery!) Researchers have learned that sleep is a key factor in your health, weight, and energy level. If you eat well and exercise a few days of week yet still feel burned out and struggle to shed those extra pounds, it just may be your Zzz’s. According to the National Sleep Foundation (2017), sleep is necessary for healthy functioning, playing a central role not only in regulating your mood, but also in your learning and memory abilities. In short, sleep rejuvenates your body. And your mind too. A proper amount of rest can boost your power to recall memories, and it promotes creative thinking. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported earlier this year that more than 35 percent of people are sleep-deprived. An estimated 50-70 million adults in the U.S. have a sleep disorder. People who don’t get sufficient sleep are more likely to suffer from chronic diseases, such as hypertension, diabetes, depression, obesity, and cancer. In addition, from a public health standpoint, sleep deprivation is alarming because it’s linked to car crashes, industrial disasters, lower productivity at work, and medical and other occupational mistakes. How Much Is Enough? Individuals vary regarding how much sleep is best, but for most adults, 7.5 to 8.5 hours of sleep per night is optimal. However, research shows that the average American gets only about 6 hours of sleep per night. The National Institutes of Health suggests that school-age children need at least 10 hours of sleep daily, and teens need 9-10 hours. Are You Sleep-Deprived? If So, Dieting May Backfire Getting less than 7 hours of sleep per night can reduce and undo the benefits of dieting, according to research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. In one study, dieters were put on different sleep schedules, and when their bodies got adequate rest, half of the weight they lost was from fat. However, when they cut back on sleep, the amount of fat lost was cut in half despite being on the same diet. Also, they felt hungrier, were less satisfied after meals, and lacked energy to exercise. In contrast to the well-rested participants in the study, those who were on a sleep-deprived diet experienced 55 percent less fat loss. Poor sleep can be the result of any combination of physical conditions, psychological conditions such as anxiety or depression, work shift changes, or just poor sleep habits in general. Whatever the reason you may be sleep deprived, be aware that the lack of sleep over time has been proven to negatively affect athletic performance. So that could mean you will not reach your fitness goals as quickly if you continue to be sleep deprived. Disrupted Body Rhythm Worsens Your Performance & Outlook There’s a built in need that your body has for sleep, and it operates sort of like a timer. This is called the sleep-wake homeostasis, which is balanced against what’s called the circadian element. We have a built in circadian rhythm which is adjusted to the environment by external cues. The most important external cue is daylight. Our brain’s internal circadian clock, which is centered in our brain’s hypothalamus, uses these cues to naturally synchronize itself each day to within just a few minutes of the earth’s 24-hour rotation cycle. (The word “circadian” actually derives from the Latin word meaning “about a day.”) The sleep-wake homeostasis generates a homeostatic sleep drive, which is basically a pressure to sleep and a sleep intensity regulator. Van Dogen (2005) indicated in his research that this sleep homeostatic process builds up pressure for sleep during your waking hours and gets rid of this pressure while you are asleep. In addition, the circadian rhythm process which I mentioned above produces a “waxing and waning” of pressure for wakefulness during a 24 hour period. When you are sleep deprived, the sleep homeostatic process and your circadian rhythm gets disrupted, which then causes your performance to get worse over days. Some people are more vulnerable than others, but the bottom line is that we are all vulnerable to performance impairment when we don’t get adequate sleep. Also, research indicates that quality matters, not just quantity, and quality is a consistent correlate of a person’s health and well-being (Pitcher & Ott, 1998). For people who sleep less than 8 hours, every hour of sleep sacrificed results in an 8 percent less positive feeling about their day. What Is Sleep Hygiene? Sleep hygiene is a fairly recent term that means sleep habits that promote good and regular sleep. What Are Some Sleep Hygiene Tips? Tip 1: Try to go to bed at the same time every night and wake up at the same time each morning. On the weekend, keep your wake-up time within an hour of your weekday awakening time. Tip 2: Avoid large meals before bedtime. Tip 3: Avoid caffeine and alcohol close to bedtime. Tip 4: Lose the smartphone at least an hour before bedtime (meaning put it out of your room and silence the ringer.) A chemical reaction may be keeping you awake from the electronic screens. Turn the TV off too at least an hour before going to sleep. Tip 5: Develop relaxing rituals, such as shower or bath, low lights, and lower noise. Some auditory mindfulness meditation or relaxing classical music would be the exception. Again, avoid looking at a screen….just listen and ramp down. These are just some of the tips that may help you. So if you want to reach your fitness goals and feel positive, make it a habit to get adequate sleep. It will be your fuel for tomorrow’s workout and an important piece of your health “puzzle.” Remember: Nutrition, Exercise, Sleep. Now Get Your Zzz’s On Tonight!
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