You’re doing great! Keep it up!
After doing the same activities, again and again, we may begin to lose our enthusiasm. If you feel things are “stale” then it is probably time to adjust your program. Don’t let a few lapses in your routine cause you to skip weeks. It doesn’t take long before weeks turn into months, and then you will ultimately lose all the progress you have made.
Everyone needs a change a pace. Try a new class or take a week off to re-charge your batteries. Once you rekindle your passion for living a healthy lifestyle, come back and challenge yourself to push your fitness levels to new heights.
Remember: ACSM recommends that adults exercise “most days of the week.” If you aren’t already meeting this goal, do your best to try to achieve this goal.
If you are thirsty for a new program and want to get started now, we have provided a new 6-week program. As always, we include the general guidelines in the section that follows. This has not changed. If you are ready, skip this and go straight to it!
General Exercise Guidelines
The program is progressive and involves both aerobic and resistance training exercises. This information will remain on our site for you to refer back to as often as you would like. You may print the information, take notes, or simply bring your smartphone with you to the Refinery, using the videos as your guide. The videos will be accessible 24/7 on the frontpage (log-in unnecessary). It is our hope that you use this as your digital exercise manual.
Resistance Training. We recommend doing 10 to 12 repetitions (“reps”) of each resistance exercise and you should repeat this 3 times (i.e., perform 3 sets of 10-12 reps). This means the total number of times you perform each exercise will range from 20 (10 x 2) to 36 (12 x 3). There’s no such thing as a “one-size-fits-all” approach to exercise. We anticipate that some of you may feel 20 reps relatively challenging whereas others may desire a greater challenge. Find a formula you are comfortable with and please do not overexert yourself. You should not need more than 30-60 seconds of rest between sets. Then again, if your goal is to improve your aerobic conditioning, you may want to give yourself less rest. Be sure to complete the resistance training module (units 1 & 2) for additional recommendations.
You may notice that we will sometimes refer to the “tempo” of an exercise. Tempo = speed of the movement. For example, you may lift a dumbbell upwards in 1 second. Then, you may allow it to drop downward in 1 second. We encourage you to follow a 2–0–2 tempo. The first 2 refers to the beginning phase of movements (e.g., move up in 2 secs), whereas the 0 refers to “no pause”, and the last 2 seconds refers to the end phase (e.g., move back in 2 secs).
Aerobic Training. We recommend that you try to do at least 50 minutes of aerobic walking, at least 5 times per week. If you find that this is too challenging, do as much as you can. Try other types of aerobic training for longer periods of time if you feel you are up to it. It is unnecessary to do > 6 days of aerobic activity per week. Your body requires rest! Be sure to complete the aerobic training module (units 1 & 2) for additional recommendations.