Melissa Thomas is an NASM-CES,PES Certified Personal Trainer, a STOTT PILATES® Certified Instructor; and is Precision Nutrition Level 1 Certified. Set an appointment Reserving time in your calendar workouts is an oft-overlooked consideration, but it’s an essential element of success. Now that our homes have become combination offices, diners, daycares, and gyms, it’s even more crucial to carve out time for exercise. Take the extra step to block out the time in your work calendar so your colleagues know that you aren’t available for meetings or a quick phone call during that hour. This helps you focus on your workout instead of all of the other tasks and ‘to-do’s’ competing for your attention. Furthermore, this allows you to actually enjoy your workout—novel concept, huh? While it’s totally normal to not always feel motivated to work out, setting an appointment holds you to your personal commitment—even when your motivation is lacking. Have a space (and the right equipment) for your workout Establish a designated exercise space in your home for workouts. You’ll be much more likely to exercise if you aren’t trying to do everything in the same place. This may be more difficult if you live in a studio or a small apartment, but try to clear an area for your workout and bring your yoga mat, spin bike, or weights into the space. In a similar vein, make sure that you have all the equipment you need before you start. Nothing is more frustrating than continuously stopping and restarting your workout to fetch more equipment. Plan your program ahead of time We’ve all heard the saying, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail,” and this definitely holds true if you want to improve your health and fitness. To determine which exercises to include in your workout, it’s important to first think about your fitness goals. Want to get better at pull-ups? Include pull-up and row variations in your workouts. Aiming to improve your 5K time? Spend some time pounding the pavement or logging miles on the treadmill. But what if your goals are more general? As a personal trainer, I always return to the five foundational movement patterns: Squat, Hinge, Push, Pull, and Carry (i.e., core exercises). A well-rounded workout routine typically includes all five. For instance, if you’re committing to two days of strength training per week, one way to split up your routine is to devote one day to Squat, Push, and Carry exercises and your second day to Hinge, Pull, and Carry exercises. Still not sure where to start? Here are a few example exercises for each movement pattern: As with all exercise programs, when using our exercise videos, you need to use common sense. To reduce and avoid injury, you will want to check with your doctor before beginning any fitness program. By performing any fitness exercises, you are performing them at your own risk. Perspectivefitwear.com will not be responsible or liable for any injury or harm you sustain as a result of our fitness program, DVD, online fitness videos, or information shared on our website. This includes emails, videos and text. Thanks for your understanding.
