Going ahead and committing a few days and times each week will help you to stick to your exercise plan in the long run! 

So when you’re just getting started, sit down with your calendar and set aside how much time you plan on spending in your workouts each week. 

Plan on exercising on between 3 and 5 days for 30-60 minutes each week. You can do Monday through Friday, or do two or three days followed by a rest day.

During your workout time, you’ll want to do a mixture of cardiovascular exercise and resistance training.

Cardiovascular exercise is any activity that gets your heart rate up! This kind of exercise is excellent for burning calories and improving the health of your heart and lunges (your cardiovascular system). 

To do cardiovascular (or cardio) exercise, you can go for a brisk walk, hop on a treadmill, bike, elliptical, or any other cardio machine at the gym. Whatever the activity, your goal will be to get your heart rate up into a moderate intensity zone for at least 30 minutes.

Resistance training is important for boosting the metabolism and improving the health and strength of your muscles and bones. On 2 or 3 of the days that you work out, you’ll want to add resistance training into your routine.

When you do resistance training, your goal is to fatigue your muscles by pushing or pulling against more resistance than they’re used to. You can use resistance training machines, lift weights, or even perform bodyweight exercises that challenge your muscles. You’ll want to train all of the major muscles in your body—including your legs, arms, and torso (or core). 

There are several ways you can structure your resistance training. 

• You can perform straight sets—where you perform a certain number of repetitions of an exercise to muscle fatigue, and then rest for between 30 seconds and 2 minutes before repeating (usually between 2 and 6 sets per exercise).

• You can also perform supersets—where you practice two or more exercises back-to-back. For this, you’ll perform a set of one exercise, followed immediately by a set of a different exercise, and then repeat the cycle for several rounds (often resting at the end of each round or between the exercises).

• Many people also enjoy circuit training, which combines cardiovascular and resistance training workouts. Like supersets, circuit training involves performing three or more exercises back-to-back, including exercises that get your heart rate up (like jumping jacks, marching or running in place, etc). 

You’ll want to feel “the burn” towards the end of each set of resistance training. An effective set of resistance training is one where towards the end you feel like the exercise is difficult—but not so hard that you have to sacrifice proper form or technique (to learn proper exercise form and technique, work with a personal trainer or check out my training programs).

As you’re doing your workouts, remember to always listen to your body. It’s ok to feel the muscles burn, but we never want to “push through” sharp pains—especially in the joints! If you experience knee, back, ankle, shoulder, wrist, or elbow pain while exercising, stop the exercise and check your form, reduce the intensity, or switch out the exercise for something else that doesn’t hurt (again, working with a personal trainer is a great way to avoid injury and learn how to perform exercises that don’t cause pain).

Finally, to make the most of your workouts and to most importantly stay consistent in your training routine, you’ll want to manage your energy while you’re training too. 

Many people mistakingly think that they have to push to their max in every workout, completely exhausting themselves by the end. However—especially in the beginning—you don’t want to do high-intensity exercise more than twice per week to avoid burning out or injury. 

For the most part, you want your workouts to feel moderately challenging. On a scale of 1 to 10 of difficulty (with 1 being “easy” and 10 being “maximum effort”), in most workouts you’ll want to push yourself to between a 6 and 8. If you are doing high intensity exercise on one or two days out of the week, your effort level will be between a 7 and a 9. 

If you need more guidance on creating a workout routine for yourself, or are interested in personal training, check out my calendar to schedule a free 30-minute consultation. You can also check out my training programs for all levels of fitness to get in shape at home or in the gym.

Happy exercising!

-Jayd

Jayd Harrison

Jayd Harrison is an author, health coach, and online personal trainer from the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina. Over the last decade, she has helped individuals to find their strength and build a healthy lifestyle through personal training, group fitness, and online fitness content. Check out her blog, Youtube channel, and Jaydigains Twitch channel to learn more. Subscribe to the email list to stay up-to-date and receive special offers on Jayd Harrison Fitness & Wellness services and products.