In this blog post I'm going to talk about the components of the successful exercise program. When I talk about successful, I'm not talking about helping you lose 15 pounds over a month or two, or helping you drop 2 dress sizes, or getting you in shape for your wedding.
Successful to me is a lot less about short term visual goals and a lot more about long term health and wellness. If you're overweight, losing 15 pounds is great, but if you don't keep the weight off for good, it had little to no real benefit to your life.
Successful exercise programs help you:
Successful exercise programs help you:
- Get and stay in better shape (visually and physiologically)
- Improve your health numbers (blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, body mass index)
- Increase your energy (both daily and long term - not exhaust you)
- Decrease your stress
- Improve your sleep
- Improve your mood
Successful exercise programs should also be:
- Sustainable for life (not just a 12 week program but something you can do until you're 90)
- Safe to do longterm (many diet and exercise programs are not safe or healthy longterm)
- Easy to fit into your life (best if you can do it with your family or friends)
- Fun and enjoyable
If we look at the most popular workouts of the last couple years, most of them are very high intensity:
- HIIT (high intensity interval training)
- Cross-Fit (17.2, the Murph, and regular WODs)
- Tabata (a type of HIIT - hard for 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds)
- P90X (30 minute intense workouts)
- Insanity (max interval training - 3 minutes as hard as you can, 30 seconds rest)
- Boxing and kickboxing
- Functional training (including all planes of motion, power and Olympic lifting, kettlebells, medicine calls, ropes, etc)
- Obstacle course training and boot camps (including programs focused on America Ninja Warrior, Tough Mudder, Spartan, Warrior Dash, etc)
Along with the high intensity trend, we are also seeing these trends which focus more on recovery, which is well needed after so many high intensity workouts:
- yoga (including piyo (Pilates + yoga), beer yoga, goat yoga, dog yoga, water yoga, aerial yoga)
- meditation
- myofacial release
- cyrotherapy
- infrared saunas
- breathing practices
The last set of big fitness trends focuses on the social and technological components:
- Group exercise (indoor and outdoor in-person and online group exercise is surging)
- Social exercise (in-person and online groups that support each other)
- Technology and wearables (exercise and movement trackers, heart rate monitors, sleep monitors, posture monitors, social exercise groups, etc.)
Now I do think some high intensity working out is good for most people, but too much can cause problems like burnout, fatigue, decreased immunity (more sickness), excessive stress (high cortisol levels), higher injury risk, overeating, and increased risk of heart attack and stroke.
For most people it might be sustainable to do 1 or 2 high intensity workouts a week but that's not enough exercise to keep someone healthy. The rest of their week might include lower intensity activities that are ideally fun and social, like a fun group exercise class, playing a sport, dancing, or going on a walk, run, or hike with friends, family, or their dog.
For most people it might be sustainable to do 1 or 2 high intensity workouts a week but that's not enough exercise to keep someone healthy. The rest of their week might include lower intensity activities that are ideally fun and social, like a fun group exercise class, playing a sport, dancing, or going on a walk, run, or hike with friends, family, or their dog.
How do you know if your exercise program will be sustainable and healthy in the long run? The more of these you can check off, the better your program is:
- Do something you love (that way you look forward to exercise rather than dread it)
- Make it feel like play (again the more fun the more you'll do it)
- You find yourself smiling and laughing a lot while doing it
- Do it with friends (community makes it fun and you're accountable to each other)
- Do it outside (nature gives you fresh air and lowers your stress)
- Include variety (doing the same thing will get boring, keep variety in your exercise)
- Exercise where it's scenic (beautiful mountain or city views, flowers, trees, and birds)
- Moderate intensity (most exercise shouldn't be hard, but rather comfortable)
- Enjoy some competition (training for a race or event is great motivation and competing against yourself or others can be really fun)
- Have a goal (rather than lose 20 lbs, think about running a marathon, completing a Tough Mudder, or doing a triathlon)
- Give yourself a reward (this could be a reward trip like planning a destination race/event that gives you something to train for and then gives you a reward of a vacation for your hard work or making a deal with yourself that when you complete your marathon/triathlon you can reward yourself with a $500 shopping spree or something else motivating and fun)
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