With gym’s now opening in our post-COVID lockdown world, what should our aims be?
Having a well-balanced physique is increasingly recognised as one of the corner stones of what is considered attractive in a modern human. Gone are the days of over-inflated chests and biceps, flabby abdominals and legs that are continually hidden in tracksuit pants (even in the middle of summer). Today, we should strive for a body that’s strong, toned and, above all, balanced.
The balanced physique
To achieve a balanced and attractive physique a new age approach to your fitness regime is required. Scrap the five nights a week lifting weights in the gym, or a split program training a different body part a day (like the body builders do) or daily spin classes and replace this with three days of strength training per week, including one session of circuit training. Each of these three days should incorporate exercises that target the major muscle groups of the body.
The content of these workouts should also include some ‘functional’ and all-body exercises that require you to use your body to achieve the equivalent to an every-day task such as climbing a ladder or getting up off the floor and then lifting an object above your head.
These activities and their use of the body in a balanced and challenging fashion have seen the rise of the ‘Spartan’ obstacle style challenges, which are popular at the moment such as ‘Tough Mudder’.
In addition to strengthening exercises, it’s important to incorporate cardiovascular training for health but also for burning calories to maintain a healthy and desirable level of body fat.
Just 20 minutes, two to three times per week is sufficient if completed at varying intensities that push your limits and if incremented to achieve ongoing improvements in the number of calories burnt each session.
Finally, select one mind-body style class week to engage your core, stretch and relax your mind. It’s no use having an awesome physique if you’re too stressed out, have tight muscles and a headache all the time to enjoy it.
www.regenesisfitness.com.au Russell Cox (Director, Regenesis Fitness)
