So you’ve decided you want to get fit? Great! Now what? There is SOOO much out there, it can be overwhelming. You end up collecting information for weeks…but take zero action. If this sounds like you, we understand. It’s frustrating! No worries though, you’re in the right place to kick it into gear. We’ve helped thousands of beginners get started (and reach their goals!) as part of our online coaching program. Today, I’ll share with you 3 different ways to get things going, that have been tested by nerds just like you. Here’s what we’ll cover:
Let’s jump right in.
How Do Beginners Get Fit?As Coach Matt discusses above, there are three areas we want to focus on when trying to level up your fitness:
When someone joins our coaching program, we often think about developing habits around these three pillars. As I often share with folks when discussing our coaching program:
What’s the first move in each category? Well, there’s no “one-size-fits-all” approach when it comes to fitness. However, if you twist my arm about it, I will admit that there are a few key habits that I generally have my clients start on. These habits can be good for a beginner to experiment with as their “first step” for getting in shape. Let’s go over a few of them now. “Get Fit” Strategy #1: ExerciseWhen people decide they want to get in shape, they often start exercising more. It’s not a bad strategy. What exercise should we start with? Our recommended first step here…is actually a first step. That’s right, a simple walk can be a great way to start exercising. Just put on some shoes and head out the door! Occasionally, I’ll have some clients bulk at this, claiming “That’s not enough! I need to do more!” While it’s great they’re looking for a challenge, I encourage them not to dismiss the power of walking. Here’s why:
In other words, building the habit is the hardest part. Not the exercise itself. So we start with a walk. Maybe we aim for two or three times a week. Don’t overthink this – whatever time you can do right now is good. Whether it’s around the block, or to the mailbox and back – just make sure you set the intention and do something. Plus, the exercise will be good for you too.[1] Some members of the Rebellion – like Tim here – have gotten in great shape by focusing on regular walks. Here’s our Walking for Exercise Guide for more tips to get started. If you already practice a regular walk, then you can explore doing a little bit more of a formal workout. After you start walking consistently, I recommend you try our Beginner Bodyweight Workout: This workout can be done right in your living room, without any extra gym equipment. Also, make sure you also download the Beginner Bodyweight Workout PDF, so you can track your progress and consistency. I’ll send it on over when you join the Nerd Fitness Rebellion in the box below:
Grab Your Beginner Bodyweight Routine Worksheet. No Gym Required!
“Get Fit” Strategy #2: NutritionAh, nutrition. Any claims on proper nutrition will almost always lead to another battle in the ongoing diet wars. Like the Clone Wars, but with more broccoli and fewer spaceships. Folks on the internet can’t stop arguing about “the best” diet. For some it’s Keto. Others Paleo. Or Vegan. Don’t forget about the Mediterranean Diet. When you start googling a bit, you’ll find lots of contradicting information on how to level up your diet. People will claim you should:
Tragic. In our coaching program, we often DON’T start with any “eat and drink less” talk. We actually do the opposite, with “eat and drink MORE” talk. What do we specifically recommend you eat and drink more of?
For our coaching clients trying to get in shape, sometimes we have them start by drinking a glass of water or eating a vegetable at one of their meals. When we start with adding – instead of subtracting – we accomplish a few things:
This is another step that might seem “too easy” or “not enough” right now, but doing them consistently can still prove challenging. And doing these things consistently is what’s going to build long-lasting changes. If you want additional help with these two actions, I have a couple of resources for you:
But if you’re looking for a “Just tell me what to do!” – then have a glass of water or a vegetable at one of your meals. If you’re doing that already – add one of them to another meal. Rinse and repeat. What’s that? You already drink water and have a vegetable with every meal? Well, you can work on having your meals look a bit like this: For more here, check out A Nerd’s Guide to Healthy Eating. “Get Fit” Strategy #3: MindsetWhen people discuss getting fit, it almost always revolves around “diet and exercise.” A big component that’s overlooked is one’s mindset. All the workout and nutritional information in the world won’t help if you’re stressed out and not able to focus on creating habits. That’s why we also work on stress management with our coaching clients. We can start leveling up our mindset by taking one of these steps: #1) Improving Sleep. A good night’s sleep can make everything easier. Conversely, poor sleep consistently can make everything harder. My clients often have success improving their sleep habits by:
#2) Journaling. Grab anything you can write with (even your phone or computer), and write down some reflections from the day. You can focus your journal on:
Your journal is a safe spot for you to get things out of your head and process them, which can quickly reduce stress. Personally, capturing my thoughts at the end of the night helps me put the day behind me. Our minds are for creating ideas, not storing them (h/t David Allen). #3) Meditation. Simply close your eyes and focus on taking a few slow, deep breaths. It sounds almost too easy, but even this quick pause will help you relax and refresh. It’s not about “emptying your mind”, but instead letting any thought that comes into your head leave just as easily. I’ve seen even a brief 5-minute session help some of my clients’ destress after a hectic day. You can read a bit more in A Nerd’s Guide to Meditation. Whichever of these three that you decide for stress management, look to do it consistently several times a week. Just only pick ONE right now. We’ll work on the others down the road. The Key to Getting In Shape: ConsistencyIf you want to take the first step to level up your life, think about habits around the following:
That’s it. Simple habits to have you move more, get proper nutrients, and destress a bit. There’s nothing here that’s going to sound revolutionary. That’s the point. The action itself isn’t challenging. The challenge is doing the action consistently. So yes, the actions we proposed today might appear easy for you to do. If that’s the case, then do them. Once you have these habits locked in, we can work on leveling them up to more complex tasks. Start now, then course-correct later. If you want a roadmap for building one habit on top of each other, I got a few options for you. I’ll share them with you now, because I’m nice like that. Here are three ways to build healthy habits alongside Nerd Fitness. #1) Our Online Coaching Program: a coaching program for busy people to help them make better food choices, stay accountable, and get healthier, permanently. You can schedule a free call with our team so we can get to know you and see if our coaching program is right for you. Just click on the image below for more details: #2) If you want an exact roadmap on how to get in shape, check out NF Journey. Our fun habit-building app helps you exercise more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life (literally). You never have to question the next step. Your next new habit will always be one adventure away. Try your free trial right here: #3) Join the Rebellion! We need good people like you in our community, the Nerd Fitness Rebellion. Sign up in the box below to enlist and get our Rebel Starter Kit, which includes all of our “work out at home” guides, an explanation on the 15 Mistakes That Newbies Make, and much more!
Get your Nerd Fitness Starter Kit
Alright, I want to hear from you now: Have you taken your first step to getting fit? If so, what helped the most? If not, what feels like it’s holding you back? Let me know in the comments! -Jim ### Photos from Four Bricks Tall: Into the forest; In 2015, the first woman coach was hired by a Major League Baseball team; Fresh lobster rolls; Violinist Boy; A grape hyacinth
Footnotes ( returns to text)
The post Blog first appeared on Nerd Fitness. via https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/how-do-beginners-get-fit/
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So you’ve hit a workout or weight loss plateau the size of a…well, an actual plateau, eh? Have no fear, our step-by-step guide will get you back on track! (Plus, the most badass Bruce Lee quote you’ll ever read). Whether you’ve stalled in your weight loss journey, strength training, or some other fitness benchmark, today we’ll tell you exactly how to keep progressing by sharing with you the exact tools we use with our coaching clients. Don’t lose morale. Together we got this! We’ll cover:
I know how demoralizing plateaus can be, especially when it comes to strength training and weight loss – they can be a total momentum killer! It’s actually why we built our newest app, Nerd Fitness Journey! It’s designed so when you wake up in the morning, you know the exact next step to help you reach your goals. You can try it for free right here, so this plateau can be a thing of the past:
What is a Plateau?A plateau occurs when you stall out on progress despite continuing to do “all of the right things,” usually including: And so on. Our bodies go from losing weight consistently to getting stuck at a certain number. Or we go from building muscle and getting stronger, to having a week or two where we can’t seem to lift anything heavier. We call this point in our training “The Plateau,” and we don’t like being stuck on them. As we learned in a previous article on happiness, humans (nerds especially) are happier when we make progress. When we work hard for something and don’t see progress, we get unhappy. How Do I Know If I’ve Hit a Plateau?I get a lot of emails from people who tell me they’re stuck in a plateau. They talk about how they’ve been eating right, exercising, and getting enough rest and they can’t seem to make progress! They throw their hands in the air, freak out, get discouraged, and give up or quickly move onto the next plan that they hope will work. When somebody comes to me saying they’ve plateaued, my first response is always: “Have you REALLLLLLLLY plateaued? REALLY?” In a strong majority of the cases, plateaus are really just issues with concentration, tracking, and discipline in disguise. Before you think you have plateaued, consider the following: 1) HOW IS YOUR NUTRITION…REALLY? Oftentimes we think we are being diligent, until we realize that after a few weeks of eating great we’ve started slacking. “Oh I’ve been good, just this one time…” and “Hmmm, sure why not” become more commonplace as we start to fall back into old habits. Track your calories for the next week and check your numbers. And even if you are eating the right amounts of food, there’s this: as you lose weight, your metabolism slows down. This isn’t sabotaging black magic, it’s science. There’s simply LESS of you that your body needs to maintain. Here is the estimated daily resting calorie burn (“sit on your ass all day”) of a 35-year old male nerd at 3 very different weights:
You might have hit a plateau simply because you’ve reached an equilibrium of calories consumed to calories burned! This means you need to adjust your calorie intake to continue losing weight. If you are trying to bulk up, are you eating ENOUGH calories to promote muscle growth? Rededicate yourself for two weeks, track your meals, and see if progress picks back up! 2) HOW ARE YOUR WORKOUTS…REALLY? If you are weeks or months into a workout plan, I bet the initial luster of “NEW! PROGRESS! WINNING!” has worn off. Have you been skipping that last rep, cutting out an exercise here or there, or getting bored and wanting to go home? I know when I hit a plateau at the gym, it’s generally because I haven’t been pushing myself as hard as I had been previously. Track your workouts diligently for two weeks and see if these changes kick you back on track. 3) HOW iS YOUR SLEEP?…REALLY? This is one that most people skip out on. They are exercising, eating right, but for whatever reason they’ve been slacking on their sleep. It’s might be too much television… We all know sleep is important – lack of sleep leads to increased levels of stress, less time for our bodies to rebuild muscle, to recover from strenuous activity, and more. I know that if I didn’t get a good night’s sleep, then my performance in the gym the next day will suffer. Can you honestly say you’ve spent two weeks with quality sleep, nutrition, and exercise? In many cases we think we’re stuck, in need of some sort of drastic change or adjustment to kickstart progress again. Now, there are definitely instances where we ARE stuck or stalled, and that’s when things need to change. However, before we cover the dreaded plateau, let’s get a few things clear. Why Am I Plateauing?To start, linear progress cannot continue indefinitely:
Your progress at a consistent pace will definitely slow down, which can FEEL like a plateau. If you’ve been training for more than a few months, you might need to slightly adjust your expectations. Maybe this week you can only add 2.5 lbs to the bar. Or 1lb. Maybe your muscle-building will crawl to 1 lb gained a month. It happens to all of us. Even Batman. Now, if your progress stalls out COMPLETELY or you actually regress, AND you are doing all of the right things, then congrats! You MAY have plateaued. Like in games like World of Warcraft, at some point you will stop gaining experience from killing rats – you could spend all day doing so but because you’ve hit a certain level they no longer provide you with value. It’s time to move onto attacking spiders, then orcs, then dragons. It’s something Coach Jim brings up in this video on progressive overload: When you started out, just doing 5 push-ups might have felt like a full workout. Now you can do 50 push-ups for a warm-up and not break a sweat. Our bodies are constantly adapting and learning to manage the stresses we put on it, seeking the path of least resistance. Back to our gaming analogy: If it’s something worth doing, there will most likely be grinding involved, and that’s why I need to talk to you about The Dip. No not a strength training type of ‘dip’, though those are good to help bust through a plateau too! You can learn more about how we help build plateau-less workouts at Nerd Fitness by downloading our free Strength Training 101 eBook when you sign up in the box below:
Download our comprehensive guide STRENGTH TRAINING 101!
Is a Plateau Normal? (The Dip)I want to introduce you to Seth Godin, author of The Dip. We all hit plateaus in our lives and quests for health and happiness. In order to be successful at the task at hand, we need to grind our way through that low point (or flat point) until we can climb out and continue progress. Here’s a visualization of the dip: When you first start something new, you can make quick progress and everything rocks because you see big changes. However, after a few months, the reward you get from your effort decreases and it seems like you’re rapidly slowing down:
When we hit that dip/plateau where our hard work seems like it goes unrewarded, it’s easy to give up and say, “I’m a failure.” Not true. We will all experience a dip when it comes to progress on things that are important to us. If we want to TRULY be successful, we need to anticipate the dip’s arrival and plan for it so that it doesn’t completely derail us. Much like grinding out experience points in an RPG, sometimes we need to grind out practice in life, workouts, nutrition, and more…until we can hit that sweet spot for progress again. So, how do we stay dedicated, focused, and motivated through the dip? How do we progress during the plateau when we feel like our hard work is a waste of time? We focus on small wins, and find a way to get a teeny tiny bit better. What Should I Do When I Hit a Plateau? (Setting Personal Records)In order for us to crawl out of a dip or off a plateau, we need to find a way to make a small win every day. Think of these small wins like “a light to you in dark places, when all other lights go out.” The longer we’ve been training, the older we get, and/or the more advanced we get in our training, the more likely we’ll be to hit plateaus and the more necessary it will be to grind out small victories, prepare for dips, and power through them. Here’s how you can grind out your own small wins and prove to yourself that you are still progressing when you are in the dip: 1) TRACK EVERY SET, REP, AND WORKOUT. Find a way to be better today in SOME WAY than you were yesterday, and prove to yourself that you are still making progress – even if it’s progress in a different way than you were progressing before. If you are stuck at 3 sets of 5 reps of 150 pounds on the bench press and haven’t been able to go up to 155 lbs for a few weeks, try 3 sets of 6 reps of 150 pounds. Or 4 sets of 5 reps of 150 pounds. Then come back to 3 sets of 5 reps of 155 a few weeks from now, and see if you can do that. If you wait 60 seconds between sets, try waiting 90 seconds instead and lift a different amount As long as SOMETHING has progressed in some way – your total amount of weight lifted, decreased time between sets, one extra rep, or one more pound lifted – it proves to yourself that you made progress. Remember, progress makes us happy. RECORD EVERYTHING. 2) COLLECT TINY WINS. Optimus Prime doesn’t transform with one single movement; it’s a combination of hundreds of thousands of tiny movements that happen rapidly. We are transformers (Joe especially), and our small changes add up too. It’s these tiny, small victories that can push us over the edge. Enough small victories and we can reach that tipping point, that end of the dip where progress continues again. Find a way to set a tiny win in SOME WAY each day that shows you that you are getting better/faster/stronger. Here’s an example: I have been working on handstand balancing. For the past few months, my progress has stagnated and even gone in reverse on some days (helloooo Dip!). I continued to work on building the habit of handstands for five minutes a day (Hard Hat challenge for the win!). Progress felt nonexistent, but I knew that my continued dedicated practice was adding up in ways that didn’t make themselves readily apparent. I had “stalled,” so I focused on getting tiny wins: increasing flexibility in my wrists, staying against the wall as long as I could, practicing my kick-ups, tightening my core, etc. Despite not being able to balance for longer than 10 seconds at any point in the past, I kicked up into a handstand, without even touching the wall (something else that had never happened before), and I held my handstand for 24 seconds! I still have a ways to go before I’m holding perfectly vertical handstands for 60+ seconds, but months spent grinding out practice in the dip have paid off. I made it through the plateau, and my progress has continued rapidly after struggling for months. Those months of struggle were teeny tiny wins in different ways that added up until I hit that tipping point where progress exploded. 3) TRACK OTHER METRICS OTHER THAN THE SCALE. The scale can lie. The scale will DEFINITELY slow down even if you are making progress in healthier ways, simply due to the fact that you have less weight to lose than you did before! You might also be dealing with extra water weight, or bloat, or menstruation, or anything in between. So, track other things! Here’s what you can track to help keep you motivated while plateauing:
The goal is to consistently prove to ourselves that we are moving one step closer towards our goal. This is exactly the system we used when we built Nerd Fitness Journey. When you’re working through the app, not only are you doing fun missions, but you’ll see how tasks build up to your larger goal. There’s no getting stuck or frustrated, just log in and work on the next adventure. If you want, you can sign-up for a free trial right here: 5 Tips and Tricks for Overcoming a PlateauThe above is just the beginning. This will also help you make progress and get out of that dip: 1) Shock your workout. Our bodies crave efficiency, and love to be as lazy as possible, but we truly thrive on chaos. So introduce some chaos into your system! Note: This is NOT the same as “muscle confusion” (which is a made-up marketing term to sell DVDs). We’re still progressing, lifting more, and doing the same exercises – we’re just throwing in some variation occasionally to help stimulate progress. If you do the exact same thing over and over and over, your body becomes more efficient at that activity. In fact, your body can learn and adapt after doing the same thing enough times so that it burns fewer calories to carry out the process. So mix it up!
2) Adjust your diet. Your body can also become quite efficient with calories (not to mention the oft-mentioned but controversial “starvation mode” theory), and can sometimes struggle to progress. As we lay out in “Why can’t I lose weight?,” if you’ve lost a decent amount of weight, your body now burns significantly fewer calories each day (there’s less of you to manage!) This means you need to adjust your calorie intake! So, I would start by tracking your intake and determine how many calories you should be eating. ONLY after that doesn’t work would I recommend the following: Consider throwing in one day a week of OVER eating, along with days where you are intermittent fasting. Keep your body guessing and see if that shocks your system back into weight loss mode. Consider adjusting your macronutrient breakdown. Keep your protein intake high, and adjust your carbs and fats. Some people feel better or worse with high fat or low fat, high carb or low carb. And remember, thermodynamics still rule all: weight loss requires caloric deficits. 3) REST! I’ve heard it said “there’s no such thing as “overtraining, just under-recovering.” Are you getting enough sleep? Maybe you’re a new parent and trying to maintain your old workout routine on 2 hours of sleep a night. Or work has you stressed like crazy and it’s causing you to eat like crap. Rest is such an important part of a healthy lifestyle that it needs to be prioritized too. In the book Essentialism, this is referred to as “Protecting the Asset.” You are the asset. If you are trying to do too much, or you’re caught in a plateau, consider a week off, refocusing on sleep and recovery, and come back refreshed. 4) Adjust your goals. Maybe your body needs a new dragon to slay. Again, nature loves chaos. If you are focused solely on weight loss, you might feel like you have stalled out. So shift your focus. Work on handstands. Or running faster. Or doing your first pull-up. Pick a new skill! Try something different. Give your body a chance to recover and then come back to it. If you’re solely focused on the scale and it stalls out, it can be depressing. So put the scale away for a month, and instead focus on the process of getting stronger and eating better. Stop stressing and remember to enjoy the game you’re playing. 5) Accept that we have bad weeks. We are complex pieces of machinery. Sometimes shit happens. We just have bad weeks and can’t lift enough or we GAIN weight when we expected to lose weight. It doesn’t make you a bad person, it doesn’t make you a failure, it makes you human. So on days when you feel great, PUSH yourself harder. On days when you feel like crap, scale back the heavy lifting and focus on more reps or better technique. The greatest predictor of success in our lives is grit (which can be developed). Grit is what you need to slog through these slow weeks. These dips are where we find out who’s truly dedicated. I know you are, and you know you are. Remember, look for any sign of progress in any way to reveal that “light” at the end of the tunnel. If you are stuck on a plateau when it comes to strength training, consider working with one of our Yodas in the 1-on-1 Online Training Program at Nerd Fitness! No guilt, no shame. Just somebody to keep you accountable, expert guidance from somebody that knows you, and peace of mind knowing you’re doing the right thing! How did you break through your plateau?“If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there. You must go beyond them.” -Bruce Lee Hopefully, I’ve covered everything you need to know about plateaus. What’s that? You were expecting some lame joke about plateaus somewhere? You know me too well. Okay, how bout this one: Did you know that a plateau is the highest form of flattery? Get it? Thank you, I’ll be here all week. I want to hear your story:
Let’s hear it! I’m excited to hear how I can help. -Steve PS: We know starting with this stuff can be intimidating. If you’re looking to take it to the next level:
### Photo Sources: olegmit1 © 123RF.com, Nattapol Sritongcom © 123RF.com, seeveeaar: success, Stefan Baudy: question, clement127: Eurobasket 2015, Four Bricks Tall: Mountain Biker, JD Hancock: Heroes, Anton Ivanov © 123RF.com The post Blog first appeared on Nerd Fitness. via https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/what-to-do-when-you-hit-a-plateau/ So you want to start working out, but you don’t want to leave the house? No problem! Our online coaches specialize in helping people get fit from home. If you’re in a hurry, sign-up for our free weekly newsletter and we’ll send you PDFs of our “Work Out at Home” guides! Let’s go over the 8 Best At-Home Workouts so you can start training today: no gym or equipment required!
Note: If you’re here because your gym is shut down due to the outbreak of Covid-19, check out our guide “How to Stay In Shape (While Staying Inside).”
At Home Warm-ups and stretching routinesNo matter which at-home workout you pick, I want you to start with one important thing: Warm-up! I cover why you should always warm up in an article found right here. It doesn’t have to be much though, give it about five minutes to get your muscles active and your heart rate up. This will help you do exercises properly and help prevent injury. You can run in place, do air punches and kicks, or some jumping jacks. Here is NF Senior Coach Staci (you might know her incredible story) showing you many beginner options you can use to warm up as well: If you’re curious, here’s my personal (advanced) warm-up:
Our goal isn’t to tire you out, instead we want to warm you up. That’s step one. Completing your chosen at-home workout would be step two. Below, you’ll find 8 sequences you can follow along with! Home Workout #1: Beginner BodyweightThis at-home routine, as we lay out in our Beginner Bodyweight Workout article, is as follows:
We also turned it into a fun infographic with superheroes, because that’s how we roll:
The above is what we call “circuit training,” with the objective being to run through the workout sequence once, then again, then again. Note: Not a milk drinker? If you don’t have milk in the house for the rows, find something of roughly the same weight with a good handle. Also, if you want to download this Beginner Bodyweight Workout as a worksheet, you can do so when you sign up in the box below:
Grab Your Beginner Bodyweight Routine Worksheet. No Gym Required!
It’ll help you track your progress as you begin your training. Home Workout #2: Advanced BodyweightIf the beginner at-home workout above is too easy for you, move on to our Advanced Bodyweight Workout. The workout looks like this:
Not familiar with these moves? Check out the 21 Best Advanced Bodyweight Exercises for a full breakdown. I warn you, the above sequence will hurt… in a good way. You should be proud if you can get through this three times. Do you want to get as strong as possible so this workout ain’t no thang? Sign up in the box below to grab our guide, Strength Training 101: Everything You Need to Know. It’ll teach you all of these advanced bodyweight exercises!
Download our comprehensive guide STRENGTH TRAINING 101!
Home Workout #3: The 20-Min Hotel RoutineSometimes, you just plain find yourself stuck in a hotel room. Maybe you can find the hotel gym, but I bet it’s terrible! It probably has 2 machines, a broken treadmill, and no free weights. Ugh. Instead, how about a 20-min workout you can do in the room itself! Utilize the furniture to its full potential. Level 1
Level 2
Set the alarm clock to 15 minutes from now and see how many circuits you can do! Check out our full post on hotel circuits if you want Level 3! We have a LOT of business travelers throughout the Rebellion! Learn how they stay fit on the road with the Nerd Fitness Starter Kit!
Get your Nerd Fitness Starter Kit
Home Workout #4: High-Intensity Interval TrainingYou don’t have to head to the gym to do High-Intensity Interval Training. You can do a complete routine right in your own home! HIIT is just following a specific regimen where you vary your speeds and intensity throughout a shorter run, swim, bike, or row. Unless you have a giant backyard, running at home might be tough. But you know what doesn’t require a lot of room? Burpees! To complete a burpee:
Check out our full guide on How to Start Interval Training for some more ideas on HIIT workouts. You can also check out our post “The 20-Min HIIT Workout for Home” for another living-room-friendly interval routine! Home Workout #5: Attack of the Angry BirdsThe Angry Birds Workout is designed to be done when you have 5 or 10 minutes to kill. Sort of like playing Angry Birds… Here’s how The Angry Birds Workout Plan works: it’s deceptively simple – only four major movements. If you don’t have time to run through the whole sequence, no problem! Depending on how much time you have during the day, you can do your whole workout at once, or break up your training into four different sessions throughout the day (with each session being ONE of the exercises). Here’s a sample day for your No-Equipment Workout:
You could even split it up over two days if needed, but the goal would be to do it the whole sequence at once. The main Angry Birds Workout article describes in detail Levels 1-6, but here’s Level 3 for you:
Once you’ve done the complete routine, you have my permission to whip out your phone and play the actual game! Home Workout #6: Train like BatmanWe love the Caped Crusader here at Nerd Fitness, so naturally we have The Batman Bodyweight Workout for you to try! Bonus points if you somehow do this no-equipment workout in a cave, as that’s how Bruce Wayne would roll.[1] This workout is separated into two days for you: Batman No-Equipment Workout Day 1:
Batman No-Equipment Workout Day 2:
This is a relatively advanced workout already, but if you want to progress to the next level, check out the main Batman Bodyweight Workout for tips on how to do just that. Home Workout #7: The PLP ProgressionThe PLP is a progressive program in which you complete one additional rep of three exercises – Pull-Ups, Lunges, and Push-Ups – every day, for two months. NOTE: This is NOT a beginner program, and should not be attempted unless you have been training consistently and can do multiple repetitions of pull-ups and push-ups with great form. Like this perfect push-up: And this perfect pull-up: Here’s how the PLP Progression works: Day 1:
Day 2:
Day 3:
How long do you keep doing this? As originally envisioned by Chad Waterbury, the PLP Workout lasts 60 days.[3] Yeah…by the end of it you’ll be doing more than 50 pull-ups. There are two versions:
Complete your required reps each day in as many sets as you need, whenever you need to. The goal is to do it in as few sets as possible, but enough so that you can complete each rep with proper form. Want to learn more? Check out my results on the PLP Workout. Home Workout #8: The Star Wars Workout!Do you have access to a hallway that you can commandeer for a bit? Then you can do our Star Wars Workout! It’s designed to be done in a very small space, like your home’s hallway…or an escape pod. The “Padawan” Level of this workout is:
If you want to advance to the Jedi Knight or Master Levels, check out The Star Wars Workout, which will also offer you a full description of each move. Bonus No-Equipment Workout: The Playground CircuitDo you have a nearby playground? Why not work out there! If you have kids, you can do it together. Or let them ignore you. I’ll give you a Level One workout, and a Level Two. Check out The 20-Minute Playground Workout for some Level Three exercises. Level One
Level Two
After you’ve gone through a complete set three times, go down the slide! Can Home Workouts Build Muscle or Help With Weight Loss?Throughout our Online Coaching Program, we get two common questions for those wanting to train at home:
The answer to both of these: yep! Let’s tackle them one by one. #1) Can working out at home help me build muscle? You can 100% build muscle mass at home. Just ask out friend Jimmy here: Read more on how Jimmy turned into Spider-Man from home! The trick is to follow a progressive overload strategy, as Coach Jim outlines in this video: With progressive overload, we want to make our workouts more and more challenging, thus putting additional strain on our muscles. So to build muscle with home workouts, focus on:
That will help you build strength and muscle from your casa. Next up: #2) Can working out at home help me lose weight? You can totally train at home for a successful weight loss strategy. Again, we have a great example with one of our Online Coaching Clients, Sarah the Supermom: The trick here is to couple your home workouts with adjustments to your nutrition. We’re big believers that you can’t outrun your fork, so any successful weight loss plan will include a focus on building a healthy plate. That will look something like this: If you want some help on adjusting your nutrition, I’ve got two great resources for you:
How to Build Your Own At-Home WorkoutWe just went over 8 workouts you can do at home (plus a workout you can do in a park). You don’t have to stick to these though! I have two resources to help you design your own no-equipment workout:
That should get you going on building a workout you can do in the comfort of your own home. Want more? Alright, eager beaver, I got you. We built THREE options for people just like you: 1) If you want step-by-step guidance, a custom workout program that levels up as you get stronger, and a coach to keep you accountable, check out our killer 1-on-1 coaching program: 2) If you want a daily prompt for doing workouts at home, check out NF Journey. Our fun habit-building app helps you exercise more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life (literally). Try your free trial right here: 3) Join the Rebellion! We need good people like you in our community, the Nerd Fitness Rebellion. Sign up in the box below to enlist and get our guide, Strength Training 101: Everything You Need to Know. It’ll help you start incorporating these bodyweight moves into your training.
Download our comprehensive guide STRENGTH TRAINING 101!
Alright, your turn: I’d love to hear how your home training is going! Which workout above did you try? Did you make one of your own? Leave a comment below with your results or any questions you have on working out at home. For the Rebellion! -Steve PS: If you were going to buy one piece of equipment to utilize in your home, a kettlebell would offer you a lot of versatility: ### Photo Sources: Tithi Luadthong © 123RF.com, Evgenii Naumov © 123RF.com; Ekaterina Minaeva © 123RF.com; Hotel Room, af8images © 123RF.com, Tithi Luadthong © 123RF.com, Vintage House Bicycle,
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The post Blog first appeared on Nerd Fitness. via https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/the-7-best-at-home-workout-routines-the-ultimate-guide-for-training-without-a-gym/ Before you fork out some cash for a personal trainer, read this guide! It’ll help you spot the difference between a bad personal trainer and an AMAZING trainer. And trust us, having the right trainer can make ALL the difference in the world. There’s nothing worse than spending 6+ months in a gym (and thousands of dollars) with a trainer, only to step on the scale and realize that you haven’t made any progress. It’s the worst. I’ve worked with good trainers and bad trainers over the past 16 years, have worked with the same online personal trainer since 2014, and we have a team of 15 personal trainers on Team Nerd Fitness. Long story short, we know our stuff, and we’ll give it to you straight. Whether or not you want to check out our 1-on-1 Online Training Program, this guide is going to help you with all the details. In this guide we’ll cover the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to personal trainers – both in-person and online:
What do you need from a personal trainerFirst and foremost, understand that your diet is 80-90% of the battle. Even if you worked with a trainer for 60-90 minutes every day, that still leaves you with 22-23 hours per day to screw things up if you don’t eat properly! Hopefully, your trainer will also help you craft a nutritional strategy in addition to helping you build a workout strategy that aligns with your goals. Start by picking your goals first and determine if a trainer you’re paired up with is the right fit for you. Like dating, you can meet somebody who’s amazing but not right for you. If somebody is a competitive marathon runner, they might not be a great powerlifting coach, and vice versa. So, start with your goals for finding a personal trainer:
These goals will largely determine the type of trainer you’re looking for. MISTAKE #1: Not making sure your trainer has expertise in the area you want to train in. Expertise in one area does not necessarily make them a good fit in another! After that, you’ll want to think about what you NEED from your personal trainer:
Once you set proper expectations with what you want and how long you need a trainer for, then you can pick out one that hopefully will work for you. How to find a good personal trainerOnce you find a trainer you are considering working with, the next step should always be an in-depth conversation. MISTAKE #2: Blindly accepting what your trainer tells you without making sure you fit together! They SHOULD be listening to you completely and hear your full story. They SHOULD ask about any past issues with injuries or experience with exercise. If you’re injured or have any deficiencies, they should know this so they can create a great program for you. They SHOULD ask you about your nutrition. If they don’t ask about your nutrition, you’re going to be wasting your time. They SHOULD practice what they preach. They don’t have to be an Olympian, but should have a healthy lifestyle. They SHOULD tell you about their expertise and how they can help you. They should be able to share past successes of clients with you or point to their credentials and history of success. They SHOULD set proper expectations. You won’t get ripped in a month, but they can let you know it could take many months to get in shape or build the right kind of habits. That’s what to look for. These are the things we specifically focus on with our 1-on-1 online coaching program. We love helping people in a way that fits their lifestyle, at a pace that they feel great about, while actually having fun. What are the Signs of a bad personal trainer?Beware the “entertainment exercise” trainers with a routine that isn’t catered to your goals. MISTAKE #3: Thinking a workout is more effective because it’s confusing. Many trainers just try to confuse you with needlessly complex movements, and put all their clients through roughly the same cookie-cutter plan. Why? because they know it makes them look knowledgeable without actually needing to do something effectively: “Now balance on this bosu ball while doing these dumbbell squat lunge curls and standing on one foot with your tongue out! Muscle confusion! I hope you saved some energy for the row machine.” Tough workouts are great, but remember that while it’s easy to get someone tired (“go do 100 burpees!”), it’s harder to help someone slowly improve and build momentum. Sure, it might elevate your heart rate and tire you out, but if it’s not building towards your goals in a way that you couldn’t do at home, what are you paying for? They might also have just obtained a basic certification and stopped their education there, relying on ‘conventional wisdom’ rather than doing the research and building the experience. If your trainer says any of the following phrases, run for the high hills:
I have overheard all of these sound bites from real trainers in real gyms, and it made me weep like the Native American in the 1970s pollution ad: Your trainer should be results-focused, not focused on scheduling you a new session and keeping you around. I often see clients working with trainers for months and months and that client never looks any different. The trainer is just interested in cashing another check. Remember, your personal trainer works for YOU: Don’t let them build a program that doesn’t actually fit your needs!. Do they adjust your workout to take care of any pre-existing injuries you may have, or do they just give you a cookie cutter workout? Are they encouraging or helping you succeed in the way you want to be encouraged, or are they scrolling through Instagram models on their phones while you’re doing your sets? Are they putting in the time so they can see you get results, or are they putting in the time so they can check the box and collect your money? You’re paying money for this person’s expertise and attention – it’s not too much to ask to find somebody who takes those things seriously. What certifications should a personal trainer have?There are a wide variety of personal trainer certifications and other “credibility indicators.” The more traditional path – a degree in exercise science or kinesiology may mean the trainer in question is knowledgeable about the human body. However, that doesn’t speak to any experience they may or may not have coaching in real-world circumstances. 6 of the most popular personal trainer certifications are:
T-Nation provides a rundown of the pros and cons from a trainer’s perspective that we feel is also useful insight from a client’s perspective. Be sure to check them out if you want to learn more about what’s behind your trainer’s certification. CrossFit certifications are completed in a single weekend. While a CrossFit certification does not make a trainer bad (there are plenty of excellent CrossFit coaches out there!), it does not guarantee excellence either. Here are our thoughts on CrossFit. A certification from NPTI – the National Personal Training Institute – is a credential gained from going to a full school on personal training (rather than attending a class or taking a test). While no certification can fully promise excellence, we believe trainers with NPTI certifications are worth your consideration. CAVEAT TO ALL OF THIS: Plenty of trainers who have NO certification are incredible, and plenty of other trainers have the most elite certifications and are terrible trainers. MISTAKE #4: Blindly accepting a trainer’s credentials or discounting a trainer without certain credentials. Certifications can be a starting point, but it shouldn’t be the determining factor. One of the most important things to look for in your trainer isn’t a credential or certification at all, but real experience and an enthusiasm for helping you reach your goals. For example: Looking to powerlift or get into Olympic lifting? Look for someone who has successfully competed in their fields, or someone who actually coaches athletes who do compete! Need to lose a lot of weight? Ask a trainer to share with you success stories from people who are like you. In our view, finding a trainer with proven experience and a track record of performing or coaching (or both) in the area of your goals is the most valuable step you can take to ensure quality. The credential is only a starting point. Trainers aren’t cheap, but the benefits can be priceless. Remember, you aren’t paying simply for their time with you. You’re paying for the years and years they’ve spent learning, training, and coaching. It’s the years behind the certification that makes their time so valuable, so expect the cost of a trainer to be significantly more than the cost of a basic membership at your gym. How much does a personal trainer cost? Are Personal Trainers Worth it?The cost of a personal trainer can vary dramatically depending on:
But you want specifics. The average North American trainer charges $55 for an hour session.[1] That’s an “average” so let’s break it down a little. Here are the prices for working with a trainer in various capacities at my generic commercial gym in the NYC area (definitely on the more expensive end):
Is this pricing more or less than you expected? Here is how much a personal trainer costs at:
Different trainers will have different qualifications and expertise, leading to vastly different training experiences. This can be really important. MISTAKE #5: Thinking “more expensive” automatically means “better results.” Cost is not the right metric. VALUE is the right metric! Depending on your goals and the results you’re after:
That’s why remembering your “get in shape” goals is critical when buying a personal trainer. If you’re looking to do 5 sessions to improve your powerlifting technique, that’s different than hiring a trainer to be with you in person 3x a week to get you to the gym. HOW TO THINK ABOUT HIRING A TRAINER: You’re not just paying for an hour of somebody’s time. You’re paying for their years of experience, schooling, training, and expertise. You’re paying to outsource ALL of your fitness questions to somebody who knows what they’re doing. Somebody who gives you the confidence you’re training correctly. So instead of “I am paying this trainer for 1 hour, this is too expensive,” what you’re really paying for is confidence, momentum, and (hopefully) results. As somebody who has worked with an online trainer since 2014, I would pay any amount of money to my coach (just don’t tell him that) because I love getting results after years of struggle. How does an in-person trainer compare to our online coaching program? Our pricing comes in at a less-expensive price than 4 sessions per month with a trainer. In addition to building you a workout program for the month, we also help you with your nutrition, mindset, and goals, and answer all the questions you have. There are very real pros and cons to hiring an online personal trainer, so make sure you read that next section. So a trainer can be AMAZING and worth every penny, IF you have the right one who also takes an active role in your nutrition. After all, workouts only make up 1-3 hours per week. What about the other 165? That’s where the progress happens! And your coach should be helping you there too! SHOULD I HIRE AN ONLINE PERSONAL TRAINER? WHAT ARE THE PROS AND CONS OF AN ONLINE PERSONAL TRAINER?Warning: I’m going to be slightly biased in this area, but I’ll share the honest pros and cons of online training: As I’ve mentioned, I’ve been working with an online trainer since 2014, and it’s allowed me to prove an internet troll wrong and then lose 22 pounds in 6 months while getting super strong! Here are the Pros to Online Personal Training: #1) Freedom to fit your schedule. With an online personal coach, you can train when and where you want to fit your schedule – your coach builds the workout program for you ahead of time, so you can fit it in at your convenience. Compare this to a traditional coach, and you’re at the mercy of their busy schedule. If they only have time Friday morning at 8am, and you’re not a morning person, conflict ensues. #2) Persistent worldwide accountability. I’m borrowing this phrase from a NF Coaching Client, Jeff (his success story is great). No matter where in the globe you are, your online trainer comes with you. Which means the accountability never stops. If you travel for work, your coach can plan for that and build you a special travel routine. Getting relocated for work? No problem – your coach will still be there. #3) Nutritional guidance. With most traditional personal trainers, you engage with them only during your scheduled visits: they help you work out and that’s about it. With an online personal trainer, you’re connected whenever you have access to the internet. And I would imagine that MOST online coaching programs, work with you on the most important part of the equation: eating healthier! AKA everything that happens in the 23 hours outside of the gym. #4) More cost-effective. Most in-person personal trainers are expensive, especially if you work out with them two or three times a week. That’s because if your trainer is working with you, they can’t work with anybody else at the same time. When you work with an online coach, because you aren’t training with them 1-on-1 in the gym, they can provide more cost-effective guidance. When you factor in their availability via chat and their help on habits and your nutrition, you’re looking at a life-changing experience if you find a coach that fits your personality. #5) It might be the only option. With so many gyms closing because of the pandemic, you might not even have much of a choice here. Here’s our guide to staying in shape (while staying inside) if you need to train from home. When comparing online coaches versus regular coaches, I’m going to share the cons as if you have the option between a GREAT online coach and a GREAT in-person coach. Neither of those is guaranteed. Here are the cons of an online coach when compared against a real-life equivalent: #1) Your coach can’t do the work for you. There’s nothing stopping you from skipping your workout and lying to your online coach that you did it. Nobody wins in this scenario, but I can totally see it happening. So yeah, an online coach can’t pick up the weight for you, and they can’t yell at you to put down the donut. You have to do the work! #2) No real-time feedback and instant form check. If you’re learning how to powerlift, or you’re going for a particular heavy lift, having a coach right there is HUGE. They can tell you to move your squat slightly wider. They can guide you through the movement and consistently remind you – even when tired – to keep great form. Although we do form check videos, where we have coaches and clients send clips back and forth to each other, it’s not the same as having somebody critique you in real-time. If you’re looking to nail a particularly challenging lift, or learn a dangerous gymnastics move, working with a trained professional in person is invaluable. #3) The value of sunk cost. If you pay for a month of online coaching, there’s nothing inherently motivating you to go to the gym when it’s cold and you’re tired – your coach can’t yell at you, and you’re not letting anybody down in the moment when you don’t make it. Compare this to working with a real coach in person. You paid $100 for a session, and if you don’t show up, that money is *POOF* gone. So you tell yourself, “I already paid for this, and my coach is gonna be mad, I should probably go.” And then you go. And you’re so glad that you did. Although your online coach can notice that you haven’t signed in on your app, and they can ask what’s going on, this is after the fact compared to an in-person coach getting stood up. There’s a lot to consider when debating in-person training vs. an online personal trainer. I wouldn’t say one format is clearly better than or superior to another. It really depends on what you’re after and the circumstances of your situation. MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: I’ve been working with an online trainer since 2014, and it’s truly been life-changing for me. I had some goals that had evaded me despite a DECADE of effort, and it took a great coach to coax out the right strategy. It’s how I say (jokingly) that I went from Steve Rogers to Captain America. And it was my coach’s programming that got me a 420-pound deadlift at a bodyweight of 172 pounds: I’m not gonna set any powerlifting records, but I’m healthier, happier, and stronger each and every month, and I’m damn proud of that. For somebody that can’t afford a top-of-the-line professional coach for each session, having an online coach to build your programming and guide your food choices is a verrrrry close second. How to hire a personal trainerHERE’S MY ADVICE: Give your new personal trainer 5 sessions before making a decision that things aren’t working out (sessions are often sold at a discount in a package). The first session is often exploratory, explanatory, and introductory, and the trainer needs to test your limits and movements to build upon that. This isn’t a “get fit quick” strategy, but rather one that could take months and months for you to find the right person to aid you on your journey. Don’t expect miracles in a day! A few words of wisdom if you do hire a trainer: DO NOT USE YOUR TRAINER AS AN EXCUSE: Too many people will hire up a trainer and give no effort in the gym or the kitchen. Then, when they fail to see results they can turn to their friends and say “man, my trainer is terrible, THAT’S why I’m not losing weight/getting stronger/etc.” This happens so much more often than you’d think. A trainer is a guide, like Morpheus. You have to take the pill and walk through the door yourself. MAKE CRITICISM CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM: Often when the trainer asks them to do something (walk every day, throw away junk food, eat a vegetable), the client/trainee comes back with 1,001 reasons why they can’t do that. No compromise or discussion of possible solutions. This stinks. Instead of saying “no,” offer an alternative solution and negotiate a plan: “I don’t really like broccoli, do you have a way to make vegetables taste better?” In other words, don’t look for problems, look for solutions. IF YOU ENJOY WORKING WITH YOUR TRAINER: Let them know and continue working with them. The more information you can give them on your progress, the easier it will be for them to alter your program as you go on. IF YOU DON’T ENJOY WORKING WITH YOUR TRAINER: That’s okay too. Not all relationships end in marriages. Some first dates suck, and some trainers aren’t what you need. I think you can be honest with them and let them know that it’s not a good fit and you will not be continuing to work with them. Good trainers at this point will ask what they could have done better. Trainers who are simply after your money may guilt trip you or beg you to stick around. Try somebody new and keep the search going. REMEMBER: this is a lifelong quest, and you’re on the hunt for a great guide to help you on your journey. They won’t do the work for you, and they can’t work miracles. Have proper expectations, do what you’re told, and this could be the best investment you’ll make in your entire life! Trainers in the Rebellion, what did I miss? Those who have had experience working with Trainers, any wisdom to share from your experience? One final note: Going to a gym is intimidating, especially if you’re starting out. If you are in a location where there aren’t any great trainers, you don’t have access to a gym, or you’re just not ready to work with somebody in person, consider checking out our Online Coaching Program! Schedule a free call to learn more by clicking on the image below: If you have questions about what you need to look for when it comes to training with a coach in person, or even questions about working with an online trainer, leave them in the comments below so I can chime in! -Steve ### photo: Decathlon, wikimedia: high five, Wikimedia: Spot, Bicycle, Wikimedia: stretching, Amazing playground: bicycles and football
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The post Blog first appeared on Nerd Fitness. via https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/how-to-hire-a-good-personal-trainer/ This circuit training guide is gonna give you EVERYTHING you need to do your first kickass circuit training workout today. I mean come on, it has dinosaurs in it. These workouts are similar to the custom programs we build for our Online Coaching Clients who work out at home, on the road, and in outer space. Okay, FINE we don’t have any clients in space (yet). But we do have clients in Antarctica, and multiple aerospace engineers. Close enough? If you’re hoping circuit training will maximize your results in a minimum amount of time, one of the 15 circuits below will do the trick:
What is circuit training?As Coach Lauren mentions above, the “circuit” in circuit training comes from the fact that you do a sequence of exercises back to back to back, and then you repeat the sequence. And then again. You cycle through the planned sequence of exercises, or circuit, multiple times. That’s circuit training. Generally, you hit each major muscle group during one full circuit. You may do a lower body for one exercise. Then the upper body the next. You’ll find all sorts of different circuit training sequences. Here are some things most will have in common:
Make sense? The point here is to work different parts of your body with different exercises, and then while those parts are recovering, you’re working on your other movements! This helps build cardiovascular health, while also improving muscular endurance and strength. Plus you’ll burn calories! As we lay out in our article, Cardio vs Interval Training vs. Weight Training, research supports that doing strength training circuits is great for weight loss and overall health. More importantly, for somebody with limited time, doing a strength training circuit is more effective at building strength and burning fat than an equivalent amount of cardio. In other words, if you are trying to lose weight, you should be doing circuit training. Our Beginner Bodyweight Circuit would be a great place to begin, and you can download a worksheet to help you get started right here:
Grab Your Beginner Bodyweight Routine Worksheet. No Gym Required!
Why Should I do circuit training?Generally, you’ll hear exercise divided into strength training or aerobic exercise (cardio). What’s the difference, you wonder?
The thing about a circuit is, you actually do both categories. Presses and lunges fall into strength training. Jumping jacks are cardio. And since you aren’t stopping much in between stations, you’ll need more oxygen, and voila. Even more cardio. With circuit training, you build muscle and burn fat WHILE building stamina. As Michael Scott would say, “that’s a win, win, win.” There’s some debate on what kind of exercise is better for weight loss: aerobic or anaerobic. My thoughts? If you’re limited on time and only can pick one, I would pick strength training: when you strength train, you break your muscles down, and your body needs to work extra hard over the next 24-48 hours to rebuild those muscles (with increased calories burned). We work with our 1-on-1 Coaching Clients to create programs that combine both strength and cardio in a fun way – it really comes down to a program that you actually WANT to do. Before and after your circuit training: Warm up and stretchNo matter which circuit you pick, I want you to start with one important thing: Warm-up! I cover why you should always warm up in an article found right here. It doesn’t have to be much though, give it about five minutes to get your muscles active and your heart rate up. This will help you do exercises properly and help prevent injury. You can run in place, do air punches and kicks, or some jumping jacks. Here is NF Senior Coach Staci (you might know her incredible story) showing you many beginner options you can use to warm up as well: Did I just tell you to prepare for circuit training, with a circuit?! If you’re curious, here’s my personal (advanced) warm-up:
Our goal isn’t to tire you out. Instead, we want to warm you up. That’s step one. Completing your chosen circuit training routine would be step two. Below, you’ll find 15 workouts you can follow along with! And if you like our style of workouts, you might like our new app, Nerd Fitness Journey! Our fun habit-building app helps you exercise more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life (literally). Right now, you can try it for free for a full week (no credit card required). Jump in below: Beginner Bodyweight Workout CircuitThis workout circuit, as we lay out in our Beginner Bodyweight Workout article, is as follows:
Run through this circuit three times. If you don’t have milk in the house for the rows, find something of roughly the same weight with a good handle. We also turned this workout into a fun infographic with superheroes, because that’s how we roll: If you want to download this Beginner Bodyweight Workout as a worksheet, you can do so when you sign up in the box below:
Grab Your Beginner Bodyweight Routine Worksheet. No Gym Required!
Advanced Bodyweight Exercises CircuitIf the beginner circuit above is too easy for you, move on to our Advanced Bodyweight Workout Circuit. The workout looks like this:
I warn you, the above circuit will hurt… in a good way. You should be proud if you can get through this three times. Playground Workout CircuitDo you have a nearby playground? Why not work out there! If you have kids, you can do it together. Or let them ignore you. I’ll give you a Level One workout, and a Level Two. Check out the main playground article for some Level Three exercises. Level One
Level Two
After you’ve gone through a complete set three times, go down the slide! Kettlebell Workout CircuitHave a kettlebell lying around? Use it for a circuit! Here’s our kettlebell workout full write-up, but you can also just watch the video and see the workout here:
Once you’ve done the above three times, go ahead and put your kettlebell away for your final step: stretches. If you want a kettlebell worksheet for this workout, grab one by signing up in the box below:
Grab Your Beginner Kettlebell Routine Worksheet!
We also have a fun new adventure in our app that will allow you to train with your kettlebell right alongside Hack Morris (this will make sense more sense when start). Jump in right now for your free trial: Beginner Gym Circuit TrainingIf you have access to a gym, you have a lot of circuit options. If it’s your first time stepping foot in a fitness facility, check out our Beginner’s Guide to the Gym. The gym can be a scary place, but we’ll give you a strategy to get comfy. (Gym closed do to COVID? Here’s how to build a gym in your home.) We’ll also walk you through each movement for both Days A and B below. I would recommend picking one of our 5 Beginner Gym Workouts, going through the leveled progressions, and working your way up to the circuits below: DAY A GYM WORKOUT
Day B GYM WORKOUT
Alternate your circuits on different days. Rest in between. “Day A” could be Monday. Rest Tuesday. Wednesday could be “Day B.” We LOVE helping people get started in the gym, as we’re huge fans of barbell training and helping beginners build confidence with weight training! If that sounds like you… And you can download our full Strength 101 guide too, which has this routine along with other circuits to help you start building strength today:
Download our comprehensive guide STRENGTH TRAINING 101!
The Hotel Workout Circuit: For Travelers that TrainSometimes, you just plain find yourself stuck in a hotel room. Maybe you can find the hotel gym, but I bet it’s terrible! It probably has 2 machines, a broken treadmill, and no free weights. Ugh. Instead, how about a workout circuit you can do in the room itself! Utilize the furniture to its full potential. Level 1
Level 2
Set the alarm clock to 15 minutes from now and see how many circuits you can do! Check out our full post on hotel circuits if you want Level 3! We have a LOT of business travelers in our 1-on-1 coaching program, which is why we create workouts for both their home gym and while traveling! If you need worldwide accountability, workouts for home and the road, and want expert guidance… Nerdy Circuit Training ExercisesIf those workouts above don’t tickle your fancy, we have these other nerdy circuits you can do too! The Batman Workout CircuitDay 1
Day 2
The Lord of the Rings Workout CircuitSuperset 1: The Fellowship of the Ring
Superset 2: The Two Towers
Superset 3: The Return of the King
If you can get through a superset three times, consider yourself an honorary Ranger. Nothing found in Mordor can faze you. The 300 Workout CircuitThe below circuit is no joke. Then again, neither were the Spartans.
The above sequence is designed to be completed once. If you can go through it twice, you’re ready to defend Greece. The Wolverine Workout Circuit
How many times do you do this circuit? AMRAP, or, As Many Rounds As Possible. I suggest setting a 12-minute timer and getting to work. Be careful though, because only Wolverine can heal automatically. You’ll need actual rest. Boom! There are your nerdy circuits. Feel free to rock the soundtrack of the referenced movies during your workout. If you own a cape, now’s the time. Complete List of Circuit Training ExercisesYou can do any of the workouts in this article and get a great workout, but if you want to build your own workout, you can totally do that too! Here is a list of exercises you can use to create your workout. Simply pick a few, and do one after the other in as many circuits as you want! Pick your exercises from this list to build your own circuit training workout, or suggest your own for us to add in the comments below! CARDIO EXERCISES:
UPPER BODY PUSH EXERCISES:
UPPER BODY PULL EXERCISES
LOWER BODY EXERCISES
Pick 3-5 exercises, and arrange them as we discuss in our “how to build your own workout routine.” We also have The 42 Best Bodyweight Exercises for movements that you can choose from. Do 3 circuits with 10 reps of each exercise, one after the other! Have fun and keep things interesting. And if you don’t want to build your own workout, that’s cool too! We have 15 free workouts in this article, and we can also do all the heavy lifting for you. Well, not literally DO the heavy lifting, but you know what I mean. We create custom workout solutions for busy people just like you in our 1-on-1 Coaching Program. Let us create a workout and help you make better food choices. It’s like having a Yoda in your pocket (again, not literally). How to Stretch After Circuit TrainingOnce you finish your workout, the final step (three) would be stretching and cool down. No matter what circuit you go through, stretch after a workout. It can help a lot with muscle recovery. Scope this video for an awesome stretching sequence to follow: You could also do some yoga poses. For stretching, find what feels good and take your time. Let your heart rate come down while you stretch. You could even do some foam rolling too if you’re a glutton for punishment! For more ideas on how to make the most of your stretches, check out The Ultimate Guide for Improving Flexibility in 30 Days. It has Spider-Man in it, so you know we aren’t messing around. Getting Started With Circuit TrainingThere are all sorts of different ways to do circuit training. We just showed you fifteen.
YOUR MISSION: Complete one of the above circuit training workouts! If you don’t know which one to pick, start with the Beginner Bodyweight Circuit. It’ll get you used to the idea of hustling from one exercise to the next. And you can do it in your living room! If you’re looking for more hands-on instruction and customized guidance, check out our 1-on-1 Coaching program. You’ll work with our certified NF instructors who get to know you better than you know yourself, and then build a workout program that is specific to your exact goals. Simply put, we tell you exactly what to do every day, and how to eat. And then, we check in with you regularly to make sure you’re doing it! If you got this far in the article, I really want you to try one of these workouts. Right NOW. I always mention the most important step in a fitness journey is starting it. Today, start circuit training. Once completed, I’d love for you to share your story with the community in the comments:
Find a circuit you’re comfortable with, and do it. Then do it next week. And the following. And track your progress! If you add circuit training to your fitness routine, you’ll be on a solid path for leveling up your life. -Steve PS: I couldn’t quite figure out how to use this gif, but it was too good not to include. If someone creates the “Short Circuit Workout Circuit” you’ll be my best friend forever. ### All Photo credits can be found right here[1].
Footnotes ( returns to text)
The post Blog first appeared on Nerd Fitness. via https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/circuit-training-build-some-muscles-burn-some-fat/ This step-by-step strategy guide will tell you everything you need to do to lose weight and get healthy starting today. I know you have lots of questions, and I promise I’ll answer every single one of them (yes, even that one). These are the exact strategies we tailor to each 1-on-1 Online Coaching Clients, and I’m excited to share them with you today. In this guide we’ll discuss:
Four easy steps to obtain the Nerd Fitness “Triforce of Winning!” “But Steve, ‘tri’ means three…” …don’t worry about that, because Triforce! Either way, you got this. You can read our overall philosophy below (which has helped hundreds of thousands of people), and help you get started today!
Step 1: WHY Do You Want to Get In Shape? (Inspiration)Let’s start here. WHY are you reading this guide? Do you want to get in shape to:
Have a freaking reason, friend! Write it down, hang it up in your bedroom, tattoo it on your face, write it down on a piece of paper and staple it to your forehead. Whatever. Just keep that reason for wanting a better life at the front of your mind at all times. With our 1-on-1 Coaching Clients, we call this “Your Big Why.” This reason is going to help you keep going when it’s raining or you’re tired or you had a crappy day at work and you just want to binge-watch the Office and eat takeout. In addition to having a good reason, many people get inspired by reading success stories of folks like them. Luckily for you, we have lots of those stories on Nerd Fitness with many more to come. These are real people who love video games and books and work desk jobs (click on each to hear their full story): #1) LESLIE THE SINGLE MOM WHO GOT STRONG AS HELL: #2) JIMMY THE AEROSPACE ENGINEER WHO TURNED HIMSELF INTO SPIDER-MAN: #3) STACI WHO STARTED POWERLIFTING AND FOUND CONFIDENCE: #4) JEFF THE DOCTOR WHO TRAVELS 2 WEEKS EVERY MONTH – HE FINALLY GOT HEALTHY: #5) CHRISTINA WHO GREW STRONG TO DO PULL-UPS AND BEGAN TO HIKE THE WORLD: Maybe success stories aren’t your thing. Completely understandable. Instead, perhaps you like to get your inspiration from slightly nerdier articles from your favorite stories:
Or maybe you’re a video fan! Well then, videos like these might make you want to run through brick walls. #1) Here’s a video that states “When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you’ll be successful.” #2) Some tips from the Terminator might get you motivated too: #3) You might shed some tears of inspiration with this one: …like to read? This article will make you want to start strength training today. Why all this focus on inspiration and motivation? Because getting in shape will never be “easy”. The first week – while you’re excited – is fun. It’s the rainy days and snow days and busy days at work when you DON’T want to work out that will decide whether or not you actually get in shape. But… Unless you can find the discipline to push through those tough days, it becomes easier than ever to give up at the first sign of resistance. And the name of the game is “consistent adherence.” In other words, not skipping a workout and consistently eating healthy. Step 2: How to Eat (Nutrition)If you want to get in shape quickly, start making slightly better food choices! 80% of your success when it comes to getting healthy will depend on your diet – unless you are running marathons on a daily basis, you cannot outrun your fork, and you can’t out-train a bad diet. If you’re not losing weight, it’s because you’re eating too many calories! So, if you can work on making SLIGHTLY better food choices, and filling up your plate with plenty of protein and vegetables, you’re less likely to overeat calories! Whether you want to count calories, cut out certain foods, or attempt a new diet altogether, this is the most important step you can take:
Now, most people can’t stick with nutritional changes because they try to make TOO many changes at once, their stomach freaks out and they run back to their comfort foods. Sure, you can do things like the Keto Diet or Paleo Diet, but restrictive diets are really tough to stick with for the long term. And temporary changes create temporary results! My advice? Pick one food change every few weeks, and stick with it. To get in shape, you could try:
These small changes can lead to big successes in the long run. I know how changing your diet can be overwhelming sometimes, and sticking with changes in the long term is really tough. It’s why we built a 10-level NF Diet that tells you exactly how to transition your diet slowly so you can lose weight the right way and transform your physique permanently!
Download our free weight loss guide
THE NERD FITNESS DIET: 10 Levels to Change Your Life
Step 3: What to do For exercise (Move!)Okay, so now you should be all fired up and inspired and thinking, “Hey Steve, this Nerd Fitness stuff is cool. I’m ready to get in shape.” Let’s get started. A) Pick goals that are SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely). Be incredibly specific with your goals so that you can actively plan what steps are needed to achieve those goals:
That’s a good goal. Alternatively, you could also work on a reoccurring habit that will indirectly help your goal. EXAMPLE: “I’m going to walk to Mordor by walking a mile every day for a month. If I go for a walk, I win.” This allows you to review your day/week with a simple question: “Did I do what I set out to do?” Whichever method you decide, it’s important to be deliberate in your actions:
Next, we need to… B) Identify your Kryptonite. Think back to the last time(s) you tried to get in shape and lose weight.
If you failed, congratulations! You already know which “get in shape” method doesn’t work for you. It’s simply the wrong piece of the puzzle you’re trying to solve. They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. So unless you enjoy not getting results, don’t try to get in shape the same way you did last time…it AIN’T gonna work! If you counted calories, ran on a treadmill, and did kickboxing and you’re not happy with the results, it’s time to try something new. Ask yourself:
Whatever it was, you need to pick a different strategy this time. C) Find an activity that makes you happy, and do it all of the time.
If you tell me that “I don’t like to exercise,” then you just haven’t found the activity that makes you happy yet. Here are 40 Ways to Exercise Without Realizing It. We’re genetically designed to be active, so find something you enjoy doing. So if you “don’t like exercise,” it’s time to try new things until you find something that you DO like. Sign up for a new class, join your company’s running club for a day, try out something in your basement or living room, just keep trying new stuff until you find something that you like. And then do it as often as you can. As long as you’re consistently under your daily caloric energy expenditure, you will lose weight. D) Supercharge your results and build a great physique. And last but not least, learn how to get strong. Getting stronger is one of the BEST things you can do to lose weight and get in shape. Your body processes calories differently when you are strength training compared to other forms of exercise. Coach Matt explains this in our video for body recomposition: If you want more here, check out Losing Fat and Gaining Muscle (at the Same Time). A quick explanation: Your body needs to burn extra calories to rebuild all the muscles you just worked out during a strength training workout. Therefore, there will be fewer calories to go around to store as fat! This leads to lower body fat percentage and tighter muscles. WIN WIN WIN! My Advice: don’t overcomplicate things. Here is a basic beginner bodyweight workout today that you can do in your own home too: Here are 7 more Home Workouts for you to wet your whistle with. Oh, what’s that? You enjoy working out in a gym? Great! Here are 6 Beginner Gym Workouts you can start today. And if you need even more examples, here are 15 Circuit Training Workout Routines to follow too! To recap, here’s how to start getting in shape today:
If you’re overwhelmed at the very idea of how to get in shape, I hear ya. From bootcamps to “What is CrossFit” to Weight Watchers to paleo to vegan to Klingon, how are you supposed to make sense of all this information to find the right path? The truth is that there is no ONE path that works for everybody. So, if you want a coach to build a workout program and diet plan that’s specific to YOUR unique situation, check out our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program. Step 4: Who is On Your Squad? (Support)Last but not least, you need support. Yes, I understand it’s kind of fun to be an army of one: the lone ranger trying to succeed against insurmountable odds….but it’s not necessary. Once you decide to get in shape, want to know the best way to guarantee success? Here are 5 ways to find support while getting in shape: #1) Consider making it public.
#2) Put your money where your mouth is. My buddy Saint said he would pay his friends $500 if he didn’t get in absolutely incredible shape for his wedding six months down the road. Saint didn’t have $500 to lose, so he decided instead to just get in great shape…and it worked. #3) Build your own Jedi Council. Find people who are:
There could even be a droid out there you’re looking for… These are people that you can turn to when you need advice or help. If you don’t know anybody in real life, keep reading… #4) Find a workout buddy, hire a trainer, or hire a coach! There are going to be days when you want to sleep in and skip your workout. There will be afternoons following a crappy day of work where all you want to do is play Halo. Find somebody who’s at a similar level of fitness as you, and work out with them! He/she will push you on days when you’re dragging, and vice versa. You can inspire and support each other, feed off of each other’s success, and offer up tough love when the complaining gets too much (and yes, there will be complaining). Now, let’s say you’re the ONE person in your group of friends that wants to get in shape. Or you’re the only person in your office who doesn’t stuff his face every day. Maybe you don’t have anybody to turn to for support or advice… Welp, we’ve got you covered: The Nerd Fitness community – a persistently amazing, always inspiring, never judgmental group of people who want nothing more than to help you succeed. I have never been more excited and proud to be part of a community. Or if you want to take it to the next level… #5) Join our coaching program: If you like the cut of our jib, consider hiring one of our nerdy trainers to keep you accountable and answer any questions you have. I’ve been working with an online trainer for 4+ years now and it’s the best money I spend each month. Real Talk: How Quickly can I get in Shape? How Fast Can I lose Weight?Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Pick a goal that you hope to accomplish in the next 30 days and then start working towards it. Keep it simple but specific, and get started today. But I know your next question: “How fast can I get in shape, Steve?” We have a full article right here answering that question, but I’ll give you the short honest answer here: You can expect to lose around 1-2 pounds per week safely if you start reducing your calorie intake (80% of the equation) and moving more (20% of the equation). I know there are absurd diets like the Military Diet that says “Lose 10 pounds in 7 days!” But don’t believe it. Temporary changes create temporary results! And our goal is for you to be slightly healthier today than you were yesterday. And then healthier and happier next year compared to this year. It means you should be thinking in terms of Years and Days, not weeks and months: Instead of asking “How quickly can I lose weight?” instead ask “What do I need to do to build the right habits NOW so they become automatic LATER?”
Join the Rebellion – start fixing your nutrition with small changes today. If you just finished reading these 2,500 words and you’re still overwhelmed, you’re not alone! This stuff overwhelms the best of us. If you are looking for a bit more hands-on instruction, or you really want the peace of mind knowing that you’re doing the correct program, I got ya! We have three options that have both helped thousands upon thousands of people like you get started: #1) Most involved: Our 1-on-1 coaching program where a NF coach will get to learn your situation, your lifestyle, and your experience, and then build a workout program and nutritional strategy that fits into your busy life. We get to know you better than you know yourself, and we’ve got the results to prove it! Consider checking out our coaching program if you’re looking for that next level of expert guidance and accountability. #2) Go-At-Your-Own-Pace, Do It Yourself: Nerd Fitness Journey. This is our app that allows you to get in shape while building your own superhero.. Tons of bodyweight workout plans (no gym required), a nutritional program that won’t make any scary changes, video demonstrations exercises, boss battles, daily wins, and group challenges! Oh, and you’ll earn XP and receive loot the whole time. Sign up for your free trial right here: And don’t forget to… #3) Join the Rebellion! We need good people like you in our community, the Nerd Fitness Rebellion. You’ll meet individuals who are attempting to get in shape the 1st time or the 50th time, all who want to better themselves alongside of you. Sign up in the box below to enlist and get our Rebel Starter Kit, which includes all of our “work out at home” guides, the Nerd Fitness Diet Cheat Sheet, and much more!
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Big things come from small beginnings, so pick the tiniest change or action you can take to get started, and then repeat that every day. As you start to build the habit, you can increase the ‘difficulty’ and try something a bit more challenging, but it all starts with habit building. Educate yourself, find your inspiration, and create your support group. Welcome to the Rebellion. Any questions? -Steve ### Day 346, Lunar School Bus, Not All Heroes Wear Capes, Family Portrait, Mountain Biker The post Blog first appeared on Nerd Fitness. via https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/get-in-shape/ |
AuthorHi its me Thomas Dahl living in Phoenix, AZ i am 35 years old. I am very concerned about health and for maintaining my good health i use best nutraceuticals. Archives
April 2021
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