If you’re like many people, you go to the gym three times a week, but is that all you really need to be fit? It all depends on your goals. Do you want to lose weight? Is building more muscle your goal? There’s a lot to be said for home cardio workouts as a supplement to regular training. In fact, a personal trainer can help you develop a workout plan that addresses your goals for those days you don’t come to the gym.
Are you working out hard with weights to build muscle tissue?
You need all types of training, strength, cardio, flexibility and balance. You can use the gym for strength training, flexibility training and sometimes cardio workouts, but on your days off, give those muscles a rest. That doesn’t mean you have to sit in a chair and do nothing. In fact, some mild cardio workouts will make you feel better and heal your muscles faster by boosting circulation. Just walking is a great exercise if you’re sore. Riding a bike is another option that works. Always have one day when you completely rest to recover.
Is melting away fat a goal.
To melt fat, you need both strength training and cardio. Both can burn tons of calories, but strength training helps build and maintain muscle tissue. The more muscle tissue you have the higher your metabolism. Dancing, jumping jacks, jumping rope and running in up and down stairs are just a few at home moves that can help boost the calorie burning process.
Any type of workout is good, no matter where you get it.
Whether you workout at the gym or at home, just getting exercise is important. One of the benefits of the gym is that you get the combination of exercises to ensure you get a full body workout and meet your goals faster. Consider taking a small group session or boot camps to get started. Both are quite affordable and can give you a wealth of experience and workouts, so if you need, you have the resources and knowledge to workout at home. Group sessions can also be a lot of fun.
- Boost the effectiveness of your workout by varying your intensity. Alternate between top intensity for a few minutes or seconds, depending on your fitness level and recovery or moderate pace for the same amount of time. It’s called high intensity interval training and can be used with any exercise.
- You don’t have to do thirty minutes or more straight through when you do cardio at home. Studies show that three ten minute sessions throughout the day are as effective as a 30-minute session.
- Take a break from the computer or even TV watching and get up and jog in place for a few minutes. See if you can do it through two commercial breaks if you’re watching TV. Studies show that getting up and moving for five minutes every hour or so can help lock in the health benefits of working out.
- If you want to opt for a more rigorous home workout, consider burpees, mountain climbers, jumping jacks and squat jumps.
For more information, contact us today at Next Level Fitness