Fitness: Simple Plan for My Workout

My first modern day workout was in college at a local YMCA gym after I got influenced by the body building book from Arnold Schwarzenegger. Although I learned a lot from the book, there were like hundreds of exercises and was clueless at that time. It took me some time to really understand what I need after reading more books and research papers (thanks google). Now I am ready to share simple guidelines I used to plan my workout.

1. Clear Goal - This the very first thing I will decide. I will select most effective exercises that will help achieve that goal. At the start of autumn, my goal will be to prepare and improve my conditioning for winter sport - snowboarding. After winter, my goal will be to prepare for basketball. If I got injury, I will change my goal accordingly and so on. Whatever the goal is it has be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely). I also have long term goals which give me a sense of direction for all my short term goals.

2. Periodization - Based on the goal, I plan my workout in periods. One period usually last 3 months and has 3 stages - Foundation, Force and Functional. I will explain these stages in below sections. After every stage, there is a 1 week recovery before the next stage. After one period, there is a month of recovery before the next period. Note recovery is not resting. The next period could be similar exercise if I have not achieve my goal but progression is mandatory. If I don’t see much progress, then I will either change or adjust my plan in the next period. I never change a plan until a period completes.

3. Foundation Stage - Is the most important stage to prevent injury and to prepare my body (muscle, tendons, ligaments) for the next stage. This stage focuses on the proper movement, proper forms and stability required for my goal so select exercises accordingly. The exercises usually start with isometric - hold it for 30 seconds, immediately followed by repetitions of slow controlled concentric and eccentric movements with proper forms.

4. Force Stage - Now in this stage, my body will be ready for force. This stage focuses on increasing strength and movements to create force. The exercises selected here are usually similar to the Foundation Stage since my goal does not change. It also starts with 30 seconds isometric followed by concentric and eccentric movements. The difference is I will progress by reducing isometric holds from 30 to 20 and then 10 seconds which is offset by increasing the load of concentric and eccentric movements. Accelerate the movement speed with proper form to create more force.

5. Functional Stage - This is the stage that will complete my goal. Hence the exercise selected here should function directly and similarly according to the goal. For example if the goal is to improve my sports - snowboarding or basketball, the exercises should be selected that will functionally simulate those activities.

In summary, Foundation stage prepares my body; Force stage strengthens to create force; and Functional stage gets my body to the next level. By the end of one period, I am stronger and in better condition for my sport. It does not end here though as my body does not stay static. If I stop here, my body will regress and I do not want that so it is time to plan for my next workout :-)

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