ANYONE CAN DO IT!
Who is this guide for
If you identify yourself with any of the following points then this is for You:
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You want to build more muscle, tone up, or just lose some fat/weight.
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You have been on diets for a long time and always keep bouncing back to your
previous weight.
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You Haven’t been able to get a 6-pack no matter how little you eat.
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You want to build more muscle, tone up, or just lose some fat/weight.
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You’ve been waiting for the next Holiday or Social event to pass for you to
go back to Training or Dieting because you’ll eat or drink things you are
not supposed to.
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You’ve cataloged food in good & bad groups.
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You don’t want to be on a strict regimen and want to enjoy life, and food
and not restrict yourself.
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You are confused with all the contradicting information about Fitness.
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You don’t have much time to work out.
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You eat out a lot either socially or due to traveling.
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You are frustrated with not accomplishing your goals.
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You are looking for a Coach or method applicable to YOUR lifestyle.
Work out like a warrior
Whether you’re Training to feel better, look better or perform better, this
will help you get there.
What I’ve found to be the holy trinity is Resistance Training, Cardiovascular
exercise & recovery activities such as Stretching, Massage, Yoga, etc. This
is regardless of your Fitness goal, it will just improve yourself in every way.
Naturally, the training will vary according to your goals. Therefore I will go
over each one of them enough in detail for you to get an idea about what path
to take wherever in your journey you find yourself. As a general rule, the
variety must always be there for the best results. Doing only one kind of
workout increases the chances of injuries, and will not be beneficial for the
quality of life in the long run. For simplicity I will categorize a training
plan into 3 as follows:
Training for Health- This one to me is my favorite as it has the best
of all worlds. It technically gives you a nice physique, and good
endurance while optimizing giving the best to your body based on what
is best to keep your body healthy.
The rule of thumb for this mode is an 80-20 split on the ratio between cardio & resistance training. Whatever you enjoy the most do it more. At least 2 to 3 days a week do stretching at the end of your session, end of the day, or even when you wake up. The order really doesn’t matter as much as doing it. Keep in mind frequency is what will help you most than anything else. Even if you are an endurance athlete, the muscle will help you to protect your joints and help with explosive movement.
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Resistance Training|Weights Lifting|- Ideally you want to hit the same muscle groups as much as possible. I recommend you do weights 2-3 times a week. The more times you hit the same muscles the more muscle growth. Always choose tension overweight. Efforts will get you to improve your physique. Do slow movements with a Full Range of Motion. The trick is to do a movement as slowly as you can to increase tension. Studies have shown an increase in muscle mass.
Don’t fall into the trap of more weight means more muscle, it might increase your strength, but not necessarily will help you get bigger. Progressive Overload/Tension is important to keep growing your muscles; have a program that constantly challenges you.
Play with different exercises, volume, rest between sets, movement speed, and angles (gravity also plays a role in it!).
Compound exercises or group muscle exercises are more time efficient but not necessarily better. Incorporate both types of workouts into your routine.
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Cardio- 2-3 times a week cardio is just fine with no more than 30 minutes. You really don’t need more, the intensity can increase within that same time frame to improve in many ways. Cardio doesn’t help to grow muscle but it definitely helps in other aspects such as body & mind health. Most coaches I’ve encountered so far won’t like when you tell them you enjoy cardio. They’ll most likely tell you to “stick to the program” and do 15-25 minutes a day max for your cardio session (If you are like me that you enjoy hiking, trail running, kayaking, competing in some races including 5,10K, Triathlons for the mere sake of enjoyment and still want to build a nice physique).
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Recovery- Sleeping 7-8 hours a day is optimal for your health as well as stretching at least 2-3 times a week. Pilates, Yoga, Stretching, mobility exercises, and massages are a great ways to recover, and thus, feel better.
Even if your target is only to look better I will advise you to do mobility exercises to reduce the chances of injuries. Also practicing Pranayama or Breathing exercises can help with releasing tension in your body & improve your body awareness which ultimately will help your results & how you feel.
Training for Endurance
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Resistance Training|Weights Lifting|- If you want to continue to be running, playing basketball, or any other sport that has is high impact on your joints. Then you must consider incorporating strength training into your routine 2-3 times a week. Protect your joints by not pushing yourself beyond the limits your body is telling you. Be aware of how you feel and if you feel pain somewhere, stop! You want to hit the muscles with high frequency, working out after being sore is being,but not if is painful.
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Cardio - Your 80% should be about cardio If you are trying to build his endurance. A variety of exercises is still important, one day you do sprints, the next day 5K, the next one 10K, or maybe just 5K at a moderate or fast pace. Spice it up, if it's swimming or biking you do the same. Bottom line is that you always continue to improve your time. By doing that, your endurance will build up until every time gets easier to do what it used to be hard.
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Recovery- Sleeping your 7-8 hours a day, stretching after your cardio and warm up before if you are starting intense. Foam rolling is recommended, and massage & mobility exercises to feel better and get a faster recovery.
Training for a Good Physique
7. Resistance Training|Weights Lifting|- You want to Smart lift for the best results. In a nutshell, you will want to do 80% weights and hit the same muscle groups as many times as you can during the week. The range you choose or repetitions really doesn’t matter as much as the effort you are putting into each set. Don’t forget to do each exercise with a Full Range of Motion to activate each muscle entirely.
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Stick to the exercises that you like better, if you don’t get bored with doing the same exercises for a year, keep doing them. Change exercises once you stop seeing results. The benefit of doing the same exercises is that even within that routine you can make changes on the volume (reps X sets X weight)& rest time between sets. Always keep challenging yourself and you’ll see improvements!
8. Cardio- It is OK if you don’t do cardio, but it will help you progress on your performance when you lift. The recommendation is to do at least 15 minutes 2-3 times a week. For a better physique & results, you want to never do more than half of your strength training time. The more cardio you do, the harder it is for your muscles to develop.
In addition to that, choose bicycle or swimming over running, or any other sport that has a lot of impact on your muscles & joints. Your nervous system will trigger to start regenerating your muscle tissue and running, for instance, conflicts with building that muscle tissue.
9. Recovery- Sleeping 7-8 hours a day is optimal for your health as well as stretching at least 2-3 times a week. Pilates, Yoga, Stretching, mobility exercises, and massages are great ways to recover, and thus, feel better. system and teach your body to adapt to that type of exercise.
About the Author: Alfonso Aramburo
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Certified Fitness & Sports Nutrition Coach.
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Certified Yoga Instructor
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Outdoors Enthusiast (kayak, Standup Paddle Board, camping, nature lover)
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Love Trail Running, Mountain Biking.
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Triathlete
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Dad of a very energetic Kid.
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Engineer with a master's in Business.
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