How many times have you tried starting on a running regime or a new exercise and only having to find yourself giving up few weeks down the road? Perhaps it was due to work, family or other commitments that you may have. Most often than not, waning interest is the major influence for our decision to stop regular exercise.
Here are the 5 ‘S’ to help you overcome these barriers and allow you to thoroughly enjoy your workout. They are: Set, Stick, Score, Slow and Sustain.
1. Set KPIs (Key Performance Indicators)
For most of us, weight loss is a common goal to which we wish to attain. Other goals can include improvement in cardiovascular endurance or muscular strength, speed, agility or coordination
The critical factor here is attainable goals. For example, if you see a shed of 10kg or running a 10km run a daunting and arduous task, why not consider a clearer, smaller goal? For instance, aim to lose 2kg over 3weeks or start with a 3km jog/brisk walk. You can talk to your trainer on goal setting and how he/she can advise you to attain that goal.
2. Score It!
You cannot manage what you cannot measure. By keeping track of your training progress, you or the trainer can determine how hard the workout is and whether any changes need to be done in order for a more effective regime.
For example, you can employ the usage of a pedometer to calculate the number of steps in a given 3 minutes or even a simple heart beat monitor to show how many times your baseline heartbeat did you attain during the workout.
3. Stick to Plan
Set aside a fixed day(s) each work and ensure that you adhere to the schedule. Be realistic and do not ‘over-commit’ to the required scheduled workout if you know that you are going to be tied up at the end.
A useful tool is to add a utilization rate into your KPIs. This ratio can then be monitored on a weekly basis to determine how good you are at in adhering to your set schedule.
Utilisation ratio: No. of days working out/ No. of days planned for working out
Another useful ratio is a measure of your progression and frequency of your workout. Over a period of time (say 6/12months), this is a useful ‘trending’ ratio to help you gauge if it’s time to increase the frequency of your workout.
Frequency ratio: No. of days spent working out/ No. of days available
Other variations of the above ratio can also be used to gauge the intensity of regime. The variables would then be replaced by either day hours or purely expressed in hours.
4. Start Slow
Progressive training is the key to working out. As most of us are not aiming for a professional career in our sports/workout, always set out at the lower end of the spectrum. This would also help to minimize injury risk and to avoid being discouraged too soon
If you are using weights on a machine, first determine your maximum amount of weight you can lift in a single repetition. This is known as 1RM. You can then start by training at 60~70% of 1RM at 8~12 repetitions for 3 sets, with a 1 minute break between sets. As you progress, you would want to increase either your load or repetitions or even shorten the rest interval.
5. Sustain via Substitution
To avoid being bored too quickly as you gain proficiency in the sport, you can consider mixing your routine up. In the case of kickboxing, good complementary exercises include jogging, swimming & skipping. If you are doing some racquet games, you can cross train by picking up some martial arts based program or to throw in some swims and running at times.
Best of all, do it with a partner and both of you can encourage each other at the same time.
* This article is contributed by Mr. Vinz Low, principal instructor for Zesty Kickz. For more information on kickboxing for fitness, you may email him at zesty.kickz@gmail.com
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Health and Energy
Hansen Bay
Program Director/ Coach (Mental Skills)
BA P.E. (S'pore) NTU
Dip Hypnotheraphy (USA) NGH,IMDHA,IACT
www.hypnosports.sg
www.vitagefitness.com
"The First Wealth is Health"-Ralph Waldo Emerson
