Your dedication to getting in shape benefits every aspect of your life, from your self-image and social relationships to your long-term well-being, as people who maintain a healthy weight carry a lower risk for chronic disease. Ensure your overall fitness by adopting a personal training regimen that contains total body benefits. Consult your physician prior to any activity, especially if you have a heart condition.
Body Function and Weight Loss
Start your total body personal training with a commitment to consistency, since doctors typically suggest exercise for 30 to 45 minutes on most days of the week. Aerobic activities, like brisk walking, bicycling, jogging or swimming, serve as effective methods to lose weight and enhance the function of your cardiovascular system. Walking is a safe aerobic activity for beginners, while bicycle riding is ideal for people who suffer from arthritis or who are are more than 50 lbs. overweight. Swimming and stair climber machines offer a more challenging workout for those who are already in shape and can maintain a regular pace for the length of a workout.
Muscle Tone and Strength
Strength training is a vital component of total body personal training. The activity sculpts your muscles and allows you to build new muscle mass that otherwise decreases with age. Strength-training activities, like lifting hand weights or barbells, working on an exercise machine or even bodyweight exercises, like sit-ups, also give your body an increased ability to burn calories. Start slowly with body weight exercises like pull-ups and pushups for two weeks and then transition to weightlifting. Aim for three workouts weekly for at least 30 minutes and never schedule strength training on consecutive days, which increases your chance of strain or injury. Start with 12 repetitions of each exercise and add more as your comfort level allows.
Core Exercise
Core exercises included in your personal training serve to sculpt the muscles in your back, abdomen and pelvic area and can enhance your performance during aerobic and strength-training workouts. Perform an abdominal crunch by lying on your back with your feet pressed against the wall. Ensure your hips and knees bend at 90 degrees and slowly tighten the muscles in your stomach. Lift your shoulders and head and keep your arms crossed on your upper chest to decrease the likelihood of neck strain. Breathe deeply three times and then relax. Aim to perform five repetitions initially and build up to 15 repetitions for best results.
Personal Safety
Check with your doctor before starting any total body training to ensure the increased activity poses no threat to your health condition. Plan time for at least five minutes of light stretching before any workout to warm up your body. Strength training carries a higher risk of injury, so having a friend nearby who can assist you during heavy lifting provides security and peace of mind. Slight soreness is normal for those who are new to exercise, although pain is a warning sign of injury and indicates you should discontinue your training and seek medical care.
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