Designing Your Workout

When you've made the decision to start a workout program, the first thing you need to decide is how many days a week you can commit to training. Try to aim for about 3-4 days a week for optimal gains. If you're training for a specific sport or event, more or less days may be necessary. When you know how many days a week you can dedicate to exercise, the next step is to figure out how you're going to divide up those days throughout the week for strength training.

For those that are new to exercise, getting back into exercise after being inactive for an extended period of time, or have little time to spend working out, your best bet would be to do full body workouts or a 2-day split workout program. An example of a split workout would be one workout for the lower body and one for the upper body.

For the intermediate exerciser, or off-season advanced exerciser, doing a 2-day split workout program or 3-day split workout would be the most efficient way to get the results you want. Advanced or competitive exercisers should focus on 3-4 day split workout programs.

There are so many different ways to set up a workout schedule and it's important that you spend some time figuring out what would work best for your lifestyle. Once you have set up a program it will be much easier to stick with and you'll be less likely to get distracted or stray from the routine.

General things to think about when setting up your program:
- Frequency; how many days a week can you commit to exercise?
- What is the best time of day for you to exercise (avoid times when you find you're usually tired or busy)
- Time; how much time can you dedicate in a day to exercise? (you will see benefits with as little as 30 minutes- if you're doing it right!)
- Type; what workouts are you going to do on the specific days you've designated for exercise?
- Where are you going to exercise? (home, gym, or the great outdoors all have their benefits)

Once you've set up your program, remember that you will probably need to make changes within about 6 weeks for variety and to prevent yourself from plateauing. Enjoy the process and get excited about your routine! Get yourself pumped up for it and you'll find that the results will come much faster!

If you need help setting up a program, you know who to contact ;)

Summer Cookin'

So for this BBQ season I encourage you to pass on the hamburgers, hotdogs, and fatty sausages. Make this summer your healthiest yet by trying new things! I discovered extra lean turkey italian sausages at Sobeys a couple of years ago and they are fantastic!!!! They are "Our Compliments" brand, taste exactly like a regular sausages, and have just 3 grams of fat!! One of these with a whole wheat bun is an excellent and healthy alternative to the regular BBQ foods you might be use to. Consider trying vegie burgers, fish, and chicken kabobs on the BBQ for tasty meal ideas as well!

New Link:

Here's a calorie counter for different activities. Check it out!:

http://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/cbc

Make sure to put in your weight for accurate calculations.

:)