Most of the time, when we discover what we like we stick with it; a certain food, a coffee brand, a shoe. While it is important to know what you like, with fitness, variety is the key to staying motivated and sticking with it. Keeping your workouts interesting will avoid them feeling stale and will continue to keep you interested, and more importantly, seeing results.
Once you start a gym membership, typically, you’ll try out some group fitness classes, a few pieces of strength training equipment, and the cardio deck to figure out what makes you want to come back. These are the most popular areas of the gym and are a fantastic resource and a great place to start! However, with current social distancing protocols in place, these areas can fill up pretty quickly.
There are so many other areas of the gym, that if incorporated into your weekly routine, will not only help keep your workouts new and fresh but will also help you to see better results. It’s time to break out of your comfort zone and try something new! We know trying new things can be intimidating, but trust us, you’ll be happy you did.
The minimum requirements for overall health state that one should accumulate at least 75-150 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity each week. That includes 2-3 strength training and flexibility/mobility workouts. At first glance, this may seem like a lot, but when calendared out over the course of a week, you’ll see it’s easy to achieve. Plus, it will allow you to make the most of your gym membership.
Not sure where to start? Here’s a sample week to get you started:
- Monday – 45 minutes Full Body Strength Training (performance lifting (STRONG), free weights & machines)
- Tuesday- 30-60 minutes High-Intensity Interval Training, a.k.a HITT (Studio RED, Studio Cycle, Group Fitness Classes)
- Wednesday – 30-60 minutes flexibility/mobility (yoga, foam rolling & stretching on turf)
- Thursday – 45 minutes Full Body Strength Training (performance lifting (STRONG), free weights & machines)
- Friday – 30-45 minutes walking/jogging/biking (Cardio Deck)
- Saturday – activity of choice
- Sunday – rest day OR if you want bonus points, your activity of choice
Total Activity – 180-220 minutes (that’s way more than the recommended range!)
Looking at the sample week above, you can see how no two days are the same. This means that even if you miss a day here and there, you’ll still benefit because of the variety of ways you are working and moving your body. This also gets you into the different areas of the gym: cardio deck, free weights & machines, performance lifting (STRONG), functional training turf, and Group Fitness & Studio classes.
The variety provided promises you will never get bored and continuing these activities week by week will lead you to a better version of your healthy self.
Learn more about the benefits of different exercises here.
Show us your favorite workout! Tag us in your gym selfies on Instagram @VASAFITNESS!
Written by: Gini Grimsley, VASA Fitness’ Director of Fitness Product
