A Stronger Body in Five Steps

by Sarah Brown Aug 19th 2009 3:05AM

Categories: Advice, Happiness, Fitness, Ask a Fitness Expert

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A five-step plan to getting stronger, fitter, faster and/or thinner.

1. Get Active Every Day
Simply put one foot in front of the other and start moving. Walking is an activity that is easily accomplished anytime, anywhere. Adding a ten minute walk, 2-3 times a day accumulates to 20-30 minutes of activity.

Or you could:
  • Park at the far end of the grocery store parking lot
  • Take the stairs instead of the elevator
  • Get off the bus one stop early
  • Engage in some rousing play with your kids
  • Get up off the couch and stretch
  • Climb up and down your stairs during commercial breaks of your favourite program.
Adding activity to your daily life moves you away from a sedentary lifestyle and into an active lifestyle, which will inevitably improve your quality of life and generate a foundation from which you can reach optimal health and vitality.

2. Get your heart pumping using the F.I.T.T. principle (F- Frequency, I-Intensity, T-Time, T-Type)

After a few weeks (or even a few days) of adding physical activity into your day, start thinking about creating an exercise routine. Begin with an aerobic activity that lasts more than two minutes. By challenging your cardiovascular system, you are actively combating the effects of aging and reducing your risk of heart disease and other degenerative conditions.

Frequency: 2-4 times per week.

Intensity: Start with an easy/moderate intensity that elevates your heart rate into the target zone of 60-80% of your maximum heart rate (Maximum heart rate = 220 - your age).

Time: Aerobic exercise should be continuous activity that lasts 20 –30 minutes.

Note: there is an intimate relationship between 'time' and 'intensity', the harder the exercise the less time you will be able to maintain the activity. Make sure that you are working at a level you can maintain for 20 minutes or more, and then gradually increase your intensity and time.

Type: Great aerobic activities include fast walking, jogging,cycling, roller blading, or any cardio machine at your local gym (stairclimber, elliptical trainer, rowing machine etc.)

3. Strength training

Strength training provides you with benefits that cannot otherwise be achieved with aerobic exercise alone. It helps to develop lean muscle mass, strengthen bones and increases metabolism (rate at which you burn calories) so that fat is burned more readily (even while you are not exercising).

The best strength training exercises to start with are squats for the lower body, push-ups for the upper body, and of course, crunches and planks for the core.

Squat: Muscles targeted: glutes, quads, and hamstrings.
- Stand hip width apart with toes pointed at 11and 1 o'clock positions.
- Chest lifted, brace abdominals, and lower back for support.
- Initiate movement from the hips, simultaneous movement is through the knees and ankles. (Imagine that you are sitting back into a chair).
- Squat position is 90? knee flexion, and knees are directed out over 2nd and 3rd toes.
- Press into your heels and shins and come backup.

Push-ups: Muscles targeted: shoulders, chest, back, triceps, and biceps
- Hands are placed just outside the shoulders
- Feet are hip width apart for greater stability as it forces your abs to tighten and prevents you from arching your back. To work up to a full push-up, push up from your knees while keeping your feet on the ground for proper weight distribution.
- The torso should be perfectly in line from the neck to the heels throughout the push up. Think of your body moving in one piece like a plank of wood.
- The head should to be in line with the body also.Tuck in your chin and keep your eyes slightly forward and focused.
- To do the push-up, lower your body down to just above the floor by bending your elbows and then push the floor away.
- To target the chest and shoulders use a wider hand position. To target the triceps use a narrower hand position.

Core: Muscles targeted: obliques, six pack, low abs and back
- Upper and lower crunches.

- Planks – forward plank: lift your body off the ground on your elbows and toes and hold your plank for 30 – 120 seconds. Side plank: start by lying down on your side and then lift your body off the ground onto your hand or elbow and side of your foot and hold for 30 – 120 seconds on each side.

If you have access to a gym your strength training program should include 8- 12 exercises targeting all the major muscle groups (quads, hamstrings,calves, glutes, abs, chest, back, shoulders, triceps, and biceps). Start by working your way up to three sets of eight to 12 repetitions of each exercise.Work at a steady pace and gradually increase your weights over time.

Start with at least two strength sessions a week, allowing for at least one day of rest in between. This is important because the resting period allows muscles to recover and repair themselves, which is what they need to eventually become stronger.

4. Flexibility

Flexibility is the range and amount of motion that each joint of the body is capable of achieving. When you are inactive the muscles and ligaments shorten and therefore have a limited range of motion. You have the ability to reverse this by performing gentle stretching exercises before and after workouts. Flexibility training also prepares your body for everyday tasks such as lifting, bending,and reaching.

Your flexibility routine should target all the major muscle groups mentioned above and include a combination of active and passive stretching.

5. Motivate yourself

Keep a workout journal tracking how long, how often, how much you lifted and how you felt after each workout. This will highlight your progress and achievements and in turn bolster your motivation to continue growing stronger, fitter, faster and/or smaller.

Sarah Brown is a very healthy woman. She is not only a fitness instructor at Goodlife where she teaches Body Pump, Body Flow and yoga but she is also a registered holistic nutritionist. If you have a question for Sarah, leave a comment below and she will try and help, but note that not all questions will be answered.

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