An effective health and fitness program designed to control your weight is composed of several parts working in synergy to optimize the body’s systems.
There is the cardiovascular component, meant to burn extra calories, oxygenate the body and keep your blood circulation constant. There is the dietary component, meant to provide the essential nutrients needed to keep the body in a healthy state. This means a diet low in sugar and high in fiber with a moderate consumption of protein matching your needs based on your activity level.
Finally, there is the strength component, which has two different approaches: functional and general. General strength is the amount of weight you can lift, and functional strength is how well you can move your own weight around.
Using the Olympics for illustrative purposes, weightlifting is the epitome of general strength, while gymnastics is functional strength taken to its furthest potential. Whether you are 8 or 80, functional strength is by far the most useful kind of strength we should focus on developing. This kind of strength ensures we can enjoy our lives to their fullest potential. It allows us the freedom to try any activity we want and is the type of strength that keeps us agile and flexible as we age.
It is this increased agility that is key to preventing falls and other debilitating accidents. While most of us will never reach the functional strength and skill of an Olympic gymnast, we can follow their training principles to increase our own level of functional strength and achieve a personal best.
The best way to train your functional strength is to use your body weight. Bear in mind, when training with your body weight, form is critical.
Always protect your lower back and neck. The exercises should never feel compressive in your spine, and there should never be any feeling of sharp discomfort or a "pinch" in your joints.
Here is a circuit that will improve your functional strength:
» Pushup: Warm up with the standard pushup for 30 seconds.
» Wide-leg pushup: Continue for 30 seconds with the same pushup but with a wider stance.
» Supine lower abdominal crunch: Giving your arms a rest, lie on your back with your legs up at a 90-degree angle from your torso. If your hamstrings are too tight to do so, bend your knees until you can. Draw your belly button to your spine to activate the stomach muscles, and using small movements, lower and raise your legs for 30 seconds.
» Around-the-clock pushup: In the pushup position, imagine you are the second hand of a clock. Start in the 12 o’clock position and hand-walk in a circle around the face of the clock.
» Rest: Use a one-minute rest period to practice your balance skills by standing on one leg for 30 seconds each.
If you feel comfortable, do single-leg squats to add more challenge to the routine.
Repeat the circuit for as many times as you can safely manage. Eventually you will be able to increase the time from 30 seconds to one minute, adding more volume to the routine.
While I can’t claim the circuit will get you in shape to do a floor routine, it will definitely get you in shape to tackle the everyday challenges of life.
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Reggie Palma is an exercise physiologist and personal trainer. Email questions to Fitnessatyourdoor@Mac.com.