|
|
Fitness and conditioning
The principles of fitness and conditioning are well understood, yet many people perform workouts that don't pay heed to them - the result? They achieve little, become fed up, and quit. So what are the principles of fitness and conditioning, and how can you be sure that your workout program follows them to maximum effect?
The most important principal of fitness and conditioning is that your workouts must be progressive - this is the heart of 'getting in shape', and the one that most people ultimately ignore.
What this means is that for you to make progress - become stronger, improve your cardio fitness - your workouts must gradually become more difficult. Ideally this should keep pace with your improvements - as you progress, your workouts become more challenging. If you do this, you'll get in shape - you'll burn fat, build muscle, whatever it is that your workouts are designed to do.
All too often however, people are given a workout programme when they first join a gym, and six months later are still doing it! The problem is that the body adjusts, so that workout that was challenging the first few weeks soon becomes easy, routine, boring. You stop making progress, and ultimately stop going to the gym.
If you're stuck in a rut like this, the answer is simple - change your program. If you're not sure how to do this, ask the trainer at your gym. They'll probably de delighted to help someone who wants to make some real progress!
|
|
