If you have been following this mini-series on whole body fitness, you may very well be thinking “that all sounds great, but how can I possibly fit all of that into a week?!”
Do not fear, it needn’t be as overwhelming as it sounds.
There are a few simple steps you can follow to get started on your own path to whole body fitness.
Before we get started though, if you haven’t seen the rest of this mini-series, I recommend that you start with the introduction.
Now let’s put it all together.
Plan, plan and plan a bit more
OK I know, I’m a project manager and might be a bit biased, but hear me out.
As with many things in life, if you make a plan you are much more likely to stick to it, than if you try to use just motivation. Fitness is no different.
As James Clear writes in his article about implementation intentions “planning out when and where you will perform a specific behaviour turns your environment into a trigger for action. The time and place triggers your behaviour, not your level of motivation.”
By making a simple plan you are already setting the intention that you will do something and this drastically increases the chances that you will actually do it.
Your plan doesn’t need to be anything over complicated. You could just add calendar entries into your phone (or paper diary if you haven’t gone digital). Or you can use a simple weekly planner, like the example below.
Make it a habit
Forming an exercise habit takes a bit of time, but it is totally worth the effort.
When exercise becomes a habit you don’t have to think so much about it anymore, you just get on and do it.
There is a simple system called “The Habit Loop” involved in forming habits and I have written a whole post on it here.
Summary of the 5 pillars of whole body fitness
Pillar 1: Cardio
Cardio is anything that gets your heart rate up and breathing heavier.
The activity can either be moderate (like brisk walking and moderate cycling), or vigorous (like running and aerobics classes).
The MINIMUM recommendations are:
- 150 minutes per week of moderate aerobic activity, or
- 75 minutes per week of vigorous aerobic activity
Pillar 2: Resistance
Resistance training is any exercise that forces your skeletal muscles to contract.
Resistance training ranges from using just bodyweight up to using extremely heavy weights, and the type you choose depends on your goals, your time, your budget and your preferences.
The MINIMUM recommendation is to perform resistance training two days per week.
Pillar 3: Flexibility
Flexibility is about having enough range of motion in your joints so that you can complete everyday tasks.
Activities such as stretching and yoga can help to maintain or improve flexibility.
My minimum recommendation is to stretch each of the major muscle groups three days per week.
Pillar 4: Balance
Balance is having an even distribution of weight, enabling you to remain upright and steady.
Without balance, you wouldn’t be able to walk across the room.
As we age, our balance deteriorates, so including it in our overall fitness plan will help to keep us trained and on our feet.
I don’t have a general minimum recommendation, as balance training is very age dependent.
If you are 70 you will need to focus more on balance training and may want to join classes like Tai Chi.
If you are 20 you might do balance training without even realising, like when you do an activity with jumping or exercises like lunges or side planks.
Pillar 5: Rest
Rest is necessary to let our bodies repair, recuperate and recover.
The amount of rest you need depends on many factors, so again there is no “one size fits all” minimum recommendation.
There are, however, some general recommendations:
- HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) – ideally you should allow 48 hours recovery
- Heavy weight training – you should allow 48 – 72 hours recovery for the body part you were working on
- Light weight training – you should allow 24 – 48 hours recovery for the body part you were working on
Putting it all together
The good news is that many of the pillars of whole body fitness can be combined.
You don’t have to go for a run, lift weights, go to a yoga class, do some tai chi and rest every day.
If I was telling you to do that, then this blog definitely wouldn’t have “Real Life” in the title.
Some of the elements can be combined, so that you can cover 2 or more of the pillars in one workout session.
Example of a combined workout:
During the one hour outdoor bootcamps that I run we often do:
- High Intensity Interval Training (vigorous cardio)
- Bodyweight strength training (resistance)
- Exercises on one leg or one arm (balance)
- A stretch at the end (flexibility)
The only pillar missing is pillar 5 – rest.
If you did 2 of these workouts each week (plus one more day with some kind of flexibility work) you would already meet the minimum recommendations for health.
Then if you decided to step it up a notch, you could pick your additional activities purely based on your goals and WHAT YOU ENJOY TO DO.
Example of a weekly schedule to meet minimum requirements
If you are a visual person (I know I am), then it might be easier to see this concept as a picture.
Below you will see what I have described on a weekly planner. Remember: this example is only to meet the MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS for health.
To grab a free copy of my “Real Life Whole Body Fitness Pack”, which includes this weekly planner as a template, just pop in your name and e-mail address below.
Join the Real Life Well-Being tribe today and get my FREE whole body fitness pack
What if you don’t want to (or cannot) do vigorous cardio
If vigorous cardio is not your bag and just the thought of sweating makes you stressed, then you can go for a low intensity, moderate cardio option.
Below is an example of how your week could look.
Conclusion
We’ve reached the end of this mini-series on the 5 pillars of whole body fitness.
I hope you now have a better understanding of the different elements of fitness, why they are important and how you can integrate them into your life.
Remember: fitness is about being able to do what you want to do, when you want to do it. By making overall, whole body fitness a priority in your life, you can reap many benefits AND reduce your risk of suffering from a long list of health issues.
To help you on your whole body fitness journey, grab your free copy of my “Real Life Whole Body Fitness Pack” below.
Do you already cover all 5 pillars of fitness? What does your weekly schedule look like?