The Department of Health and Human Services recommends incorporating strength training exercises for all major muscle groups into a fitness routine at least two times a week. Neustockimages / Getty Images
Jan. 1, 2020, 3:09 PM UTCHappy new year! It is officially that time when we all start to panic about our fitness level (or lack thereof) and set some lofty goals for 2020. If you've been slacking on your fitness, one of the quickest ways to start toning up is by incorporating strength training into your routine.
It’s an important part of a well-rounded workout program that many of us disregard in favor of cardio-focused exercise. The Department of Health and Human Services recommends incorporating strength training exercises for all major muscle groups into a fitness routine at least two times a week. Not only can it improve bone density and help reduce your risk of osteoporosis, but strength training builds lean muscle mass, which helps burn fat while torching calories (thus fast-tracking progress towards your beach body).
And you won't only see physical benefits from strength training — you’ll also score some pretty big mental perks as well. Research shows that strength training is associated with reductions in anxiety symptoms, improvements in cognition and self-esteem, and reduction in depression symptoms and improvement in sleep quality for adults with diagnosed depression. My clients have attested to feeling an increase in energy and feeling more positively about themselves with the addition of strength training into their workouts.
Convinced it’s time to put those muscles to work? We have a full-body strength training workout that doesn’t require any equipment whatsoever. Whether you’re pressed for time, lacking space or on a tight budget, this workout only requires your body weight.
Research shows that whether you decide to do all of your strength training in one day, or split up the workouts by muscle group (i.e. leg day and arm day), your results will be similar. So decide what works best for your schedule. For our purposes, we’ve split up the workouts into different days in case you’re short on time and only have 15 minutes a day to commit. But if you know you’ll be busier tomorrow than today and want to knock out two workouts, feel free!
This month's plan is designed over a 30-day period — we're giving you today off to recover from last night's festivities. The workouts are separated into three categories: Upper body, lower body and core. The upper body exercises focus on the arms, chest and muscles of the upper back and shoulders. The lower body exercises focus on the legs and glutes. The core exercises focus on the muscles that run along the spine, the inner and outer thighs, hips and the abs.
As a certified personal trainer, I recommend doing all of the exercises from these categories twice a week, along with two cardio sessions a week of your choice. You can combine them or split them up however you’d like depending on your schedule. The only rule is to avoid doing the upper body or lower body back to back two days in a row. Since these muscles are larger than your core muscles, they need at least one day off to rest and repair.
I recommend completing 30 repetitions of each exercise throughout the workout. So on the upper body day, for example, you could complete 10 reps of each exercise, and then repeat the entire circuit three times.
Download your printable calendar here. Hang the calendar on your fridge, or keep it in your purse or car, for easy reference. Remember, this is just a sample of how you can structure your workouts! The only requirement is that you complete two workouts (with 30 reps of each exercise) from each category every week.
Day 1: Upper Body
Day 2: Lower Body
Day 5: Upper Body & Lower Body
