It is a common goal to be in good shape for the summer. Unfortunately, over the course of the winter months, through the holiday season, personal fitness has a tendency to take the back burner to more exciting pursuits. This means it can take some time to get the body back on track. The following workout plan is a loose guideline for getting back into shape.
Consult the Travel Fitness portion of this blog for a wide variety of workouts that meet the various demands of this program. The key for the first month is to develop good training habits and provide a base of conditioning for the body. Later portions of the program will include more time with weights building upon the strong foundation developed in February and March.
February: exercise 4 days per week – low to moderate intensity
1 day per week weight training
2 days per week cardio
1 day per week sport (badminton, tennis, squash, basketball, ice hockey, yoga, pilates, stand up paddle boarding, kayaking, canoeing)
March: Exercise 4 days per week – moderate to high intensity
1 day per week weight training
1 day per week cardio training
1 day per week weights and cardio
1 day per week sport training
April: Exercise 4 days per week – high intensity
1 day per week class (spinning, yoga, pilates)
1 day per week intense interval cardio session (bike, running)
1 day per week cardio and weights
1 day per week weights
*it is possible to substitute a cardio session for a sport training session
*during the second month of training increase the intensity of the cardio workouts and try to go the same distance in a shorter time period. Also, incrementally increase the weights of the weight training sessions.
* take one week each month as a recovery week and decrease the intensity of training and limit the training sessions to 3 days per week.
* include a warm up and a cool down that includes stretching with each training session.
Three months of this training program will develop a strong base for summer training sessions. Keep in mind that it is integral to have fun during the training sessions. Be sure to stimulate mind and body with good music and a workout program that is not repetitive. Find an activity that is fun and integrate it into the program (hockey, yoga, pilates, running, biking, spinning, etc).