The Best Workout For You

Everyone is different when it comes to fitness.

What works for one person might not work for another.

When it comes to body shape, energy level, daily schedules, and physical ability, we all need a personalized fitness routine.

What should we keep in mind when planning our own fitness routines?

Master the “principles” first before you decide on the “methods”

Body principles do not change. They are the same for everyone. No matter what your age, or whether you are active, inactive, in shape or out of shape. There are three principles that you need to master to prevent injury, stiffness, and imbalance to get in shape.

Breathing: Think about it. Even when you are  standing, you are moving. Take in a breath and feel how the diaphragm moves down,  into your abdominal cavity. Breathe out and feel how it moves back towards the chest cavity. If you are a chest breather, meaning you are raising and lowering your chest instead of expanding and contracting your rib cage, you will not gain the benefits or proper breathing during exercise.

Rotation: Movements work from a specific axis of rotation. When the axis of movement of a joint shifts from the center of rotation, you will experience a shearing force, wear-and-tear and a movement pattern that should not be loaded with additional resistance. Otherwise, you may intitiate a dysfunctional movement pattern. When you start an exercise program, pay attention to the hot spots: your neck, shoulders, thorax, spine and hip position. Do the joint work as they are intended to or  ask yourself are there deviations when you start moving? Start correcting even before you work with resistance.

Integrating: Easier said then done. Integrate proper breathing and stability through isometric activation in your midsection as you move. Test yourself. Sit upright and move (rearrange) your butt cheeks behind you (anterior tilt). Lift yourself up through your spine as you relax your shoulders. Place your fingers on the sides of your body (at the level of your obliques) and press them in. When you exhale, you should feel your fingers move sideways out,singlaing an activation of the core. When you feel this activation, maintain this activation and start to breathe. As you start to move, simply slow down if you have difficulty holding the isometric activation.

Breathing, rotation and integration are basic principles for all body types. Once you master the principles, you can chose any workout method or movement method/therapy that suits your taste, schedule, or goal objective.

Choose your method

What are the differences between a workout method or a movement method?

Workout methods are great for individuals who are not injured and like to work against additional resistance such as Cross Fit, Kettle bells. This approach is very sports specific or functional.

Movement methods are based on moves integrating the system as a whole, such as Pilates, Feldenkrais, Alexander, Gyrotonics or Yoga. A gentle system to stay in shape.

Both methods achieve improvements in your appearance. Which method is best  if you have a body type such as “hour glass” or “triangle”? It doesn’t matter, as long you implement your three principles.

But instead of choosing your workouts via body types, you should choose your workouts based on your goal objectives.

Goal: Definition

Are you thin and  would like to gain muscle to increase your body tone?  Follow a strength training program that helps you to develop lean muscles and to burn more fat tissue. Perform repetitions between 8 to 15 repetitions.

Goal: Weight Loss & Toning

Train all your energy systems. Strength/interval training will help you to gain lean muscle while you burn fat tissue at the same time. How does it work? Choose two sets of strength moves and one set of cardio moves and repeat this cycle three times before you move to additional new cycles. Aim for between 15 and 20 repetition for your strength set and an interval approach of 10 seconds cardio and 10 seconds rest; repeat 3 to 10 times as a cardio set. This technique is also referred to as the German Cluster Technique.

Goal: Mobility and Flexibility

If this is your goal, you want to master the three principles above. These principles stabilize your trunk, also referred to as the chest abdominal canister. If the stabilizers in your trunk do not work, your body will stabilize the spine and joints by activating the large muscle groups such as chest, neck, lats, gluteus, hamstring and quadriceps. This will give you a sensation of tightness, stiffness and inflexibility. Your goal is to improve the activation of the core, staying engaged during movement and focusing to integrate both breathing and activation during movements.

Nutrition will have the biggest impact in your goal. The fact is, you can move and workout, but when you don’t pay attention to your nutrition, you will not lose pounds or define your body.

Inflammation of your gut due to eating processed foods will also affect your principles. When you have bloating, constipation or cramping during your menstrual cycle, you will not be able to activate efficiently your abdominals to create stability in your chest abdominal canister. Therefore, your movement method will be influenced by your food that you eat as well as the outcome of your goal objective.

Move and eat right for your best workout results for your body type.

Stay focused.

Dedicated to your success.

Stefan Aschan

Stefan Aschan, M.S., author of the Alpine Weight Loss Secrets, which teaches you how to outsmart your hormones and lose belly fat without drugs or surgeries. His approach is holistic, scientific and based on centuries of experience from those living in Alpine Environments. He is a certified strength coach, personal trainer, integrative movement therapist and naturopath. Learn more about how to loss weight naturally by visiting www.AlpineWeightLossSecrets.com or click here to learn about his services in NYC http://strength123.com/services/.