My goal with Endorphitness is to educate you.
To answer your questions about health and fitness and to get you moving.
I know there is a lot of information out there – so I truly aim to give it to you straight forward, and you can create your own opinion around it.
It’s no secret that I am a fan of at home workouts.
So many benefits, you can read them here, but mostly because anyone can do them.
You don’t need to live near a gym, or have money for a gym, or need to know exactly what you are doing.
You can just start. Start moving in any capacity, and as you get better, you can start to challenge yourself more.
So with that, whether you haven’t started yet and want to, or you have started working out..I want to answer the 10 most common workout questions.
Table of Contents
This feels like the best question to start with because I am guessing it is the first one you asked when you wanted to start exercising and getting healthy.
Starting is the hardest part, but it doesn’t have to be as complicated as you make it out to be.
You don’t need the perfect set up, perfect program, perfect plan. You truly just have to start moving for the first time.
And it can look like ANY kind of movement.
A walk.
An ab workout.
A strength training workout.
Some air squats and pushups.
Going for a hike.
Yoga.
Dance class.
Spin.
Chasing your kid around.
A “workout” is any movement that you do, on purpose. So anytime you make a conscious effort to move in the hopes of “health” is considered a workout.
So don’t over think it. Start with something you want to do, something that sounds fun.
For me – I LOVE hiking. The feeling of accomplishment at the top/end is like no other..a sweet reward.
But if you take your kids to the playground, chasing them around there is a great way to tire them out, and get you in a workout without needed to “find extra time”.
So – start where ever it feels easy to you.
The key to a workout program is going to be one you can stick to, and create consistency with.
I would also say one you can stick to long term – but if you start and don’t love it, changing to something else is always better than just quitting.
My number one recommendation is to find someone you like and trust. Someone that you enjoy learning from, and just being affiliated with.
If you pick whatever is popular even though it just doesn’t feel “right” for you, you likely aren’t going to be able to stick with it for long.
So find someone you like that has the education to pack the programs/workouts they are sharing.
You also want to find something that fits your schedule and goals.
If you don’t want to run races, or run in general, don’t pick a program written by a runner.
If you only have 20 minutes to workout, don’t pick a program that is 45 minutes. Because you will ALWAYS feel like you didn’t do enough.
A program fit for you is fun, enjoyable, fits in your schedule and makes you want to keep going.
You know my answer here, no.
You can absolutely get a gym membership and workout there if it makes you more motivated to leave the house.
But you do not have to. You can get in a great workout at home with a few pieces of equipment (or none at all ) to start.
Gym memberships tend to be popular just because they clearly have all the equipment you could want, typically.
But if you don’t know how to use it or what to do, it isn’t very helpful.
If you are short on money, I would recommend putting it towards a program you can follow rather than a gym membership that you still have to figure out what to do when you get there.
The duration of your workouts are up to your schedule, and your goals.
If you have fewer days you can workout during the week, then maybe a longer workout would be beneficial.
But if you have more days you can workout and less time, then you can shorten workouts.
Workouts can range from 10 minutes – 120 minutes depending on the person and the goals.
But just remember that the duration of your workout doesn’t make it “good” or “bad”.
There are a lot of people that go to the gym for 2 hours but spend 90 of those minutes wondering around and talking to people.
You can have an amazing workout in 20 minutes if you just keep moving the majority of the time.
So how long your workout is depends on what your schedule allows for and what is going to keep you interested.
This question is also greatly dependent on your schedule.
Remember that doing something is always better than doing nothing.
ACSM recommends 150-300 minutes of exercise per week of moderate to intense exercise.
This can be broken up however you wish – but remember this can also include a walk, biking, swimming etc.
Now, to me, that is a lot of exercise to just start with out of the gate.
If you are starting at 0, anything more than that is going to be beneficial.
So start with 2, 20 minute workouts. Then you can build to 3, or 2 30 minute workouts.
Once you create the habit and feel prepared to push forward, then do so.
You could start with 2 full body workouts, or if you have been exercising, you could do 3 workouts (upper, lower, full).
Just build on what you are already doing, or start small and create a routine you can build on in the future.
A question a lot of people get hung up on, whether it is at the beginning or further on into the process.
Getting bored happens, but that is why we have the ability to adjust or do something different.
You could try out a local workout class as a walk in.
You could spend 4 weeks trying a new approach like running or yoga.
If you are doing strength training, you can also change things up with your exercise prescription.
Instead of doing goblet squats, you could do front squats.
Instead of doing split squats, you could do a Bulgarian split squat.
Instead of doing dumbbell RDL’s you could use a barbell.
There are a lot of ways to change up exercises, and it keeps it interesting while also adding a different stimulus to the muscle.
This answer depends on the type of workout you are doing.
If you are running – maybe it’s a further distance or speed work to go faster.
If you are strength training – it can be more sets/reps, heavier weights, shorter rest periods, harder exercises.
If you are walking – maybe it’s again going faster or further.
If you are circuit training – you could do add an extra round to the circuit, increase reps in the exercise or use a heavier weight in a timed circuit.
The best part about exercise is that there is a low barrier to entry.
If exercises are too hard, there are usually, if not always, modifications to make it easier.
This means that we can start exercise at whatever level we are at, and then build on it.
Without modifications no one would be able to exercise unless they could do the highest/hardest exercise.
If you want to learn about modifications, here is a great read.
And if you want to see how specifically modifications can work, here is a blog about pushups!
Modifications don’t make you weak or less than, they give you the ability to start, get stronger, and progress from there!
Another answer of, it depends.
You can start to see some results after as little as a week, but that doesn’t mean it is fat loss.
So first you have to figure out what results you want.
Do you want to lose fat? Sleep better? Have more energy? Lift heavier?
All of these are going to be measured differently, and all of them are going to show up at different rates.
Sleep can improve just a week after starting exercise, same with energy levels.
Lifting heavier and losing fat are going to take much longer.
Not to mention, they take specific training strategies.
Diet is going to play a big part in fat loss,
Progressive training and consistency is going to play a part in building strength.
So results are going to depend, but remember that consistency over time is going to make the biggest difference.
You can see by how many calories you burn on your fitness tracker….KIDDING.
A good workout is one that you do.
And what the goal of it was.
If your goal was to walk 2 miles and you did it, it was a good workout.
If your goal was to do a leg workout and they feel tired and worked, it was a good workout.
Any workout that gets you closer to your goal, is a good workout.
Don’t weight a good workout on the amount of sweat, how high your heart rate was, how long it was, how many calories you burned etc.
If you always put stress on these things, you will feel disappointed in a workout that doesn’t meet these standards.
Hopefully these answer some of the questions you had about training, and gets you excited to start (or continue) on your journey.
Leave a comment if you have any questions, and make sure you check out the Collective if you are in the market for a solid workout program!
