“Train the body, don’t drain the body” is an expression sometimes heard in Personal Training circles.
When you exercise you should be adding energy and life to your body and not taking it away.
Frequently I get asked “How often should I workout?”
How often you exercise, fundamentally, depends on how long it takes you to recover from your previous workout.
Recovery from exercise varies from one person to the next
Here are some factors that will lengthen your exercise recovery:
- Age – the older you are the longer it takes for you to heal from exercise
- Nutrition – if you eat and drink badly then your body lacks vital nutrients to recover
- Intensity – hard prolonged exercise will take longer than short bursts of exercise
- Occupation – if you have a very physical job then recovery will take longer
If you are constantly feeling tired, falling sick, feel demotivated or getting injured then you need to look at your exercise program.
Remember, if exercise is taking away from your health and not improving it then you need to make some changes
One of the biggest mistakes I see is trying to work the body too hard. More is not always better.
I have found that shorter but more intense workouts enable the body to recover quicker, produce a lot less stress on the hormonal system and are more fun to perform.
You can perform a short bodyweight or kettlebell workout in 10 minutes and be fresh and ready to go again the next day!
Here’s a workout example:
- Kettlebell Swing – 60 secs
- Push Ups – 60 secs (or as many as possible)
- Goblet Squats – 60 secs
- Rows or Pull Ups – 60 secs (30 secs each side)
- Rest 1 minute and repeat
Workout Done!
Here’s a video Tutorial of the Kettlebell Row
You will need to add variety to your workouts to keep challenging your body and avoid overuse injuries but ultimately shorter workouts are kinder to your body.
Stay mobile, eat well, keep stress levels down and you have the recipe for a beautiful healthy body.
Take care,
Greg
Leave a Reply