Are you someone who goes to the gym on weekends? Here’s how to create the perfect workout program

Most of us know that we need to exercise more. But finding time to exercise is often easier said than done. For most, we only need to exercise on weekends.

The good news is that so-called “weekend warriors” (people who only exercise two days a week) still appreciate the health benefits of regular exercise, even if they only exercise on weekends.

But it’s important to make sure you’re doing the right type of exercise to get the most benefit from those workouts.

Cardio or strength training?
There are two main types of exercise that everyone should strive for.

The first is cardio, which of course refers to aerobic exercise – like walking, jogging or cycling. Cardio is great for preventing and even treating a number of chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

The second is resistance training, which includes any activity that requires the body or a specific muscle group to work against an external force – like weightlifting or Pilates.

Resistance training is good for bone health and can improve muscle strength, size, or endurance. It also slows bone and muscle loss during aging.

Resistance training can also be great for controlling body weight, blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes.

Because these two types of exercise have different benefits, it’s important to do a combination of both for good health and fitness. But with only so much time over the weekend, the idea of ​​accommodating both can seem a bit daunting.

For cardio exercise, HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) is particularly good for weekend warrior trainers.

HIIT has similar cardiovascular health benefits to a 30-minute jog—but in a much shorter amount of time. Studies have shown that four to seven intense exercises for one minute, followed by 60 to 75 seconds of rest, can improve fitness and well-being.

In theory, just eight minutes of HIIT could benefit your cardiovascular health.

But to get the most benefit from your workout, it’s important to pair your HIIT with resistance exercises.

There are two main types of resistance exercises. The first type are compound exercises (like squats or bench presses) that are effective for increasing strength.

Single-joint exercises (such as bicep curls) are more effective when you’re trying to increase the size of a specific muscle group.

The exercises you do largely depend on your goals. If fat loss is your goal, then compound exercises may be best as they burn more calories because they engage more muscle.

The order of the exercises is also important. If your goal is to increase muscle mass, then performing single-joint movements before compound movements that use similar muscle groups could hinder your progress. If you want to build strength, the order of your exercises doesn’t seem to matter.

For overall health and fitness, it’s best to combine upper and lower body exercises that target the major muscle groups (chest, shoulders, back, hips, legs, arms, and core).

For each muscle group, try to do eight to twelve reps of an exercise for one to three sets, resting two to three minutes between sets and exercises. You should aim to lift a weight that is challenging (but not too challenging) for the rep range you’re aiming for.

If you’re looking to save even more time at the gym, try “supersets.” Perform a selected exercise eight to 12 times, then go straight to your second exercise. After that, rest for a minute or two before repeating the remaining sets. This method works best when the two exercises target different muscle groups.

Design your workout
How you structure your weekend training largely depends on your preferences, your goals, and your time. Regardless of what you’re doing, make sure you include a good dynamic warm-up to avoid injury.

If your focus is on improving or maintaining your overall health and fitness, then mix it up. On your first day you might want to include HIIT training for cardio followed by a mix of resistance exercises with an upper body emphasis.

The next day, you may want to start with some gentle, continuous cardio (e.g., bicycling) followed by some lower-body resistance exercises.

Try introducing some new exercises each week or swapping out the exercises each week – such as: B. Using different variations of a squat (eg, barbell squats one week and sumo squats the next week).

If you’re having a hard time cramming everything into one session, spread them out throughout the day. Try walking, jogging, or biking in the morning and focus on resistance exercises later in the day.

Finding something that works for you and fits into your lifestyle is important for these workouts to become a lifelong habit.

To lose fat, HIIT has been suggested as a miracle cure. However, remember that increasing your muscle mass leads to a higher resting metabolic rate, which means you burn more calories at rest. So make sure you include large compound movements that target more muscle, like squats or bench presses, to promote fat loss.

Of course, the more exercise you can incorporate during your week, the more health benefits you’re likely to see. Just make sure you only do as much exercise as your body can handle to avoid injury – and warm up properly.

(This PTI story was syndicated via The Conversation)