Hitting the 'Sweet Spot' with Your Workouts

Do you ever have a stiff back or sore joints after lifting weights?

Have you ever stopped doing a cardio exercise because your muscles are burning?

Are squats more daunting for you because you get out of breath before your legs are wiped out?

These are all symptoms of very common exercise program design and execution errors. Knowing how to fix them can make your workouts much safer and more effective – not to mention more pleasant.

Over the years I’ve refined my approach to training clients to make one principal the predominant guideline: Balance.

There is a point of diminishing returns with all modes of training. Anything you do for too long or too intensely (or a combination of both) can be hard on the body. When that happens, exercise starts to yield less significant benefits than it did when you first starting doing it. That point comes earliest with core training, then with strength, next, cardio and, finally, flexibility work.

You see a lot fewer injuries with folks who do yoga a few to several hours per week than you do with those who lift weights every day. And with cardio, a lot depends on the exercise choice. Because of the stress on the bones and joints, overtraining in soccer, basketball and running sidelines more enthusiasts for those activities than swimming or cycling.

I’m an advocate of “functional” training which integrates multi-plane, large muscle compound movements that mirror everyday activities and sports movement patterns. These training techniques can include introducing elements of instability like balancing on foam spheres, Swiss core balls and ladder and cone drills like you see in the picture above. But I’m careful to not let the element of instability interfere with the main objective of that training segment, which is usually building stamina and burning fat during cardio work, or increasing strength for resistance training.

So how do you make sure you’re getting the best results without hitting these points of diminishing returns? Here are some basic guidelines I use with my clients and in my classes:

• Allow 48-72 hours between heavy lifting days.
• Change cardio movement patterns, segment lengths and intensity levels constantly.
• Avoid leg-focused cardio work immediately after lunges, squats or other leg strength work.
• After a cardio segment or between lifting sets, let breathing settle down to where talking is not difficult before resuming a strength set.
• Alternate between interspersing core work with other training modes (i.e,, doing a set of crunches after a strength set) and finishing workouts with core training. The core needs to be fresh to support and protect the spine for cardio and strength training.

If you are a long-time, sophisticated exerciser, these are particularly important principals of which to be aware. Objectively and consistently applying them can get you past long-standing performance ruts. If you’re new or returning to working out, it’s critical to apply them to ensure safety and effectiveness as your body adapts to the training process.

Either way, it’s a good idea to have some guidance and supervision to establish a solid foundation. That’s one of our most important functions at our studio.

Training is great for your body.

Doing it right can be the best thing you’ve ever done for it.

Dan is a nationally certified personal fitness trainer and former continuing education faculty member of the National Academy of Sports Medicine and the American Council on Exercise. He is the owner and head trainer at Tri Valley Trainer in Pleasanton, which provides personal training, small group fitness and nutrition guidance. He can be reached at Dan@TriValleyTrainer.com