The last few months have forced most of us to do workouts at home – either with the help of a Coach and programming, or through something found on-line. With all the options to sort through, it can be tough to find the right program (whether at home or in the gym) to fit your personal goals and needs.
There are a few questions you can ask yourself to ensure you’re headed in the right direction with your workouts, regardless of where you are doing them.
Did I enjoy it?
The best workout is the one that you will actually do. If you enjoy the workouts, it will be easier to continue doing them. Having a friend, or friends participate with you can make it even more fun, and everyone benefits from having a little friendly accountability and even a bit of competitive spirit. If it’s not fun, it’s going to be easy to quit.
Does my Coach know my personal goals?
If your Coach knows your name, that’s a great start (and should be the bare minimum). However, having a Coach who knows a bit more about you, your personal goals (which Recursive does every 3 months), your background, and what you’re trying to accomplish will be able to connect with you, push you to reach those goals, and hold you accountable.
This can make the difference between your success or failure. It’s easy to hide in the back of class and not do the things you need to do if no one knows you. It’s hard to skip class if people know who you are. A big part of your ability to get results is being consistent, and for that accountability from your Coach and the other athletes in your class.
Am I being challenged?
Good, Better, Best. If you show up every day and get a slightly elevated heart rate and sweat a little, that’s good. Something is absolutely better than nothing. But without being challenged a bit, you will likely not get the results you’re looking for. The opposite is also true. If you’re wobbling out of class, light headed every day after being pushed to the limit, there’s a good chance you won’t get the best results either.
Look for a class that challenges you, but is a healthy balance. You should work hard and feel like it after class, but you should be able to drive home safely in a good state of mind too! Every day doesn’t need to be a brutal beat down workout.
Some days, just breaking a sweat and burning some stress is exactly what you need. Pushing too hard can cause injuries, and not pushing hard enough keeps your body from changing and adapting, which is dangerous to your health as well.
Having a Coach who knows you and your needs is a huge help. Classes of 20+ people are hard, if not impossible, for a Coach to be able to personalize the workout to your needs. Find a program that offers small classes (ideally less than 16 people) where your Coach tells you how to modify the workout for where you are at and what your goals are.
Do we spend time on the simple stuff?
Warm ups, cool downs, and mobility work aren’t fun or fancy. But, you can tell the quality of the fitness program by how effective (and fun) their warm ups, cool downs, and time spent on mobility are.
Warm ups should not simply get your heart rate up, they should also prepare you for the movements that day – both muscularly and neurologically. This will not only allow you to perform well during the workout, but also protect you from injuries that can happen easily with an improper workout (even if you’re just going for a run!)
A good cool down will allow your heart rate to come down steadily, while letting your body process some of the by-products of your workout. This will actually improve your recovery and the benefits of the workout!
Some mobility work at the end when you’re cooling down is a great time to ensure you maintain good range of motion and avoid injuries.
These are just a few of the things to keep an eye out for in the world of fitness, especially with so many free programs available right now. It’s worth your time to get back to the basics and see what you’re really getting!