Fitness Class Frenzy

fitness class frenzy

Upon beginning Law School I knew I would need something extra to keep me working out regularly. So when I found that UNL offered a group fitness class pass I immediately snatched it up and made the class schedule part of my every-day routine. I go to four classes a week in the evening as part of my exercise regiment. Occasionally I will go to a morning class or a class on Friday as well for an additional workout.

I love having a set schedule and having paid for the fitness pass and having a workout buddy who expects me to show up every evening really helps me meet my goals and get up and moving.

Cardio dance

My Monday evening class is Cardio Dance. It is fast becoming one of my favorite workouts as you essentially have a dance party every Monday evening. Once you figure out the moves and get into the swing of it you really have a great time for an hour just dancing to some popular songs and really working up a sweat. This is a medium impact class, but you can tailor it to be easier or harder depending on your fitness level or goals. Some Mondays I come out of class dripping and others I’m just a little red in the face, depending on how I feel and how hard I work.

The benefits of this class are numerous. My balance has improved (slowly, but I’m sure I’ll get the hopping on one leg thing down better eventually), I’ve noticed my legs have become stronger and leaner, and my endurance is slowly building up.

Even if you can’t dance, and dancing really is not a strong suit of mine, anyone can do this class. When I first started doing the class someone mentioned that if you don’t know what the move is, just jog or bounce in place, and that really works. Even if you don’t know exactly what to do you still get your legs moving and your heart rate up. Eventually the moves will come to you and now I can’t hear a song on the radio that we do in class without mentally thinking of the dance that goes along with it.

I would highly recommend anyone trying out a cardio dance class, I think it is a great stepping stone to Zumba as well as a great way to increase your fitness level in a fun and causal environment.

yoga

Part of every exercise regiment should include yoga I believe. Especially in a world where you constantly sit and hunch over, yoga really helps relieve stress and stretch out everything that needs to be stretched. As well as increasing balance, I’ve noticed my strength has improved. I can now downward dog way better than on my first attempt at the beginning of the year.

Yoga can also be tailored to everyone’s skill set, it doesn’t have to be impossible, just do what you feel comfortable with. But remembering that you must keep pushing yourself to continue to improve.

Relaxation and breathing is also a key part of yoga. It gives you a chance to step away from your day and just breathe and recharge. This class helps me go back to my studies recharged and ready to learn again and is beginning to be one of my favorites that I look forward to every week.

Here’s an article that mentions some of the awesome benefits of yoga.

spinning

Cycling class is also one that I look forward to every week, every week is a new opportunity to see how far I can push myself. Cycling has always been something that I’ve been tentative about pushing myself further in because I have knee problems, but once I was shown how to adjust the seat and handles correctly it no longer hurts my knees at all!

It is easy to set personal goals and push yourself in these classes, but it is also easy to just spin along and not push yourself. So the key in these classes are to keep on top of everything and push yourself as hard as you can.

Make sure your resistance is high enough and that it never is too easy, the feeling of coming out of a class utterly exhausted is excellent and this is my favorite class to release all that inner stress.

This is a beat based workout, and I’ve found that spinning along to the beat makes the hour class go much faster.

I like to keep track of my miles in each class and it is fun to see how much progress I am making and to see how much harder I have to push myself so I can begin to see results.

HIIT Strength

Usually my final class of the week, HIIT (high intensity interval training) Strength brings together all the workouts and culminates the week with a high intensity full body workout.

This class combines cardio and strength and targets every part of the body and leaves you exhausted and stronger. I think out of all the classes this one is the most beneficial and enables you to make more progress in the other classes.

Although this isn’t my favorite class content wise, the workouts we do in this class are always interesting and challenging. It is also harder to skimp in this class and not work as hard since everyone is doing the same thing. There are modifications, but I try not to use them unless I’m absolutely exhausted.

Final thoughts

Overall, all the fitness classes I’ve tried thus far have helped me keep on top of my fitness even though I rarely have time set aside to go for a jog anymore, I still am in decent shape since I have my fitness classes scheduled into my everyday life.

Some tips:

1. Stick with it- pick classes you want to go to every week and make yourself go EVERY SINGLE WEEK unless you have a necessary commitment.
2. Give it your all- if you aren’t focused and trying your hardest, you are wasting your time. You took time out of your day, make it worth while.
3. Hydrate and eat well- don’t let your hard work go to waste!

My schedule: Monday- 5:30 cardio dance, Tuesday- 5:30 yoga, Wednesday- 6:30 spinning, Thursday- 6:30 HIIT Strength.

How to get on the path to fitness

I never feel like I’m ever beach ready, but I hope this year, I will be.

I am in no way, shape or form a health care professional or a fitness coach of any type. I’m just hoping to share my experiences with others who may be going through a similar experience or who are interested in my experiences. I’ve never needed to lose weight for health reasons, I just have a new and growing desire to be healthy and fit for myself.

I found when I was in high school I just didn’t make time for fitness and I ate whatever was available, and depended on the sports I played for fun as my only form of exercise. It wasn’t until I started college and had a fitness facility only steps away from me that I started to make a change and it wasn’t until very recently that I made fitness part of my life.

I took a weight training class while I was a sophomore in college and this really gave me an idea on how I should be working out and training. I ride horses for a hobby and I’ve found that if I am in better shape it makes everything much easier and I am a much happier person in general.

I’ve decided to compile a list on how I’ve made going to the gym a part of my every day routine. I hope this helps at least one person get on the path to fitness!

• Choose the amount of time you want to stay at the gym and commit to it.
• Make a routine and plan what days you will be going to the gym or doing other exercise activities
• Try to get to the gym to do cardio AND weights at least 3x a week
• Plan your days around your gym time
• Reward yourself- set goals (i.e. running a mile or certain number of interval runs completed) and then give yourself a pat on the back what ever way motivates you best- I usually buy myself some new fun workout clothes, try not to reward yourself with food
• Buy amazing workout clothes you can’t wait to wear
• Do intervals, it really helps you build up and make progress!
• Walk at least 10,000 steps per day
• Drink at least 8 glasses of water
• Cut out soda completely
• Get a work out buddy!
• Make a killer workout playlist
• Snack wisely
• Cut out fast food, it’s not worth it and it’s not good enough to splurge on, just cut it out- I promise you won’t miss it

I know lots of people just are unsure where to start when they first start working out and how to move forward. I’ll go through a sample schedule type deal next- I would recommend trying to fit in 3 days of gym days a week, once you get into the swing of things I know you’ll want to add more and start to figure out what exercises you need to do more of.

Day one

Cardio (Interval Day)- be sure to include at LEAST 30 minutes of cardio, make sure it is strenuous enough that you aren’t just cruising along, so push yourself beyond your comfort level but not to the point of pain. To start with do 30 minutes on the elliptical, starting on whatever level you are comfortable with for a “base” level (it can be zero), do intervals starting with a 5 minute warmup period at your base level (let’s use 0), move on to 5 minutes at 1, 5 minutes at 2, 5 minutes at 3, 5 minutes at 2, 5 minutes at 1, and finally 5 minutes at 0 (for a warm down period- this can be skipped or shortened to meet the 30 minute goal, but go the extra 5 minutes!). This is just somewhere to start as you get more comfortable with your workouts move the numbers up and spend less time at your base level, whatever you do make sure you are pushing yourself, your workout should NOT be easy- you want to get off that elliptical dripping with sweat!

Your workout is half over, don’t stop here, resist the urge to just go back to the locker room and head home. This is the biggest mistake most people new to working out make (I made it myself and was wondering why nothing was changing even though I was running more).

Weight room (Arm Day)-

Grab a pair of dumbbells at least 5 lbs or more and get started! I do 3 sets of 12 of each exercise and go through in a circuit of 3 exercises.

Don’t forget to stretch after you finish!

Day two

Cardio (Stamina Day)- Pick a cardio machine and do another 30 minutes, this time you will be working on consistency. Do a 5 minute warmup and 5 minute warmdown at your base level, in between pick a level you would be comfortable doing for  20 minutes and then get going!

Weight Room( Ab Day)-

Grab a heavier dumbbell for ab work, if you used 5 lbs for arm day grab 7lb or 10lbs. Do the same thing of 3 sets of 12 in circuits of 3. If you can’t do 12 do at least 10 sets.

Day 3

Cardio (Interval Day)- Do the same as you did on day 1, try to up your levels and finish your workout week strong!

Weight Room (Leg day)-

Again do 3 sets of 12 (or 10 if you can’t do 12), be sure to do both legs if necessary (12 on each side for a full set- this is the same for the arm exercises too). For the dead lift use at least two 5lb weights at the very lightest.

For all the other days be sure you are walking 10,000 steps (download a step app for your smartphone or by a pedometer either digital or regular). Also be sure to drink 8 glasses of water a day.

Make sure you do these “days” every week, anyone has time for 3 days at the gym, fit it in! Cardio takes about 30 minutes and the weights take anywhere from 10-20 minutes and you can add more or less if you’d like.

Congrats! You’ve done it! This is your frame work- just an idea for where to get started, if you have questions about any of the exercises, google the name of the exercise and you should be able to find a video somewhere demonstrating it.

I cannot thank Popsugar Fitness enough for their wonderful website, it is truly a life saver when I get bored of the same old workouts. I hope this little article helped out some!