Getting in shape means to get fit. That's the easy part -- to understand the basic concept.
Yet if we dig a little deeper, all sorts of questions arise about how we will approach this goal -- and how we can know when we have achieved it. General fitness is the main consideration here, although the principles apply to special fitness goals for sport and other endeavors as well.
Here are some practical ideas for getting in shape, with the focus on weight training.
How Do I Know I'm Not in Shape?
This seems like a basic question to start out with. Even though "in shape" does not necessarily mean having a body like Brad Pitt or Madonna, the first thing to note is your weight. If you know you're overweight, chances are you will be unfit as well.
There will be exceptions to this general rule as it is possible to be "fat and fit" if you have a tendency to carry excess body fat, even after working out a lot. The natural apple and pear shapes can look a little bulky and still be very fit.
The Four Pillars of Fitness
We all have an image of what it means to be fit. For many, a lean body with rippling abs and muscle will just about do it. But to be really fit, you need to have a few more things going for you.
- Aerobic or heart and lung fitness
- Strength and power
- Speed
- Flexibility
You can argue about how much any one of those means to you, but you need to at least include the first two in a real fitness program. If you concentrate on the first two, you will develop the second two to some extent, as well as increasing muscle at the expense of fat. Targeted training can improve your special needs further.
Does that mean a marathoner or Tour de France cyclist is not really fit? It makes for a good argument, but some would say their fitness is a little unbalanced, being highly slanted toward number one -- aerobic fitness -- even though they have their own applications of strength and power.
The best approach, if you have time and inclination, is the "fitness triad." This involves aerobic running for up to 40 minutes several days a week, a weights program (home or gym) a few days a week, and several sessions of intervals -- high-intensity "sprints" or similar at the park or at the gym on treadmill, bike, stepper or other machines to suit. That program covers a lot of bases and it builds rugged all-round, superior fitness.
How Weight Training Can Help You Get In Shape
The days of big men pushing even bigger weights over their heads and banging them back down again has not left us, but there sure has been a lot of other stuff added to weight training as a fitness discipline. At any busy gym, you are likely to see both genders from ages 12 to 80 at various times. The running boom of the eighties and nineties created a lot of very fit but skinny people. This is changing, and the baby boomers are seeing that holding onto muscle into their elder years has a lot of advantages.
That's where circuit training with weights has an important role to play. This type of circuit training will build both strength and power, as well as heart and lung fitness. You will also earn some speed and flexibility along with it.
What Is Circuit Training?
Circuit training is an exercise workout where you move from one exercise to another around a "circuit," the idea being that as you complete the last exercise you start again at the beginning. The variety is just about endless because you can do this with many different types of activity and in many places -- at home, the gym, the sports field or even the local park.
Circuit training builds aerobic fitness because you are moving more or less constantly, and that movement is the key to heart and lung fitness. On the other hand, when you work out in a gym with weights, traditionally you stand still and do your exercises. You can do many sets and repetitions to get the heart rate up, but movement in the form of rapid whole-body movement is what gets you aerobically fit.
Why not combine both?
Circuit Training with Weights
In circuit training with weights, you move rapidly from one exercise station to another. The advantage of the weights circuit is that you build aerobic fitness and muscle and power in the same session. Plus, this sort of training -- done right -- generally expends more energy than a standard weight training session, and this is great for losing weight.
Here are two circuit training programs with weights. One is a beginner program and the other is for when you want to progress to higher fitness levels.
- Circuit Training for Beginners
- A Weights and Cardio Circuit Training Program (more advanced circuit training)
How to Know When You're Fit
Although this subject needs another complete article to do it justice, here are a few brief guides.
1. Body fat percentage: Try to get an accurate measurement from a professional trainer or clinic. Aim to be under 12% for men and under 20% for women, a little more as you age. This is not as tough as it could be. For example, elite sports people are often under 8% and 15% respectively.
2. Aerobic fitness heart rate recovery: Do this test if you have a reasonable level of fitness. Get a doctor's opinion if you're not sure. You may need a heart rate monitor to do the test successfully, but you can try it without.
Warm up, then build up gradually to your maximum heart rate. You can estimate this by subtracting your age from 220. Remember that this is only an estimate. Try to hold maximum effort for about 20 seconds. Record your maximum heart rate.
Stop, but don't rest completely -- keep walking or cycling very easily for one minute. After one minute, take your pulse again. Subtract your heart rate after one minute from your maximum heart rate. The acceptable levels of fitness will be in those with a heart rate recovery of greater than 30 beats per minute.
3. Strength norms vary widely across gender, age, weight and training. Review the standards for several weightlifting exercises at ExRx.
Knowing those three measures should give you an idea of your progress in getting in shape.
