I feel that most people don’t have any idea of what it means to work out. However, this may mean different things to different people so I want to explain my understanding of it to you. This will be important as over the next two months we will be discussing working out and working in.
W=Fs
First the definition of work: a force acting on a body.
This force is any external effort causing an object to undergo a certain change. In our case we are talking about the human body exerting a force causing it to undergo a certain change or adaptation.
Out
Now to understand the definition of out:
In a direction away from the inside or to the point of depletion or exhaustion. Here I am referring to the energy flow of the body.
Working Out Defined
“The human body exerting a force causing an outflow of energy that is depleting or exhausting the body.” This is my definition of working out as I understand it.
This is very important to understand as we must always know why we are completing movement. Our bodies have been trained to conserve energy for thousands of years as we really never knew when famine may strike and our next meal was not always guaranteed. If we have continued to expel our energy in other forms or never cultivate more than we are depleting we exhausted this reserve.
It will only be so long until we run out of energy and disease sets in. I encourage you to look at your overall stress levels and see where all of your energy is being spent. We want to make sure that our working out is planned out properly and has distinct parameters in mind. The five listed below are key as they must all be taken into account when designing an exercise program.
Each one will have a significant impact in the outcome of your exercise program. You must find one that matches up with your goals and abilities.
Five Program Design Factors
- REST– how long between exercises or circuit of exercises
- INTENSITY– the percentage a lift or exercise is executed at compared to a one rep maximum (e.g. 70% of a one rep max squat)
- REPS– the number of times completing a single movement or exercise during a given set
- SETS– the completion of an exercise or circuit of exercises
- TEMPO– the speed at which an exercise or movement is performed (e.g. a ‘3-1-3-1’ tempo for a squat. This would be 3 seconds down, pause for 1 second at the bottom, come up for 3 seconds and then pause at the top for 1 second)
Exercise programming is not something to be taken lightly and I recommend that you seek out a skilled professional that can not only take in the factors above, but also look into your summated stress levels and do full postural assessments.
I am available for this locally as well as for working with clients from all around the world or you can seek out other C.H.E.K Practitioners in your area. You can also look go to the C.H.E.K Institute for their correspondence course Program Design. This will give you a much better look at what goes into your next workout. I hope to see you in the gym soon!
Have a Great Day!
Nick Horowski
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Before you go: I would love to hear about your ‘working out’ goals and aspirations. Please share with a comment 🙂