You’re on the right track to reaching health fitness goals—you work out 3-5 times a week and you’ve even lost your first 15 pounds. Good! But are you getting the most out of your workouts? Our health fitness experts say it depends on a few key items. In order to reach the goals you’ve set, your workout plan needs to match up with what you want to accomplish. For instance, if you want to tone your upper body and improve your cardiovascular health, you’ll need a plan that includes both aerobic exercise and strength-training.
If you don’t have a plan yet, don’t worry, it’s easy. Our health fitness experts here at Omaha Barbell have the experience to know just what workout regimen you need to reach your goals, so if you have any questions or just don’t know where to start, call us or come in for a visit and we’ll get you on the right path.
Meet with Our Health Fitness Experts
In order to know your full potential at Omaha Barbell, it’s important to first learn about the equipment that we offer. To do this, you can meet with one of our Omaha gym staff members to find out what equipment and machines we have available for you.
In addition, you’ll want to learn about your target heart rate. If you’re a beginner, start out slow with a walk or slow jog. Your target heart rate should be at about 65-80% of your maximum if you’re wanting a 30 minute intensity workout. Some of our machines do have heart monitors, but it’s best to bring your own along as well to make sure you’re keeping it consistent.
Note: The more intense your workout, the more you’ll get out of it—even if it’s not as long as you’d like it to be just starting out.
Form Your Workout Plan
After you’ve familiarized yourself with our equipment, it’s time to form a workout plan you can stick with. First, choose the exercises you’ll perform for a warm-up, workout routine, and then cool-down. All three of these workout phases are important, so don’t skimp in any area. Warm-up exercises help loosen muscles so you don’t get hurt during your workout, and a cooldown helps you return your breathing to normal without suddenly getting dizzy.
Maybe on Mondays and Fridays you want to pick a cardio machine and try intensity intervals for a higher calorie burn. To achieve this, simply increase your speed for 30-90 seconds, then revert back to your normal pace for the following two minutes—repeat the process for at least 30 minutes.
For those of you that want to add weights to your workout, perform strength training exercises by doing 8-12 reps, three times, before moving on to the next exercise. For example, if the maximum weight you can leg press once is 200 pounds, then start at least with 120 pounds to make sure you’re actually gaining muscle.
Lastly, our Omaha Barbell health fitness experts want to make sure you don’t forget your cool-down. This will reduce your heart rate and get you back to a normal resting state. Finish up by stretching, after all you just used muscles you don’t use all the time. It may reduce the soreness you feel the next day.
Contact Our Health Fitness Experts at Omaha Barbell Today!
At Omaha Barbell, our experts want you to get the most out of going to our gym. If you want to come take a tour of our gym and meet our awesome staff, give us a call at (402) 594-4485. We would love to talk with you and get you started on your health fitness journey.