Maitland, Winter Park and Orlando Florida personal trainer Meral Ertunc has 25 years of experience. Meral shares 10 fitness tips for achieving success through strength training.
How much cardio do I need to do each day?
I recommend that each individual does at least four to six times a week cardiovascular exercise program anywhere from 45 minutes to one hour. You can do brisk walking on a treadmill or outside.
Of course jogging or running is a plus. Rowing is fantastic. Elliptical, Stair Master, group workouts, spinning classes, all these are great way of burning fat, bringing the heart rate up to speed up the metabolism to lose some weight.
How much water do I need to drink daily?
I recommend for men about 13 cups which is about three liters of total beverages a day. For women, it’s around 9 cups: 2.2 Liters of total beverages a day. You may want to add a few more cups during, before and after workouts.
Remember every single system in your body depends on water. For example, water flushes toxins out of vital organs, carries nutrients to your cells and provides a moist environment for ear, nose, throat issues.
A lack of water can lead to dehydration a condition that occurs when you don’t have enough water in your body and carries out normal functions. Even mild dehydration can drain your energy, make you tired and can cause headaches.
How many times a week should I do weight-bearing exercises?
Exercise is an important factor in the battle to lose weight and in the effort to keep your body strong healthy and more injury resistant. I recommend that you workout at least three to five times a week so you will always feel great while maximizing your progress.
Here Are Some Other Tips From Meral
1. Set Goals – Write down your specific fitness goals so you’ll be more likely to achieve them. Example: Lose 10 pounds in 10 weeks. Or if your goal is to achieve better endurance, adding a cardiovascular routine is beneficial.
2. Commitment – Once you make the decision to include exercise as part of your daily regimen you must commit yourself to making it happen. It’s your responsibility to make the commitment to becoming healthy and fit. Tell yourself that quitting is not an option.
3. Make It Fun – Participate in recreational activities, such as running, biking, group aerobic classes. If you aren’t having fun, you’re less likely to stay committed to your fitness goals.
4. Training Partner – Few tools can help you reach your fitness goals like a good training partner. Training partners can motivate and provide additional guidance. Missing workouts tends to be difficult with someone depending on you to show up.
5. Be Consistent – Don’t expect any shortcuts to fitness. Make sensible, long-term lifestyle changes so that you can enjoy the benefits of fitness for a lifetime.
6. Logging – Use a log to track your workouts and progress. Keep a close eye on what you do, as well as the results you get will prevent you from spending time on a program that doesn’t work. If your progress stalls, you’ll be more likely to understand why.
7. Body Composition Testing – The scale will only tell you part of the story. Body composition testing can tell you what percentage of your weight is fat versus lean body mass. Knowing this ratio will give you a clearer picture of how you’re progressing.
8. Perform Strength Training – I recommend training all major muscle groups at least one to three times per week. Strength training helps to build muscle, increases bone density and develops coordination.
9. Warm Up/Cool Down – Warm up and cool down with every workout. Warm-ups should be 10-15 minutes and aredesigned to increase body temperature and heart rate. Treadmill, Bike, Rowing Machine, Knee Lifts, and Arm Circles are all good ways to warm up. Cooling down after working out is equally as important to your exercise program. I recommend that you cool down for at least five to 10 minutes following your workout.
10. Stretching – Before and after your workouts, take about 10-15 minutes to stretch, focusing on your back and lower body. Stretching prevents injury, improves mobility and speeds muscle recovery. Before your pre-workout stretch, take 10 minutes to warm up so your muscles aren’t cold.
