Clean & Mean Routine: Tip 3 – Exercise 4x a Week

TBR Clean & Mean Routine is a series of nutrition and wellness tips from for people who wish to start the year right by living cleaner, healthier lives. New tips are posted every Monday from Jan. 13 to Feb. 24.

Tip 3: EXERCISE 4X A WEEK

As mentioned, our TBR Clean & Mean Routine is about eating clean food. It’s also about being MEAN. M in Mean is for meals of three and snacks of two. E is for EXERCISE at least 4x a week.

This week, focus on engaging in a physical activity at least 4x a week.

WHAT TYPE OF ACTIVITY SHOULD YOU GET INTO?

For me, these are the criteria for your ideal workout:

1) Challenges your body – While any kind of movement, like a stroll in the park, will burn calories, it just won’t be enough if you want to get fitter. Choose an activity will get your heart pumping and also toughen you up mentally.

2) Fits your lifestyle – The activity has to fit well into your daily schedule and the rest of your life. It should not interfere with your obligations in life such as family and career. It should be something you can afford. It should be something you can do regularly without being too much of an inconvenience.

3) You enjoy doing it – Go for an activity that you would do simply because you love it and not because you have to burn the calories from dinner last night or you have to look great for an upcoming wedding.

4) It is sustainable – Think long term. Start an activity that you can see yourself doing for at least 6 months. Even better if you can see yourself doing it for the rest of your life.

Having mentioned that, it doesn’t mean that you can only choose one activity for the entire week. You can have a variety of workouts throughout the week and this is actually better so that you use different muscle groups and even avoid injury. For example, triathletes will typically juggle swim, bike, and run workouts throughout the week with some strength and flexibility workouts thrown into the mix.

RUNNING: MY BIASED OPINION

Since you’re on this blog, I’m assuming that if you’re not running yet then there is at least an interest in starting. Good for you. It is my opinion (and yes I must admit I am biased) that running is the best cardiovascular activity you can get into. It is affordable (just get a good pair of shoes), convenient (just head out the door), easy (choose to go at your own pace!), and efficient (one of the activities that can get you to burn a ton of calories in just an hour.)

I’ve been running for almost 8 years now. It surprises some non-runners or beginners when I tell them that I run just 3 to 4x a week. Even when I’m training for a marathon, I run a maximum of 4x a week and cross train on other days to allow for recovery and keep injury at bay.

Most beginners still have the misconception that runners run every single day. They think: “I can’t be a runner! I don’t have time to do it!” Truth is, squeezing in an hour of running on 4 days of the week is easy. Just quit lurking of Facebook and Instagram, skip watching TV, or run before dinner. You’ll find that it’s pretty easy to get a workout into your day.

LIVING AN ACTIVE LIFE

As mentioned in the past tips, our goal isn’t to start a new diet or fitness regimen. It’s to adopt a healthier and more active lifestyle.

My hope for you is that you find the workout that you’ll love. That you start engaging in this new physical activity with goals of becoming better at the sport and progressing in your skills rather than staring at the numbers on the scale. That you lace up your shoes and head out the door with enthusiasm and excitement rather than dreading the couple of hours of suffering and sweat. That, in time, you find yourself waking up to workout without giving it a thought because it’s just as regular as brushing your teeth.

And, yes, I will understand if it isn’t running. Although I will tell you that you’ll be missing out bigtime!

ARE YOU READY TO COMMIT?

If you want to join me and others on our TBR Clean and Mean Routine for 2014, just do this:

Post a comment on TBR FACEBOOK PAGE that you commit to practicing the tip for the next 7 days. If you don’t have FB, you can post your comment on this blogpost.

Watch out for our weekly TBR Clean & Mean Routine tip every Monday. I will ask you to post a comment on each of those weekly tips until February 24.

Throughout the week, feel free to chat and converse with others in the TBR FB Page who are trying to apply the weekly tips in their lives.

By the first week of March, I will ask you to submit a story on how this plan worked for you and what changes you saw in your life. The most compelling and interesting submission will win a pair of running shoes from me.

Let me know how this week goes for you! See you next Monday!

Read:
TBR Clean & Mean Routine – Part 1 & Part 2
Tip 1: Eat Clean
Tip 2: Mealtime: Listen to Your Body