An unhealthy relationship with food can form for many reasons. Whether your parents or caregivers were long-term dieters or you simply took on the many messages of the $946-billion global diet industry, the relationship to food is fraught for many.
In fact, disordered eating habits are more common than you might think. For example, more than 28 million Americans will suffer from an eating disorder at some point in their lives, starting as young as five years old. Even if your behaviors don’t fall into the diagnostic criteria of an eating disorder, you can still be plagued by disordered eating patterns.
For example, you may feel guilty about eating certain foods or not choosing the “healthy” ones. Or maybe you restrict your food intake during the week and then end up binging all weekend. This keeps you stuck in the same eating patterns and habits that lead to more stress and more anxiety.
Healing an unhealthy relationship often starts by shifting your mindset and howyou approach eating as a whole. Food is nourishment and pleasure-inducing. It’s an essential part of life and an experience to savor. If it doesn’t feel this way right now, you’ve come to the right place.
Use the following strategies to cultivate self-compassion, enjoyment, and acceptance with food.
This article is not to be substituted for medical advice. If you’re struggling with an eating disorder, we encourage you to reach out for professional support at NationalEatingDisorders.org.
Rethink Your Food Vocabulary
Words are powerful. The more you repeat a certain message to yourself, the more it will influence your thoughts, decisions, and behaviors.
In a recent TED Talk, neuroscientist Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett explains that consuming harmful words will overtax your bloodstream and nervous system with stress hormones. Over time, this chronic stress affects your brain wiring, which can impact how you think and act as a result.
Words are an important part of your relationship with food. Think about the meaning you give to terms like “good” (to describe a piece of fruit) versus “bad” (to describe a bowl of chips). While one food may be nutritionally superior to another food (apple vs. potato chips) that doesn’t mean it needs to be morally superior or that it has to have a reflection on if you, as a person, are good or bad.
The demonization of certain foods through this language, and the meaning those words carry, can promote caloric restriction and other extreme forms of dieting. This only further strains your unhealthy relationship with foods, causing more stress and anxiety.
To start healing, intentionally work to remove words that attach a moral value to food. Here’s a long list of words you might not realize have an impact, but can be harmful to your relationship with food:
Clean
Cheat/cheat day
Splurge
Guilt-free
Can’t/shouldn’t
Bad
Fattening
Off-limits
Instead, bring new words into your vocabulary that promote a relationship with food filled with enjoyment and pleasure:
Satisfying
Tasty
Flavorful
Nourishing
Delicious
Refreshing
Focus on the Mind-Body Connection
The concept of intuitive eating is basic in theory: listen to your hunger and fullness cues and choose food that you want to eat. However, if you have an unhealthy relationship with food, intuitive eating can feel complicated in practice.
For example, if you’ve learned to deny the hunger impulse in order to restrict calorie intake, you might not even notice when you’re actually hungry. Conversely, if you often reach for food that hurts your body to cope with uncomfortable emotions, you perpetuate the feeling that you cannot trust yourself.
What’s more, it can be challenging to eat “intuitively” if certain foods affect your body in uncomfortable ways, like causing bloat or digestive discomfort.
This is why mindful eating, and awareness of the mind-body connection, are important. Being mindful of hunger cues and your food choices allows you to honor the unique needs of your own body while still feeling satisfied. This way of eating prioritizes flexibility and satisfaction over rigidity and restriction while also ensuring your body is being cared for.
Listening to this inner wisdom with mindfulness is powerful. Your body knows what it wants, when, and how much. Part of this work is learning how to tune into that and then trusting it.
Tuning into your body may feel overwhelming and Pilates and breathwork can both be helpful with this piece of your healing. At Lindywell we offer realistic, easy starting points to practice this skill.
Sign up for a free trial of our app or log into your account to access our calming, mini-breathwork sessions or our 14-day mind-body reset series, perfect for beginners.
Examine Your Own Food Story
Everyone has a unique set of attitudes, beliefs, customs, rituals, and preferences around food. These are shaped by many factors, from the environment you’re born into, to the culture you’re raised in and the societal messages internalized over the course of your life.
Together, these create the script you follow when interacting with food. Certified eating psychologist and nutrition expert Elise Museles calls this your food story. As with all narratives, however, certain elements of it are simply untrue (or at least could use some re-evaluation).
A food story is complex and multi-layered, so it’s helpful to understand where yours originated and how it continues to inform your relationship with food. Healing the parts of your food story that are no longer serving you will allow you to clear space to write a new, authentic one.
You can start to do this by writing out your food story or sharing it with someone you trust. Think about your connection, stories, and experiences with food at age 5, age 10, age 15, and so on. At each age, ask yourself:
Did I learn a new belief or story related to food?
Can I recall a specific moment (good or bad) around food?
What was I being told about food?
Use this as a starting point and seek additional professional support if it feels helpful or necessary for you.
Create Awareness Around Stress
Stress, no matter what causes it, can impact your relationship with food. Primarily, stress can result in over-eating and under-eating. While it’s normal for your food intake to vary from day to day when it’s directly linked to stress, it becomes less about listening to your body and its needs and more about using food as a coping mechanism.
Simply creating more awareness around what causes you stress and how you react in those times can help you replace food with coping mechanisms that can be more supportive. However, recognizing you’re stressed in the moment can be difficult. Start by setting aside time at the end of the day to reflect. When doing this, ask yourself:
Was I stressed or anxious at all?
If so, what caused that feeling? A person? A situation?
How did I use food to cope, as a result, if at all?
With this awareness, you can start to be more mindful in stressful moments in the future. You can recognize when that stress or anxiety creeps in and use a supportive strategy to ease yourself out of it, like intentional breathing or light movement.
Healing your relationship with food requires a shift in the way you think about and approach food, which in turn, affects your behaviors and relationship. This type of change doesn’t happen overnight. It took years, maybe even decades, to cultivate your unhealthy relationship with food, which means it will take time to heal it as well.
There will be moments when you fall back into old toxic patterns of relating to food. It’s normal to gravitate toward what feels comfortable or familiar, even when it’s hurtful or stressful. When this happens, focus on grace and release the guilt. Not only will this help you connect with more self-compassion, but it can also help ease the stress and anxiety that can impact your relationship with food.
Change is a nonlinear process. Embrace the beauty of the journey to create a new reality for yourself.
You Can Rebuild Your Unhealthy Relationship With Food
It can feel impossible to let go of the habits and thoughts you have around food, and in many cases, this requires deep healing and time. This is why it can be helpful to reach out for support. Here’s a great resource on how to get started with your relationship with food.
As you move through the process of healing your unhealthy relationship with food, use these strategies to help you nurture a new, loving, guilt-free relationship with food. You deserve that and it’s absolutely within your reach!
No matter which at-home workout you pick, I want you to start with one important thing:
Warm-up!
I cover why you should always warm up in an article found right here. It doesn’t have to be much though, give it about five minutes to get your muscles active and your heart rate up.
This will help you do exercises properly and help prevent injury. You can run in place, do air punches and kicks, or some jumping jacks.
Here is NF Senior Coach Staci (you might know her incredible story) showing you many beginner options you can use to warm up as well:
If you’re curious, here’s my personal (advanced) warm-up:
Advanced Warm-up Routine:
Jump rope: 2-3 minutes
Jumping jacks: 25 reps
Bodyweight squats: 20 reps
Lunges: 5 reps each leg.
Hip extensions: 10 reps each side
Hip rotations: 5 each leg
Forward leg swings: 10 each leg
Side leg swings: 10 each leg
Push-ups: 10-20 reps
Spider-man steps: 10 reps
Our goal isn’t to tire you out, instead we want to warm you up.
That’s step one.
Completing your chosen at-home workout would be step two.
Below, you’ll find 8 sequences you can follow along with!
I warn you, the above sequence will hurt… in a good way. You should be proud if you can get through this three times.
Do you want to get as strong as possible so this workout ain’t no thang?
Sign up in the box below to grab our guide, Strength Training 101: Everything You Need to Know. It’ll teach you all of these advanced bodyweight exercises!
Download our comprehensive guideSTRENGTH TRAINING 101!
Everything you need to know about getting strong.
Workout routines for bodyweight AND weight training.
How to find the right gym and train properly in one.
Home Workout #3: The 20-Min Hotel Routine
Sometimes, you just plain find yourself stuck in a hotel room. Maybe you can find the hotel gym, but I bet it’s terrible! It probably has 2 machines, a broken treadmill, and no free weights.
Ugh.
Instead, how about a 20-min workout you can do in the room itself! Utilize the furniture to its full potential.
If you don’t have time to run through the whole sequence, no problem!
Depending on how much time you have during the day, you can do your whole workout at once, or break up your training into four different sessions throughout the day (with each session being ONE of the exercises).
Here’s a sample day for your No-Equipment Workout:
Wake up, do 40 jumping jacks to warm up, and then do bodyweight squats.
At lunch, you grab your suitcase (if you’re at work, milk jug if you’re at home) and do inverted rows.
After work, you do another 50 jumping jacks and then do your push-ups.
After dinner, you do your planks while watching TV.
You could even split it up over two days if needed, but the goal would be to do it the whole sequence at once.
The main Angry Birds Workout article describes in detail Levels 1-6, but here’s Level 3 for you:
Bonus points if you somehow do this no-equipment workout in a cave, as that’s how Bruce Wayne would roll.[1]
This workout is separated into two days for you.
Here’s a video for the first day:
Batman No-Equipment Workout Day 1:
Rolling squat tuck-up jumps: 5 reps
Side to side push-ups: 5 reps
Modified headstand push-ups: 5 reps
Jump pull-up with tuck / Pull-up with Tuck-up: 5 reps
Handstands against wall: 8 seconds
Here’s a video for the second day:
Batman No-Equipment Workout Day 2:
‘180 Degree’ jump turns: 5 reps
Tuck front lever hold: 8 seconds
Tuck back lever hold: 8 seconds
Low frog hold: 8 seconds
This is a relatively advanced workout already, but if you want to progress to the next level, check out the main Batman Bodyweight Workout for tips on how to do just that.
NOTE: This is NOT a beginner program, and should not be attempted unless you have been training consistently and can do multiple repetitions of pull-ups and push-ups with great form.
Like this perfect push-up:
And this perfect pull-up:
Here’s how the PLP Progression works:
Day 1:
Pull-ups: 10 reps
Push-ups: 10 reps
Lunges: 10 reps (each leg)
Day 2:
Pull-ups: 11 reps
Push-ups: 11 reps
Lunges: 11 reps (each leg)
Day 3:
Pull-ups: 12 reps
Push-ups: 12 reps
Lunges: 12 reps (each leg)
How long do you keep doing this?
As originally envisioned by Chad Waterbury, the PLP Workout lasts 60 days.[3]
Yeah…by the end of it you’ll be doing more than 50 pull-ups.
There are two versions:
If you can do 10 straight pull-ups: Start day 1 with 10 reps of each.
If you cannot do 10 straight pull-ups: Start day 1 with 1 rep of each.
Complete your required reps each day in as many sets as you need, whenever you need to. The goal is to do it in as few sets as possible, but enough so that you can complete each rep with proper form.
If you want to advance to the Jedi Knight or Master Levels, check out The Star Wars Workout, which will also offer you a full description of each move.
Bonus No-Equipment Workout: The Playground Circuit
Do you have a nearby playground? Why not work out there! If you have kids, you can do it together. Or let them ignore you.
The trick here is to couple your home workouts with adjustments to your nutrition.
We’re big believers that you can’t outrun your fork, so any successful weight loss plan will include a focus on building a healthy plate.
That will look something like this:
If you want some help on adjusting your nutrition, I’ve got two great resources for you:
The Nerd Fitness Guide to Healthy Eating. This massive resource will help you slowly adjust your nutrition, without forcing you to give up the food you love (yes, you can still eat pizza here and there). No more diets, instead we’ll work on building habits together.
Nerd Fitness Coaching. If you want to take it to the next level, one of our trained professionals can help you adjust your way of eating to help you reach your goals. No shame. No judgment. Just a like-minded nerd who will show you the way.
I have two resources to help you design your own no-equipment workout:
The 42 Best Bodyweight Exercises: This guide will teach you how to perform the best bodyweight exercises – no equipment required! Check it out if you are unfamiliar with any of the movements referenced in today’s guide.
How To Build Your Own Workout Routine: Once you’re comfortable with a handful of bodyweight exercises, use this guide to pull them all together into a full-body workout!
That should get you going on building a workout you can do in the comfort of your own home.
Want more? Alright, eager beaver, I got you.
We built THREE options for people just like you:
1) If you want step-by-step guidance, a custom workout program that levels up as you get stronger, and a coach to keep you accountable, check out our killer 1-on-1 coaching program:
2) If you want a daily prompt for doing workouts at home, check out NF Journey. Our fun habit-building app helps you exercise more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life (literally).
Try your free trial right here:
3) Join the Rebellion! We need good people like you in our community, the Nerd Fitness Rebellion.
Sign up in the box below to enlist and get our guide, Strength Training 101: Everything You Need to Know. It’ll help you start incorporating these bodyweight moves into your training.
Download our comprehensive guideSTRENGTH TRAINING 101!
Everything you need to know about getting strong.
Workout routines for bodyweight AND weight training.
How to find the right gym and train properly in one.
Alright, your turn: I’d love to hear how your home training is going!
Which workout above did you try? Did you make one of your own?
Leave a comment below with your results or any questions you have on working out at home.
For the Rebellion!
-Steve
PS: If you were going to buy one piece of equipment to utilize in your home, a kettlebell would offer you a lot of versatility:
I get multiple emails and messages per day asking:
“Steve, what should I do for a workout?”
Well, partner, today is your lucky day.
I’m gonna help build you a custom workout program, step-by-step!
After all, a workout should be developed around a person’s age, goals, nutritional strategy, free time, etc.
Not only that, but it’s easy to overcomplicate this process – there are an infinite number of exercises, sets, reps, and programs to choose from.
Now, if you’re somebody that wants to skip all of that, and JUST want to be told what exactly to do:
We build customized workouts for our Online Coaching Clientsand would love to have you. We get to know your story and struggles, your goals, and your lifestyle, and develop a workout plan that fits your schedule.
Now, if you’re more of a “figure this stuff out on my own” kind of person – we’re going to dig into how to build your own workout plan today!
We’ve also created a free resource for folks who want to build their own workout but would love some more specific direction and instruction.
You can download our free guide, Strength Training 101: Everything You Need to Know, which covers all of this stuff in a single guide:
Download our comprehensive guideSTRENGTH TRAINING 101!
Everything you need to know about getting strong.
Workout routines for bodyweight AND weight training.
How to find the right gym and train properly in one.
OKAY! Are you ready to start building your own routine and want to know how it’s done?
Whatever your goals are, it’s good to write them down and be aware of what you’re trying to accomplish.
These goals will shape HOW you build your workout.
An effective way to create goals is by using the SMART method, which stands for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely.[1]
Specific – Your goals must specifically state what is to be accomplished. They must be clear and easy to understand.
Measurable – Your goals must be measurable so you can tell if you’re making progress or not. For example, I want to gain 5 pounds of muscle. To track your progress you will need body composition equipment that is designed to assess your fat and muscle mass.
Attainable – Your goals should be realistically attainable. Remember, a realistic amount of muscle mass to gain per week is about 0.5 pounds. For example, gaining 5 pounds of muscle should realistically take about 10 weeks
Relevant – Your goals must be relevant to your particular interests, needs, likes/dislikes, and abilities. Another thing to remember is that your goals need to be generated by you and you alone!
Timely – Your goals must have a timeline for completion. If your goal is to gain 5 pounds of muscle then a reasonable end-point should be at minimum 10 weeks.
A SMART goal is a good goal.
QUESTION 2: How much time can you devote to exercise?
If you can do an hour a day, that’s fantastic.
But maybe you have a wife or husband, three kids, a dog, two jobs, and no robot butler…
…then maybe you only have thirty minutes, twice a week.
That’s fine too!
Also, break up your workout! According to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), if you accumulate three 10-minute bouts of exercise throughout the day to total 30-minutes of exercise, then that is as effective as someone who does one 30-minute bout of exercise.[2]
Now, no matter how much time you have, developing the most efficient workout is crucial.
Why spend two hours in a gym when you can get just as much accomplished in 30 minutes, right?
So whether you are building muscle or looking to lose weight, a strength training workout will get you the results you’re after (when combined with the right eating strategy!)
While we’re talking about time, let me quickly mention something important:
As we mention in that guide, here are some realistic timeframes for weight loss or muscle gain:[3]
If you are trying to lose weight it is recommended that you seek a calorie deficit by consuming 250-500 fewer calories per day below your typical calorie intake. This will result in a realistic weight loss goal of 1-2 pounds per week
If you’re trying to gain muscle mass, then it is recommended that you seek a calorie surplus by consuming 250-500 additional calories above your typical calorie intake. This will result in a gain in lean muscle mass of about 0.5 pounds per week.
Unless you’ve been strength training for years and know what you’re doing, we recommend that you pick a full-body routine that you can do 2-3 times a week.
You want a workout routine that has at least one exercise for your:
Quads (front of your legs).
Butt and hamstrings (back of your legs).
Chest, shoulders, and triceps: (“push” muscles).
Back, biceps, and grip ( “pull” muscles).
Core (abdominals and lower back).
I have a trick for you: by targeting compound movements that recruit multiple muscles at the same time, you can build a full-body routine that uses only four or five exercises.
How’s THAT for efficiency!?!
A compound exercise would be the yin to the yang of the isolation exercise.
Think of a push-up (compound):
Compared to bicep curls through a machine (isolation):
Compound exercises have been found to result in improvements in aerobic endurance, muscular fitness, and flexibility, since you’re recruiting all sorts of muscle groups at once.[5]
Where an isolation exercise would be a single-joint movement involving only one single muscle group, like the biceps, in our example above.
I will say, there is a time and place for implementing compound and isolation exercises.
You don’t need to make things more complicated than this!
(Not that we humans have a tendency to overcomplicate things to the point of paralysis and inaction…)
Ahem.
If you’re not sure how to do any of the movements above, click on their links for thorough write-ups and video demonstrations.
Pick one exercise from EACH category above, specifically ones that scare you the least, and that will be your workout every other day for the next week.
Get really good at these basic movements and focus on getting stronger each week (I’ll cover how below).
If you get really strong at squats, deadlifts, pull-ups, and push-ups, you will build an incredible physique to be proud of.
Plus, building strength with these exercises will also help in other areas such as improving your performance in sports, decreasing your risk of chronic diseases (e.g., CVD) and premature mortality (an early death).[6]
*mic drop*
**picks up mic**
Then, once you get confident in those movements, feel free to add some variety.
Why?
If you do the same exact routine, three days a week, for months and months, you might get bored, and start slacking…
Do deadlifts every Wednesday, but change up the sets and reps you pick!
If you hit a plateau or find yourself getting bored, pick a different exercise to improve so you’ll stay challenged, and you’ll actually DO the workout!
I know it’s really easy to overcomplicate this process as there’s an infinite number of exercises, sets, reps, and programs to choose from.
And yes, we have a solution for people that JUST want to be told what exactly to do: our uber-popular 1-on-1 coaching program pairs you with your own Nerd Fitness Coach who will get to know you, your goals, and your lifestyle, and develop a workout plan that’s specific to not only your body, but also to your schedule and life:
Step #3: How Many Sets And Reps Should I Do?
SIMPLE ANSWER: Not including a warm-up set or two, I recommend:
If you can do more than 15 reps without much of a challenge, consider increasing the weight or the difficulty of the movement. This is true for things like lunges, bodyweight squats, push-ups, pull-ups, etc.
There are some other generally accepted ‘rules’ – as pointed out in Starting Strength – about how to determine how many reps you should target per set, based on your goals:
Reps in the 1-5 range build super dense muscle and strength (called myofibrillar hypertrophy).
Reps in the 6-12 range build a somewhat equal amount of muscular strength and muscular size (this is called sarcoplasmic hypertrophy).
Reps in the 12+ range build muscular endurance.
A 2015 study [10] called into question the best rep strategy for building muscle or size:
It appears that high-intensity resistance (sets of 3-5 reps) training stimulates greater improvements in some measures of strength and hypertrophy in resistance-trained men during a short-term training period [compared to sets of 8-10 reps].
What this means: Do not freak yourself out by worrying if you should do 4 sets or 5 sets of 8 reps or 10 reps.
Our advice would be to START with lighter weights and more reps as you learn the movement, and then decide if you want to stay at higher reps and lower weight or vice versa.
You do you, because either way will get you results!
The only thing you need to worry about: get stronger the next time you do that movement.
Either pick up a heavier weight, or do 1 more repetition than last time.
“JUST GIVE ME THE ANSWER!”
Keep your TOTAL (all exercises combined) workout number of sets for all exercises in the 15-25 set range, with 8-10 reps per set:
5 exercises total, each with 4 “work sets” is a good start.
Remember, the most important part is to get started – you’ll learn how your body responds and you can adapt as you go.
What you DON’T need to do: multiple exercises for each body part with 10 sets.
This will result in significant fatigue during your workout increasing your risk of sustaining an injury. It can also result in overtraining, in which you will experience a decrease in performance and plateauing (will not see muscular improvements).[11]
So calm down you eager beaver.
A BIG CAVEAT:How you eat will determine if you get bigger or stronger. Nutrition is 80-90% of the equation. So pick a range that feels good, and then focus on nutrition.
And if you don’t want to figure any of this out and just want to be told exactly how what exercises, sets, and reps to do, our online coaches can take care of that for you.
Step #4: How Long Should I Wait Between Sets?
Keep it simple, you “smart, good-looking, funny, modest person” you.
Below is a basic formula for you to determine how long you should wait between sets, but this can be adjusted based on your level of health.
The goal is to wait the least amount of time you need, but still rest enough that you can perform all reps of the next set safely and properly!
Adequate rest in-between sets will allow your body to regenerate energy, so you can execute the next set of reps with good form and technique, therefore, decreasing your risk of injury.
I’ll provide some guidelines for how long to rest based on how heavy you’re lifting (not rules set in stone!):
1-3 Reps (lifting heavy for strength/power): Rest for 3 to 5 minutes between sets.
4-7 Reps (lifting for strength): Rest for 2 to 3 minutes between sets.
8-12 Reps (lifting for size/strength): Rest for 1 to 2 minutes between sets.
13 Reps+ (lifting for endurance): Rest long enough to recover to allow you to do the next long-ass set!
If you need more or less rest than the above recommendations, that’s fine.[13]
Do the best you can, record how long it takes you to rest between sets, and try to rest for shorter periods in the future.
Your body will adjust as you get stronger and healthier!
If you want more information on how much you should lift, how many reps, and when to scale certain movements or adjust your workout, check out our Strength 101: Everything You Need to Know.
It’s free when you join the Rebellion with your email in the box below:
Download our comprehensive guideSTRENGTH TRAINING 101!
Everything you need to know about getting strong.
Workout routines for bodyweight AND weight training.
How to find the right gym and train properly in one.
The simple-to-learn but tough-to-implement answer:
Lift enough so that you can get through the set, but not too much that you have NO fuel left in the tank at the end.
How do you determine how much that is?
Trial and error.
ALWAYS err on the side of “too light” versus “too heavy” when starting out.
It’s better to say “I bet I could have done more!” instead of “that was too much, and now I need to go to the hospital!”
Plus, when you start working out, you’re actually programming your neuromuscular systems to do the movement correctly.[14] You can’t rush this, so it’s best not to start off too heavy.[15]
If a person can do two reps (or more) over their set goal, then they should increase the load.
How much should you increase weight by?
For less trained people (i.e., beginners), it is recommended that for upper body exercises you increase the load by 2 – 5 pounds and by 5 – 10 pounds for lower body exercises.
For more trained people (i.e., advanced), it is recommended that for upper body exercises you increase the load by 5 – 10 pounds or more and by 10 – 15 pounds or more for lower body exercises
I will say, if you’re doing exercises with just your body weight, you need to make each exercise more difficult as you get in shape – once you get past 20 reps for a particular exercise and you’re not gassed, it’s time to mix things up.
20 bodyweight squats too easy? Hold some weights high above your head as you do the next set. Eventually, you can scale up to do exercises like the pistol squat:
And if you’re not sure how to scale bodyweight movements, or you are interested in mixing things up and want guidance…
Step #6: How Long Should I Exercise For? How Long Should My Workout Be?
Easy answer: 45 minutes to an hour.
Longer answer: If you’re doing 15-25 sets of total exercise (3-5 sets for your 5 exercises), you should be able to get everything done within that 45-minute block.[17]
Now, factor in a five or ten-minute warm-up, and then some stretching afterward, and the workout can go a little bit longer.[18]
If you can go for over an hour and you’re not completely worn out, try increasing the intensity.
You’re getting a cardiovascular workout by consistently moving from exercise to exercise.
You’re exercising different muscles back to back, giving each muscle group a chance to recover, but in a condensed amount of time. Efficiency for the win!
If you’re familiar with CrossFit, many of the workouts are built on circuit principles.
This is also the most effective way to make you involuntarily swear at inanimate objects because you’re so tired and beat up.
And lastly, we love building circuit training routines for our Coaching Clients – and we’d love to build them for you too:
Step #8: How Many Days per Week Should I Train?
We get this question quite a bit, usually from overeager beavers who decide they are going to go from “sitting on the couch watching The Office on repeat” to “exercising 7 days per week.”
I would advise something different.
I mean you can still watch The Office…
…but you don’t need to be training 7 days a week!
We don’t want you burning out quickly and falling back to square one, a concern we mention in our guide “How Often Should I Work Out?“
Just pick “exercise” that’s fun for you and that won’t exhaust your muscles.[26][[26]]However, don’t forget that recovery is key to preventing injuries and allowing the body to rebuild itself after the stress of exercise. If you are looking to exercise on your off days we suggest that you cross-train. Cross-training involves engaging in a training routine or exercises that are different from what you normally would do. For example, if you always run for cardio, we would suggest that you change things up and go on the elliptical or bike. This allows you to stay active on your off days while also allowing the muscles that are always stressed from running to rest and recuperate. (Haff G, Triplett NT. (2016). Essentials of strength training and conditioning. Fourth edition. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics).[[25]]
Also, here’s a lifehack: Program your workouts INTO your Google calendar (or Outlook).
You’re much more likely to do a workout that has been planned for in your work week!
Alternatively, you can hire a coach to program your workouts for you, so every day you know exactly what you need to do!
Step #9: Keep Track Of Everything!
Last but not least, keep a workout journal!
As they say, that which gets measured gets improved.
You should be getting stronger, faster, or more fit with each day of exercise.
Around these parts, we say “Level up your life, every single day.”
If you want to build from scratch, great! Let’s break it down into easy chunks with this recap:
ALWAYS warm up – 5-10 minutes on a bike, rowing machine, jumping jacks, running up and down your stairs, etc. Get the blood flowing and your muscles warm.[29]
Pick one exercise for each big muscle group – quads, butt and hamstrings, push, pull, and core.[30]
Do 3-5 sets for each exercise.
Do 5-10 reps per set for each exercise.
Determine how many reps and how long you’ll wait between sets for each exercise. Keep it simple. 60 seconds.[31]
Increase your efficiency and work your heart by doing supersets or circuits. This results in a higher EPOC meaning greater caloric expenditure and weight loss!
Give yourself permission to mess up, learn a little, and keep improving as you train more regularly!
More often than not, when I email people back and tell them how to build their own workout, they generally respond with:
“Steve, can’t you just TELL me what to do? I’m afraid of building a crappy workout.”
Why we built THREE options for people like that:
1) If you are somebody that wants to know they are following a program that is tailor-made for their life and situation and goals, check out our Online Coaching Program.
You’ll work with our certified NF instructors who will get to know you better than you know yourself and program your workouts and nutrition for you.
2) Exercising at home and need a plan to follow? Check out Nerd Fitness Journey!
Our fun habit-building app helps you exercise more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life (literally). Plus, NF Journey will build a workout for you!
Try your free trial right here:
3) Join the Rebellion (our free community) and I’ll send you free guides, workouts, and worksheets that you can read at your leisure.
We need good people like you!
Download our comprehensive guideSTRENGTH TRAINING 101!
Everything you need to know about getting strong.
Workout routines for bodyweight AND weight training.
How to find the right gym and train properly in one.
I certainly encourage you to try and build your own workout routine.
It can really help you develop a sense of excitement and pride when you start to get in shape based on your workout!
If you have more questions, or have a workout program you’re really proud of, share it in the comments below!
-Steve
PS: Check out the rest of our beginner content. I promise, it kicks ass 🙂
American College of Sports Medicine. ACSM’s Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2000
Read, “Effect of short moderate intensity exercise bouts on cardiovascular function and maximal oxygen consumption in sedentary older adults.” Souce, BMJ Journals
(Spano MA, Kruskall LJ, Thomas DT. (2018). Nutrition for Sport, Exercise, and Health).
American College of Sports Medicine. ACSM’s Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2000
Haff G, Triplett NT. (2016). Essentials of strength training and conditioning. Fourth edition. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics
Remember, it all comes down to a caloric deficit or surplus. if you are trying to lose weight it is recommended that you seek a calorie deficit by consuming 250-500 less calories per day below your typical calorie intake. This will result in a realistic weight loss goal of 1-2 pounds per week. If you’re trying to gain muscle mass, then it is recommended that you seek a calorie surplus by consuming 250-500 additional calories above your typical calorie intake. This will result in a realistic gain in lean muscle mass of about 0.5 pounds per week. Source: Spano MA, Kruskall LJ, Thomas DT. (2018). Nutrition for Sport, Exercise, and Health
American College of Sports Medicine. ACSM’s Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2000)
This goes back to the progressive overload principle. Remember, in order to achieve your training goals or to see improvements, your training must gradually and constantly increase Source: Haff G, Triplett NT. (2016). Essentials of strength training and conditioning. Fourth edition. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
If you do not progress your workout, then you will reach a plateau because your body has met the demands of your exercise or stress that you have placed upon it. If you progress your workout (e.g., do more reps, lift heavier weights, do different exercises, etc.), then those microscopic tears (that don’t hurt) will happen and your muscles will go through hypertrophy and grow bigger and stronger. Source: Powers SK, Howley ET. (2011). Exercise physiology: Theory and application to fitness and performance. New York: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages).
You’ll see a few different recommendations around this. The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) recommends 6-12 reps for 3-6 sets for muscle hypertrophy and more than 12 reps for 2-3 sets for muscular endurance (Source: Haff G, Triplett NT. (2016). Essentials of strength training and conditioning. Fourth edition. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics). While the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) simply recommends 8-12 reps for 2-4 sets for healthy individuals (Read, American College of Sports Medicine position stand. Progression models in resistance training for healthy adults. Source, PubMed.
Read, “Musculoskeletal adaptations and injuries due to overtraining.” Soucre, PubMed.
Excessive muscle fatigue, often resulting by engaging in higher intensity exercise or engaging in exercise with short rest intervals has been found to increase one’s risk for muscle strains due to fatigue eliciting poor exercise technique. For more, read “Muscle strain injury: diagnosis and treatment.” Source, PubMed.
The NSCA also has guidelines in-place to help you determine your rest intervals in-between sets: 2 to 5 minutes for strength and power, 30 seconds to 1.5 minutes for hypertrophy, and 30 seconds or less for muscular endurance (Haff G, Triplett NT. (2016). Essentials of strength training and conditioning. Fourth edition. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics).
Plus, ACSM has a basic recommendation of 2 to 3 minutes (American College of Sports Medicine. ACSM’s Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2000). So we don’t have to get overly dogmatic here.
More efficient communication between your neuromuscular systems results in proper motor unit recruitment. A motor unit is a single motor neuron and the muscle fibers it innervates. We have small motor units, meaning that a single motor neuron innervates relatively few muscle fibers, and these smaller motor units are good for precise and detailed movements (e.g., moving your fingers). On the other hand, we have large motor units, meaning that a single motor neuron innervates hundreds of muscle fibers, and these larger motor units are good for generating a lot of force (e.g., getting larger muscle groups like the quads to generate a lot of force to help in running) (Powers SK, Howley ET. (2011). Exercise physiology: Theory and application to fitness and performance. New York: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages; Heckman CJ, Enoka RM. Motor unit. Compr Physiol. 2012 Oct;2(4):2629-82. doi: 10.1002/cphy.c100087. PMID: 23720261).
When you first start strength training, your motor units don’t fire as quickly and smaller motor units that don’t generate a lot of force are recruited. As you continue working out and become more trained, your motor units fire more rapidly and your brain recruits larger motor units that can generate more force allowing you to lift heavier weights. This is why the progressive overload principle is important! As your neuromuscular system communicates more efficiently, you will see improvements in your exercise technique and muscle adaptations (e.g., hypertrophy) taking place.
Haff G, Triplett NT. (2016). Essentials of strength training and conditioning. Fourth edition. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
According to ACSM and the CDC, all healthy adults aged 18-65 years should participate in moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity for a minimum of 30-minutes on five days per week, or vigorous-intensity aerobic activity for a minimum of 20-minutes on three days per week. Additionally, every adult should perform activities that maintain or increase muscular strength and endurance for a minimum of two days per week. Performing exercise at a moderate-to-vigorous intensity will result in greater caloric expenditure and weight loss. (American College of Sports Medicine. ACSM’s Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2000).
The NSCA recommends a 5-10 minute warm-up to prepare the body for the exercise session, and the exercise session should be followed by a 5-10 minute cool-down to bring the body back down to rest (Haff G, Triplett NT. (2016). Essentials of strength training and conditioning. Fourth edition. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics).
The ACSM and other researchers have found that if you ACCUMULATE 10-minute bouts of exercise throughout the day that can be as effective as one who does one 30-minute bout of exercise. Read, “The Effects of Continuous Compared to Accumulated Exercise on Health: A Meta-Analytic Review.” Source, PubMed.
Circuit training results in a higher excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) resulting in great caloric expenditure when compared to traditional strength training with longer rest intervals in-between sets and exercises. Read, “Circuit weight training and its effects on excess postexercise oxygen consumption.” Souce, PubMed.
Haff G, Triplett NT. (2016). Essentials of strength training and conditioning. Fourth edition. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics
Oh, and even if you aren’t doing a ciruict, don’t use your cell phone for other purposes besides using it to listen to music! Other cell phone functions such as texting and talking have been found to lower the intensity of exercise resulting in lower caloric expenditure, and disrupt balance leading to a greater risk of musculoskeletal injuries. Read, “The Impact of Cell Phone Use on the Intensity and Liking of a Bout of Treadmill Exercise.” Source, PubMed. Read, “The impact of different cell phone functions and their effects on postural stability.” Source, ScienceDirect.
The NSCA recommends 2-3 training sessions for novice or beginners, 3 sessions if using total body training or 4 sessions if using a split routine for intermediates, and 4-6 sessions for advanced lifters (Haff G, Triplett NT. (2016). Essentials of strength training and conditioning. Fourth edition. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics).
Strength training results in microscopic muscle tears in the muscles. This causes a cascade of events eventually leading to muscle repair and growth (i.e., hypertrophy). Our muscles adapt to the overload stress of strength training immediately after each bout of exercise, but it takes roughly eight weeks to see physical improvements (Powers SK, Howley ET. (2011). Exercise physiology: Theory and application to fitness and performance. New York: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages).
Adequate recovery is essential to prevent overtraining. When we become overtrained, our injury risk increases and we reach a plateau and no longer see any improvements from our training. For more, read “The effects of resistance training, overtraining, and early specialization on youth athlete injury and development.” Source, PubMed.
This applies to all healthcare professionals who are working with clients, athletes, military personnel, special populations (e.g., cardiac rehab). These healthcare professionals are tracking everything so they can see if you are improving or not. And if you’re not improving, that is okay. At least you know and then you can start making changes to your exercise routine: change your exercises from bodyweight to free weights; change the number of sets and rep; shorten or lengthen your rest intervals, etc.
And if you’re not improving, that is okay. At least you know and then you can start making changes to your exercise routine: change your exercises from body weight to free weights; change the number of sets and rep; shorten or lengthen your rest intervals, etc.
A traditional warm-up usually consists of two components. The first is a general warm-up of 5-10 minutes of low- to moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, such as jogging or stationary cycling. The second is a specific warm-up that involves less intense movements similar to the sport or activity about to be performed. This second part involves performing dynamic stretches such as high knees, butt-kicks, skipping, shuffling, carioca, etc. The purpose of this type of warm-up is to allow the body to gradually adjust to the demands of exercise by allowing for increases in heart rate, blood flow, muscle temperature, and core body temperature (Haff G, Triplett NT. (2016). Essentials of strength training and conditioning. Fourth edition. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics).
These big muscle groups allow for everyday activities to be performed with more ease and for you to maintain a more independent lifestyle for a longer period of time. For more, read “American College of Sports Medicine position stand. Progression models in resistance training for healthy adults. Source, PubMed.
But remember, the sets, reps, and rest intervals will change as your training goals change.
The longer your workout the more fatigue you will experience, therefore, increasing your risk of injury. Keep your cell phone in the locker room if you’re having a difficult time keeping your workout to less than an hour!
The same rules apply as for the warm-up. After you are done with your exercise session perform 5-10 minutes of low- to moderate-intensity aerobic exercise. The second part of the cool-down will consist of static stretching instead of dynamic stretching. Static stretching involves slowly moving a muscle to the end of its range of motion and then holding that position for a period of time (10-30 seconds or 30-60 seconds for its greatest benefits). You should stretch the muscle enough to feel a slight discomfort, but don’t go too far where you start to feel pain. For more, read “American College of Sports Medicine position stand. Quantity and quality of exercise for developing and maintaining cardiorespiratory, musculoskeletal, and neuromotor fitness in apparently healthy adults: guidance for prescribing exercise.” Source, PubMed.
Remember, the only way you’re going to know if you’re improving and if your program works is if you’re recording the data. If it’s not working, at least you can catch it early and make the necessary adjustments.
It’s very rare that anyone is taught to run, right? We learn to walk, then run, by just doing it which means over time we develop our own individual and unique running form. Ans although I subscribe to the school…
I can remember so clearly the day I found out that there was going to be a parkrun near me. I’d gone to Mile End parkrun (about 45mins away on public transport) to run with a friend who was emigrating…
Read my updated coconut accounting review! Coconut has changed so much since it launched – from a bank account / banking app to accounting for sole traders. Check out my tips on how to manage your freelance finances using Coconut…
Well, Happy New Year everyone! I was sat here wondering when I’m due to write my Winter 2023 update when I realised I started but never finished my Autumn 2022 update. I have no idea where the time went… In…
As we wrap up another year around the sun, many of us become reflective of the year that has passed while also looking forward to what lies ahead.
Setting goals may be something that you are intuitively drawn to, or maybe it’s something that has you running the other way. Regardless of how you feel about goal setting, I encourage you to have a listen for actionable tips.
In this episode, you’ll learn how to achieve a thriving mindset, how to set goals for each part of your life, how to break goals down into actionable steps, and how to keep your goals realistic and achievable.
You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in…
Achieving a thriving mindset [2:32]
My goal setting process [5:37]
How I plan my year [6:42]
Setting goals for total wellness [11:03]
Keeping your goals realistic [17:56]
Choosing a theme for the year [19:25]
Setting Goals Can Help You Achieve a Thriving Mindset
Humans are designed to grow. Without growth, we won’t be fulfilled. Having goals helps us to learn new things, enjoy new experiences, and have purpose.
However, many people shy away from goals because they feel that setting goals can lead to perfectionism and disappointment. But this doesn’t have to be the case. If you sprinkle in a bit of grace with your goals you’ll achieve a thriving mindset.
Goals+Grace=Growth
Having Grace Leads to Forgiveness
Having grace allows you to accept things the way they are as you continue to grow. There are several goals that I set last year that I did not achieve. Rather than wallow in guilt for not achieving my goals, I give myself grace and understand that not achieving some goals is a part of the process.
Life happens and things change, so if I didn’t achieve a goal it could have been due to things that I didn’t expect to happen. Having grace allows me to accept life the way it is. Not achieving a goal doesn’t say anything about me; it shows that sometimes life gets in the way.
I go into goal setting mode knowing I have grace in the process. As you look toward the new year, have the powerful combination of goals+grace.
How to Start Planning Your Goals
Start goal planning with intentionality and vision. Have a vision for what you want to achieve because without vision you won’t know where you are going. One of my favorite bible verses speaks of vision: without vision, the people perish.
Each month I plan a day of reflection so that I can understand where I am going and how far I have come in my process. This step is critical since reflection allows for more growth.
Each December, my husband and I block off an entire morning to brainstorm and set goals for the upcoming year. I grab my favorite journal and pen and we take ourselves somewhere away from our daily lives. Listen in to get some ideas to help you find a great place to plan your goals.
Think back on the past year to reflect on what worked for you and what didn’t. Remember to give yourself grace for the things that didn’t work out the way you planned. This also gives you an opportunity to adjust your plans for the new year.
Make sure to listen in to hear how to set goals and intentions for total wellness, how not to fall into the trap of perfectionism, and innovative ideas for choosing a theme for your year. When you know your theme of the year, share it with me on Instagram @wearelindywell.
I recently shared how I chose a half marathon race day strategy based on where I was in my menstrual cycle, and it seems that running on your period, or your period landing on your race day can cause some…
Progress over perfection has become a popular saying in the health and wellness space, but at Lindywell, it’s been a core value since the very beginning. One thing we’ve learned over the years, however, is that it can be hard to let go of self-criticism in our modern world, where everyone’s successes are made public. Hello, comparison, shame, and judgment.
Striving for that false perception of perfection, however, slows you down, pulls you away from your most authentic self, and leaves you feeling defeated more often than not. When you can shift your focus instead to progress, the experience and journey become more enjoyable.
What’s more, the idea of perfection, well, it becomes less important.
If you’re still struggling to smooth those sharp, critical edges, we have a simple but powerful framework for you to embrace progress over perfection.
The Six Principles of Pilates
While there are a lot of ways to embrace the journey, at Lindywell, we find that Pilates is the best teacher. Specifically, the six guiding principles, which break down as follows:
Concentration
Control
Breath
Precision
Center
Flow
Rather than striving for perfection, we focus on doing it well, feeling good, and staying connected. This progress-over-perfection approach is not always the norm in the fitness industry, particularly in the world of Pilates.
Here, we take a more grace-filled and progress-focused approach to Pilates and fitness as a whole, and you can do the same, on and off the mat. Now, let’s see how we can apply these six principles to the idea of progress over perfection.
Embrace Progress Over Perfection With the Six Principles
Here’s how you can use these six principles to truly embrace progress over perfection, and experience all the goodness that this shift can bring. As always, take what resonates and implement what feels good. Not all of these will feel relevant to your life, but one or two may be just what you need.
Concentration
Commit fully but remain flexible.
Your desires and needs ebb and flow and so your approach to achieving goals should follow suit. To embrace progress over perfection, you need to commit to what you desire, but remember that the way you get there can evolve along with you.
In this way, what “perfection” looks like shifts as well. At one time, perfection may have been going to the gym five days a week before work. Now, with two kids at home, it looks like 10 minutes of Pilates two days a week with the Lindywell app.
In both cases, you were committed fully to what you desired, to feel great in your body, but how you got there changed as your circumstances shifted. That’s embracing progress over perfection.
Control
Be conscious, deliberate, and intentional.
In Pilates, we refer to controlling your movement. Being intentional and deliberate, moving slowly and consciously. The same goes for embracing the progress over perfection mindset. When you focus on progress, you focus less on “getting it right” and more on being deliberate as you move toward what we desire.
Instead of wishing that what you want would just be here already, and getting frustrated when it’s not, you become more aware and in tune with yourself. Ask yourself questions like, Why am I frustrated? What could I change to make this feel easier or less stressful? Then take intentional action based on your honest and authentic answers.
Breath
Leverage the breath-body connection.
Think about a moment when you were trying to get everything just right. You may have been rushing around. Your mind was probably racing. You may have felt frantic and anxious. You were focused solely on getting it perfect.
Though you may not have realized it at the time, your breath was also likely shallow and fast. This is how we breathe when we’re anxious and stressed. This type of breathing then feeds that same state of anxious being.
The good news is, simply slowing and deepening your breathing can immediately shift you into a more calm and centered state of being. It’s in this state that you can let go of that idea of perfection, and instead, see that being “good enough” is in fact, perfect.
Precision
Do it well, but at your own pace and in your own way.
Perfection is a driving force when you feel the need to get something right according to someone else’s standards or because of what someone else might think. The idea of precision can be applied to progress over perfection as a reminder that you can do it well, but at your own pace and in your own way.
For example, if your goal is to make movement a part of your regular routine to feel stronger in your body, doing it well looks like:
Figuring out what type of movement feels good for you and focusing on that.
Adding it into your schedule when it’s feasible, rather than forcing it during a time that doesn’t work for you, like early in the morning.
Trusting that your body will build strength if you commit—and it may not happen right away, but in the time that’s right for you.
Doing it your way, and doing it well based on your own standards, is what progress over perfection is all about.
Center
Seek alignment above all else.
At Lindywell, we start every workout with centering. This is important when you’re on your mat, but I would argue it’s even more important off your mat. In life, you’re surrounded by people, experiences, and circumstances that can easily throw you off-center.
When you get out of alignment, you lose sight of what’s right for you. Then it becomes easy to start focusing on perfection according to someone or something else. When you stay in alignment, it’s easier for you to come back to your center, check in, let go of “perfection,” and focus back in on what feels good for you in each and every moment.
You may still veer off course, or get distracted by “perfection. When you practice coming back to your center, however, like with Pilates, you will always be able to get back into your own alignment.
Flow
Find yours and let it guide you.
Pilates always feels incredible, but if you’ve practiced even just a few times, you know how truly juicy it feels when you get into the flow. In that space, perfection doesn’t matter—what matters is staying connected to that movement and that experience.
Finding this flow in your life, and letting it be your guiding force, is key to embracing progress over perfection. The journey feels best when we create our own current and flow with that, rather than letting someone else define it for us.
Let’s Love the Journey
Striving for perfection is tiring. It also keeps us disconnected from ourselves and what we truly desire, creating anxiety and stress along the way. Use these strategies and ideas to connect back to you, find your flow, and focus on the journey that’s meant for you. When the journey feels amazing, reaching perfection doesn’t matter, because it’s already great where you are.
