Fitness training is an activity designed to increase strength, endurance, flexibility and body composition. It can be done in a gym, on the beach or in your own home with free weights, resistance bands and bodyweight exercises. The most common type of training is aerobic exercise, which raises your heart rate and breathing and gets the blood flowing to your muscles. Aerobic activities may also include recreational sports like tennis, swimming and cycling.
In order to strengthen muscles and improve balance, it is important to include some form of stability training or core conditioning in your fitness plan. This will help you stabilise your spine and core muscles, making it easier to perform everyday tasks such as walking up stairs or carrying bags. Stability exercises may include tai chi, yoga and even just standing on one foot for longer periods of time.
Aerobic activities are essential to our overall health, but we should also include some form of resistance or strength training. This is where the muscles are made to work against a load or force, such as when lifting weights, using resistance bands or just your own bodyweight. This type of training makes the muscles work hard, which increases their strength and helps build muscle size (hypertrophy). Adding this type of training will make you stronger in day-to-day tasks, sporting performance and prevent injury.
It is important to ensure that you are adequately resting between sessions to allow the muscles to repair and recover. Failure to do so leads to a state known as overtraining syndrome, which can lead to poor health and performance, excess fatigue, increased risk of illness and a weakened immune system. When starting out with resistance training, it is best to do a maximum of two or three sessions per week, allowing 48 hours recovery for each muscle group. As you become more experienced, you may like to split your workouts by working different body groups on different days (what is called a “split program”) – for example chest, shoulders and triceps in session one, back, biceps and abs in session two and legs in session three.
The most important factor for a successful and sustainable fitness plan is consistency. If you don’t stick to your routine, it’s easy to lose motivation. Find a trainer to keep you on track and accountable, especially if you are new to exercise. They can help you create a training program that meets your goals and fitness level and can show you how to do the exercises correctly so that you can continue on your own after you leave their care.
Whether you want to become a personal trainer or simply wish to learn more about fitness training, completing an accredited course with AIF will equip you with the skills and knowledge you need. AIF’s Master Trainer Program(tm) is a globally recognised qualification and offers a pathway to becoming a highly successful trainer and coach. Enquire now to get started.