My Exercise Routine
Published on Jul 30, 2017 ⸱ 5 min read ⸱ 24 views
Let me start with this - There is no secret to keeping fit. It's all about Priority, Discipline and Hard Work. Each of those aspects contribute not just to keeping fit, but truly being productive at work and in life. Moreover, each of these aspects is so difficult to practice that fewer people actually achieve it.
Priority: Priority helps us realise what's important to us. If we make fitness our priority we will automatically make time to exercise. Often times we fail to see what our priorities are and hence lose track of what we need to work to achieve. We get so involved in life's everyday petty problems that we forget to zoom out, recalibrate our priorities and work towards achieving it.
Discipline: This, by far, is the toughest thing for me to achieve. Inculcating discipline in day to day life is SO tough. By being disciplined, I mean with what we eat, our work schedule, our commute, fitness routine and everything we do daily. With everyday social interactions, social commitments, new work projects, urgent meetings, erratic work travel schedules - it is crazy to stay disciplined. Some days you have to budge, purely out of no better choice. But if it happens too often, then you can kiss your fitness good bye. Hat tip: Priority plays a huge role out here.
Hard Work: Nothing can give you results like good ol' hard work. Once you prioritize fitness and inculcate discipline, all you have to do is work hard. This section, in my opinion, is the easiest of the three, if done right. With respect to fitness, the "done right" bit means maintaining the right posture, focusing on your breathing and pushing yourself to your limits.
My post focuses on the Hard Work aspect. Below are a bunch of exercises and routines I practice. They happen to work for me. FYI, I am no trained fitness expert. Please consult your fitness expert for your routine before practicing any of the exercises mentioned herein. Each person's body type is different for which you need to find out what best suits your needs.
My Exercise Routine
When: I make it a point to exercise at least thrice a week. I keep aside Monday's, Wednesday's and Friday's for exercise. Evenings between 7:30 to 9:30 is when I exercise. I'm not a morning person.
What I Use to Track My Workout: Nike+ Run Club iOS App. The app only tracks my running and that works just fine for me. I'm too lazy to use any other app or connected wrist band. If I find a more elegant solution to track my workout, will be updated out here.
Where: I run and exercise at a local park. It's usually quiet with few people when I go in the evening. Plus it is open air and has a huge pond in the middle. Fresh air. So it works for me.
My Routine:
+ Brisk Walking - 20 mins. I brisk walk from my home to the park which is ~2.4 Kms.
+ Light Warm Up - 10 Mins. In these 10 mins. I warm up the joints and muscles right from the neck, to wrists, elbows, shoulders, thighs, knees and heels. It's important to warm up all those joints and muscles if you're running. Not warming up or doing it incorrectly can have adverse effects on your joints and muscles. So make sure you do it right.
+ Light Run /Jog - 5 Mins. Next, I take two rounds of the park (~400 metres each round).
+ Work out - 10 Mins. These 10 mins are spent doing 2 repetitions of light warm up (above), push ups (2 x 20), sit ups (2 x 20), planks (2 x 30 secs) and bench dips (2 x 20). 100 jumps skipping rope.
+ Light Run /Jog - 5 Mins. Next, I take two rounds of the park (~400 metres each round).
+ Work out - 10 Mins. These 10 mins are spent doing 2 repetitions of light warm up (above), push ups (2 x 20), sit ups (2 x 20), planks (2 x 30 secs) and bench dips (2 x 20). 100 jumps skipping rope.
+ Light Run /Jog - 5 Mins. Next, I take two rounds of the park (~400 metres each round).
+ Brisk Walking - 20 mins. Walking back home from the park. Another ~2.4 Kms.
That's more or less my routine. Sometimes I may skip a routine or two and do about 2 reps of light running and work out. But I make sure I push myself to do more per rep. Thrice a week.
A couple of tips while working out:
1. Tighten your Core: For every exercise I make a conscious effort to strengthen my core. It is very tough to do it without focus. Over time you will get used to it.
2. Focus on Breathing: Find a rhythm and breathe accordingly while working out. For example while doing sit ups, I breathe in while going up and breathe out while going down. Find that rhythm that seems natural when you're working out and breathe. It's odd, when we work out we forget to breathe properly. This can really affect our mental capabilities as well. Do not forget to breathe while working out.
Keeping fit really helps me stay productive and focused. When I work out I tend to eat healthier. It happens automatically. I do not have to go out of my way to eat healthy. It's amazing.
Let me know what your work out routine is. Would like to try out new things.
Onward.
Note: All blogs posts till 2022 were migrated to this platform (react+next+tailwind). While all efforts were made to migrate wihtout any loss, the migration lost some images and broke a bunch of links in old posts. If you spot anything amiss, please notify me?