Transcription:
How to Create the Right Workout Routine

Melanie Cole (Host): Is your New Year's resolution to get more exercise? I mean, it really kind of is for all of us, right? Well, we are here to help you and tell you how to create a workout routine that will lead you to accomplish your fitness goals. Welcome to It's Your Health Radio with Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital. I'm Melanie Cole. Joining me today is Russell Gage. He's the fitness director at Henry Mayo Fitness and Health, and he's here to help us come up with a right workout routine. Russell, thanks for joining us. You've been on with us before and these are so informative.

So first of all, let's talk about how much exercise is recommended. Daily is we're looking for these ways to achieve them and the workouts that we wanna start doing. Has anything changed? What are we recommending as far as the amount of exercise people should be trying to get every single day?

Russell Gage: First off, thanks for having me again. it's fun being back and, I guess if you've been here long enough, they let you keep doing some things. So glad to be here again. In regards to time, in my opinion, can be a little bit of a tricky question because there's the textbook answer and then there's the realistic answer. So the textbook answer is gonna give, What is ideal for heart health? What is ideal for weight loss or muscle building in regards to how much time a day or how much in a week or a month you should be exercising? And yet a lot of people's lives don't accommodate for some of that.

So, the basic textbook answer is going to be having 30 minutes of just movement a day. And yet we want to be able to do some more of that if we're trying to achieve bigger or more important goals. And then if you have a job that you're commuting, if you have a job that's early, late, whatever it may be, or like I've even had clients who have alternating schedules, who work night shifts one week and then it switches and then they work night shifts again. And the timing of it can be thrown off a lot. So my recommendations for most of the people to set a realistic goal is to get a intense workout at least three times a week and make it about one hour long that you're moving.

Now exercise comes in many different shape sizes and moving is kind of the biggest thing. So, a lot of the like baseline recommendations you're gonna see are just more based around moving. So going to the grocery store and walking around the grocery store is gonna be moving, going out and gardening, working and cleaning in the garage. A lot of that stuff is still physical activity that a lot of people don't take into account for how much they're actually doing.

So even if you don't have time to make it into a gym, to do weight training, to go on a long run. Staying active throughout your day is kind of the one main way you can fill in a lot of those gaps and meet kind of the minimum requirements of exercise or movement, that is typically recommended.

Melanie Cole (Host): That's great advice because it really is true that the more we do, the more it's considered movement, just like you say. So now we hear about 10,000 steps and we hear about aerobic exercise and strength training. You and I have talked about that before, functional exercise and flexibility. I mean, there's so many that for those of us that are not in the profession. Well, I am, I'm an exercise physiologist, but for those people that are not in the profession, it can be confusing.

And I think the best way to begin and what we've always set is setting those smart goals. So as we wanna look at a workout, you know, we don't wanna tell people just go in and start working out, yes, we want you to move, but how do you set those smart goals? How do you look to what you wanna do, whether it's weight loss or cardio, or get stronger bone strength, whatever it is? How do we look at all those things that we wanna do and set those goals?

Russell Gage: So I'll kind of clarify on smart goals. In case anyone's not aware of what smart goals are. Smart goals are simply, it is a catchy, way of making sure that you have goals that are very achievable in a sense. and making sure that they're actually, not a dream, but a goal, right? A dream is just saying, oh, I want to lose a hundred pounds. And then a goal is going to give you a little bit more of a roadmap for it, so smart stands for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely. So when we're looking at setting smart goals, you want to have it be something else specific, right? So I want to lose 10 pounds. That's specific. Measurable, 10 pounds, that's a measurable weight loss goal.

Attainable is kind of the realistic aspect. Can you realistically lose a hundred pounds without being unhealthy? So maybe that's not a realistic goal that if you set that relevant is gonna be why it's relevant to you. So it's why is it important? Why do you want to lose 10 pounds? What is gonna be the connection for that? I want to lose 10 pounds for this, I wanna lose 10 pounds to fit into these clothes better. I wanna lose 10 pounds because I have a wedding coming up. Whatever it may be. You want to have some type of connection to why you're doing it.

And then timely is to give yourself a timeline on it. I wanna lose 10 pounds by three months out because this and the smart goals is again, just kind of that acronym to get you to think a little bit more about your goals instead of just saying, I'm gonna have a dream that's out there now, I think the other portion that you had asked with that is like, how do you get going or how do you set that routine once you have those goals or get moving successfully? I think there's so many different ways to exercise.

There's so many different ways to move that you have to find what you're actually gonna do. I am gonna use myself as an example because I don't like running, I just don't, it's not something that I will get up and I will go do. Do I need to do cardiovascular work? Do I need to work on my heart health? Yes. But if I set a goal for myself that I'm gonna run blank miles, I'm gonna go on the treadmill, run this far, I'm probably not gonna get up and actually do it. And so even though it's a good goal, even though it's a healthy exercise routine, if I don't do it, nothing, there is no benefit to it.

So the goal is you want to set things that you actually are going to do. So if you enjoy yoga, if you enjoy weight training, you enjoy weightlifting, you enjoy running, you enjoy any type of movement, use that as the catalyst to start whatever goals may be. Because if you just say, Hey, I'm gonna do the thing I hate doing, you're probably not gonna do it. I could come up with the best workout routine in the world for someone, but if they don't want to do it, then they're not gonna do it. And it's not a good workout routine and it's not a good program for them at all.

There is a principal that I'll kind of touch. in addition to that called the FITT Principle, and there's a lot of acronyms in the fitness world and it, it's F I T T and it stands for frequency, intensity, time, and Type. All of those factors play into what exercise you're doing if you're trying to set, A fitness routine. So frequency would be, how many times a week are you doing it? Intensity is gonna be to what? Intensity, how vigorous is the exercise going to be? Time is how much time you spend on it and type is what type of exercise you're doing?

Right. And that kind of touches on a little bit of both the last two topic of last answers we kind of just went over. If you can set those things right, I'm gonna have a frequency of three times a week. I'm gonna do low intensity exercise, or I'm gonna do high intensity exercise, or whatever it may be. How are we gonna do that? What type is it gonna be, and then how long am I gonna do it for? Then you kind of have good plan of action for as far as what the best workout routine for you is gonna be.

Melanie Cole (Host): Okay, so this is really, really great information. So Russell, now we're beginning, whether it's walking, yoga, swimming classes, strength training, whatever we decide to do. Tell us a little bit about creating that workout. Because people sometimes, and I remember this from my fitness center days, people walk in and they sort of just stand there and they're not sure. Even though they know they wanna do something cardio, they're not sure whether they should try the elliptical or the StairMaster, God forbid that thing's, wow, what a monster.

And I remember the old ones that actually rotated the stairs, those. Wow. And then of course there's treadmills and there's bikes, and there's so many different pieces of equipment. When someone walks in there, it can be a little intimidating. Plus there's all the equipment and then the weights and the free weights and the sit up area, all these things. What do you do once you get there?

Russell Gage: I think it's very much the tortoise versus the hare, for beginners. You gotta keep moving and you gotta start moving. A lot of people either start too fast or get on too much of the like bootcamp challenges to kickstart something and then burn out or hurt themselves because they just jumped in, not prepared. Now that doesn't mean don't jump in and start the tortoise still actually goes and races. It doesn't just stand there and wait. So when you're a beginner, You gotta find a way to just go and try to be consistent with it. instead of trying to do too much too soon. I see that a lot with like x athletes who are like, oh, I haven't worked out for a blank amount of years and I'm just gonna do what I used to do.

And then they do something they shouldn't have done. If you've never been in the gym, the environment is very different. It just is. It's just like if you showed up at a company or a workplace that you've never been before, you've never researched, never done anything, and you don't know where it is, it's a different world. All gyms are gonna have someone there to help or guide you. The general 90% of the fitness community got into it because it is a service-based industry, meaning they want to help people with whatever they're looking for in regards to health and fitness. So if you find. The gym is intimidating.

You don't know where to even begin. Seek out someone who works there, front desk, trainer, janitor, whoever it may be, and just ask for maybe a guidance around. Ask for help. And that's always a little difficult to do sometimes to ask for help. And I'm not gonna lie, there's a lot of gyms out there that if you ask for help, they're gonna try to sell you something, because that's their job. But for the most part, you're gonna be talking to people that want to help. Not to people who don't want to help you.

And so if you're not sure what piece of equipment to get on, or where to go, start by asking for help. We have a process here for new orientations where someone comes in, they don't know what to do, they're set up with one of our lifestyle specialists, and we take them through just a health background and movement screening, and through that, then introduce them to different machines that would be appropriate for the level of fitness. And wherever they're starting and get them going.

And so that way they can actually go consistently. And that falls back onto like what you're asking is how do people start when they don't even know where to start? It's huge because like, I mean, I said if you. Do what you love, you'll be fine and you can just keep going with it. But if you don't know what you love yet, then how are you gonna start? So I think group exercise classes are a great way if you start getting into like a community of people, usually those are all complimentary with memberships. And so getting involved in cycle or spin class to learn how to use the bikes, getting involved in a HITT training.

Or strength training, group exercise class to learn how to start using weights. And then you have accountability of other people in the gym. And then you have other people who have been in the gym. I mean, there's a lot of our members that if they see someone new, they might not have the degree and the certifications, but They'll help guide, they'll help direct, they'll help say, Hey, I've been there before. I started in the gym blank amount of time ago and this is how I got going and this is what helped me figure things out. And let me show you some advice. Gyms are a very positive community I feel like.

Now I hate speaking in universals because there's still some stuff going on always at most places, and some places are a little more toxic than others, but for the most part, you're getting people who are in the facility who want to work on. improve something, get better at something, and it's usually a very positive environment for people to be around.

Melanie Cole (Host): Well, it certainly is, especially at Henry Mayo Fitness and Health, and I remember those days. It's the 10 o'clock in the morning, 11 o'clock in the morning. People that are always willing to help you. The older crowd that's been there a while, they're like maybe one or two o'clock, maybe they don't have to rush off to work those early morning people, you're not messing with them because they wanna come in, get their workout done and get out. But it's true, those of us that got into this field. For me, it's been 35 years. I can tell you that when I got into it, it was because I wanted to help the older people in my life and I wanted to do that.

So yes, for the most part, Russell, as you say, we're all really in this to help people, so getting in there. Talking to someone, getting that evaluation, all of those things can really help set you on that path that's not gonna be demotivating. So as I finish, I'd like you to summarize. Motivation seems to be one of the very. Big kind of up and downs for people New Year's Eve. Wow. You make those resolutions, you get back to the gym, you join a gym, you come in there and you're all gung-ho. But then maybe mid-January, by February, it's kind of like, Ugh.

You know, I don't feel like doing it anymore. I'd like you to offer some motivational rewards, ways that we can reward ourselves for what we do, because let's face it, we're a society of gains and rewards, and that's why a lot of us do a lot of things. So give us some of your best advice about creating a workout routine that most importantly we will do, that most importantly, we will stick with and the motivation to stick with it?

Russell Gage: A little bit of my bias is gonna come in on probably this question because from what I've seen over the years of working is motivation comes and goes, and there's zero way to control necessarily when you are motivated and not, so if you are simply trying to stay motivated, the realistic answer is that you won't be motivated all the time. And this is where some goal setting is very important. I think, when trying to stay motivated, you need to be able to separate what you're going for between outcome goals and behavioral goals. Outcome goals are saying, I'm gonna lose this much weight and I'm motivated to lose this much weight.

Behavioral goals are going to be setting different habits for yourself, and that is going to create the more lasting, realistic change. So I want to lose 10 pounds. That's my outcome goal. My behavioral goal is how I'm gonna do that. My behavioral goal is I'm gonna come into the gym three times a week. My behavioral goal is I'm gonna eat vegetables with every dinner. My behavioral goal is I'm gonna drink a large glass of. Every morning when I wake up and I'm going to have something for breakfast.

If you can set those behavioral goals, those keep those times when you're not motivated to reach that outcome goal. When you're not motivated to stay on track, stay on fire. At least you're now creating better behaviors. You're creating better habits to stick. To stick with the plan to now have a little bit more of a lifestyle change than just chasing a goal. A lot of people, when they only set outcome goals, they reach the outcome, they lose the weight, and then when they've lost the weight, they have no more outcome goal to chase. And so that's it. And then they put the weight back on.

Whereas those who set behavioral goals, if I'm gonna change these aspects of my lifestyle, they reach that 10 pound weight loss. and can maintain it and now can set new goals because their behaviors and their habits are already in place for a healthy lifestyle. And then the only other thing I could probably add to that would be to just eliminate as many obstacles in your way. If you have a job that you're commuting and you know when you get home, you're exhausted, workout before you go to work, because you're not gonna do it afterwards. You have a job that you start work at four or 5:00 AM.

Maybe don't try to go before cuz it's probably not gonna happen. You have a community of people, you have friends that are discouraging you to exercise, discouraging you to keep those healthy habits, to keep those behavioral goals. It's not easy, but you gotta find the people who are gonna encourage you. Find a good support base, eliminate those barriers, eliminate those hurdles that you have to jump over because the more hurdles you have to jump over, the more barriers in the way, the quicker those motivations will fall away.

So whether it be time of the exercise, whether it be the type of exercise you're doing, whether it be your support system, whatever it may be, you have to eliminate those obstacles because those are gonna be the things that will trip you up. Have you fall flat on your face and then you'll give up and go away.

Melanie Cole (Host): It's great advice. What a great conversation we had, Russell. Thank you so much for joining us, and you can find more information on fitness classes and memberships to Henry Mayo Fitness and Health at henrymayofitness.com. You can also visit the free health information library at library.henrymayo.com for some great information. There's lots of quality information that you can trust, and you certainly can trust the specialists and the experts at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital. That concludes this episode of It's Your Health Radio with Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital. I'm Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for joining us today and good luck on your workout.