We all want to reap the best benefits of regular exercise but you often hit some snags. No matter how perfect your routine is, you still feel miserable. Furthermore, because of all the conflicting information out there, you are not even sure if you’re getting the full benefits. Stop worrying about your weight because this post is about Minimum Viable Exercise and Training which is going to clear all your doubts.
Remember, that a sub-optimal plan you stick to is much better than the perfect routine you abandon after the first week. Such routines look promising but in actual are far from reality and not easy to maintain. This routine needs to be optimized for simplicity and low time/mental effort commitment while still fetching excellent results. This works equally well for the overweight, the underweight, and women.
Our goal is to reorient your thinking when it comes to nutrition so that you can make healthy decisions every single day that will promote your long term goals and also have the knowledge to know that it is completely fine to indulge. It can actually promote long term adherence. The more knowledge you have on how various foods, nutrients, and eating structures impact your body the better off you will be.
Minimum Viable Exercise
Minimum viable exercises refers to those set of exercises that is least intensive and yet elicits the desired training effect. First of all you have to get rid of all-or-nothing mentality and make yourself understand that it is better to do something than nothing. Below are few tips mentioned to work on:
- Plan to get some exercise every day. Make it as convenient as possible to work out.
- Shoot for 20 or 30 minutes of activity. Do whatever you wish to, like rowing machine, running on treadmill, push ups etc.
- If you do only 10 minutes, feel good about those 10 minutes. After all you at least did something.
- If you miss a day, don’t beat yourself up. Forget about it. Focus on tomorrow.
Get Motivated and Get Started
Most of us are worried that no fitness regimen can make up for a deep-seated trait that prevents us from succeeding. Perhaps you tend to think you don’t have enough will power, your genetics suck, or you’re a workaholic who will never have enough time for fitness.
The key to success is to keep going. Don’t regret if you miss a day, just keep doing your favourite set of exercises. Workout as per your convenience. If you only have time for one exercise, pick any one. If you have time for two, do the next. If you have time for three, try and do them all.
If you feel good enough and start getting results, try and exert yourself a little more, go for intense strength training sessions on weekend.
No Dieting is Required
Sure, there is a need to check the amount of calories you consume, but then there is no need to cut down your calories completely. Also, just because you can have three meals a day plus snacks does not mean you are compelled to eat all the things, all the time.
Just follow below the tips to keep your calories under control:
- Swap out sodas for water.
- Swap out grilled vegetables for fries.
- Try practice portion control, where you don’t eat the entire meal.
- Eat slowly and avoid watching TV while you eat.
Intermittent Fasting
Now, even though it sounds unhealthy, try skipping your breakfast. This is called as Intermittent fasting. This idea works on the theory that during the “fasted state,” your body doesn’t have a recently consumed meal to use as energy, so it is more likely to pull from the fat stored in your body, rather than the glucose in your blood stream or glycogen in your muscles/liver. Therefore go for Intermittent fasting to lose the excess fat. Also, if you miss one of your meal, don’t try to compensate for it in your next meal. Training your brain to avoid any kind of overeating is the best solution.
Freedom to Stay Healthy
When you’re free to follow a routine, and relish your favourite food. You’ll notice that weight will no longer be a concern for you!