If you had ALL day to work out, what would you do?

Let's say you took a week off work to jump start your fitness/weight loss . . . how would you plan your days? 

- OR -

If you ran a fitness boot camp - what would you have planned?

How would you maximize results while avoiding injury?

I would do the basics: 

• run a mile
• 100 jumping jacks
• 20 push ups (not the girly kind either)
• 100 sit ups

and continue doing this until my legs and arms fell off :)

 

I'll leave the specifics up to others. But I just wanted to point out 2 things. One is that fitness plans work because they are sustained over a period of time; not because they are intense in any single week.

The second thing is that if you are just starting an exercise schedule of any sort.. you want to start off slow and work your way up to more time and more intensity. You don't want to take a week to "jump start" your fitness as you put it because then you are going to blow yourself out in 1 week and possibly not even be in any shape to finish out the week, let alone go back to whatever you normally do next week..

So yeah. Starting out slow, working your way up, and steady effort over a long period of time (say at least a couple months.) I know NO ONE wants to hear those words but it's the most realistic.

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Oooh, you're right.  Scratch the "jump start" part, you DO want to go slow when you are first starting.

 I'd probably do:

1. Breakfast
2. 1 hour pilates/yoga
3. 1 hour Cardio interval training
4. Snack
5. 1 hour weight training working half the muscles (the other half the next day)
6. 30 minutes stretching
7. Lunch
8. 2-3 hour hike or bike ride (Take a break for afternoon snack)
9. 1 hour lap swim
10. Dinner
11. 2 hour or so break
12. 1 hour yoga/meditation

I don't work and my son is in school in the mornings.  Walking is the best exercise to jump start any cardio program, when you're starting from zero.  Your speed and endurance increases and you can build from there.  But at the start, you need time to start.  Workouts were taking 1 1/2 hours to not cover very much ground.  Now I'm doing 3+ miles in under an hour.   I have more endurance and coordination to do workout tapes too. 

good for you!  

I'd start with push ups, sit ups and squats.

Pick a number to start at (5 is a good number to start) and do that number, then that number -1, all the way down to 1.  If it's too easy, then go up a number.

5+4+3+2+1

I'd go on a camping trip and do fun stuff.  Biking, hiking, swimming, etc.  Then it doesn't even seem like work!

I'd sleep most of the day and then do my normal routine.

Original Post by floggingsully:

I'd sleep most of the day and then do my normal routine.

This, since it pretty much sums up my days off.

I'de probably ride my road bike all day.

I'm with Chiibug. I want my exercise to be fun and make me feel good, not make me feel inadequate (although I admire the people who can start out so hard). I once got fit in one weekend away, because we spent several hours a day playing pool-volleyball. It involves jumping, diving, treading water and swimming after the ball, and you don't notice the effort because it's so much fun. Until you come inside at the end of the day and eat half a cow (and I still lost weight!).

I'd spend the day doing one of these, with a picnic lunch and some friends:

- going cycling in a beautiful area (shady, if possible - Africa's a hot place;p)

- playing frisbee and jumping through waves on the beach (as long as it doesn't turn into sunbathing and reading a book)

- backpacking in the mountains

- walking along sand dunes looking for a good spot to fly stunt kites (you'd be surprised how much effort it takes to walk through sand, specially with your shoes off)

Hmm, now I'm ready for a holiday...

haha this is pretty much what i am doing except i am in university and its exam time so all i have to do during the day is study...therefore

1)i start the night before with a good nights sleep.

2)then i wake up and walk over to the food place and get a healthy low fat breakfest usually consisting of fruit, milk and a healhty cereal

3)after eatign breakfest i would do my stretches in my room

4) i would walk over to the gym and start with a 30 min high pace cardio in order to get my pulse up (i have a hard time getting my pulse up therefore light cardio may due for you)

5) i would do floor work such as crunches and some more stretching

6) i would then work out on the circuit area liftign weights with my legs and my arms

7) i would then take the stairs to the next level where they keep the weight machines

8) i would continue to work different parts of my body by using weights (steps 5-8 take about 30-45 mins)

9) i would then head off for a rowing machine and do soem rowing for about 15 mins

10) i would then head back to my room for final floor work witch consists of more crunches and throughal streatching

11) i would continue to eat low fat healhty meals

 

 

Oh yes and make sure after a work out that you eat high protien meal beucase your muscles need it!!!!

Oh what a cool post idea tmck!

I think my days would looks something like this:

Breakfast

Early a.m. Spinning class

Long a.m. run, moderate pace

Pilates session

Lunch

Weight training

Interval training on the track

Long p.m. run, moderate pace

Stretching session (45 min)

Dinner

Yoga session

Go mountain biking, all day (carrying the essential tools, water, and nutrition of course).  The come back before dark for a healthy hearty dinner.  Then go for an evening swim, washing off all the dirt and relaxing my sore muscles!

Though, that would be more of a vacation to me then a "boot camp" experience.  But if I started my fitness routine with gym stuff I'd get bored terribly fast!  If I started it with an activity (an activity which might I add kicks your butt!) I love, I'd want to maintain a fitness routine so I could just get better and better at said activity.

It's all about keeping it fun and working towards a goal!

This is making me day dream about some kickass fitness retreat.  It could be in a gorgeous location with great views for the afternoon activities, and cool fitness instructors for the morning classes.  There could also be classes on how to cook healthy, plan meals ect. (you'd have to rest sometimes).

Haha, I can't really get away - and the retreat in my vision isn't something I could afford. 

Oh well, it's fun to focus on what we love about exercise - it's de-stressing, good personal time, makes you feel good, great hiking/biking views - and not just that it's a chore.