Exercise

There is no need to rush yourself into an intense workout routine from the start. Take it slow and progress little by little at first. Our goal is to reach a workout plan that consists of 3 strength training days and 2 high-intensity interval training days throughout the week.
It's important to do some research with each exercise you perform so we can prevent injuries from improper use of equipment.
We want to provide you a few beginner friendly exercises with some tips on how to perform them optimally.

Start at your own pace

Warming up is critical before beginning a workout.
Performing a few arm circles where your arms are extended out about shoulder height and moving your arms in a circular motion. This action should be performed slowly and controlled.
Most will usually perform a bicep curl with their elbows tucked in by their sides, however we will perform them by having our elbows in front of our torso to gain more range of motion on the biceps.
Keeping our keep planted on the ground and slightly leaning our body forward while keeping our core engaged before curling the weight upwards.
At the top of the curl, you can perform what is called an extra "squeeze" with your biceps for increased tension.
Keep the weight controlled as you slowly bring it back down to the starting position to finish your rep.

Starting off with our feet planted firmly on the ground and our back laying completely flat on the bench without having an arch on the mid-back.
We are going to start off with our elbows at 90 degrees or parallel to the bar once we take the bar off the rack.
This next part here takes some practice, so give it a few tries before putting more weight on the bar. As we are slowly brining the bar down to our chest, we want to slightly tuck in our elbows so that it isn't parallel to the bar anymore to take off some load on the shoulder.
Once the bar has gently tapped your chest, then you are ready to push it up back up where your elbows will flare back out to 90 degrees or parallel to the bar.
Most perform this exercise while keeping their elbows parallel to the bar the entire time, however shoulder injuries may occur during heavy lifting.
Remember to breathe in as you bring the bar down to your chest and out when you push the bar back up with each repetition.

High-intensity interval training, or HIIT, can be done with different variations such as running, body-weight exercises, punching bags, and many more.
We're going to explain a sprint HIIT exercise. "Sprint interval training, using four to six 30-seconds of all-out efforts separated by 3- to 4- minute intervals, allowing for full recovery, but resulting in very high aerobic and anaerobic demands" (Franchini, 242-252).
The good news is that you are able to rest 3-4 minutes before going for another 30-seconds full sprint.
High-intensity interval training allows for increased VO2 max, which is the maximal rate of oxygen consumption during an intense physical activity.
Increasing your VO2 max mean that you are able to handle intense activities longer and perform better while kicking it up into high gear.