Fun and Fitness: Concentrating on the core-four
Being a beginner in a Fitness Centre can be an intimidating experience. You walk in the gym, where there is often muscle bound freaks pushing ridiculous amounts of weight in a savage like manner. But that's besides the point, let those freak shows do their thing, and let's concentrate on you, the “newby.”
What often discourages many beginners is their lack of understanding of all the machines and exercises. Many people have very little knowledge about how long an exercise session should be, how many reps should be performed, or even what machines are appropriate for what body parts. An excellent beginner friendly program that we often like to prescribe is called the core-four. This programs strengths lie in its ability to target all muscle groups and its efficiency to do it in as little time possible.
The first of the four exercises is the chest press. The chest press is a compound exercise that targets the pectoral muscles (chest), anterior deltoids (front shoulders) and triceps. It can be done on a free weight bench, or a standard chest press machine. It is recommended that beginners start off with a machine for safety purposes and comfort.
The second exercise is the seated row. The seated row is a compound exercise, which is the opposite of the chest press. It targets the large back muscles, posterior deltoids (rear shoulders) and biceps. There are many variations to this exercise, but it is recommended to start on a seated row machine for similar reasons as the chest press.
The third exercise of the core four concentrates on the lower extremities. You guessed it, the leg press. The leg press works the front of the legs (quadriceps), the back of the legs (hamstrings) and the good ol' glutes, also known as the bum. The majority of people are familiar with a leg press machine, so it should be an easy one to find.
The last of the four exercises is the shoulder press. Many people often prescribe a calf raise exercise since the leg press doesn't directly target the calves. Most of us do enough running activity that our calves get a decent enough work out, so I find the shoulder press to be more suitable in a core-four program. This exercise will target your shoulders and triceps. There are variations of doing this exercise with free weights, but it is again recommended to get comfortable with the movements using a shoulder press machine.
There you have it, four exercises that will target your entire body. If performed in sets of three at eight to twelve repetitions per set, this routine will have you out of the gym in less than an hour. And who said you need to spend hours upon hours to get fit. There are many more details concerning the exercises such as form, order of exercises, breathing techniques and such which would take me much too long to get into.
My best advice is to take advantage of most gyms free initial consultation and have a trainer properly set you up on such a program. If you're a member at Fitness 101 or are currently considering becoming one, feel free to ask us about these services. This type of program can be administered for a 70—year-old lady, or a 20-year elite athlete. If your Grandma can pull it off, than there's no excuse why you can't.
What often discourages many beginners is their lack of understanding of all the machines and exercises. Many people have very little knowledge about how long an exercise session should be, how many reps should be performed, or even what machines are appropriate for what body parts. An excellent beginner friendly program that we often like to prescribe is called the core-four. This programs strengths lie in its ability to target all muscle groups and its efficiency to do it in as little time possible.
The first of the four exercises is the chest press. The chest press is a compound exercise that targets the pectoral muscles (chest), anterior deltoids (front shoulders) and triceps. It can be done on a free weight bench, or a standard chest press machine. It is recommended that beginners start off with a machine for safety purposes and comfort.
The second exercise is the seated row. The seated row is a compound exercise, which is the opposite of the chest press. It targets the large back muscles, posterior deltoids (rear shoulders) and biceps. There are many variations to this exercise, but it is recommended to start on a seated row machine for similar reasons as the chest press.
The third exercise of the core four concentrates on the lower extremities. You guessed it, the leg press. The leg press works the front of the legs (quadriceps), the back of the legs (hamstrings) and the good ol' glutes, also known as the bum. The majority of people are familiar with a leg press machine, so it should be an easy one to find.
The last of the four exercises is the shoulder press. Many people often prescribe a calf raise exercise since the leg press doesn't directly target the calves. Most of us do enough running activity that our calves get a decent enough work out, so I find the shoulder press to be more suitable in a core-four program. This exercise will target your shoulders and triceps. There are variations of doing this exercise with free weights, but it is again recommended to get comfortable with the movements using a shoulder press machine.
There you have it, four exercises that will target your entire body. If performed in sets of three at eight to twelve repetitions per set, this routine will have you out of the gym in less than an hour. And who said you need to spend hours upon hours to get fit. There are many more details concerning the exercises such as form, order of exercises, breathing techniques and such which would take me much too long to get into.
My best advice is to take advantage of most gyms free initial consultation and have a trainer properly set you up on such a program. If you're a member at Fitness 101 or are currently considering becoming one, feel free to ask us about these services. This type of program can be administered for a 70—year-old lady, or a 20-year elite athlete. If your Grandma can pull it off, than there's no excuse why you can't.
