I was asked recently by a 30 year old woman about whether or not it was the right time to ramp up her workout routine. In her case, she has just begun jogging a couple of miles and running stairs daily- however, she's been doing this consistently for several weeks. In her words:
"I have some friends who are starting the [popular video] workout and want me to join. I'm just curious if there's any risks to jumping into something so intense when my only other workout has been jogging and stair running."
My short answer would be "Go ahead and start the program with your friends, but listen to your body- if you feel nauseated or like you may be close to injuring yourself, slow down or stop and keep the intensity a little lower for a few minutes until you're certain you can keep going. Aaaand if you hate it, just go back to jogging and running stairs at the consistency you had before, and try to change things up a few [4-6] weeks from now- because you're already kicking butt and taking names."
"I could tell you a bunch of meaningless [for you] personal trainer jargon about target percentage increase in training/neural stimulus and VO2 max..."
This is the exact same advice given to participants of my bootcamps [wink, wink]- ultimately, YOU are responsible for challenging your known limits in a methodical way, but you are also the person responsible for taking care of yourself. If a video, personal trainer, or bootcamp drill instructor prompts you to try something new, well go ahead and try it, but Know. Your. Limits. I could tell you a bunch of meaningless [for you] personal trainer jargon about target percentage increase in training/neural stimulus and VO2 max, or I could make up some bogus marketing line about how you need to introduce 'muscle confusion' or some other nonsense, but it really boils down to you owning your own results.
The professional in me is compelled to say 'check with your doctor before you start a new program' because, well, let's face it, I have to say that or I risk being sued by the next jackass who doesn't know his limits and goes overboard.
So if you're on the fence about whether or not now is the time to get started, or take your current training to the next level, well don't wait; get moving [literally]. BUT know your limits, and know that progress happens slowly, but that's what makes it worth fighting consistently for. If it were easy, everyone would do it, right?
Stay Strong, Friends.
