What Part of Your Body to Focus on During Your Workouts
Whether it’s the gym or the comfort of your own home, workouts can help keep you fit and give your body some of the movement it needs to stay healthy. There are several types of workouts that you can do, and focusing on a particular part of the body can help you train those muscle groups for strength and repetition.
Whole Body
This tip is a good place to start if you are new to workouts and just beginning your fitness journey. In most cases, this kind of routine trains each muscle set in succession with just a few repetitions per set. You will also keep the overall volume of exercises low if you’re new to these workouts. A low volume helps your body adjust gradually to changes in your nervous system. You will teach your body how to activate additional muscle fibers that you may not use as much as others. Although it is important to rest in between training sessions like these, you shouldn’t let too many days go by before your next set.
Upper Body
Once you feel comfortable enough, you can start splitting the workouts into more specific areas of the body. If you’re not sure what you need to work on, a qualified physical therapy center can help you figure out what your next moves should be. These centers help people recover function after injuries, but they also work with athletes or people who want to know their own bodies better. If you want to do a workout that focuses on the whole upper body, you’re probably looking at the chest, back, shoulders, and arms. Upper body workouts can improve your posture, are generally good for your heart, and may reduce your risk of injury during other activities.
Lower Body
If you’ve decided that a lower body split is the kind of thing you need, you’ll shift your focus to calves, hamstrings, quads, and glutes. In most cases, your abdomen is also included in a routine for the lower body. A regimen for this area can include benefits such as improved balance, more stamina, and better bone strength. It could also help to prevent or mitigate injuries to your knees or ankles. If you tend to have weak balance or poor joints, you can meet with a therapist to discuss your options.
Neck
You can cover almost everything in workouts for both halves of your body, but what about your neck? If you’re experiencing stiffness in the neck muscles or a limited range of motion, exercises for the neck can relieve some tension. Giving your neck a workout could also improve circulation.
As you gain experience and increase your muscle, you may want to combine some of these splits or opt for different training that makes things more intense. However, it is important to note that higher volumes or intensity levels in your exercise routine will require more days to recover from than your average workout. You should listen to your body. Don’t try to push it beyond its reasonable limits while it is still healing.Brooke Chaplan is a freelance writer and blogger. She lives and works out of her home in Los Lunas, New Mexico. She loves the outdoors and spends most of her time hiking, biking, and gardening. For more information, contact Brooke via Facebook at facebook.com/brooke.chaplan
