The Simple Fitness Formula: Activity, Intake, Rest | Core Performance
The Simple Fitness Formula: Activity, Intake, Rest | Core Performance
Certified personal trainer Kim Duke breaks fitness down into one straightforward formula: Activity + Intake + Rest. With practical tips for strength, nutrition, hydration, stretching, and sleep, this guide offers an achievable year-round approach to staying healthy and injury free.
I’ve written countless articles on how to stay fit during the winter season. However, during any season, I follow the same fitness formula: Activity-Intake-Rest.
ACTIVITY should include aerobic and strength training. The Department of Health & Human Services recommends 150-300 minutes of moderate aerobic activity per week OR 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity. To balance this out, try to complete at least 30 minutes/day of some form of aerobic activity, giving you a solid 210 minutes per week. Suggestions: Walking, hiking, yard work, cycling, dancing.
Strength training is recommended at least twice a week with at least 1 set of 12-15 reps. Train major muscle groups to get the most bang for your buck - legs, chest and back, core. Suggestions: Wall sits (30,60,90 seconds), step-ups, split squats, back step lunges (hold onto a stable surface to keep torso upright). For chest/back: inclined push-ups, chest press, pull-ups.
CORE! Always keep your core engaged, even while seated or at ‘rest.’ Brace like someone is going to punch you in the gut. Planks are an excellent way to strengthen your core - inclined or on the floor. Remember to keep your breathing steady vs. holding your breathe.
INTAKE is all about the fuel you put into your body to keep it running efficiently. Stay away from processed and over-processed foods. Your body has a difficult time digesting these since they are so chemically altered. PLUS, there is zero nutritional value in these “foods” and they actually do more harm than good for our bodies. Instead, stick with real food - fruits, veggies, grains, proteins. BUILD your meals around your protein.
Hydration! You are 50-70% water. it is incredibly important to keep body temps normal, lubricate and cushion joints, and protect sensitive tissue. Water helps us to get rid of waste/toxins through urine, perspiration, and bowel movements. RULE OF THUMB: Drink at least half your body weight or more per day.
REST is so important for our bodies to stay at their optimal performance levels each day. When we sleep, our blood pressure and body systems slow down. Each time you wake, you flick a switch to turn your systems back on. This puts stress and strain on your cardiac, neurologic, endocrine, and respiratory system. Long-term can contribute to diseases and disorders. Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep/night.
Another way to stay fit and injury free is by stretching. Morning time or after waking are excellent times for this. Suggestions: Upward/downward dog floor or counter, figure 4 floor seated or standing, side-to-side laterals with toe flexion of straight leg, standing quad and hamstring stretch (use a step for hamstrings).
And remember the 1% rule: At the age of 30, you begin to lose 1% of your organ function. So, to stay fit and prevent injuries, exercise daily for 30 minutes… and STRETCH! Fuel with real foods and hydrate with plenty of water. Rest and reset each night at the minimum of 7 hours.
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Kim Duke is a certified personal trainer and owner of Core Performance Fitness and Training, 55 Bristol Lane, Ellicottville, NY. Kim resides in Ellicottville where she raised her sons, Zach and Nik. For more information about her studio, including private sessions and group workout classes, visit her Facebook page, www.coreperformancefitness.com or call 716-698-1198.
