When Robert woke up, he felt tired.  Maybe it was the 3 beers he drank the night before.  Or it could have been from not getting much sleep after getting yelled at by his daughter.  Regardless, he felt tired, so instead of getting up to run like he’d been wanting to, he hit the snooze button.  He felt better, temporarily. 

When Robert got to work, he felt tired and lacking energy, so he grabbed a coffee and a donut, then he felt better, at least for a while.   After all, he was hungry and didn’t feel like making breakfast at home.  It was only a couple donuts and his cholesterol was only 320, which he didn’t feel was all that bad.

Robert had a couple hours to kill in the morning, before an important lunch sales meeting.  Instead of preparing for the meeting like he knew he should, to relieve some of his stress and feel better he played around on social media, checking out women he went to high school with, getting worked up about politics, and watching funny videos.  After the meeting, he knew he could have done much better, but he felt like he did well enough.

Later in the day, when Robert’s boss Sandy politely pointed out a few constructive things he could have done better in the sales meeting, he felt insulted, angry, and indignant.   He felt like he was being picked on, because of his weight and his accent, and the funny scar on his face.  He felt like the world was against him and so that afternoon he was even less productive while sulking around the office feeling sorry for himself.

Robert wasn’t friendly or kind that day to the people in the office or in the dry cleaner on the way home, and he even flipped a guy off in traffic, just because he felt like it.

Robert’s daughter had a game at 6, a playoff game, but he didn’t feel like going so he didn’t.  He didn’t feel that bad about it since she took her Mom’s side in an argument the night before. 

Instead of going to the game, and since he had been “picked on” all day at work, he went shopping to reward himself instead.   That would make him feel better.  He wanted to update his Smartphone to the 11th edition, which just came out and even though he had $6300 in credit card debt and wasn’t due a complimentary upgrade, he felt like he deserved it.  Plus, $6300 in credit card debt wasn’t all that bad.

Robert felt lonely when he got home so he turned on the TV to the news and opened a beer.  There was some radical in a suit on TV talking about personal responsibility and cultural decline.  He felt offended and thought to himself- Who does this guy think he is to talk like that?

He was hungry and felt a little light-headed and overwhelmed so he grabbed a bag of chips.  He didn’t feel like chopping up the celery or carrots for a healthy snack he had bought 5 days ago that were starting to spoil.   Robert felt better, for an hour or so. 

He knew his family would be home soon, and the kids would need to eat.  His wife had taken the time to buy some frozen food which was easy to cook, but he didn’t feel like getting it out of the freezer.  He called for a pizza instead.  He felt relief that he at least wouldn’t have to fight about who was going to make dinner. 

Robert felt a little guilty about missing the game, but he didn’t want to go and his feelings are all that really matter.  The day would be over soon, and he felt comfort in this fact.  He knew he needed to iron some clothes and work on his list for tomorrow, but he didn’t feel like it so he had another drink and went to bed instead. 

After all, he felt really sleepy and the bed felt so comfortable.   For some reason, he had trouble sleeping and felt anxious.  Robert thought maybe he should take a sleeping pill, this would make him feel better.  And so he did. 

And he felt better, temporarily. 

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I see it every day, people confused, listless, or dumbfounded about what to do.

Here are the basics of a good overall exercise program, pick and choose according to what you need to work on.  I've included my own program so you can see an example, BUT I'M NOT SUGGESTING YOU DO WHAT I DO.  *My workouts take about 45-60 minutes per day

Cardiovascular or Aerobic Endurance- do some type of consistent physical activity every day for 30 minutes.  Intervals also work well for this.   If you only do this, your life will be dramatically better.
     *I do something every day, usually strength training 3 days, interval / cardio training 3 days, and then some martial arts or other sports or activities mixed in for fun, which have a light cardio component

Flexibility- Do range of motion exercises for 10-15 minutes 1-2 days per week.
     * I usually do one long stretch session for 20 minutes one time per week

Strength- Use strength exercises (weights, cables, bands, bodyweight) 2-3 days per week
     * I do this 3 days per week, but also focus on size, as I like being a little bit bigger

Size- Use high-volume (multiple sets) strength training with weights (dumbells, cables, bars) workouts 3-6 days per week for 30-45 Minutes
     * I do size, or hypertrophy workouts 2 days per week. To me this is a crime deterrent, and I enjoy it in and of itself.  If you look a little bigger / stronger, you are less likely to be the victim of a crime

Short-Term Endurance- Use interval training (30 seconds to 3 Minutes) 3 days per week
     * I do this to be prepared for sports or competition, to burn body fat, and to be in shape for martial arts.  I normally do sprints for 20-30 minutes one day per week

Power- 10-15 Minutes of Explosive Jumping, Medicine Ball, or Kicking / Punching Exercises 2-3 days per week.  This is the part of training that most people neglect but which is very good to defeat the aging process.  When you can't jump, you're getting old.  You can jump at any age.
     * I do 5-10 Minutes of Jumping / Boxing / Kicking Exercises 2 days per week

Balance- Do Closed-Chain (Standing Up) Bodyweight Strength Training at least one day per week
     * I do bodyweight exercises (like one leg squats) one day per week

So my workout looks like this:
Monday: 45 Minutes of Bodyweight Training & Stretching
Tuesday: 30 minutes of running, with light stretching, 1.5 Hours of Jujitsu
Wednesday: 1 Hour Strength Training with Weights, Some Stretching Between Sets
Thursday: Same as Tuesday
Friday: Heavy Strength Training with Bars, Dumbells
Saturday: 30 Minutes of Cardio
Sunday: Fun day - golf, tennis, paddleboarding, swimming, etc
That's it.

These are the principles involved in Program Design:
Goal- What do I want to accomplish?
Specificity- What specifically are you trying to achieve? Plan accordingly
Balance- between right / left, front / back, push / pull / rotate, work / rest
Safety- Are you warming up? Is your form correct? Do you have postural deficiencies?  Pain? If so, address these issues and move on.  No excuses!
Volume- How much are you doing? Are you doing too much?  This is as much an art as a science.  Resting heart rate in the morning is one way to know. 
Measurement- How will you track what you do? How will you determine progress?
Download a basic cloud spreadsheet like Google Drive and use it to track your workouts. 

Answer these questions and design a program for yourself using the above framework.  Or, if you want to keep it very simple, just do something active every single day.  Research shows that people who walk 2 miles every day live 10 years longer. 

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