Exercising regularly is one of the best things you can do for your health.
Soon after you start exercising, you'll begin to feel and see the benefits that physical activity can have on your body and well-being. Regardless, working exercise into your routine takes a lot of determination, and when you're new to it, it can be overwhelming to come up with your own routines.
So, here is a week workout plan for beginners just like you. Before you start, though, consider the following:
For cardio workouts:
The trick to cardio workouts is finding out what is accessible to you, what fits your personality, and what you feel comfortable fitting into your workout routine. If you don't like running, don't. Stay away from the treadmill. If you don't like cycling, don't cycle. Leave them for someone else. There are several cardio alternatives like the elliptical, rowing machine, climber, pool, and more. So, use those instead of trying to make running and biking happen.
And if you're at home without the previously mentioned exercise equipment, don't sweat it. There are a variety of home cardio exercises you can do, like jumping rope, jumping jacks, jogging in place, burpees, and more.
You have many choices, so take some time to figure out what you do and don't like, then go from there.
For strength workouts, you’ll need some equipment:
Various weighted dumbbells. Some exercises require heavier weights, while others will need lighter weights or none at all. Try to have a range of dumbbells: a light set (three to five pounds), a medium set (five to 10 pounds), and a heavy set (10 to 20 pounds).
An exercise ball. These giant balls are one of the best tools to strengthen the abs and back and increase stability. They come in different sizes to accommodate your height. When you sit on one, there should be a 90-degree angle at your hip joints and knee joints.
An exercise mat. Yoga mats are thinner and have more gripping ability to hold poses. Thicker mats are best if you choose to do Pilates and abdominal exercises because they cushion the spine while you're lying on your back.
For stretching workouts:
If there are two things you take from this article, let them be this: stretch before you exercise and stretch after you exercise. It will help during the workout and it will help with recovery after it.
When you don't stretch, your muscles are left tight and this could lead to avoidable injuries occurring. So, in order to ensure that doesn't happen, take five minutes before and after your workout to take proper care of your body. Also, make sure to consult with your doctor before trying these routines if you have any injuries, illnesses, or other conditions.
Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, your workout awaits, below:
Day One: Cardio, Strength, and Stretch
Modify the workout as needed to fit your fitness level and style. Slow down or stop working out if you feel any pain, dizziness, or shortness of breath.
As stated before, your cardio options are endless, including walking, running, aerobics, cycling, swimming, and dancing.
Type: Cardio
Length: 25 minutes
Whichever, exercise you choose, make sure to do it for 25 minutes; and make sure to increase intensity accordingly throughout the 25-minute span.
Type: Strength Training
Length: One set of each exercise, 10-20 minutes
Strength Training Exercises Tips
Choose about 8-10 exercises, targeting the major muscle groups, including the lower body, chest, back, shoulders, biceps, triceps, and abs.
Because you're a beginner, you'd want to do one set of 15 reps for each exercise. Choose weights that allow you to complete the reps. It should be hard at the end, but not impossible. If it's impossible you might have to start a lighter weight.
Progress each week by adding a set (until you're up to a total of sets per exercise), using heavier weights or trying new exercises.
Day Two: Recovery, Walking, and Stretching
You worked hard on day one, so give yourself a break on day two. Instead of heading into an intense workout, do some light cardio. Go for a jog, run for a couple of minutes from a light to moderate pace, take a long, brisk walk. Whatever it is that you choose to do, make sure you're up and moving. Because moving more every day contributes to your overall calorie burn.
Workout: 15-minute jog, walk, or light run
Once you're done, don't forget to stretch you back, neck, and shoulders.
Day Three: Cardio, Strength, and Stretch
Type: Cardio
Length: 21 minutes
Unlike day one, the length of this exercise routine is 21 minutes long; this is mainly because the workout for this day will be a little more intense. For this cardio routine, you will complete a workout that contains basic interval training that will push you, just a bit, out of your comfort zone.
Interval | Beginner Cardio Interval Workout (21 Minutes) | Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) |
5 minutes | Warm up at an easy pace. Make sure that you're starting off relatively easy here. Once you're comfortable, increase your intensity by going faster, raising the incline, or increasing your resistance. If you're using at home cardio routines, try to find a hill or simply increase your speed. | Level 3-4 Intensity (Meaning: You're still comfortable but are breathing a bit harder. And/or you're sweating a little but feel good and can carry on a conversation effortlessly.) |
3 minutes | Rest Set: Increase your speed from the warm up and increase incline 1%. Keep a moderate pace. You should feel like you're exercising, but you're also able to have a conversation. | Level 5 (Meaning: You're just above comfortable, you're sweating more, and can still talk easily.) |
1 minute | Work Set: Increase incline 1-3% to raise the intensity level. You should feel a slight change in your intensity, breathing a bit faster and just a little uncomfortable. You can raise the incline, if you're not feeling a difference between sets. | Level 6 (Meaning: You can talk, but you're slightly breathless.) |
3 minutes | Rest Set: Decrease your speed and incline to lower your heart rate back to a comfortable level. It doesn't have to be the same settings as in the previous rest set. | Level 5 (Meaning: You're just above comfortable, you're sweating more, and can still talk easily.) |
1 minute | Work Set: Increase your speed 3-5 increments and increase incline 1-2% to raise the intensity. Feel free to adjust these settings to work at the suggested intensity. | Level 6 (Meaning: You can talk, but you're slightly breathless.) |
3 minutes | Rest Set: Decrease your speed and incline to lower your heart rate back to a comfortable level. | Level 5 (Meaning: You're just above comfortable, you're sweating more, and can still talk easily.) |
5 minutes | Decrease your speed and incline even more to a very comfortable pace for your cool down. | Level 3-4 (Meaning: You can talk, but you're slightly breathless.) |
Once you're ready to move on, just add another work set/rest set to your cardio routine.
Day Four: Active Rest
You don't necessarily have a workout routine today, but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't be active. Here are a couple of suggestions for your not-so off day:
- Do some crunches or push-ups while you watch TV.
- Stretch before bed.
- Walk leisurely around the neighborhood.
- Roll around on an exercise ball.
- Opt for the stairs instead of the elevator.
Day Five: Walking and Stretching
You've worked hard all week and your body is still in recovery from the interval training you introduced on day three. So, just as before, give yourself a break.
Do some light cardio. Go for a jog, run for a couple of minutes from a light to moderate pace, or take a long, brisk walk.
Workout: 15-minute jog, walk, or light run
Once you're done, don't forget to stretch you back, neck, and shoulders.
Day Six: Cardio, Strength, and Stretch
Same as day one:
As stated before, your cardio options are endless, including walking, running, aerobics, cycling, swimming, and dancing.
Type: Cardio
Length: 25 minutes
Whichever exercise you choose, make sure to do it for 25 minutes; and make sure to increase intensity accordingly throughout the 25-minute span.
Type: Strength Training
Length: One set of each exercise, 10-20 minutes
Strength Training Exercises Tips
Choose about 8-10 exercises, targeting the major muscle groups, including the lower body, chest, back, shoulders, biceps, triceps, and abs.
Because you're a beginner, you'd want to do one set of 15 reps for each exercise. Choose weights that allow you to complete the reps. It should be hard at the end, but not impossible. If it's impossible, you might have to start with a lighter weight.
Progress each week by adding a set (until you're up to a total of sets per exercise), using heavier weights or trying new exercises.
Day Seven: Rest Up
You earned it, sis.
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Taysha Robinson is a writer and high school English teacher, based in metro-Atlanta. A self described philomath, you can find her reading books and articles of every genre, attending educational conferences, and hiking wherever the terrain will allow.
This Black Woman-Owned Creative Agency Shows Us The Art Of Rebranding
Rebranding is an intricate process and very important to the success of businesses that want to change. However, before a business owner makes this decision, they should determine whether it's a rebrand or an evolution.
That's where people like Lola Adewuya come in. Lola is the founder and CEO of The Brand Doula, a brand development studio with a multidisciplinary approach to branding, social media, marketing, and design.
While an evolution is a natural progression that happens as businesses grow, a rebrand is a total change. Lola tells xoNecole, "A total rebrand is necessary when a business’s current reputation/what it’s known for is at odds with the business’s vision or direction.
"For example, if you’ve fundamentally changed what your product is and does, it’s likely that your brand is out of alignment with the business. Or, if you find your company is developing a reputation that doesn’t serve it, it might be time to pump the brakes and figure out what needs to change.
She continues, "Sometimes you’ll see companies (especially startups) announce a name change that comes with updated messaging, visuals, etc. That usually means their vision has changed or expanded, and their previous branding was too narrow/couldn’t encompass everything they planned to do."
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The Brand Doula was born in 2019, and its focus is on putting "the experiences, goals, and needs of women of color founders first," as well as brands with "culture-shifting missions."
According to Lola, culture-shifting is "the act of influencing dominant behavior, beliefs, or experiences in a community or group (ideally, for the better)."
"At The Brand Doula, we work with companies and leaders that set out to challenge the status quo in their industries and communities. They’re here to make an impact that sends ripples across the market," she says.
"We help the problem solvers of the world — the ones who aren't satisfied with 'this is how it's always been' and instead ask 'how could this be better?' Our clients build for impact, reimagining tools, systems, and ways of living to move cultures forward."
The Brand Doula has worked with many brands, including Too Collective, to assist with their collaboration with Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty and Balanced Black Girl for a "refresh," aka rebrand. For businesses looking to rebrand, Lola shares four essential steps.
1. Do an audit of your current brand experience — what’s still relevant and what needs to change? Reflect on why you’re doing the rebrand in the first place and what success would look like after relaunching.
2. Tackle the overall strategy first — before you start redesigning logos and websites, align on a new vision for your brand. How do you want your company to be positioned moving forward? Has your audience changed at all? Will your company have a fresh personality and voice?
3. Bring your audience along the journey — there’s no need to move in secret. Inviting your current audience into the journey can actually help them feel more connected to and invested in your story, enough to stick around as changes are being made.
4. Keep business moving — one of my biggest pet peeves is when companies take down their websites as soon as they have the idea to rebrand, then have a Coming Soon page up for months! You lose a lot of momentum and interest by doing that. If you’re still in business and generating income, continue to operate while you work on your rebrand behind the scenes. You don’t want to cut existing customers off out of the blue, and you also don’t want so much downtime that folks forget your business exists or start looking for other solutions.
While determining whether the rebrand was successful may take a few months, Lola says a clear sign that it is unsuccessful is negative feedback from your target audience. "Customers are typically more vocal about what they don’t like more than what they do like," she says.
But some good signs to look out for are improvements in engagement with your marketing, positive reviews, press and increase in retention, and overall feeling aligned with the new branding.
For more information about Lola and The Brand Doula, visit her website, thebranddoula.com.
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Couch-Surfing And Soul Searching: How I Found Myself In The Summer Of 2024
I didn’t think I understood the saying, “Life comes at you quickly,” until I experienced the summer of 2024.
What I thought would be a normal hot girl summer with the friendships I’ve cultivated in Atlanta since moving here in 2019 to pursue my dreams of becoming a journalist turned into a very humbling situation – the luxury one-bedroom apartment I’d been living in since 2021 was no more.
Do you know that one story where God literally strips everything away from Job? That is what the start of my summer of ‘24 felt like. While everyone was enjoying Juneteenth celebrations, I had to rally the troops to pack up and move all the items in my apartment and accept my new normal, sleeping on my friend’s couch while I looked to figure things out and get back on my feet.
Firstly, I don’t know what I would do without the community I’ve built here in Atlanta. Secondly, I had to learn to humble myself and ask for help, a sentiment foreign to me as the first-born daughter and the one that folks usually rely on for help, advice, or simply a listening ear.
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Maybe I should back up and tell you how I got here.
In second grade, I discovered my love for writing, and my second-grade teacher, Mrs. Joyce Simmons, planted the seed that a career in the field could be in my future. I’ve always loved the way writing makes me feel. It’s something about putting my thoughts down on paper that really gets me going. By the time my senior year in high school rolled around, that love for writing had developed into a love for storytelling. Before I knew it, I was headed to Virginia Commonwealth University to pursue a degree in broadcast journalism.
Fast-forward to 2019, after losing my maternal grandmother in November 2018, I didn’t want to sit around any longer, waiting for life to happen. After a spiritual fast at the top of the year, I gained clarity and set my sights on moving to Atlanta to become the journalist I have always felt I was destined to be.
A few more leaps of faith and betting on myself later, I fully immersed myself in the world of freelancing. While life as a creative entrepreneur (something that I never anticipated) looked promising, things took a turn for the worse as events like the Hollywood Strike took place, budgets at outlets began diminishing, and the bills never ceased amid it all.
When I had to choose either to continue to struggle to try to make rent at my luxury apartment in Atlanta’s Vinings neighborhood or accept my friend’s offer to sleep on her couch until I figured things out, I had no choice but to choose the latter.
While it didn’t seem like it at first, this turned out to be a life-altering decision in the absolute best way, leading me to my very own Eat, Pray, Love summer visiting friends back home in Richmond, Virginia, the DMV, and rounding out the last few weeks of the season with my childhood best friend of 20+ years in Columbus, Ohio.
Here’s what it taught me about community, faith in God, and learning to let go of material things.
You Cannot Do It Alone.
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While social media often promotes isolation and “me against the world” think pieces, one of the biggest lessons this summer taught me is the importance of sisterhood. Without my girls, I would not have made it through this rough patch, period. Whether it was catching up over cocktails or poolside deep dives, my friends gave me all of the TLC that I never knew I needed over the course of the nearly 100 days that make up the summer season.
God Will Speak To You Through Others If You Take The Time To Listen.
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I turned in the keys to my apartment on Friday, June 21, 2024, the very first day of summer. Feeling overwhelmed, burnt out, and downright sad, I drove away and completely forgot my meal at Chick-fil-A as I headed to my new temporary home with my friend, Damoneke.
What’s more, I scheduled an interview for a story that day, which is absolutely insane in hindsight, but as a freelancer, there is no such thing as PTO, and I needed the money. Late to the call, due to leaving my food at the drive-thru window and Atlanta traffic, I rushed onto the Zoom call, and what transpired moved me in a way that I still can’t fully understand.
The conversation went like any other interview, but at the end, the talent, The Voice season 12 winner Chris Blue, asked me to stop the recording because he “wanted to share something that God had put on his heart to tell me.”
Keep in mind that this was an audio-only Zoom call, so he could not see my face. Blue told me that God sent him a vision while we were on the call, and it was one of me lying on a couch with boulders on my shoulders.
“God is telling you to let it go,” he said. I was frozen in my chair because how would Chris Blue, whom I’d never met or spoken to, know that I had just transitioned from my apartment to my friend’s couch?
After I burst into tears because I didn’t have 24 hours to allow what had just happened to sink in fully, he continued to pour into me before ending with, “God also told me to tell you not to be afraid to dream again.”
It was then that I decided to live my life unapologetically for the rest of the summer, going where the love was and garnering inspiration to make my love for writing fun again.
Material Things Are Cool, But Lived Experiences Are Even Better
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From whirlwind (and short-lived) summer romances, including riding on a stranger’s motorcycle in a foreign city (sorry, mom), to becoming the middle-school-aged version of myself again during the weeks spent in Ohio with my bestie Courtney, having a night out with my siblings, followed by matching tattoos with my sister, attending a cowboy-themed party with my mommy and more, I quickly learned that life is much more than material things.
At the start of this journey, I was so sad and distraught, and if I’m being honest, embarrassed that I no longer had my own space. Now that summer has come to a close, I’m dreaming again. My writing is healing me. I’m reconciling my relationship with my father, and I feel more grounded (and still free) than ever before despite still navigating this nomadic journey.
My biggest lesson this season is that life’s circumstances do not have to define me. Yes, the economy still feels horrific. Yes, I still have a few overdue bills, but overall, I am slowly but surely learning that sometimes freedom isn’t something that you find. Sometimes, you’re forced into it, and that’s okay.
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