How To Choose The Right Fitness Programme For You

Are your workouts really effective? Here we talk about how to choose the right workout to help you reach your fitness goals.

So, what are your fitness goals?

If you want to make better use of your time when going to the gym, you first need to establish your long-term goals. We all have different motivations for going to the gym, but there is one very common motivation that we bet you have already guessed. The number one reason women come to the gym is to control their weight, or to lose the extra 5kg.

But things aren't always so black and white - there's a lot of overlap when it comes to goals. Some people want to build muscle, but also improve endurance or flexibility. Either way, the important thing is to narrow down your goals as precisely as possible. So sit down and think: Are you interested in losing weight, working out and building muscle, or are you interested in overall happiness with exercise?

Goal: Weight loss

Level of difficulty: From beginner to advanced

Mode 1: Zumba

High intensity training is essential for weight management; it burns calories and keeps you in the highest safe heart rate range. Although usually referred to as an easy to follow fitness workout, zumba is a total body workout. One study found that each zumba class burned an average of 369 calories and when they compared the data to other exercises, it beat out cardio combat and step aerobics. In addition, they found that participants reached 80% of their maximum heart rate (an average heart rate of 154 beats per minute).

For a 140-pound woman, one hour of zumba can burn about 500 calories.

Goal:Weight loss

Difficulty:Intermediate to advanced

Mode 2: Dynamic cycling

While the fun and approach often found in zumba makes sense for novice fitness enthusiasts looking to burn calories, some experts believe that cycling requires people to be in good cardiovascular condition prior to cycling. One study found that a class of exercisers reported that they should be at a high level of exercise intensity during their teenage years, ranging from 0 to 20.

More specifically, a study conducted in 1997 found that after putting five participants of varying fitness levels through a 30-minute kinetic cycling session, each participant's heart rate was between 75% and 96% of their maximum heart rate. They concluded that the intensity of the exercise bike was not conducive to beginners. However, many fitness experts think otherwise. Because everyone in a dynamic cycling class can adjust the resistance to their ability, it is acceptable for any level.

For a woman weighing 140 pounds, one hour of dynamic cycling can burn about 700 calories.

Goal: Stronger muscles

Level: Intermediate to advanced

Mode 1: Crossfit

Many studies have highlighted resistance training - rather than cardio - as the key to building muscle, which makes exercises like crossfit even more useful. Crossfit is a great class if you want to jump higher, run faster and improve your overall athletic performance. Based on the practice of performing functional movements at ultra-high intensity, crossfit burns high levels of calories while building muscle. In 2010, the us army began testing the effectiveness of the programme and found that after 6 weeks of the routine, participants' fitness levels improved by 20% with a corresponding increase in energy output.

Interested? While you should have basic experience with equipment such as kettlebells and free weights, you don't have to be an olympic weightlifter to try these exercises. If you enjoy the competitive environment, all the better! A lot of people are intimidated by crossfitsd, but when you're there you feel really warm and inviting to new people."

The calories burned vary greatly depending on speed and intensity.

Goal: Build strong muscles

Level:From beginner to advanced

Mode 2: Kettlebells

Full body exercise classes, including kettlebells, have been used for years to build muscle and endurance. Did we mention that they are great time savers? Pick up a kettlebell and you can do a cardiovascular workout in half the time it would take you to do a standard workout. Kettlebells can help with weight control and if you lift a large kettlebell, you can increase lean muscle mass, which in turn increases your metabolic rate at rest. Similar to crossfit, kettlebells will increase your excess oxygen consumption after exercise.

In one project study, they studied 10 athletes who used kettlebells regularly and found that they burned an average of 12.6 calories per minute after a 20-minute workout. While this sounds great, make sure you learn to listen to your body before class. Anyone can use kettlebells, but a weak core and poor mechanics can lead to injury, and it's important to build a solid foundation and proper technique first.

For a 140lb woman, 30 minutes of kettlebells will burn about 600 calories.

Goal:Endurance performance

Difficulty:Intermediate to advanced

Modality:Boxing boot camp

To get every muscle in your body burning, find a friend and go to a boxing class. They usually blend fast-moving impact with lots of fast-paced strengthening exercises and jumping rope to add some variety. Although boxing burns more calories than sandbagging, a full cardio session of strength and endurance boxing will tear up your arms, tighten your core and, over time, improve your coordination and speed. Boxing has a learning curve, so the more you progress, the better your workout and calorie burn will be. The boot camp is suitable for all levels and is a great way to improve your overall fitness level.

For a 140lb female, one hour of sandbagged boxing will burn about 400 calories.

Goal:Flexibility

Difficulty: Intermediate to advanced

Modality: Handlebar training

Combining isometric principles with dance training (classes use fixed, ballet-like handrails in many exercises), this training is usually less intense, isolates small muscles and has a shorter range of motion. You will get flexible muscles and hard to reach tension without swelling up. Lifting a 3lb dumbbell during handlebar training will not make you fat; women are often told incorrectly what their bodies will look like if they strength train. Women have lower testosterone levels, so it takes a lot of work to grow big muscles. But nice smooth, toned arms and legs can definitely be accomplished with this type of class.

For a 140-pound woman, an hour of bar training can burn about 300 calories.

Goal: Improve overall health

Difficulty: Beginner to advanced

Modality:Yoga

Before starting a class, first consider which method suits your goals, as different yogas such as power, bikram and vinyasa vary in speed and intensity. Yoga is not designed to burn fat, even the faster paced vinyasa only burns 300 calories of energy per hour, and the bikram class (high temperature), which usually hovers at 35 degrees celsius also fails to achieve weight loss. Many people associate water loss due to sweating with a reasonable calorie burn, but in reality yoga has no aerobic effect and does not increase heart rate or maximal oxygen uptake (the amount of oxygen the body converts into energy). Performing these asanas at lightning speed or at extremely high temperatures will not necessarily increase your metabolic rate. So yoga is not an effective training for weight loss.

But when it comes to balance, flexibility, posture and mental health - yoga is key. If you are someone who sits at a desk with your back arched all day, then training the posterior chain - your back, shoulders, gluteus maximus and leg ligaments - is crucial. You need to focus on the back of your body while strengthening the muscles of your pelvic floor to keep your body strong and upright. Yoga does all of this, while soothing tired nerves. It is very good for your health.

For a 140lb woman, one hour of moderate yoga can burn 166 calories.