Your top 7 questions answered
I love answering your questions and helping you make lots of progress. Interestingly, there are a few questions which keep popping up. So I thought I would answer the top 7 questions in this post.
1. Which weights should I choose?
When choosing a weight it always depends on the exercise and your fitness level. Form should always be your priority, and you should always be using a weight that challenges you without forcing you to complete the movement in an unsafe way.
When I recommend reps for exercises, choose a weight that is challenging enough for you that the last 2-3 reps burn and feel challenging without sacrificing your form. For the timed circuits, choose a weight that is challenging enough to keep the movement fluid for the time, but again not sacrificing form. If you are not sure what weight to start with, always go lighter and increase the weight on the following circuit.
2. How do I make sure I’m getting stronger?
You will become stronger in a number of different ways, muscular strength, muscular endurance, cardiovascular endurance and mental strength. For muscular strength you should make sure you are increasing weight on your second and/or third round for REP circuits (unless directed otherwise in circuit notes). When you increase your weight you should have to decrease your reps. If you feel that you can easily exceed the recommended REP range that is a great indicator that you should increase your weight.
For muscular endurance, you should aim to keep your movements fluid and at a steady pace for your TIMED circuits. Try not to stop for the time stated in the circuit notes. To become stronger in this area try going a bit quicker to fit more reps in the time recommended.
Your cardiovascular endurance will be built overtime from doing the workouts. Full body workouts will have a cardio element to them in timed circuits. Building your cardiovascular endurance is about being consistent.
Mental strength is something you should be aware of. After each workout focus on celebrating your wins – no matter how big or small they are. Always leave a workout with positives – even write them down!
3. How many days a week do you recommend I work out?
I try to move my body in some way 7 days a week because I feel better and have more energy. I post my workouts 5 days a week and I leave the weekends open for you to do any activities you enjoy. Some people will use it as recovery, while others might go for a run or swim or repeat a circuit from a previous exercise.
Listen to your body and make sure if you feel you need a rest day you take one!
4. Do you follow your program yourself?
Yes, I follow exactly the same program that I share with you. I love these workouts and I wouldn’t want to do anything else!
You will see that I share the first circuit most days to my Instagram stories, but I don’t stop after that circuit – I do the whole thing 🙂
5. When will I see results?
It’s important to understand that my program is about building a healthy lifestyle and making exercise a habit. There are no quick fixes when it comes to health and fitness. I’m building a program that you can stick with for the long term. We’re all different which is why we’ll each see results start to appear at different stages of our fitness journey. I can guarantee that if you are consistent your body WILL start to change. You will have more energy and if you combine the workouts with a healthy balanced diet then you will see physical change.
While I’m not going to promise to “help you drop 10lbs in 10 days” (it’s neither healthy nor sustainable!) I do believe it is important to set yourself specific goals to help you maintain your new habit. Perhaps set yourself a goal of moving your body for at least 30 minutes, 5 days a week to start off. From there you can decide how to measure your progress – whether that is in the weights you can lift, how hard you find 15 burpees or what the scale tells you!
6. Is it ok to workout on an empty stomach?
If you workout in the morning, it is okay to workout on an empty stomach, as long as you don’t feel lightheaded. However, if you feel like you need a little something try a small serving of cheese or a hardboiled egg. On the other hand, if you feel fine working out on an empty stomach, it is okay to continue.
6. Will I still get results if I don’t follow your meal plan?
No matter what happens, my program is going to make you feel fitter, stronger and give you more energy. You will see visible results from my workouts as long as you are making sensible, balanced nutrition choices. You don’t need to follow my meal plan to do that. However, I definitely recommend reading up on diet and nutrition to make sure you have the tools you need to make good choices!
The meal plan is what I eat. As someone that cares about looking after my body, I’m mindful about my diet. I also want this to be sustainable, I plan each weeks’ meals to be fun and have a lot of variety. Just like the workouts! I optimise for recipes that are relatively low effort and use ingredients efficiently so that you can save time, money, and avoid waste.
I hope these answers to your top questions will help you on your own fitness journey!
As always, if you have ANY questions please email me. I love hearing from you and always answer your messages personally. Send me an email anytime at contact@alexia-clark.com.
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