Author: Stuart Hilton

Here’s an easy method to help you develop into a well-rounded athlete.

Strength and Power: Twice or Three Times a Week

Muscle mass and strength strongly predict overall mortality risk. It’s not about appearance but about maintaining high functional ability throughout your life. Incorporating full-body workouts two or three days a week, focusing on movements like Push (such as push-ups, bench press, dips, and shoulder press), Pull (including chin-ups, pulldowns, rows, and shrugs), Hinge (like deadlifts and kettlebell swings), Squat (including squats and lunges), and Rotation (involving throwing, swinging, striking, reaching, and directional changes in sports), with a rep range of three to eight reps and two or three sets, can help achieve and maintain these benefits effectively. Including power workouts such as box jumps, plyometric push-ups, kettlebell swings, and medicine ball slams not only increases strength but also enhances power and speed, contributing to overall fitness improvement.

Long Duration Endurance: Once or Twice a Week

Think of long-duration endurance workouts, such as Zone 2 training, as sessions that challenge your cardiovascular system with 30 minutes or more of continuous low to mid-level effort. Your heart rate should stay fairly steady, which I suggest doing once or twice a week. If you’re tracking your heart rate, it should stay between 60 to 80 percent of your maximum, usually around 120-150 bpm. For longer sessions, it might be lower. Activities like hiking, running, biking, swimming and stand-up paddle boarding are good for this. You should finish these sessions feeling energised rather than tired. Zone 2 training is especially useful for building endurance without overworking your body.

High Heart Rate Training: Once or Twice a Week

These sessions are typically high-intensity, involving raising your heart rate substantially, followed by recovery periods before repeating the cycle. Approaches such as Interval Weight Training (IWT), HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training), and interval formats like 30/30 and 20/40 Interval Training are particularly effective for enhancing both strength and cardiovascular fitness.

3 Day Workout Example:

Monday – Full body (Strength) + Zone 2 (Long-Duration Endurance)
Wednesday – Full body (Strength) + IWT (High Heart Rate Training)
Friday – Full body (Strength) + Zone 2 (Long-Duration Endurance)

6 Day Workout Example:

Monday – Lower Body (Strength)
Tuesday – IWT (High Heart Rate Training)
Wednesday – Upper Body (Strength)
Thursday – Zone 2 (Long-Duration Endurance)
Friday – Full body (Strength)
Saturday – 5/10k Hike or IWT (Long-Duration Endurance or High Heart Rate Training)
Sunday – Rest

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Box breathing is one of the simplest and most effective breathwork exercises you can learn. Despite its name, it doesn’t involve any physical boxes. Instead, the term describes the structured pattern of the exercise.

In box breathing, you spend equal time on each phase: inhaling through the nose, holding the breath, exhaling through the nose, and holding the breath again. Visualise each phase as a side of a box, with the length of each phase representing an edge. The steady rhythm and tempo of box breathing promote relaxation, largely because they require you to focus on counting the duration of each phase.

Click here for a visual guide to help you through it.

This technique is also known as meditation breathing or mindfulness breathing, as it involves a breathing pattern that helps clear the mind and concentrate on a single focus. Box breathing is an ideal technique for achieving this.

Steps to Follow

1. Breathe in through your nose for four seconds.
2. Hold your breath for four seconds.
3. Breathe out through your nose for four seconds.
4. Hold your breath for four seconds.

How Long to Practise

Repeat these steps for four rounds or 10 minutes or as long you like.

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