In the spirit of Women's Month, let's optimise our workout routines with guidance from renowned South African fitness expert, Arnold Vosloo.
As we layer up to brave the remaining winter days, these insightful tips will empower women to take on a transformative fitness regimen.
Gamify your fitness routine
According to Vosloo, when individuals begin their fitness journey, they often dive head-first into demanding and structured workout routines. Given the intensity right from the start, they can easily become overwhelmed and lose motivation.
A strategy to initiate a fitness routine involves identifying chances to integrate games or engage in playful activities.
“Everyone likes having fun, so fitness newbies should look to activities that they already enjoy doing or that they have an interest in. This could be signing up for a group sport, working out with their friends and turning it into a competition, going to a dance class or playing a game of padel.
“By doing activities that bring you joy, you will be more likely to have some consistency,” explains Vosloo.
A growing trend in the fitness industry is “gamified fitness”. According to ‘’What Is Gamified Fitness and How Can It Help You Stay Motivated?’’ by Healthline, Gamified fitness is like adding fun elements from video games to your exercises.
This includes game-like things such as points, challenges, and rewards to make working out more interesting and motivating. It's kind of like playing a game while you exercise.
5 Best Gamified Fitness Apps of 2023 include:
- Walkr
- Zombies, Run!
- Nerd Fitness Journey
- Habitica
- WayBetter
- Turn Fitness Into a Game With These Apps
Biohacking
Biohacking, once a niche interest, has become a major wellness trend in recent years. It's a DIY biology approach to improving health and performance. This includes nutrigenomics, which focuses on how your diet affects your genes.
Nutrigenomics suggests that personalized DNA tests can guide your food choices for better health. While not everyone may want DNA tests, enhancing nutrition remains important.
“One way in which I ensure I am getting enough vitamins and minerals is by adding micro-greens into my daily diet. Micro-greens are a delicious and affordable source of vitamins C, E, and A, minerals like copper and zinc and phytochemicals.
“I recommend eating micro-greens because they contain up to 40x more nutrients than their mature vegetable counterparts, and aside from the health benefits, micro-greens can enhance the flavour of so many dishes,” Vosloo adds.
Biohacking apps:
- F.lux
- iOS App
- Inner Balance
- Exerscribe
- HeadSpace
Workout like a pro
Some experienced gym enthusiasts designate specific days for targeting particular muscle groups— for example, dedicating Mondays to leg workouts or focusing on arms and abs on Wednesdays.
Vosloo offers a recommendation: for beginners aspiring to achieve impressive results, he suggests embracing a series of exercises that engage a broad range of major muscles simultaneously.
“Ultimately, the time you spend training your muscles is essential in growing them. If you struggle to weight train for under or around the 20-second mark, then you’re definitely picking up weights that are too heavy to achieve results.
“I would suggest selecting a weight that pushes you until at least the 30 to 40-second mark,” he adds.
Fitness apps for women:
- MyFitnessPal
- Runkeeper
- Fitbod Workout & Fitness Plans
- FitOn Workouts & Fitness Plans
- Freeletics
“If your goal is to burn fat, then you need to ensure that you are eating enough protein daily, which is ideally between 1.6 and 2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of your body weight, while still being mindful of your general calorie intake,” Vosloo concludes.