Pace Yourself

When people ask me what some of the most common mistakes people make when executing an exercise program are, pacing is near the top of the list. Pacing refers to the level of intensity you engage in at any point during the workout or program, and how you progress over the hour, or even several weeks. So I'm defining pacing pretty broadly, as you can see.

For now, let's keep the discussion focused on:

1. Pacing during a workout and

2. Pacing over the longer period of a fitness programs life cycle

It's unfortunately very common for folks to start their exercise session a little too aggressively, a little too early. The best way to prepare your body for challenging, productive work is to ease it into more demanding physical movements very gradually, taking 5-10 minutes to execute large, controlled, slow, sweeping motions, ideally with both arms and legs. But even if it's mostly just arms or legs, spending the first few minutes at half intensity or lower is a good idea. Breathing should not be so rapid that you can't easily talk during the warm-up. You know you're there when your muscles feel warm and loosened, and the joints feel mobile and well lubricated.

As for the longer term programs pacing, many people start like a rocket and then, crash and burn. What's the rush? You don't want to be miserable (or worse yet, injured) because you were trying to make up for lost time or get unrealistically rapid results. Try making first workout 25 - 50% more challenging than your daily activities, and ramp-up about 5-10% each week until you reach the level you want to maintain. You can do that with incremental rep (first) and load (second) increases for strength training. Cardio can be ramped up gradually with a combination of modest speed, duration and resistance adjustments over time. Variation provides a nice balance and compliments these other variables of pacing for both exercise modes.

Most of all, listen to your body - how it's responding to the adjustments and recovering from the workouts. And always err on the side of conservatism and caution.

You can become more fit than you've ever dreamed of and have a pleasant, productive experience if you pace yourself well and learn what your body likes.