Fitness Is For Life: Cristian Dode | Diabetes And Fatherhood

Kickstarting my fitness journey

Xercise4Less Hounslow member Cristian Dode had all the reason in the world to improve his fitness. After recently becoming a father, Cristian decided it was time to kickstart his fitness journey and with the help of Xercise4Less Gyms, he has been able get on the road to a healthier life.

Cristian also suffers from diabetes and constantly has to monitor his sugar levels. Having a better level of fitness and a more active lifestyle will help Cristian to achieve these goals and be able to combat diabetes.

'I feel slim for my height'

Whilst weight loss is a primary target for a lot of gym goers, Cristian wants to gain weight as he feels he is slim for his height.

“I want to gain weight as I’m too skinny for my height. I want to do this in a healthy way and be able to balance my sugar levels.”

Finding solace at Xercise4Less Gyms

Attending the gym up to four times a week, Cristian performs a range of activities to help develop his fitness and give him the best possible opportunity to reach his goals and targets.

“I enjoy working out with all sorts of equipment. The main ones I use are; kettlebells, dumbbells, the bike and the cable machine. I like to lift free weights and do my cardio to keep it balanced.”

Aside from making the most of our dedicated training zones, Cristian also participates in some of our fun, functional fitness classes.

“Classes I like to attend are health and wellbeing, high energy and toning and conditioning.”

Setting realistic targets

Every fitness journey takes time, and Cristian is certainly no different. He is aware that to be in the best physical condition he needs to keep up the good work and remain dedicated. He has set himself a target and made a plan of how often he intends to use the gym.

“I think it will take between 9 and 12 months to achieve my target. I currently visit the gym four times a week and I spend around an hour for each session. In addition, I will try my best to eat more healthily and avoid certain foods to complement and optimise my training.”

“The biggest challenge will be if I can keep my motivation going as well as having the time to keep going to the gym.”

Keep up the good work, Cristian! Get those gains!

Fitness For Life Menu: Week 1-4: Starting your Fitness Journey

Introducing yourself to your Fitness Journey:

Ease your way into the journey to ensure you build up your fitness as naturally as possible, maintaining more efficient and realistic results. It will take up to four weeks for you to start seeing your body change, so don’t panic or throw in the towel if you fail to see improvements after the first week. Compose your own workout from the options below; factoring in the length of workout you want to perform and your current fitness level. We recommend you give all the options a try, eventually finding the right exercises that can help you achieve your personal targets.

Menu 1: It takes 4 weeks for you to start seeing your body change

Starter – Warm up

2 mile walk on the treadmill
250m on the rower
2 miles on the bike
Burn 100 calories on the cross trainer
5-minute stretch

Main – Full Body

50 bodyweight squats
30 push ups
20 tuck jumps
10 burpees
20 mountain climbers

Dessert – Core

30 second plank
50 ab crunches
30 seconds of flutter kicks
40 heel touches
20 Russian twists

We have selected these activities to help ease you into a new routine. The exercises are not too rigorous but will leave you feeling as though your session has been worthwhile. This is an introduction to 2020, and of course, we have catered for an overindulged festive season.

What's next?

After you have completed the first menu, turn your attention to the next menu with increased intensity and difficulty.

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Fitness For Life Menu: Weeks 5-8: Owning your Fitness Journey

Build up the intensity to start noticing results

Over the next four weeks, you will build-up your intensity, pushing your body further than you did in the previous menu. This is the time frame in which others will begin to notice your hard work, giving you a sense of achievement and encouragement to follow the next sequence of exercises. Again, tailor the options provided to meet your targets and ensure you gain the most from your workouts. As your body adapts to the increased intensity, the exercises will become easier on a weekly basis.

Menu 2: It takes 8 weeks for your family and friends to see your results

Starter – Warm up

1 minute of step ups
5 minute incline walk on the treadmill
50 calories on the bike out of the saddle
2 miles on the cross trainer
Climb 5 flights on the stepper

Main – Full body

10 jump squats
5 pull ups (assisted or non-assisted)
20 weighted walking lunges
30 second dead hang
30 seconds of high knees

Dessert – Core

20 leg raises
45 second plank
30 toe taps
20 reverse crunches
10 ‘V’ sits

Following this segment of the journey will help you to feel more comfortable and in more control of your fitness journey, giving you the confidence to challenge yourself and maximise your workouts. At this point, your family and friends should be starting to notice transformations of your body. This sequence will also make you aware of your improved levels of fitness as well as bettering your general wellbeing.

Keep going, take your fitness journey to the next level...

As you continue your fitness journey, you will start to feel the benefits of your hard work with real results beginning to show to those around you. See the third menu for the next step of the journey.

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Fitness For Life Menu: Weeks 9-12: Taking your Fitness Journey to the next level

Push the boundaries and reach your goals

Ramp up the tempo of your journey over the next four weeks with high-intensity exercises to improve your fitness levels. Working on all parts of your body, this menu delivers a variety of exercises and workouts to give you exactly what you need to further your development and see a transformation in your body, with visible results for all your hard work and dedication over the past 12 weeks.

Menu 3: It takes 12 weeks for the rest of the world to see your results

Starter – Warm up

20 box jumps
1-mile jog on the treadmill
100 calories on the bike
2 miles on the cross trainer
Climb 10 flights on the stepper

Main – Full body

10 barbell squats
20 burpees
1-minute jabs on the bag
1-minute wall sit
20 kettlebell swings

Dessert – Core

30 second side plank
1 minute of bicycle kicks
30 Russian twists
50 scissor crunches
10 weighted Turkish get ups

Once you have completed this phase of the journey, your body will have successfully adapted to the gradual build-up in intensity and difficulty of the exercises. Thus, ensuring an improvement in your physical condition which will be noticeable to all those around you. Your journey does not stop here, though. Continue to develop and progress your fitness levels to prevent throwing all your hard work over the past 12 weeks away.

Your fitness journey doesn't stop here...

Whilst you have gone through a significant change to your fitness regime over the past 12 weeks, it is important not to become complacent. Your fitness journey is for life not just a short-term project. Now you have a range of exercises and experiences to draw from, you can customise your own workout programme accordingly. If you feel you need more guidance or more assistance, feel free to ask one of our friendly personal trainers who will be more than happy to offer their expertise to ensure you continue smashing your targets with us at Xercise4Less gyms. After all, fitness is for life, not just for January.

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Fitness is for life, not just for January

Our Fitness Menu for your 2020 Gym Journey

Attack the new year with easy-to-follow workout menus from Xercise4Less gyms. Whether you are new to fitness or a seasoned campaigner, we have exercises to cover all levels of fitness. Simply build your workout by selecting the exercises you want to do from the options provided. We advise you give all the exercises a try, adopting your workout to suit you. Gradually build up your fitness and intensity by following our menus which have been split into four-week blocks. Each block will raise in difficulty to match your rate of progression and give you that sense of achievement when you are able to tick off your fitness goals.

Menu Composition: How to structure your workout

We have created the simple menu-style format to break down the exercises into a starter, main and dessert. The starter component will be your warm-up, main will include a specific body part exercise, while the dessert offers a range of core exercises. All the exercises can be easily implemented into your workout, fitting around your individual goals and targets.

Fitness Menu: A Breakdown

Building up your Fitness Journey: Key Points

Whether your target is weight loss or increasing muscle, we have you covered with an array of workout menus to keep you focused and on track throughout your fitness journey. All the exercises featured on the menu have been specifically selected to provide you with a platform to not only meet your goals, but to completely obliterate them. Here at Xercise4Less gyms we want to see you complete your fitness journey just as much as you do.

Know your Goals: Own your Fitness Journey

All the menus have been constructed with gradual progression in mind. We know it will take time for you to see results, and there will be those gruelling sessions along the way. Slow and steady wins the race. It is far healthier to build up your fitness over time than to be expecting it to happen overnight. With this in mind, the exercises will become more difficult and more challenging on your body to enable your journey to be a fruitful one. Your journey is in your hands, you can adapt your usual workout to incorporate the exercises, or, you can make a workout from the exercises – whatever works best for you. After all, nobody knows your own body and your capabilities better than you!

Start your fitness journey with our first menu which covers weeks 1-4. We’re fully behind you, every step of the way. Happy new [fitness] year!

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