Bowflex Xtreme 2 - Manual (Page 9)

You may want to design your own personal program
specifically geared to your goals and lifestyle.
Designing a program is easy, as long as you follow
the below guidelines.
Understand fitness and its components:
Improperly designed programs can be dangerous.
Take some time to review this manual as well as
other fitness guides.
Know your current fitness level: Before you start
any fitness program you should consult a physician
who will help you determine your current abilities.
Identify your goals: Goals are critical to
choosing and designing an exercise program that
fits and enhances your lifestyle, but so is strategy.
It’s important not to rush the process and try to
accomplish too much too soon. That will lead to
setbacks and discouragement. Instead, set a series of
smaller achievable goals.
Select complementary exercises: Be sure to pair
exercises that address compound joint movements
and single joint movements. In addition, select
exercises that address complimentary muscle groups.
Put first things first: During each session, first work
muscle groups that need the most training.
Remember your cardiovascular component:
Any fitness program must contain a cardiovascular
fitness component to be complete. So complement
your resistance training with aerobic exercise such as
walking, running, or bicycling.
Training variables: When designing your own
program there are several variables that, when mixed
properly, will equal the right fitness formula for
you. In order to find out the best formula, you must
experiment with several combinations of variables.
The variables are as follows:
• Training Frequency: The number of times
you train per week. We recommend daily activity
but not daily training of the same muscle group.
• Training Intensity: The amount of resistance
used during your repetition.
• Training Volume: The number of repetitions
and sets performed.
• Rest intervals: The time you rest between sets
and the time you rest between workouts.
Once you’ve established a base of fitness, follow
these basic principles:
• Isolate muscle groups: Focus work on specific
muscle groups.
• Progressive Loading: The gradual systematic
increase of repetitions, resistance and exercise
period.
Design Your Own Program