Steve Pumphrey Fitness
Fitness Programs you can follow for a lifetime
Steve Pumphrey Fitness
Fitness Programs you can follow for a lifetime
When an architect designs a structure and says it needs seven pillars to hold it up, it’s probably best to use seven pillars. Could you get away with six pillars? Probably. But would you feel safe in it? Probably not. How about eight, do you need eight pillars? Probably not. At least not to accomplish the task at hand, so why overcomplicate it?
All the Fitness Programs I design contain my Seven Pillars of Fitness. Each pillar is independent of the others, but they all work together to support your overall fitness. If you take one pillar away or it’s somehow compromised, your fitness will suffer. Add too many pillars, and things get complicated, crowded, or overwhelmed.
Here’s what they are and why I think they’re important.
Do you feel rested when you wake up? Do you struggle to fall asleep or stay asleep? We all know sleep is important, but how important is it? Getting the right amount of quality sleep can help:
Let’s get you prepped for a good night’s sleep, so you wake up feeling rested and ready to take on the day.
Water, water everywhere, why do I have to drink it? Well, for starters, your body is made up of mostly water—on average, about 60% of you is water. That means, if you weigh 180 pounds, about 108 pounds of that is water! In addition, to helping you be you, water also helps:
Do you know how much water you drink every day? How much water should you drink every day?
While both “diet” and “nutrition” relate to food and how it affects the body, they have distinct meanings. Diet refers to the types (what) and quantities (how much) of food you eat. It’s often used in the context of specific food plans or restrictions. Nutrition, on the other hand, focuses on the quality of food and how it nourishes your body, providing essential nutrients for growth, maintenance, and overall fitness.
For example, when you eat a slice of chocolate cake, it’s part of your diet. Nutrition is what your body gets out of the cake, mostly carbohydrates in the form of processed sugar, not the best nutrition.
While I’m legally not allowed to “prescribe” a meal plan for you to follow (only a registered Dietician can do that!) I do provide you with a detailed nutrition guide. I personalize this guide for you. It simplifies “calorie counting” by using hand-sized measurements to help you hit your goals. We measure one serving of:
Since you always have your hands with you, it makes it easier to stay on track when you’re on the go.
We will figure out exactly how many of those hand-sized portions you need at each meal. But don’t worry, if you like chocolate cake, we won’t eliminate it from your diet!
Moderation.
More muscle, or at least maintaining the muscle you have is a vital part of your fitness program. More meat on your bones helps you:
Notice not one of those says anything about getting a “beach body” or prepping for a bodybuilding competition. Sure, we can work towards those goals if you’d like. Having some muscle definition does make you more attractive, but it also improves the overall quality of your life.
I recommend doing a strength training workout at least three days per week. We’ll work together to figure out what that looks like based on your abilities and schedule.
There’s only one true cause of death—the ticker stops ticking. If strength training is for quality of life, cardio training is for longevity. You need both in your Fitness Program. I recommend two types of cardio training: steady state and high intensity interval training or HIIT.
Steady state includes things like walking jogging, running, biking, rowing, swimming. Anything where you elevate your heart rate and keep it elevated for the duration of the activity.
HIIT consists of periods of intense exercise followed by active recovery periods. Sprinting for 30 seconds, followed for walking for 10 seconds and repeating for 20 minutes is an example of a HIIT workout.
By including cardio training in your fitness program to improve your cardiovascular fitness you will also:
Kinda crazy what getting that blood flowing can do for you, huh?
How easily can you reach your feet to put on your shoes? Any trouble pulling a t-shirt over your head? If so, we need to work on your flexibility. Improving your flexibility has many benefits including:
A simple and effective flexibility program doesn’t have to be complicated and take hours to complete. I like compound stretches—stretches that work multiple muscle groups at once. And they go nicely as part of a “shut down” process before bed, helping you get a better night’s rest.
How many “steps” do you take in a day? I recommend 10,000. Does that sound like a lot? Depending on your stride, that’s a little over 5 miles. Depending on your pace, that’s a little over an hour. The great part is you don’t have to take them all at once. In fact, I recommend against it! Break up that hour over the 24-hours in a day to:
Simple little things, like parking further from the entrance, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, walking your dog, walking during your workout, taking a walk around your neighborhood after meals, and taking walk breaks at work, will help you get more daily movement.
Don’t wait, contact me today to get started.