Online personal fitness training classes and personal fitness coaches are sought out by individuals to help them reach their personal fitness goals. For some, they just need direction on how to start or how to use gym equipment safely and effectively. For others, they have plateaued and are no longer seeing the results they want and need a fresh boost to their personal fitness routine. And then there are those who need the extra push and a personal trainer to help them with accountability and getting in their workouts. Whichever category you fall into, knowing which muscle groups to workout together can help you plan your workouts more efficiently and be more effective in working toward your personal fitness goals.
Personal fitness programs aim to complement muscles during workouts to gain the biggest benefit. For example, if you are performing lower body toning exercises, the quadriceps complement the hamstrings. If you are doing squats or leg extensions, deadlifts would complement those exercises. Working out supporting muscles in pairs or groups can help prevent muscular imbalances and can help prevent injuries. If your personal fitness coach wants you working on the upper body, doing bicep curls with free weights would be complemented by doing tricep kickbacks with free weights. The biceps and triceps complement and support each other.
Other exercises can be used in complementary ways during fitness training or conditioning. This is sometimes referred to as active recovery. You are still working out and supporting your training, but taking it down a notch so that the muscular micro tears you received at your previous workout can heal properly, reducing your risk of injury. For example, if you are a runner and did sprint hill repeats on one day, your legs will be very sore and unable to perform at that same level the next day. An active recovery exercise that would complement and support your running would be elliptical or swimming. Both elliptical and swimming continue to condition your legs and support proper alignment and form, yet take the high-impact off of your joints allowing you to work out without pain while your body recovers from those sprint hill repeats. Many athletes have noted that they recover faster when using active recovery, even if that means just going for a brisk walk to get the blood flowing.
A personal body trainer and fitness coach can help you design a plan that is individualized for you. Working out your muscles in complementary groupings can help you stay balanced, prevent muscular imbalances, reduce your risk of injury, and help you work out more effectively.
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