The Pinterest discovery engine makes it easy to save images and videos onto Boards and Sections – to help you remember those interesting new exercises the next time you workout.
My least favorite part of exercising is not the doing of it, it’s the planning of it – what trainers call “programming.”
Fortunately, Pinterest now makes it much easier to program your workouts.
It’s not that I hate programming, it’s just that it takes so much time – time that I’d rather spend actually working out.
Since Pinterest launched its Sections feature, programming my workouts has become not only easier but a lot more fun.
Your Body Adapts to Movement and Resistance Patterns Quickly
Many people do the same exercises over and over again – the same exercises at the same tempo using the same weights and the same equipment.
The reason programming your workouts beforehand is so important is because your body adapts to patterns quickly – especially resistance and movement patterns.
Plan Your Workouts Ahead of Time
The problem with doing the same workouts is that your body stops responding. Sure, you’re still burning some calories. But you’re no longer improving the shape, definition, tone, or size of the muscles as quickly as you could be.
Programming to the rescue!
By having your new exercises readily available, you don’t have to stop what you’re doing mid-workout to figure out what’s next – and therefore letting your heart rate drop and your psychological momentum fizzle out.
If you’re a seasoned athlete, Pinterest may be just the thing to blow some fresh air into stale workouts.
Or, if you’ve been inactive for a while, Pinterest can help you get motivated so you can return to the positive habit of habitual exercise.
What you must not do is neglect what is still possible for you. A downward spiral into immobility does not have to be your fate. Movement begets movement, and energy expidenture can, if done correctly, result in more energy, not less. Lack of mobility only leads to immobility.”
–Terry Wahls, M.D.
If you’re not already exercising regularly, it’s essential to begin participating in new workouts.
Ideally, your new exercise program should possess mobility drills (to keep joints supple), flexibility stretches (for shortened muscles), balance training, strength movements to develop muscle, cardiovascular and lung conditioning to better your endurance, and once in a while include an anaerobic sprint workout to take your performance up to the next level and keep your metabolism from becoming complacent.
Consider making each of those above categories a Board on your Pinterest profile.
According to Dr. Terry Wahls, strength training generates the most benefits in nerve growth factors, so it’s a good idea to make weight-lifting a priority. It will help improve your mood, protect your brain, and lessen your risk of getting diseases – including heart problems, diabetes, obesity, and even dementia.
How I Use Pinterest to Program My Workouts
Pinterest is a discovery engine that you access on your desktop browser or using the phone app.
You type in what your curious about, “How to Cook Turkey Bacon in the Oven,” or “How to Make my Glutes Firmer,” or “Best Way to Clean My Garage,” or whatever is on your mind. Pinterest responds with an array of photographs and videos – some will answer your questions directly while others (and this is the fun, addicting part) take you in inspiring new directions that are indirectly related to your query.
At that point, you can either click on the image for greater detail, or you can save it to one of your Boards to look at later – or both.
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Pinterest even lets you take things one step further by letting you create subcategories within your Board – what Pinterest calls Sections.
You can make your Pinterest Boards public if you want (though Board Sections are always private).
I’m on Pinterest sharing all my favorite exercises, recipes, and wellness tips – from both my site and others. You can follow here.
I have a Board called Exercises For Legs, and another called High-Intensity Interval Training Ideas and another called Mobility Solutions.
I also have a board called Upper Body Workout, and that board has many sections within it – chest, back, shoulders, triceps, biceps, and core.
When I’m browsing my Pinterest feed and see an intriguing new exercise for adding definition to the back of my upper arms, I can save that image (and corresponding article) into the Triceps section of my Upper Body Workout Board. Then later that week at the gym, I just open up that section on my phone and I’m ready-to-go. Easy peasy.
Similarly, if I’m browsing a website online – say, Over Fifty and Fit, or Bodybuilding, or T-Nation, or Shape Magazine, or Men’ Health – I can bookmark the article into one of my Pinterest Boards or Sections (either using the Pinterest Browser Button or a Pinterest Social-Share Button).
There are other fitness apps and social networking sites that provide you with ideas for workouts (or allow you to find others’ ideas) – but so far Pinterest is the easiest and most enjoyable way I’ve found to do it.
Are you intrigued at the idea of using Pinterest to program your own workouts?
Do you like the idea of being able to program a workout that meets the unique needs of your current fitness level, joint immobility, or muscular imbalances?
If you program a new workout for yourself using Pinterest, I encourage you to let me know how it goes.
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