How to set up a exercise schedule
Disclaimer : This information is not guaranteed to be accurate and I am not liable if you make any decisions or take any actions, in terms of medical treatment, health decisions, exercise, behavior or anything else based on the information presented. I am not telling you any decisions to make even if I use terms like "you" but am using the word "you" as part of a writing style to simplify writing. Any suggestions for what "you" should do are not for you personally to do but what someone might do as part of a exercise or nutrition program which might help some people's health and make other people's health worse. You should not do any activity that will make your health worse even if "you" should do it according to the program described. If the information is wrong and you believe it is true, act on it and it causes you problems, I am not responsible because I have warned you the information is not guaranteed to be accurate.
The following is a idea for how to set up a exercise schedule
The most important starting point is deciding what the maximum amount of time you have available to do exercises is on each day of the week specifically or throughout the whole week as a total if depending on if you want most days to have identical exercise schedules or not
You will set three types of exercises : Maintenance stretching, Primary Exercises and Filler Exercises
Primary exercises in this context are exercises you wish to improve in intensity, duration or training volume. Training volume in this context is the number of repetitions per set times the number of sets not the number of cubic meters space something takes up.
You should do maintenance stretching the day before the first day of starting primary exercises otherwise maintenance stretching will be much more painful if you wait until after doing primary exercises to start it.
The amount of time doing primary exercises will increase by 10% per week while the amount of time doing maintenance stretching will be the same every week. The amount of time doing filler exercises will decrease every week. Once you are spending 0% of the time doing filler exercises and 100% of the time doing primary exercises and maintenance stretching the primary exercises will be increased in intensity and the duration of primary exercises decreased or new primary exercises will be chosen and the weekly duration doing primary exercises will be decreased. Filler exercises are exercises that you can do in the spare time you are not doing primary exercises or maintenance stretching without getting injured. The reason primary exercise time increases gradually then starts over at a smaller time is because primary exercises should be done at a high intensity so if you started devoting the entire time to primary exercises your risk of injury would be greater than if you gradually increased primary exercises. You have a finite amount of time per week so you can not keep on increasing the duration of exercise 10% per week eternally because there are only 168 hours per week therefore it makes sense to increase the intensity of the primary exercises and reduce the amount of time performing them once the amount of time you do working on primary exercises goes beyond your desired schedule.
1.1 ^ 7 = 1.9487171
1.1 ^ 8 = 2.14358881
You can double the time at this rate every 7 to 8 weeks but only if the exercise is safe for you to do that duration and intensity for the first week. It should feel less painful or equally painful to do an exercise at the same intensity each week. If it feels more painful to do one week then the previous week and you are doing it at 10% more duration every week then you are working at too high an intensity and putting yourself at risk of injury. Therefore I suggest doing the same daily duration the first 6 days then taking one day of rest. Starting the second week take the duration of exercise you performed on the last non rest day of exercise from the previous week and divide it by 60. Increase the daily amount by that duration every day for that week and take the last day off as a rest day.
6 * ( 1 / 60 ) = 0.1
If you can do a exercise at a specific intensity for 60 seconds or 1 minute for 6 days in a row and take one day off then can do it for 1 minute the next week, with the same level of pain or less than the following exercise routine can be done.
You can increase the exercise by 1 second every day and do it 6 days per week with one day of rest per week
You can continue at this pattern until it reaches 2 minutes then increase it at 2 seconds per day
You can continue at this pattern until it reaches X minutes and then increase it by X seconds every day
You can continue at this pattern until it reaches 1 hour you then can add 1 minute every day
You can continue at this pattern until it reaches X hours and then you can add X minutes every day
When I say increase it every day I only mean every day that you exercise excluding the one off day
A better but more mathematically complicated way to set your schedule for those who do not mind dividing by seven
Let's say you might potentially exercise all 7 days of the week with no break so dividing the duration of exercise on the last training day of the last week by 60 will actually and then increasing by that amount every day will actually cause you to increase the duration of exercise by more than 10% per week
If you do 70 or more reps per day you can take the number of reps you did the previous day divide it by 70, round down and at that to itself to figure out the new number of reps you do per day you do each time and you will increase at less than or equal to 10% per week
This is assuming each rep is at the same intensity and takes the same duration to complete
Now even if you do not exercise all 7 days per week this method is useful because unlike the previous method of calculation you do not have to be as careful to measure how many rest days you take per week. If you take one or more rest day per week and simply increase by 1/70 of the last time you exercised then you will most definitely increase by less than 10% per week so this method can be used only looking at how much you did the last time instead of how much you did for the whole week if you only increase the number of reps per day gradually over time instead of switching it around by large amounts that are different by a large percent from one training day to another.
In this example there is a 10% increase from Sunday to the next Sunday one week later
Sunday 70
Monday 71
Tuesday 72
Wednesday 73
Thursday 74
Friday 75
Saturday 76
Sunday 77
This holds true only as long as you round down to the nearest integer, without rounding down to the nearest integer each time this method could exceed a 10% increase per week.
1.1 ^ ( 1 / 7 ) = 1.0137088563
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=%3D+1.1+%5E+(+1+%2F+7+)
1 + ( 1 / 70 ) = 1.01428571429
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=%3D+1+%2B+(+1+%2F+70+)
At this rate of a 10% increase per week you can multiply an exercise daily duration by about 142 times per year with approximately 52 weeks in a year
1.1 ^ 52 = 142.042931984
24 * 60 * 60 / ( 1.1 ^ 52 ) = 608.266802106
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=%3D+24+*+60+*+60+%2F+(+1.1+%5E+52+)
If you start at about 600 seconds or about 10 minutes every day for a exercise and increase it by 10% per week for a year you will be exercising about 24 hours per day. Continuing this pattern further beyond the 1 year mark you would be exercising more than 24 hours a day which is impossible.
You have things to do other than exercise so instead of trying to increase the duration of a exercise until it reaches 24 hours a day you should set a amount of time that you do not want to exceed doing a exercise and increase the intensity of that exercise and start it over at a lower amount of time once you reach that set amount of time.
One way to set a starting point is to pick a duration you do not want to exceed based on your schedule and then choose exercise intensity based on something that you can sustain comfortably less than that duration but that is to intense to sustain comfortably at that duration.
A 2 minute workout
Being busy does not mean you do not have time to do exercise in most cases. Instead being busy means you should set exercise at a higher intensity so that you can not comfortably exercise beyond your scheduled exercise time but a low enough intensity that you can exercise without injury within the available time.
Do you only have 2 minutes to exercise per day? Then you can do a different stretch every day for 1 minute and then choose a single very high intensity exercise that lasts 10 seconds. You can then increase that exercise by 10% per week until you can do it for 1 minute. Then you will have filled that 2 minute time with a 1 minute stretch that is different every day and a 1 minute high intensity exercise that was the original 10 second exercise you started out doing. Once you reach this point you can choose a new high intensity exercise to do for 10 seconds and start over again until you can do it for 1 minute.
A 10 second exercise done every day can increase by 1 second every week until it reaches 20 seconds then by 2 seconds every week until it reaches 30 seconds then by 3 seconds every week until it exceeds 40 seconds then by 4 seconds every week until it reaches 50 seconds then by 5 seconds every week until it reaches 1 minute
30, 33, 36, 39, 42, 46, 50, 55, 60
You only have 1 minute to stretch and one minute to perform high intensity exercises because you claim your schedule is so busy
What can you do with your high intensity exercise time
Week 1 : six 10 second exercises
Week 2 : five 11 second exercises and one 5 second exercise
Week 3 : five 12 second exercises
Week 4 : four 13 second exercises and one 8 second exercise
and so on
Week 11 : three 20 second exercises
and so on
Week 16 : two 30 second exercises
Week 17 : one 33 second exercise and one 27 second exercise
and so on
Week 24 : one 60 second exercise
What can you do as a high intensity exercise without any equipment in less than 1 minute
Sprint as as far as you can in that time
Jump as high as you can as many times as you can in that time
Jump as far as you can as many times as you can in that time
Squat as deep as you can and hold it in place for strength training without weights
Squat as many times as you can as deep as you can squat safely at that speed and no deeper
Do as many push ups of whatever of the many types as you can in a certain amount of time
Do as many cartwheels or other gymnastic moves as you can if the terrain is safe
Do as many jump kicks, jumping double kicks, etc as you can in that time
Do as many jumping jacks as you can in that time
Hold a plank or side position in place for strength training without weights
Hold a bridge for strength training without weights
Crabwalk as far as you can in that time
Crawl as far as you can in that time if the terrain is safe
Walk doing forward or reverse lunges as far as you can in that time or do them as many times as you can in that time for strength training
With equipment in less than 1 minute time
Benchpress, reverse bench press, squat or deadlift as much as possible as many times as safely possible
Do as many pull ups or assisted pull ups as possible
Hang up still in the most difficult part of the pull up position for that duration
Pile up more weight than you can lift and try to lower it eccentrically safely
Hold as much weight as you can safely hold still isometrically in the part of the squat or deadlift position you find the most difficult for the duration
Try to do about 3000 Calories per hour on an elyptical or similar aerobic exercise machine with electronic
Caloric measuring. Set it up to maximum resistance to make it easier to get close to get to 3000 calories per hour or to make it more difficult to reach the same number of Calories per hour lower the resistance. 3000 Calories per hour is based on the same number of Calories per hour as running at 30 miles per hour at 100
Calories per mile. And try to maintain it for the desired duration.
Try to go at the fastest speed you can on a machine like an elyptical or stationary exercise bike with electronic speed measuring. And try to maintain it for the desired duration.
Set a treadmill to run as fast as you can set it without falling off or injuring yourself for that short duration. And try to maintain it for the desired duration.
Now I do not suggest most people do those difficult exercises, these are only for people who claim they have less than 2 minutes per day to do all their exercises
What if someone has 1 hour and 20 minutes to do exercise every day
They spend 1 hour in the gym doing weight lifting and aerobic exercise and 20 minutes doing stretching at home to maintain flexibility
What a 1 hour per day strength training plus aerobic exercise schedule might look like
A strength training plus aerobic program that can be done in less than 1 hour per day at a gym with good equipment selection not counting time to travel to gym, change and shower. Assuming no one is blocking you from using the equipment making you wait in line, assuming you already figured out how to set up everything quickly in terms of equipment placement and settings.
Doing 1 set of 24 repititions for each of the weigh lifting exercises at 5 seconds time or less per rep adding up to less than 120 seconds or two minutes for each weightlifting exercise
If you are standing in anatomical position
Coronal Plane - Straight directions of left, right, up and down - Rotations perpendicular to forward and backward
Transverse Plane - Straight direction of left, right, forward and backward - Rotations perpendicular to up and down
Sagital Plane - Straight directions of forward, backward, up and down - Rotations perpendicular to left and right
Do the following exercises alternating between Day A and Day B
Shoulder exercises with elbow straight but not hyperextended less than 12 minutes
Day A
Rotate shoulders in the transverse plane resisting force to the left
Rotate shoulders in the transverse plane resisting force to the right
Day B
Rotate shoulders in the transverse plane resisting force forward
Rotate shoulders in the transverse plane resisting force backward
Day A
Rotate shoulders in the coronal plane resisting force to the right
Rotate shoulders in the coronal plane resisting force to the left
Day B
Rotate shoulders in the coronal plane resisting force up
Rotate shoulders in the coronal plane resisting force down
Day A
Rotate shoulders in the sagital plane resisting force forward
Rotate shoulders in the sagital plane resisting force backward
Day B
Rotate shoulders in the sagital plane resisting force up
Rotate shoulders in the sagital plane resisting force down
Elbow flexor exercises less than four minutes
Day A
Standing bicep curl with humerus or upper arm perpendicular to the ground using free weights
Forearm supinated
Also do the same exercise except with the forearm pronated to work other elbow flexor muscles
Day B
Bicep curl with humerus or upper arm parrellel to ground using free weights
Forearm supinated
Also do the same exercise except with the forearm pronated to work other elbow flexor muscles
Elbow extensor exercises less than two minutes
Day A
Tricep curl
Day B
Tricep curl at a different angle
Sagital Plane hip, knee and back strengthening exercises
5 minutes or less with 2 minutes exercise time plus 3 minutes equipment set up time or 4 minutes exercising with single foot leg presses plus 1 minute equipment set up time
Start with double foot leg presses only until the machine will not let you set any more weight, then do single foot leg presses or do the other exercises with free weights
Day A Squats
Day B Single foot leg presses
Day C Bent knee deadlifts
Day D Straight knee deadlifts
less than four minutes - if machines are available for those types of exercises and only one plane is worked on coronal or transverse but not both, many gyms have machines that work hip abduction and adduction in one plane but not the other
Hip adduction and Hip Abduction strength training exercises in coronal or sagital plane, whatever is available based on exercise machines, else do side planks and leg lifts
Less than four minutes
Ankle exercises : Dorsiflexion and Plantarflexion exercises
Less than twelve minutes
Six Core, torso, back or abdominal exercises, two resisting force in opposite directions for each plane
12 shoulders + 6 elbows + 5 Hip sagital + 4 Hip adduction and abduction + 4 Ankles + 12 core = 43 min
At least 17 minutes remaining for Aerobic Exercise on gym exercise machines
If you can do 1.1 * X reps in 2 minutes at your fastest pace for a safe and comfortable pain level lifting a certain amount of weight then increase the weight you are using until you can only do less than X reps in 2 minutes divided by 1.1 or about 109 seconds rounded down and then increase the number of reps you do at that weight by 10% every week in order to meet the schedule for this exercise routine
For example if you can do 55 reps in 2 minutes at your fastest safe pace for that weight amount then increase the weight until you can only do less than 50 reps and it takes you less than 109 seconds to do all the reps you can do at that weight. Then using that new weight increase the reps by 10% per week
1.1 * X = 55
X = 50
2 minutes = 120 seconds
120 seconds / 9 = 109 seconds rounded down
If you have more or less than 17 minutes left over after strength training to do aerobic exercise than replace 17 minutes with however much time is usually left over when understanding this explanation.
If you can do aerobic exercise for 17 minutes every training day at a safe and comfortable pain level then increase the intensity by increasing the speed or resistance until you can only do that exercise for less than 15 minutes and 27 seconds or 17 minutes divided by 1.1 then increase the duration you do that exercise at by 10% per week
17 minutes * 60 seconds per minute / 1.1 = 927 seconds rounded down = 15 minutes and 27 seconds
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=%3D+17+*+60+%2F+1.1
If you can comfortably and safely do the aerobic exercise on the exercise machine for 17 minutes
Maintenance stretches.
Purpose, duration and type
These are static passive stretches done to prevent flexibility loss while doing primary exercises and are not meant to increase regularly in duration every week but should instead stay between a minimum and maximum duration range every day. Each stretch should be held at least one time for at least one minute and no more than three times for no more than five minutes each time. Three times at two minutes each works well for many people at a beginner to intermediate level to increase flexibility for a particular pose. However, I suggest spending only 1 minute on each stretch in order to focus on other primary exercises because there are such a large number of stretches to do, unless those stretches are being done as primary exercises.
Difference between maintenance stretches and stretching as a primary exercise
If you wish to hold a static passive stretch as long as possible without being injured that is ok but in such a case it is no longer a maintenance stretch but instead a primary exercise for scheduling purposes.
Types of stretches
Passive Static stretches use an object such as a floor, or wall to produce external force on a muscle in order to increase it's length, while keeping the body in the same position
Active Static stretches use the force of the opposing muscle group to lengthen the other muscle group while staying in the same position and are a form of strength training. Active static stretches may reduce flexibility in the muscle group that is experiencing strength training if it is not stretched by another exercise such as another active or passive stretch.
Dynamic Stretches - These are stretches done by moving instead of staying still in a position
Other types of stretches - People categorize other types of stretches but they shall not be listed in this article
If you can not hold a maintenance stretch for 1 minute
Do not do primary or filler exercises that work the muscle group the maintenance stretch is stretching until you can hold the stretch passively as a static stretch for at least 1 minute. You can use a easier version of a maintenance stretch to achieve the 1 minute goal if you can not hold the more difficult version for 1 minute. The more difficult version can then either be ignored and not done or treated as a primary exercise for scheduling purposes. You can try doing a stretch multiple times a day at less than one minute until you can hold it at least once a day for at least one minute in a single stretch.
If you can hold it 4 times a day at 15 seconds each that does not count as meeting the 1 minute goal but you may eventually increase it to 3 times at 20 seconds each, then 2 times at 30 seconds each, then 1 time at 40 seconds and 1 time at 20 seconds then finally 1 time at 1 minute. But, until you can hold it for 1 time at 1 minute you should not do strengthening exercise on the muscle group you want to exercise.
This 1 minute goal is for passive static stretching, not for active static stretching. It is much more difficult to do 1 minute of active static stretching than 1 minute of passive static stretching in the same position.
Background for understanding list of maintenance stretches
Mention of straight knees or elbows means knees or elbows should be straight but not hyper extended.
Asymmetrical poses should be done twice once for each side or direction
A soft surface can be something like a gymnastics mat, exercise mat, bed mattress, multiple times folded flat towel or yoga style Mexican blanket, grass lawn that is not muddy nor so dry it is extremely hard or any other safe, soft, firm, stable surface that will not slip unsafely.
Different version numbers are not based on level of difficulty the numbering is arbitrary
The numerical order the poses are listed in is also arbitrary and you may want to practice them in a different order if you choose to do so
List of suggested maintenance stretches
1 Calf muscle stretch - Dorsiflex the feet and straighten the knee.
Hips square with one foot forward and one foot back. Keep heel touching the floor with the back foot. Both knees straight. Hips should not be internally or externally rotated but in neutral position.
2 Shin muscle Stretch - Plantarflex the feet and ankles
Version 1 : Do this with your foot in front of your pelvis. You may need to bend your knee and externally rotate your hips to do this. Grab your foot and pull the end of your foot near the toes to plantarflex or point your foot you can also additionally bend your toes with your hands plantarflexing them if that is not to difficult.
Version 2 : Grab your foot and pull it back behind your back bending your knee and plantarflexing your foot by pulling the end of your foot near your toes with your hand
Version 3 : Reclining warrior with the feet plantarflexed on a soft surface
Version 4 : Kneeling with the feet plantarflexed on a soft surface
3 Forward bend- Similar to touching your toes with knees straight and knees and ankles close together
Version 1 : Standing forward bend
Version 2 : Forward bend from a seated position
Version 3 : Lying on your back with legs up supported by a wall
4 Triangle pose - with knees straight doing a side bend of the torso and abducting your hips in the coronal plane to stretch your hip adductors in the coronal plane
5 Hips wide forward bend or forward bend with center splits to stretch hip adductors in the transverse plane
Version 1 : Stand with feet wide apart with knees straight and bend the torso forward, bending at the hips
Version 2 : Lie down on your back and put feet and legs on the wall with your knees straight and use gravity to try to do a center split abducting your hips in the transverse plane
Version 3 : Do center splits while sitting down with your butt on the floor and knees straight then lean your torso forward in a forward bend, bending at the hips.
6 Hip flexor stretch
Version 1 : See calf stretch listed above. Torso should be straight or bended backward.
Version 2 : Lunge with torso straight or extended backward and one knee behind the pelvis and on a soft surface which is on the floor and the other knee in front of the pelvis. Hips square.
Version 3 : Back foot elevated at a higher height than the front foot and placed on a stable object behind the torso with both knees straight. You can hold a stable object or use a wall to keep from losing balance. Torso straight or bended backward. Hips Square.
Version 4 : Front splits. Hips square. Torso is straight or backward bending. One knee behind the torso and one knee in front of the torso. Front knee is straight. Back knee can be straight or bent. Hips are not internally or externally rotated but in neutral.
7 Torso bended back
Version 1 : Cobra or upward dog
Version 2 : Standing back bend with knees straight
Version 3 : Lying on one's side on the floor doing a backward bend this is outlined in some editions of the contortionist handbook.
8 Spinal Twist
Version 1 : Lying spinal twist
Version 2 : Sitting spinal twist.
Version 3 : Standing spinal twist with knees straight and feet wide apart, back neither bent forward nor backward. This version is an active stretch instead of a passive stretch unlike most stretches on the list
9 Shoulder abducted in the transverse plane to stretch shoulder transverse plane adductors
Version 1 : Standing and using a wall with one hand against the wall. This hand will be at shoulder height and behind the back. Elbow straight.
Version 2 : Lying on your side and putting the bottom arm behind your back with elbows straight. Rolling into a position to either increase or decrease the angle that your shoulder is stretched in the transverse plane based on flexibility and comfort level. Once the position is found stay in place until the stretch is completed do not roll back and forth repeatedly. Rolling is only to set up the proper position. This should be done on a soft surface.
10 Shoulders abducted in the coronal plane or flexed in the sagital plane. For most people this will be approximately the same position when stretched in the coronal or sagital plane approximately 180 degrees.
Version 1 : Standing hands over head with elbows straight, hands as high as possible to stretch shoulders. This is a active stretch instead of a passive stretch unlike most stretches on the list
Version 2 : Forward bend with hands against a wall that is in front of the body. Shoulders flexed in the sagital plane and elbows straight
Version 3 : Lying on stomach prone with both shoulders abducted as much as possible close to 180 degrees for most people.
Version 4 : Lying on one side with shoulder abducted in the coronal plane. This only works one shoulder at a time and is asymmetrical.
11 Shoulder extended in the sagital plane - Both Hands behind the back with elbows straight and torso and neck straight neither leaned forward nor backward. An object such as a chair, wall or bed mattress can be used to keep the shoulder stretched passively instead of doing active stretching.
12 Hip external rotation to stretch hip internal rotators without hip flexed in the sagital plane
Version 1 : Lie down on a soft surface with your back with one leg straight, bend the knee of the other leg and put it across the straight leg in a position similar to half lotus
Version 2 : Do full lotus but lying down on a soft surface without flexing your hips in the sagital plane
13 Hip external rotation to stretch hip internal rotators with hip flexed in the sagital plane
Version 1 : Seated half lotus
Version 2 : Seated half lotus with one leg and the other leg straight and in front of the pelvis. Half lotus leg on top of leg or thigh of straight leg
Version 3 : Seated both knees in front of the pelvis and one knee on top of the other both hips externally rotated
Version 4 : Seated in a chair, one foot on the floor, and the other hip externally rotated, one leg on top of the thigh of the other leg. Torso should be straight or bend forward.
14 Full Knee Bend - Stretches knee extensors by flexing knee in sagital plane
Version 1 : Reclinig warrior - This can double as a shin muscle stretch listed above if the feet are plantarflexed
Version 2 : Kneeling with knee fully bent- This can double as a shin muscle stretch listed above if the feet are plantarflexed
Version 3 : Lie on your stomach and pull one foot at a time or both behind you by bending the knee or knees as much as possible with your hands. If you plantarflex the foot this can also count as a shin stretch. This can also be done standing on one leg stretching only one knee at a time
15 Optional Bonus - Butterfly - Hip external rotation with hips abducted in the transverse plane in addition to being flexed in the sagital plane
Controversial stretches that many people do not know how to do safely and other stretches I did not want to bother to describe that maybe non essential for many people. Some of these stretches are very helpful but only for specific people.
Some of the following stretches are going to be mentioned as categories but I will not go into detail. Some of the following stretches are more difficult to learn how to do without getting injured, so I will simply mention them as types of stretches someone can do without going into specifics. If you do not know how to do these stretches without injuring yourself they should not be included in your flexibility maintenance routine. However, they can be included in a flexibility maintenance routine of someone who knows how to do them safely.
Potentially Dangerous for those who lack special knowledge
Hip internal rotation stretches that stretch the hip external rotators with the hip flexed in the sagital plane
Hip internal rotation stretches that stretch the hip external rotators without the hip flexed in the sagital plane
Hip internal rotation stretches that stretch the hip external rotators with the hip abducted
Shoulder internal and external rotation stretches with the shoulder in a variety of positions in terms of flexion, extension, abduction and adduction
Neck stretches
Wrist and Finger stretches - This has more to do with personal knowledge of your own hand structure. Some joints were not meant to bend certain ways for certain people but are for others.
Less essential and often should not be done
Adducting the shoulder in the transverse plane to stretch the transverse plane shoulder abductors - often people do this in response to pain at the back of the shoulder when they actually should be doing stretching in the opposite direction because they stretch in this direction all day as a activity of daily living.
Very difficult to do with any great range of motion and maybe painful
Adducting the shoulder in the coronal plane with the arm behind the back to stretch the coronal plane shoulder abductors
Often will actually make the person less flexible in the muscle group they are trying to stretch do to weight bearing methods of such stretches as described by ignorant publicists
Hip abductor stretches with the hip adducted in the transverse and or coronal planes
Hip abductor stretches - can be substituted by a combination of hip internal and external rotation stretches. I only described the external rotation stretches which stretch the internal rotators of the hip and not the other ones in this article because many people do not know how to do the other ones safely
Stretches that usually are not to be done unless you really know what you are doing or were given special directions from medical professionals to treat a specific condition
Mouth, face or jaw stretches with the duration, method, frequency and intensity as prescribed by a medical professional for individuals with certain medical conditions such as TMJ disorder
Estimated total time for maintenance stretching
6 Symmetrical Stretches for 6 minutes per day minimum
1 Forward Bend with knees together, 2 Either standing forward bend with feet wide apart or center splits with a forward bend, 3 Kneeling or Reclining warrior with feet plantarflexed 4 Raised hands symmetric shoulder stretch, 5 Hands backward in sagital plane symmetric shoulder stretch, 6 Cobra or Upward Dog
7 Asymmetrical Stretches for 14 minutes per day minimum at 1 minute for each side or direction
1 Calf Stretch, 2 Triangle pose, 3 Spinal Twist, 4 Hip Flexor Stretch, 5 Transverse plane Shoulder abduction to stretch shoulder abductors, 6 Hip external rotation while sitting with hip flexed in sagital plane, such as half lotus sitting pose 7 hip external rotation while lying down without hip flexed in sagital plane such as half lotus with one leg straight while lying supine on your back
Total minimum stretching maintenance time 20 minutes per day or 120 to 140 minutes per week depending on if you stretch 6 or 7 days per week
Filler exercises.
How much time should be spent doing filler exercises
These are exercises you can do to fill in the remaining time left over that you have available to exercise when you are not doing primary exercises or maintenance stretches. Filler exercises are low enough in intensity they will not injure you doing them for the remaining time left on your schedule that is not used by primary exercises and maintenance stretches. The amount of time you spend doing filler exercises should gradually decrease as you spend more time doing the primary exercise until you spend none of your time doing filler exercises. Once you spend none of your time doing filler exercises and all the rest of the time doing maintenance stretches and your primary exercises you should maintain that exercise schedule doing no filler exercises for one week. After that one week is over you will change at least one of your primary exercises and spend less time doing that exercise, after changing at least one primary exercise you will start doing filler exercises again. This cycle will repeat and the time doing primary exercises will gradually increase and the time doing filler exercises decrease until you no longer do filler exercises and choose at least one new primary exercise again and again. Choosing a new primary exercise can mean doing the same exercise at a higher intensity but starting at a lower duration or doing a completely different primary exercise.
Filler exercises should be low intensity and done at less than the maximum duration you can do them at that intensity per week.
Each individual filler exercise should be performed much less than the maximum distance, time or volume you can perform per week for each exercise. If you are trying to approach the maximum time, distance or training volume per week you can do for a filler exercise then it is not a filler exercise but a primary exercise.
Filler exercises can be warm ups or cool downs
These filler exercises can include but are not limited to what people call warm ups or cool downs. Many people personally feel warm up exercises should not be done because they lead to fatigue prior to doing high intensity exercises leading to increase risk of injury doing high intensity exercises, other people feel warm ups decrease the risk of injury for higher intensity exercises.
These filler exercises can also include other things than warm ups and cool downs such as the following
low intensity catching, throwing or juggling a small number of times
Low intensity balancing exercises such as standing on one leg for a short amount of time a small number of times for each leg. If necessary touching a wall gently or holding a object that is stable and will not move to prevent falling. Holding a unstable object that can move to prevent falling can result in injury.
low intensity dynamic stretches for a small number of times
active static stretches for a small amount of time
self massage or having someone else massage you
low intensity breathing exercises for a small amount of time as opposed to doing breathing exercises at a high difficulty level or a long enough period of time to result in leading to exhaustion or health problems
walking at the most comfortable speed on a safe terrain for a total amount of time between all exercises that will not result in injury.
Copyright Carl Janssen 2022
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