Training Information

The daily HOMEX training lasts between 20 to about 40 minutes, depending on the number of strength exercises. The training always follows the same sequence:

• 3 minutes of warming up
  You choose the difficulty level and can select between dancing and marching.
• 2-4 strength exercises
  You determine the difficulty level (easy, medium, or hard) and the number of exercises (2, 3, or 4).
• Stretching
  2 exercises at 30 seconds per muscle. The stretching exercises are prescribed for you.

Warm-up

Before you start the strength training, you will always begin with a 3-minute warm-up. This is important to prevent injuries and to optimally prepare the body and mind for the training. The positive effects of a full-body warm-up include:

• Nerves and muscles work better together, which allows the strain to be distributed more evenly across the entire muscle
• Blood flow to the muscles is increased, which enhances the flexibility of the muscle fibers
• The production of joint fluid is increased. This causes the cartilage to swell slightly, allowing it to better cushion loads on the joint

Important: The breathing and pulse may become slightly faster, and the muscles should warm up. However, the warm-up should not be too strenuous.

Variants: If you are accustomed to warming up with a device (trampoline, exercise bike, or similar), that is a good alternative to the recommended marching or dancing. Musical accompaniment can also be very motivating.

Strength Training

After warming up, the actual strength training begins. At the beginning of each exercise, an optimally balanced body posture is assumed. This is called the "active stance". In the active stance, the feet are hip-width apart, the knees and hips are slightly bent. The torso is upright and stable. This means that the back and abdominal muscles are slightly tensed. The neck is in extension of the spine, as if an orange is wedged between the chin and chest.

Regardless of which of the three difficulty levels you perform the exercises, the muscles worked should always feel warm and tired at the end. If this is not the case, you may need to increase the intensity (see "4. Gradually increase the intensity of the HOMEX training"). Each exercise is demonstrated to you in three sets with 30 seconds rest in between. At the end of these three sets, you should feel: "Luckily, it's over, my muscles are exhausted." A slight trembling of the muscles during the exercise is also intentional. The color of the resistance band determines the resistance. The number of repetitions per difficulty level is predetermined and always the same:

light = 12 repetitions
medium = 10 repetitions
hard = 8 repetitions

Stretching

The long-term goal of stretching after training is to maintain the mobility of the joints and their surrounding structures. Short-term, stretching can also help to correct muscular imbalances by lengthening shortened muscles and reducing their tension. For chronically stressed people, stretching can also help them become looser and relax. With static stretching (no bouncing), you feel a slight pull in the entire muscle, but no pain.

In a split training exercise plan, only one specific muscle group is trained on a certain day. With our HOMEX training, we divide the training sessions into arms, legs, and torso, covering all important muscle areas of the body.

The basic condition for an increase in strength is the regularity of the training stimulus. Therefore, each muscle group should be trained twice a week. Ideally, you train in HOMEX training 6 days a week and have one day off. The benefits of split training are:

• Dividing muscle groups into different days makes daily training shorter
• Since the trainings are shorter, you have more energy for the exercises and can train more efficiently
• Each muscle group has enough recovery time before it is worked out again. This is very important because muscles do not grow during training but during rest
• While one muscle group is recovering, another muscle group can be trained
• With daily training, you develop a routine more easily, and the HOMEX training becomes part of your everyday life, which helps you stick to the training plan

Finding the optimal training intensity is very important. If the exercise is too easy, it won't have a significant effect on your muscle building. On the other hand, if the exercise is too challenging, there's a risk of overexertion, and you might lose the motivation to continue the exercises.

Ideally, you should start your exercises a bit on the easier side. You can always increase the intensity! The effort level should be in a range that is beneficial for your health. This means that the muscles worked should be as exhausted as possible by the end of the exercise. However, pain during the exercise is a reason to stop. To find your optimal training intensity, the Borg Scale can be helpful, which allows you to assess your subjective level of exertion. The scale ranges from 0 to 10, with a target Borg exertion level of between 4-6.

Below is the scale. If you want to assess yourself, ask at the end of an exercise/at the end of the training where you would place yourself on the Borg Scale.

BORG Scale

You might have been exercising for a while now and notice that what was once challenging for you has now become relatively easy. Or perhaps you have recently started HOMEX training and are still finding the right intensity level. Whatever the case, if you feel that the exercises are too easy for you, there are several ways to increase the intensity. Increase the intensity slowly and continuously until you are satisfied with the challenge.

Here are ways to increase the intensity:

• Reduce rest times between sets and exercises
• Change the color, and thereby the resistance, of the elastic training band
• Increase the level of the exercises: from easy -> to medium -> to hard
• Complete one more exercise per day

12 to 24 hours after an unfamiliar or very intense training session, you may experience local pain in the muscles worked, known as muscle soreness. Muscle soreness is not a bad thing; it indicates that the muscles are adapting to the intense training. Normally, the soreness should disappear almost completely after at most 48 hours. With very untrained muscles, the soreness after the first few sessions can last up to five days. During this time, the muscle adapts to the training. It "grows" and should not be subjected to further intense strain. The HOMEX program, with its sophisticated weekly structure (the split training), also takes into account this relevant aspect of rest duration for the individual muscle groups. You don't have to worry about this, just follow the training plan and exercise regularly.

Important: Start exercising lightly; an increase is always possible. More relevant to success is the regularity of the training, for a lifetime. Better a short training session at a low level than none. This helps you maintain your daily routine.

Active recovery, for example, in the form of a daily walk (10 to 30 minutes), accelerates the recovery of the trained muscles and supports long-term strength development.

If you find the training sessions too strenuous, you should reduce the intensity. You can achieve this in the following ways:

• Change the color, and thereby the resistance, of the elastic training band
• Decrease the exercise level: from hard -> to medium -> to easy
• Increase rest times between the sets and exercises
• Do one less exercise per day

An absolute ban on exercising and training applies in the case of fever and unusual, newly occurred symptoms such as dizziness, numbness, nausea, or pain. If there are any uncertainties or questions, please contact your doctor or your medically trained person of trust.

If acute symptoms occur during an exercise, such as severe shortness of breath, chest pains, dizziness, or confusion, stop exercising immediately and seek help, e.g., by calling emergency services at 911 or 112.

Optimal nutrition can significantly enrich your fitness program and noticeably increase your progress.

In particular, strength training like HOMEX, supplemented with sufficient protein intake, can noticeably improve your training results. Proteins are not only important for strength increase and maintenance but also to strengthen the bones and the immune system and promote faster recovery after training.

For the 65+ generation, it is especially important to adequately cover your protein needs, as these increase with age. One of the reasons for this is that the body's efficiency in using proteins and converting them into muscle mass decreases with age.

A good rule of thumb is the intake of about 1g of protein per kg of body weight. This means a person weighing 70 kg should consume at least 70g of protein daily.

Here are some nutritious foods and their respective protein content:

• A medium serving of tofu (150g): about 26g of protein
• A medium-sized serving of lentils (150g): about 18g of protein
• A cup of cottage cheese (200g): about 22g of protein
• An omelette made from 3 eggs: about 18g of protein
• A serving of chicken breast strips (100g): about 22g of protein
• A serving of salmon (100g): about 20g of protein
• A protein drink (330ml): about 25g of protein

Plant proteins are just as recommendable as animal proteins and offer an excellent alternative or addition to your diet. By combining different protein sources throughout the day, you will achieve a broad and sufficient protein coverage.

Practical Implementation in Everyday Life

A simple daily rule: Three servings of dairy products and an additional serving of a protein-rich food such as eggs, legumes, or fish cover the majority of your protein needs and simultaneously supply you with other important nutrients like calcium.

Timing

Ideally, you should spread protein intake throughout the day and ensure good protein intake with every meal. Consuming protein immediately after training, for example through protein drinks, can also have a positive impact on your training results.