Exercise Plan ‐ Tips for Starting
If you’re looking to start an exercise plan, then there are a few things you need to consider to ensure proper safety and success. While it may be easy to simply say you’re going to exercise everyday, a more structured plan is likely to deliver better results. Get in shape and avoid injuries by reviewing these tips for beginning an exercise plan:
Build an Exercise Plan Around Fitness Goals
The first thing to consider before hitting the gym is what types of fitness goals you want to achieve. Are you trying to lose weight? Build muscle? Improve heart health? Clearly, there are better exercises and activities that cater to different types of fitness goals. For example, if you want to lose weight, then you’ll likely want to focus on a cardio workout that burns a lot of calories. Depending on your goals, you may want to shoot for three to six hours of cardio each week and two or more hours of strength training.
Get an Exercise Plan From a Fitness Trainer
There are literally thousands of different workout routines out there to try. For advice on maximizing results in a minimum amount of time, it is recommended you visit with a fitness trainer to help you build a quality exercise plan. If you belong to a gym, then advice on creating a routine may come free of charge for you. Regardless of whether or not you want a trainer to oversee your daily workouts, a preliminary meeting can help offer guidance in how to best reach your goals.
Take Your Fitness Level Into Account
It’s not uncommon for individuals to over do it when beginning an exercise plan. To minimize the chances for injury, it is important to assess your fitness level and slowly build up to your end goals. For example, if you have knee or back pain, then you may need to focus on low-impact exercise options such as swimming or aqua aerobics. To better understand your limitations, consider meeting with a doctor prior to starting a fitness routine. Then, chart your progress by recording times, distances, number of reps, etc. as you progress so you can create incremental goals for success.