How To Begin An Exercise Regimen

This is our 3rd week in our 52 Weeks To Wellness challenge this year, and we are going to focus on How To Begin An Exercise Regimen.  No matter what your health wellness goals are, adding some exercise into your routine is not only going to have long term health benefits it will give you a short term benefit in your weight loss goals.  Exercise is vital to your overall health.  These tips are to help anyone get started no matter their physical shape or condition.

HOW TO BEGIN AN EXERCISE REGIMEN

Consult your physician. Before you do anything regarding exercise, you need to check with your doctor.  Having a physical done is a great idea prior to your first days of exercise.  If you've been seen recently, a phone call to check for any restrictions or precautions would be plenty. We don't want anyone to begin an exercise routine that could do more harm than good.

Don't forget to stretch.  Many sports and exercise injuries begin with a lack of stretching and proper care before you begin.  There are tons of simple stretches for your back, arms, legs and even your core muscles.  Check these stretches out as a great beginning before you start working out.

Start slowly.  Many people want to start their first day with a full intensity workout.  That is the wrong way to begin.  Start exercising slowly.  Let stretching and some light cardio like a brisk walk or jog be your beginning.  Look into low impact circuit training like Curves or other gyms focused on low impact training that can be done in smaller increments until you can build up some endurance.  For those with a lot of weight to lose, physical injuries or other things that could be hard to overcome, take things super slow.  Begin with 10 minute walks back and forth in your home, or around your yard.  Do those 3-4 times per day and build up by 2-3 minute increments every few days.

Don't forget strength training.  Even a few simple weights lifted can make a huge difference in your strength and overall success.  You don't have to lift a ton of weight, just focus on a few simple strength exercises.  Using your own body weight is a great option for things like lungs, squats and even calf raises.   For $10 you can buy 2 five pound hand weights to use in doing a few reps of bicep curls or chest presses.  These basic moves will increase your strength and endurance.

When you begin a journey to wellness, you must look at all possible areas of work.  Not only do you need to eat healthy, you should begin including exercise into your routine.  Starting out you will take things slowly, but as we proceed through this year, we will encourage you to boost your time, repetitions and experience to burn more fat and build more strength.

Melissa Jennings

Melissa is a soccer mom who has been married to her best friend for 22 years. She loves sharing recipes, travel reviews and tips that focus on helping busy families make memories.