Things to Consider When Planning a Fitness Routine

A person may have several reasons for embarking on a fitness routine, such as weight loss and body toning, but they also may simply want to be fitter than they are. Whatever your reason for exercising, all you need to know is that you will be doing your body and your mind a great service.

An organized approach
You may be eager to get out there and start exercising, but it is far better to make a plan in order to achieve your objectives. For many of us, exercise is a chore, something to be endured, but this is no way to approach a new fitness regime. In order to keep motivated and ensure that you stay on course, you need to devise a regime that incorporates those exercises and activities that you enjoy and that target different areas of the body.

Aerobic
Aerobic exercise burns calories and helps you lose weight, and it should ideally form the core of your exercise regime. Aerobic exercises include walking, running, cycling and swimming; basically, anything that gets your heart pumping and makes your body work harder. Aerobic exercise draws more oxygen into your muscles and improves your cardiovascular system. You should devote 15 minutes to one hour, three times a week, to aerobic exercise.

Weight training
This helps to strengthen and tone your body, tightening up flabby areas such as the buttocks and tops of arms. Correct breathing and posture are vital to getting the most out of weight training, not just lifting as much weight as fast as you can. Start with a low weight, and when this becomes easy, move on to the next weight and so on to avoid a plateau. Attempt weight training roughly three times a week, but alternate which parts of the body you work on.

Balance
Pilates and yoga are great for improving your balance and relieving stress. They will also improve your flexibility. As you will not be pushing your body harder than it can go, you can indulge in these types of workout as often as you like, though it may be more sensible to do them no more than three times a week. Correct breathing is vital in these practices, and holding a position is more important than doing many moves.

Avoid injury
An injury can really put a dampener on your exercise regime, so do your best to avoid this happening. This means warming up and cooling down before and after exercise, and if you are recovering from an injury and just getting back into exercise, not overdoing it but easing yourself in gently.

Some aids, such as the compression clothing shown here, can help minimize the risk of injury. Compression Sleeves can help relieve muscle stiffness or soreness and cut down on the time muscles need to repair themselves.

It is important to remember that you will not see overnight results when you begin an exercise regime but that these will happen gradually. You may even find that as you lose weight or find it easier to walk up that steep road without getting out of breath, exercising becomes fun rather than a chore.