How To Start A Good Fitness Program

Many people know they need to exercise to help stay fit and healthy, but they do not always know how to go about starting a fitness program and making the program they choose a permanent habit. To start a fitness program the first step is that you must set goals for yourself. First ask yourself, "What do I want from my exercise program?" You need to set specific long-term and short-term goals. Make sure that the goals you set are both realistic and important to you. The second step is to select activities. Try to include activities to develop each of the health-related components of physical fitness. Include exercises that will help your cardiorespiratory endurance. Some exercises that can help you develop cardiorespiratory endurance includes walking, cycling, and aerobic dance that involve continuous rhythmic movements of large muscle groups like these in the legs. To help build up muscular strength and endurance include exercises that train against resistance. I will include examples of exercises for each category on the pictures and descriptions of exercises page. To help gain flexibility, include stretching the major muscle groups. To help retain a healthy body composition include combining a sensible diet and a regular exercise program, including cardiorespiratory endurance exercise to burn calories and resistance training to build muscle mass. Try to select activities that you enjoy doing and that are of interest to you. The third step is to target intensity, duration, and frequency for each activity. Decide how intense you want your program to be by your current fitness level, heredity, and other factors like your age. Decide how long you want to do each activity and the frequency of each activity per week. For example, Mary decides she will go swimming three times a week for an hour each time. On the alternate days or days in-between she will do weight training. The fourth step is to set up a system of mini-goals and rewards. If you reach one of your mini-goals, reward yourself. Go shopping or see a movie, or do something special to reward yourself. You deserve it! The fifth step is to include lifestyle physical activity in your program. Try to be more active during your daily routine. For example, take the stairs instead of the elevator. Also you can park your car a further distance from your destination and walk the rest of the way. Step six is to develop tools for monitoring your progress. Make an activity chart (also known as an activity log) and keep up with your activities that you decide to include in your program. An example of an activity chart is located below.