How do I start?
Start talking to your doctor. This is especially important if you have not been active, if you have health problems or are pregnant, or people in a state of advanced age.
Start slowly. If you’ve been inactive for years, you will not be able to run the Boston Marathon after 2 weeks of training. Start with a 10-minute period of light exercise or a brisk walk every day and gradually increase the difficulty of the exercise and its duration.
How to stick with it?
Here are some tips to help you start and stick with an exercise program:
- Choose something you enjoy. Also make sure that is something that is physically right for you. For example, swimming is easier on arthritic joints.
- Get a partner. Exercising with someone else can make it fun.
- Vary your routine. You are less likely to get bored or injured if you change your routine. Walk one day. Bicycle the next day.
- Consider activities like dancing and racquet sports, and even chores like chopping wood.
- Choose a time of day that is comfortable. Do not work out too soon after eating or when it’s too hot or cold outside. Wait until later in the day if you’re too stiff in the morning.
- Do not be discouraged. It can take weeks or months before you begin to notice some changes from exercise.
- Forget the old saying, “No pain, no gain”. While a little soreness is normal after you start exercising, pain is not. Stop if it hurts.
- Make exercise fun. For example, read, listen to music or watch TV while exercising on a stationary bike. Find fun things to do, like taking a walk through the zoo. Go dancing. Learn to play tennis.
The benefits of regular exercise:
- Decreases your risk of having a heart disease, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, diabetes and obesity.
- Keeps joints, tendons and ligaments flexible so that it is easier to move.
- Reduce some of the effects of aging.
- Contributes to your mental well being and helps treat depression.
- Helps relieve stress and anxiety.
- Increase your energy and endurance.
- It helps you sleep better.
- It helps you maintain your weight boosting your metabolism is the rate at which you burn calories.