Are you looking forward to starting a fitness routine this year? Well, that is one of the best resolutions you can have. You are five steps away from achieving your fitness goal. This article shows you how you can live your dream of becoming fit and healthy.
How to Start Fitness: A Beginners’ Guide
If you want to set off your fitness journey, you don’t need a heart of steel. All you need is to set a goal and stick to it no matter the hardships you face. Here is a simple guide to keeping you started to your fitness routine:
Know your fitness level: You should have a rough idea of how fit you are. Access and record your fitness score because this is crucial to determining if you’re making any progress when you start exercising. Some metrics you need to find out include pulse rate, how long you can take to walk a mile, BMI, waist circumference, number of push-ups you can make, and how far you reach forward when you sit on the floor with your legs in front.
Have a fitness program: When fitness comes into mind, it is easy said than done. It is much easier to say you’ll be exercising daily. However, you need a plan to ensure this comes true. When setting your fitness plan, you should always consider your goals. For instance, do you want to lose some weight, or you intend to improve your body shape? Your goals will determine what you achieve in every exercise you choose.
Start small: If you are going to exercise for a long, you should start small and progress slowly. You can consult your doctor to help you choose the best fitness program if you have an underlying medical condition. Stick to a fitness routine that enables you to improve your strength, motion, range, and endurance slowly.
Make exercise part of your routine: When coming up with a daily routine or things to do, you should include exercise in it. You should assign some time to exercise just like you spare some time for necessary appointments. Always purpose to begin your day with 30 minutes of intense workout every day.
Include different activities: Exercise can be monotonous or boring when you don’t spice it up. Therefore, you should include other activities in your program to break off the boredom. If you want to reduce the risk of workout injury or overusing a specific muscle, involve low-impact exercises like swimming and biking.
Why Exercise?
There are many reasons why you should kick off your day with some laps or jumping rope. Here are the benefits of including exercise in your daily routine:
Lose weight: When you exercise every day, you burn excess calories and lose weight. Working out and sticking to a balanced diet can help you cut weight and live a healthy lifestyle.
Lower the risk of diseases: You lower the risk of contracting lifestyle diseases like High Blood Pressure, Type 2 diabetes, obesity, and arthritis when you exercise every day.
Age well: Daily exercise can lower osteoporosis, a problem that most people experience when getting older. By engaging in running, jumping rope, and brisk walking, you strengthen your muscles and bone, which helps you age well.
Fitness Tips for Beginners
If you are exercising for the fort time, you will need these tips to improve your chances of becoming fit.
Stay Hydrated
The best way to last longer on the track is to keep your body hydrated. When you exercise, your body loses a lot of water through sweating. Therefore, ensure you drink enough water. Get some water before, during, and after the exercise to keep your body hydrated.
Optimize nutrition
Taking a balanced diet when you choose to exercise daily is another important aspect of a fitness program. If you want to get the most out of your workout, ensure you consume all the essential foods like proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, and drink lots of fluid.
Carbs provide the energy you need to ensure you endure for long as you work out. You should also consume enough protein to speed up the process of muscle recovery. Protein helps to repair worn-out tissues and build muscle mass.
Warm-up
Before you take it to the treadmill, you should do some warm-up. Warming up before engaging in intensive exercise can help to reduce workout injuries and improve your flexibility and performance.
If you want to reduce injuries when working out, always start your exercise with some simple aerobic moves like walking lunges, arm swings, and leg kicks. Try doing the easy movements of the exercise you are planning to do. For instance, before running, you can start by walking uphill.
Rest your body
If you want your body to return to its normal state, you should take some rest after an intensive exercise. Restore your normal breathing by taking a couple of minutes to cool down. It will also help to reduce the chances of muscle soreness. After an intense aerobic exercise, you can walk or stretch your body.
What are the types of exercise?
Balance
Balance is any exercise that helps you prevent falls. Most of this exercise keeps you moving with both feet on the ground. Examples include sitting up using your hands, standing up without using your hands, and standing on one foot.
Aerobic
Aerobic exercise is any workout that speeds up your heart rate, which is vital for your body to function optimally. This form of exercise increases endurance and gives your heart and lungs a workout. You should always aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise every week.
Some aerobic exercises you can include in your program are swimming, brisk walking, running, jumping rope, dancing, and jogging.
Strength training
Strength training is any form of exercise that helps your body regain muscle mass and make your bones strong. With strength training, you can get up the stairs, stand up from a chair, and get up off the floor without using your hands. Examples of strength training are push-ups, squats, and weight-lifting.
Stretching
Stretching helps your body maintain flexibility to reduce the risk of falling, developing muscle cramps, and pain in joints. Whenever you stretch your muscles daily, you make them longer and more flexible. Always include stretching exercises in your fitness routine, like four times a week, to reduce the risk of workout injury and remain flexible.
