Healthy Exercise
The second step on your path to fitness is to get active. Lots of people have that “ugh, exercise” feeling when they consider getting up off the couch. Perhaps they imagine joining a gym and hitting the cardio machines at five in the morning.
Truth? That IS boring – and when it’s boring, it will seem hard and not worth it. Next thing you know you’re skipping your workouts.
The good news is that getting exercise can be as simple as getting active in enjoyable ways. For example, you can go for a walk or a hike in the woods. You can join the family on a bike ride. You can start playing sports like basketball. You can go swimming. Or if you enjoy going to the gym and taking advantage of the cardio equipment, do it.
You can do any of these and more at least three times per week for at least 20 minutes (more if you’re trying to lose weight). The trick is to pick something that you’ll enjoy, at a time that you’re more likely to do it.
some people think that the best time to exercise is first thing in the morning, as it can give you a good energy-bursting start to the day. However, if you’re not a morning person – no matter how good your intentions – it won’t work for you. So choose a time that fits your schedule and your preferences instead.
Now you’ll find that different people will suggest to you different types of exercise – either low, moderate, high or variable intensity. If you’re just starting out, you’ll want to do low intensity and work your way up. Start slow and don’t over do. Improve as the weeks go by.
But what if you’ve been exercising for while? What should you do?
My best recommendation is that you do a variety of exercises. The reason is because not only are different exercises good for different goals, but also because your body is highly adaptable. That means that if you keep doing the exact same thing, eventually your body will adapt – and you’ll start to lose some of the benefits of the exercise.
For example, if you are looking to burn fat, you may incorporate some low to moderate intensity “steady state” cardio such as walking. However, if the only exercise you do involves walking, eventually your body will adapt. End result? You’ll won’t burn as much fat.
A good idea is to mix things up continually. During one workout you can walk, while on another workout you can mix it up by walking a bit, then jogging a bit, then sprinting a bit, and then back to walking (AKA a “variable intensity workout”). On still another workout you can bike, while for another you might want to use the elliptical machine. On other workout you may sprint as far and as fast as you can, then walk for a few minutes, then repeat eight or twelve times (AKA “high intensity interval training”).
Not only does changing your routine keep your body guessing, it also keeps you entertained. Less boredom means there’s a better chance you’ll stick to this healthy lifestyle!
