Last month, I decided that I would join the gym for improving my physical activity under the guidance of personal trainer. I took the first step in this fitness mission and joined the gym on 1st August Friday. Now, I am learning new fitness steps every day, so I thought I must write and share my experiences with fitness beginners & learners.
If you have also decided to start exercising. Congratulations! You’ve taken the first step on your way to a new and improved body and mind.
Exercise options are numerous, including walking, dancing, gardening, biking — even doing household chores. The important thing is to choose activities you enjoy. That will increase chances of making it a habit — Fitness Habit.
First question comes in mind – how much fitness exercise one should do?
For heart health, the American Heart Association recommends at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity, such as walking, on most days of the week.
I would say if you are getting less than that, you are still going to see benefits because of your Fitness Step. It’s not like if you can’t do 30 minutes, you shouldn’t do anything, because you’re definitely going to see benefits even at 5 or 10 minutes of moving around, and it would create a fitness sense in you.
Get Ready for creating your own Fitness Ozone Layer
The first step to any fitness workout routine is to evaluate how fit you are for your chosen physical activity. Whenever you begin an exercise program, it’s wise to consult a doctor.
Anyone with major health risks, males aged 45 and older, and women aged 55 and older should get medical clearance. But no matter what your medical condition, you can usually work out in some way.
After assessing your fitness, it helps to set workout goals. For example, do you want to prepare to run a 5K? Hit the gym five times a week? Or just walk around the block without getting winded?
Whatever your goals and medical condition, approach any new exercise regimen gradually and with caution.
Simple Fitness Workouts for Beginners
Before beginning any fitness routine, it’s important to warm up, then do some light stretching. Save the bulk of the stretching for after the workout.
Once you’re warmed up, fitness experts recommend three different types of exercise for overall physical fitness:
1. Cardiovascular activity
2. Strength conditioning
3. Flexibility training
These don’t all have to be done at once, but doing each on a regular basis will result in balanced fitness.
If you have joined the gym, you must learn all fitness activities from your personal trainer initially.
1. Cardiovascular activity
After little warm-up, you can start by doing an aerobic activity, like walking or running, for 20-30 minutes. I used Treadmill and walked for 20 minutes at a slow speed.
2. Strength conditioning
Initially, you should start these strength training fitness exercises under the guidance of personal trainer only. I did certain dumbbell exercises and isolated exercise like leg curl etc. Start by doing one set (8 to 12 times) of exercises targeting each of the major muscle groups.
3. Flexibility training
Flexibility or limberness refers to the absolute range of movement in a joint or series of joints, and length in muscles that cross the joints to induce a bending movement or motion. Exercise including stretching often improves flexibility.
The American College on Exercise recommends doing slow, sustained static stretches three to seven days per week. Each stretch should last 10-30 seconds.
I decided that I’ll try to post my fitness learning everyweek here on friday under section “Fitness Friday“.
Enjoy your physical fitness at FITNESS OZONE 🙂