Starting A Fitness Program That Is Right For You

Starting a new fitness program can be a daunting task for many. With so many different workouts, health fads, exercises, and superfluous information, simply planning what your program consists of can be more difficult than actually acting upon it. However, if you can properly start a fitness program that is best for your lifestyle and body, it can have major impacts on your health and overall wellness. Here are some simple steps you can take to begin your journey towards achieving overall better physical health.

Before starting any program, you’re going to want to assess your fitness level. By doing this, you’ll be able to give yourself a benchmark for what kind of work you’ll be doing. In addition, it will allow you to properly measure your progress more accurately. First, check your pulse after walking about a mile in total, and record it. Next, see how many sit-ups, push-ups, or modified push-ups you can do at once. Finally, test your flexibility by seeing how far forward you reach your legs outstretched in front of you.

After recording all of these scores, you’ll want to ask yourself what your fitness goals are. Are you trying to lose weight? Gain muscle? Prepare for a coming marathon? Each of those have a specialized focus, but all contain the same overall premise of increasing your physical health. No matter what, make sure you get at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise for every workout you do. This could include a run on the treadmill, a walk uphill, sprinting interval training, or a stair master. After your cardio, implement 30 minutes of muscular training. This can include kettle bell swings, body weight squats, push-ups, sit-ups, and other various weight exercises. Finally, spending 5-10 minutes after your workout stretching your muscles will increase your flexibility and allow your muscles to properly recover.

Once you have created a plan for yourself, you’re going to want to start slowly and gradually build your way up. Make sure you give yourself a good amount of time to warm up and cool down, in order to ensure you avoid any injury. You need to make sure you listen to your body. If you are pushing yourself too hard, your body will certainly make it known. Any pain, nausea, shortness of breath, or dizziness is your body telling you something isn’t right.

If you’re thinking that since the holidays are in full swing, and what’s the point in starting a fitness program now, think about this: waiting to achieve your fitness goals is simply pushing back the potential progress you can acquire by starting right now. Don’t let the holidays be the reason that is holding you back. Begin by starting small, and utilize rewards for sticking to your program. If you go out and complete 4-5 workouts in a week, allow yourself to let loose one day during the weekend, and enjoy the good food that typically comes along with the holidays.

While a single workout program can’t be is tailored to every person, here is an example of a few basic workouts that can be incorporated into a complete fitness program by someone looking to increase their physical health.

Lower Body
-5 minutes of stretching/warming up
-30 minutes on the stair master
-3 sets of kettlebell swings for 15 reps
-3 sets of bodyweight squats for 20 reps
-3 sets of body weight lunges for 20 reps
-5 minutes of a cool down period

Upper Body
-5 minutes of stretching/warming up
-30 minutes of uphill jogging on the treadmill
-5 sets of push-ups/assisted push-ups for 10-20 reps
-3 sets of dumbbell curls for 15 reps
-3 sets of dumbbell tricep extensions for 15 reps
-3 sets of dumbbell shoulder press for 15 reps

Your fitness program will evolve over time as you see what works and what doesn’t. That’s the beauty of striving towards improving your physical health. It’s a struggle, and the journey is never easy, but the hardship that it requires makes the reward that much sweeter.