This post is a continuation of a series of posts on “Fitness For Beginners”. Hopefully, this series will help the beginner acquire the tools necessary for getting started on their lifelong fitness journey and give the more experienced some insight as well. This is pretty much a summation of my early months of dieting and exercise. Thanks for reading.
If you have already started considering your current fitness goals and have begun monitoring how many calories you take in per day, the next logical step is to introduce some regular exercise in your life. Ultimately, a well-rounded fitness routine would consist of cardio, strength training, and circuit training (a combination of both cardio and strength training). However, at this stage all we are focusing on is simply increasing the amount of activity you are currently doing in your day to day routine.
Starting at Zero – If you have little to no physical activity throughout the day then don’t be discouraged, Instead, realize that you are in a prime place to see the most dramatic results from any amount of exercise you add to your lifestyle. Transitioning from no exercise to regular workouts at least 3 times a week will burn a significant amount of calories per day. At this point, I would recommend beginning a regular cardio exercise program like this intro to running.
Early in my fitness quest, I was in this category. I had no activity in my life at all. In the beginning, I simply started walking with my wife around our neighborhood. Then I slowly began a jogging program designed to get me to jogging two straight miles. As I mentioned, this period of my life was very exciting since it was the period of most significant weight lost. Of course, the transition was also pretty difficult as I had to learn to get myself out of my comfort zone.
Take it up a notch – After you are somewhat comfortable in your regular cardio routine, try to add some strength training into your life. Whether you have access to a gym or not, GymJunkies.com is a fantastic resource for strength training from beginners to experts. Other options of continuing your physical activity levels:
-train for a race
-workout with friends
-test your strength limits
-join a local sports league
Go Slow – A main point I want to express here is to add physical activity into your life slowly. If I tried running a marathon my very first month into exercising, I probably would have collapsed on the road and given up all hopes of trying to get in shape. Take it one step at a time and only increase your level of activity as you feel ready. If you go too hard and burn out on fitness you won’t be doing yourself any good at all.
