Beginner’s Exercise Guide To Achieve Your Body Goals

There is more to having your optimum physical shape than just giving up your favourite foods, or even alcohol, for a week. You need to be on a disciplined diet and exercise program. Guidelines suggest up to an hour of exercise every day but how is that even possible in our already hectic lifestyles? Increasing activity into your daily routine is a great start, like parking a couple of streets from your destination to get in a little walking. However, to accomplish physical, fitness and health goals, you need to incorporate planned, purposeful actions, with an ultimate aim, into your schedule. Here is a beginner’s exercise guide to achieve your body goals

Set Your Goal And Stick To It

Starting or getting back to a workout routine involves more than simply scheduling your exercises and joining a gym. It is completely possible to join a gym and never really go, even as those monthly payments appear on your bank statement.

Momentum is a key part of regular exercise. It is not untypical to have weeks when everything goes according to plan then up pops something out of nowhere, such as a vacation or illness, to throw you off your game. Getting back can be tough, in part because you have lost that momentum. Rather than obsessing about making up for lost time with intense exercises, concentrate on simply getting some time in. Plan for the week and pat yourself on the back for simply for turning up.

Motivate yourself by making an appointment to exercise with a friend or arrange a free consultation with a personal trainer. Even if you do not sign up, getting back into the exercise environment may be just what you need. Why not try something completely different. Sign up for a local twerk dance class or check into that new yoga studio. A change of scenery and a new activity may be just what you need.

Set Your Goal And Stick To It

A solid exercise plan is the first step towards building the body you want. Sit with a weekly calendar and ascertain how many days of the week you are willing to workout.  Choose what particular type of activity you wish to engage in; for example, cardiovascular workout will help you lose fat whereas lifting weights will form muscle. Stick to your plan for at least one month and the gains you will see after four weeks should keep you motivated.

A regimen should include elements designed to better your cardio-respiratory endurance, the ability to engage in aerobics through actions like brisk walking, jogging, cycling or skiing. A good workout should also improve muscular strength, achieved most efficiently by use of either free weights, such as barbells and dumbbells, or lifting machines. Muscular endurance is also crucial, through conditioning exercises, weight training and actions like running or swimming. Finally, improved flexibility is essential through stretching exercises or through a discipline like yoga or pilates.

The Warm Up

Often overlooked, a good warm up session is essential before a workout. Its many physiological and psychological benefits include increased muscle elasticity reducing the risk of strains and causing trauma, heightened speed, strength and range of motion and hormonal shifts responsible for regulating energy production.

Typical warm up exercises include slowly increasing the intensity of your particular sport, for example runners should jog for a while and add a few sprints into the routine to engage all the muscles. Or alternatively adding movements unrelated to your activity in a slow steadfast fashion: calisthenics or flexibility exercises for instance.

The best time to stretch a muscle is after it has a modified blood flow and has modified temperature to prevent trauma. Stretching out a cold muscle may increase the risk of trauma from pulls and tears. So you are better off doing gradual aerobic workout prior to stretching.

Remember, the best time to stretch is after your workout as your muscles are warm and pliable with the increase of blood in them. Make certain your warm up starts out gradually, and uses the muscles that will be strained during workout. Try warming up in various ways, at various intensities until you find what works best for you.

Cardio

Integrate 30-minute cardiovascular workout sessions into your schedule. This form of exercise means that you are involved in an activity that elevates your heart rate to a level where you are working, but may still talk, also known as, in your Target Heart Rate. Cardio is crucial to burn off calories to help you slim down, increases your lung capacity, strengths the heart and reduces the risk of heart attack, cholesterol, hypertension and diabetes. It also helps you sleep better and reduces stress.

Decide a specific workout for a particular day of the week. Consider what is accessible, what suits your personality and what you would feel comfortable fitting into your life. If you like to go outside, running, cycling, hiking or walking are all great choices. If you love the gym, you will have access to stationary bicycles, elliptical trainers, rowing machines, treadmills, stair masters and more. At home, find a good workout video. Just about any activity will work, there is no ‘most proficient’ cardio exercise. Choose something you can see yourself doing at least three days a week.

Warm up and actively stretch out for five minutes prior to starting any activity, workout at a moderate pace for 20 minutes and follow with a five-minute cool down. Switch your schedule to fit longer workout periods if necessary. As you reach distance or intensity level goals, reset them higher or shift to a different action to keep challenging yourself.

Main Image: Jacob Lund