Guidelines For Beginning an Exercise Program. Copyright 1. 99. 5 Health Response. Ability Systems. Quick Index: The following guidelines, prepared by the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, are intended for the average healthy adult. They tell you what your fitness goals should be and how often you should exercise. But, if you are over 3. If you currently have - - or have ever had - - any of the following medical conditions, you should consult with a physician prior to beginning an exercise program, according to the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports: High blood pressure. Far greater risks are presented by habitual inactivity.
Physical fitness is a condition that helps us look, feel and do our best. More specifically, it is: . And, since what is done with the body can affect what is done with the mind, fitness influences to some degree qualities such as mental alertness and emotional stability, according to the Council. Fitness is an individual quality that varies from person to person. It is influenced by age, sex, heredity, personal habits, exercise and eating practices. You can't do anything about the first three factors. However, it is within your power to change and improve the others where needed.
Physical fitness is most easily understood by examining its components. Upper- body strength, for example, can be measured by various weight- lifting exercises. The sit- and- reach test is a good measure of flexibility of the lower back and backs of the upper legs. It refers to the makeup of the body in terms of lean mass (muscle, bone, vital tissue and organs) and fat mass. An optimal ratio of fat to lean mass is an indication of fitness and the right types of exercises will help you decrease body fat and increase or maintain muscle mass. How often, how long and how hard you exercise, and what kinds of exercises you do should be determined by what you are trying to accomplish, not by what someone else is trying to accomplish. Your fitness goals, present fitness level, age, health, skills, interest and convenience are among the factors you should consider.
For example, an athlete training for high- level competition would follow a different program than a person whose goals are good health and the ability to meet work and recreational needs. Your exercise program should include something from each of the four basic fitness components. Each workout should begin with a warmup and end with a cooldown.
As a general rule, space your workouts throughout the week and avoid consecutive days of hard exercise. Here are the amounts of activity needed for the average, healthy person to maintain a minimum level of overall fitness. Included are some of the popular exercises for each category. Warmup: Five minutes to 1. Low intensity movements that simulate movements to be used in the activity can also be included in the warmup. Weight training is the most effective, but not the only, way to increase strength.
Popular aerobic conditioning activities include brisk walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, rope- jumping, rowing, cross- country skiing, and some continuous action games like racquetball and handball. These stretching exercises can be included after a warmup or during a cooldown. Strength training results in specific strength changes. For example, optimal swimming performance is best achieved when the muscles involved in swimming are trained for the movements required. It does not necessarily follow that a good runner is a good swimmer. For example, in addition to increasing cardiorespiratory endurance, running builds muscular endurance in the legs. Exercise that doesn't raise your heart rate to a certain level and keep it there for 2.
The heart rate you should maintain is called your target heart rate. There are several ways of arriving at this figure.
Beginning cardio training tips and rules to get started. This guide can help get you started plus a sample interval training routine for intermediate and advanced exercisers.
Beginning a Fitness Walking Program Walking is one of the easiest and least expensive forms of exercise. All you need is a good pair of walking shoes, comfortable clothing, and the.
One of the simplest is maximum heart rate (2. Thus, the target heart rate for a 4. Some methods for figuring the target rate take individual differences into consideration. Here is one of them: Subtract your age from 2.
When checking heart rate during a workout, take your pulse within five seconds after interrupting exercise because it starts to go down once you stop moving. Count your pulse for 1. The key to weight control is keeping energy intake (food) and energy output (physical activity) in balance. When you consume only as many calories as your body needs, your weight will usually remain constant. If you take in more calories than your body needs, you will put on excess fat. If you expend more energy than you take in, you will burn excess fat.
Exercise plays an important role in weight control by increasing energy output, calling on stored calories for extra fuel. Recent studies show that not only does exercise increase metabolism during a workout, but it causes your metabolism to stay increased for a period of time after exercising, allowing you to burn more. How much exercise is needed to make a difference in your weight depends on the amount and type of activity, and on how much you eat. A medium- sized adult would have to walk more than 3. Although that may seem like a lot, you don't have to walk the 3. Walking a mile a day for 3.
- Exercise Smarter Log workouts, gain insights, and reach your goals. Get started as a free user! Are you a trainer or gym owner? Please consult a physician before beginning any challenge, diet plan, supplement.
- Walking is a basic movement we use every day, but it can require discipline to walk enough to gain health benefits. It's recommended that individuals take at least 10,000 steps each day for exercise, which can be easily.
- Find and save ideas about Walking Program on Pinterest, the world's catalog of ideas.
- How to start and maintain a fitness walking program, and where to find walking information. Tips for beginners, racewalking, events, marathons, and walking gear.
- Walking is a great form of exercise. Beginning a consistent walking pro-gram is the first step to exercising while on the Medifast 5 & 1 Plan. Medifast recommends beginning the 12-week walking program after you.
If you consume 1. You could take that weight off, or keep it off, by doing 3. The combination of exercise and diet offers the most flexible and effective approach to weight control. Since muscle tissue weighs more than fat tissue, and exercise develops muscle to a certain degree, your bathroom scale won't necessarily tell you whether or not you are .
Body composition is a better indicator of your condition than body weight. Lack of physical activity causes muscles to get soft, and if food intake is not decreased, added body weight is almost always fat. Once- active people, who continue to eat as they always have after settling into sedentary lifestyles, tend to suffer from . Exercise generates great amounts of body heat.
Light- colored clothing that reflects the sun's rays is cooler in the summer, and dark clothes are warmer in winter. When the weather is very cold, it's better to wear several layers of light clothing than one or two heavy layers.
The extra layers help trap heat, and it's easy to shed one of them if you become too warm. In cold weather, and in hot, sunny weather, it's a good idea to wear something on your head if you exercise outside.
Wool hats or ski caps are recommended for winter wear, and some form of tennis or sailor's hat that provides shade and can be soaked in water is good for summer. Never wear rubberized or plastic clothing. Such garments interfere with the evaporation of perspiration and can cause body temperature to rise to dangerous levels. The most important item of equipment for the runner is a pair of sturdy, properly- fitting running shoes. Training shoes with heavy, cushioned soles and arch supports are preferable to flimsy sneakers and light racing flats. The hour just before the evening meal is a popular time for exercise. The late afternoon workout provides a welcome change of pace at the end of the work day and helps dissolve the day's worries and tensions.
Another popular time to work out is early morning, before the work day begins. Advocates of the early start say it makes them more alert and energetic on the job. Among the factors you should consider in developing your workout schedule are personal preference, job and family responsibilities, availability of exercise facilities, and weather.
It's important to schedule your workouts for a time when there is little chance that you will have to cancel or interrupt them because of other demands on your time. Avoid exercising strenuously during extremely hot, humid weather or within two hours after eating. Heat and/or digestion both make heavy demands on the circulatory system, and in combination with exercise can be an overtaxing double load.
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