Not everyone is a seasoned pro when it comes to working out, but the great thing about the activity is that you don’t have to be. Anyone can walk out their front door, put one foot in front of the other, and be jogging in no time. However, not just any workout regimen will be right for everyone, and some advanced exercises will require discipline and perhaps even guidance from a trained instructor.
If you’ve gotten away from working out for months or even years and would like to get back in to it, then make sure you do so in a way that is conducive to good health. Enact some of the tips from the Mayo Clinic that are on hand from a new report.
Depending on your age, one of the first things you’ll want to do is speak with a doctor to determine if you’re healthy enough for a given exercise regimen. Although a physical from your family physician may be able to deduce this fact, speaking with a sports medicine specialist is perhaps the best course of action, as he or she can highlight the type of workout that would suit your lifestyle.
If you’re intent on getting out there without speaking with a doctor, though, make sure to at the very least get some vital information about your health. Monitor your pulse rate and get an idea of what your body mass index is. Figure out how long it takes you to walk a mile and gauge how many pushups you can accomplish in a given sitting. These things provide a baseline from which to build out your exercise regimen.
Although the start of a new workout is when you’ll feel like cutting corners, this is precisely the time when you don’t want to do that. Designate times and days to exercise, working out at exactly those moments week after week, while leaving room for recovery from injury. Over time, you won’t have to force yourself because you’ll feel odd if you don’t work out.
Don’t go crazy on your first day out of the gate either. You’re playing the long game when you start a workout. If you sprint as hard as you can as long as you can the first day, you’ll feel miserable the next, and your chances of coming back to that workout shrink. Slow and steady truly wins the race.
Finally, don’t try out more advanced exercises from the get-go. Cardio work like jogging or swimming or biking is a great place to start, as is lifting some very light weights. Give yourself time to adjust before you hit some of the more daunting machines at the gym or go on a cross-country skiing trek that will test your mettle.
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