Get that body moving: GUWellness: Mind, Body, Soul

As you probably already know, the benefits of exercise are vast and may vary from person to person.  Losing weight, increasing energy levels, and keeping your body healthy and in shape are just a few of the many reasons to start and continue exercising. While your motivation to get started may be different from those listed above, the important thing is to get moving! But before you do, here are some important points to keep in mind.

1. Check With Your Doctor First

Before you start any weight loss or exercise program, talk it over with
your doctor. Your doctor can help with your meal plan and exercise
program, and check to make sure that you do not have any physical
conditions that might be affected by the exercise program or activity
you have chosen. In general, most doctors will encourage you in your
decision to lose weight and become healthier. They may even offer to
monitor your progress so that you can see other medical benefits, like
reductions in your cholesterol and blood pressure.

2. Begin With A Graded Exercise Program

Start off your exercise program slowly and gradually. Your body will
adapt to the exercise you are giving it if you give it the time it needs.
Go too fast, though, and you may have to stop to recover from
injuries that have appeared because your body was not ready to cope
with the stress. Also remember that you may not be the young athlete
you used to be. Don’t expect to take up where you left off in high
school and be just as good or just as strong. Be patient, and you will
be amazed at how quickly you get back into your old exercise routine.

3. Focus On Technique

Your time spent exercising will show better results if you focus on
technique instead of work load. Don’t let your desire to work at the
next level lead to you doing exercises or activities incorrectly. Poor
technique can lead to injuries and reduce the benefits of the exercise
being performed. For example, leaning forward or using your arms
to hold you up when exercising on a stair climber, not only puts
your body in a bad posture for the exercise, but also reduces the load
on your legs during exercise. In this case, you are better off reducing
the load you work at so that you can maintain the correct posture.

4. Try Cross Training

Cross Training is a great way to begin exercising without placing
too much stress on one part of the body. For example, if you run
one day, try swimming or cycling the next. This allows different
muscles to be used while still getting the overall weight loss benefits
of aerobic exercise. This switching of exercise activities can help you
stay interested in exercising as well. For example, doing a number of
different activities for a shorter period of time in succession is a good
way to work through exercises and activities that you find difficult.
These activities are often a lot easier to complete if you know you
only have to do them for a short period of time, and that there is
another activity that you enjoy following it.

5. Keep Track Of Your Progress

One of the best ways to see the progress you have made is to record
the exercise you have done and note your improvements. You can
keep track of the number of times you exercise, the length of time
you exercise, what activities you did, how hard you exercised, and
how you felt while you were exercising. If you prefer seeing your
improvements in a chart, pick one aspect of your training, like how
long you exercise during your workout, and plot that over time.
Seeing yourself get better will keep you excited about exercising and
encourage you to keep improving.

6. Enjoy Exercising

Do everything you can to make sure you enjoy exercising. Find
friends that want to do that activity with you. Change activities
regularly so that you don’t get bored with what you are doing. Join a
club if you would like to be with others when you do your activity and
get the equipment you need to make sure you have no excuses for not
doing your exercise. Find out what makes exercise fun and rewarding
for you and then do everything you can to make sure your exercise
time has those things. If you use this approach to exercise and activity,
you will ensure that exercise becomes something you want to do,
rather than something you just have to do.