Beginning Exercise After Being Sedentary
We're constantly told these days that we need to be more physically active. In order to improve our health and prevent problems like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or even heart attacks, we need to be exercising more. But how do you get started if you haven't exercised in a long time, or maybe even never? And what kind of exercise should you do?
If you haven't exercised much and you lead a pretty sedentary life (lots of sitting, TV watching, computer use, video games, etc.), starting an exercise routine can be tough. You can't just jump into a high intensity workout. If you try to do too much too soon, you will hurt yourself and probably give up on exercising. Your body needs time to adjust to it's new activity. You need to start slow and work your way up.
For example, start with a short 10 minute walk 3-5 times a week. In the next week, increase your walking time to 15 minutes. In the next week, increase it again by 5 minutes. Once you're up to a 30 minute walk, you might want to start increasing your speed a little at a time. The important thing here is to be consistent. If you keep at it for several weeks, you'll start to see improvements and you'll be ready to tackle more strenuous activities.
Another important thing to keep in mind is to find activities you enjoy doing. If exercise is no fun for you, you'll have a lot of trouble sticking to it. So, if you can find a few physical activities you enjoy doing, you'll be much more likely to stay with your exercise routine. Don't forget that things like housework and working in your yard are exercise. If you're moving and working up a sweat (even if it's a little) you're exercising!
Some ideas to help you increase your physical activity level without over doing include:
* Parking at the end of the parking lot at work or at the store and walking to your destination
* Getting off the bus a stop early and walking the rest of the way
* Get up during TV commercials and walk around your house
* Take the stairs whenever possible – if you're not ready to walk up them, start with walking down them at first!
Each of these ideas is a small thing, but when you do these regularly throughout your day, you can increase your stamina for physical activity without having a big impact on your daily routine.
In short, there are a lot of easy ways to get started exercising. By starting small and working your way up, as well as finding activities you enjoy, you will be able to stick with your exercise routine and become more fit.
About the Author
Mary L. Duval has lost over 50 pounds and lowered her cholesterol with a proper diet and more exercise. She has used fun and easy forms of physical activity to help get her and keep her in shape. She launched www.easydailyexercise.com to help others find fun and easy ways to increase their physical activity.
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