Starting Your New Exercise Routine

Out of shape? Were never in shape?

Now's the time to change all that. But you need to do it intelligently and not hurt yourself. I don't mean minor discomfort, though it may cause major inconvenience when you have difficulty holding even a coffee cup! Clearly a sign that you've overdone things, but nothing actually that bad. No, you must watch out for sharp pain, and persistent discomfort that lasts over two weeks of rest.

These kinds of pains are complicated matters, well beyond the scope of this short introduction. But suffice it to say for now; you should do things the smartest way possible. So first consult a doctor to get medical clearance, for exercise is meant to be vigorous, except in cases where it should be modified to accommodate a medical condition.

After that, you need to know whether you plan on specializing or want to just get into a generally good shape. That is to say, do you plan on being an athlete, or do you want to just be healthy? An athlete is supposed to be fine-tuned for performance, while general fitness generally means that you're all right. Therefore, the right exercise regimen for you depends on whether you're looking to build muscle or simply to stay toned.

The special needs of the two will diverge at some point, but initially "out of shape" means "out of shape!" And this typically means excess weight, with muscular weakness commonly involved as well. In all cases, resistance training is strongly recommended, and absolutely necessary for those who cannot even attempt anything aerobic. There are three kinds of exercise: aerobic, such as running; anaerobic or resistance, which is namely weight-lifting, and stretching, which uses your muscles in a completely different way - stretching them instead of contracting them. If you cannot do aerobic exercises due to joint pain, for example, you must do anaerobic resistance exercises instead! Technically speaking, stretching can be done, but most overweight people will experience additional difficulties than the usual attending to stretching novices.

Arguably the most important thing to consider for anyone who's just started working out, is pacing. You're not going to be able to do a hundred reps on the barbells on your first visit to the gym, you need to work your way up towards that. It may not seem like a lot of work, but ten to fifteen reps, for example, of moderate resistance is more than enough to stimulate the muscles enough into growing. As you continue then over the course of a week or two, you'll find yourself getting physically stronger, and this is where you would increase the weight, or add more reps. The same strategy applies to aerobic and stretching exercises. Start off at a light jog on the treadmill for 20 minutes before trying to run a marathon!