How To Exercise - Getting Started
Exercise doesn't need to be complicated and elaborate. You don't need to join a gym or become an athlete. Getting regular exercise can include walking, working in the yard, jumping rope, or playing a recreational sport.Also See:
The simplest from of exercise is walking. A regular walking routine, whether specifically for exercise or just as a means of transportation, can have dramatic health benefits. Walking can improve fitness, strengthen the heart, reduce blood pressure, build bone health, and reduce overall stress levels. If you want to walk for exercise, aim for thirty minutes of brisk walking three times a week. A brisk pace is equal to three miles per hour or more, or about a 20 minute/mile pace. Keep in mind that the more fit you become, the faster you'll need to walk to continually increase your fitness. Learn more at About.com's Walking site.
The Components of Fitness
Walking can help you build a base of cardiovascular fitness and general muscular strength, but if you want to challenge your fitness, you'll need to find ways to incorporate a variety of exercises that target the various components of fitness.The components of fitness generally recommended for a well-rounded exercise routine include:
- Cardiovascular Endurance
Walking, jogging, cycling and any other rhythmic exercise that you can perform for an extended period of time builds fitness of your heart and lungs. - Strength
Resistance exercises help build muscle and bone strength to be able to lift heavy things without injury. - Flexibility
This refers to an ability to move a joint through its full range of motion without limitations or pain. - Balance and Agility
Balance and agility is the ability to quickly change your center of gravity, gracefully, smoothly and confidently. - Body Composition
This is the proportion of lean body tissue (muscle, bone, etc.) to body fat.
Type of Exercise - Add Variety by Crosstraining
The type of exercise you choose is entirely up to you. As long as you are combining the various components of fitness and able to exercise regularly, it really doesn't matter if you do calisthenics, play sports, go to the gym, or climb a mountain.Also See: Calories Burned by Type of Exercise
Frequency and Duration of Exercise
How often and how long you exercise is an important aspect of an exercise routine. For fitness, exercise three times per week and progress to four to five times per week. Depending upon your starting point, you may exercise as little as 10 minutes at a time and slowly build from there. Ultimately, the goal is to get a minimum of 20 to 60 minutes of regular exercise about three times a week.Also See: Design Your Own Exercise Program
Intensity of Exercise
The intensity at which you exercise is critical for both safety and progression. You can rely on the heart rate method for establishing intensity levels, or the perceived exertion scale. Beginners may start as low as 50 percent of their maximum heart rate and increase over time.Also See: High Intensity Training
The Principles of Conditioning
To obtain the highest form of overall conditioning, you'll need to follow some universally accepted exercise training principles. These six principles -- individual differences, overload, progression, adaptation, use/disuse and specificity -- are the key to continual progress during any exercise routine. Of course, you don't have to follow them all to be healthy, but if you are hoping to reach your peak fitness, you will need to incorporate these principles into your exercise routine over time.Beyond Basic Training
After you've built up a solid base of fitness with regular cardiovascular, resistance, and flexibility exercises, what's next? Here is when you can move into the highly phases of conditioning and begin sports-specific skills, and increase efficiency and power. These next steps can help you move beyond base fitness and get ready for competition.Also See: How To Achieve a Personal Best
