Fitness for Beginners-Before You Jump Right In

Even as a beginner, fitness is an important goal. Exercising is a great way to get into shape, improve your health, become more flexible, and improve your stamina. Before you jump right into an exercise plan as a newbie, there are some things you’ll need to consider first so that you don’t hurt yourself and end up not being able to reach your goals by the time you’d like to. 

Be Honest About Your Current Abilities

Most people give themselves more credit than they’re due. They believe that they’re in better shape than they actually are. In their mind, they think that they can perform difficult exercises and that may stem from memories of their youth when they were more fit. 

But in reality, they attempt something that’s too difficult and end up sidelined before they really get to delve into their fitness program. Don’t let that happen to you. You want to be wise about exercising. 

The best way to do that is be honest about what you can do and cannot do. There’s no shame in not being able to handle exercising to the max when you’re someone who has a history of sitting over working out. 

Have You Been a Couch Potato?

If you’re someone who’s spent years or decades as a couch potato, it wouldn’t be wise or make sense at all for you to decide you’re going to run a marathon. You’ll end up hurting yourself and even if you don’t do that, you probably won’t be able to even get close to the finish line because your body will be in agony. 

There’s a limit to what you can do when your physical abilities don’t match up to the picture you have in your mind’s eye. It can be intimidating to walk into a gym and see others lifting mega weights or strolling around with muscled bodies and six pack abs. 

But don’t let that hold you back or make you feel like you can’t accomplish your goals. 

What you have to keep in mind is that it’s okay to start small. Starting at the beginning and taking it easy is exactly where you’re supposed to be – and take heart in the fact that you will be able to do more as time goes on. 

Ignore all those bodybuilders

Ignore all those bodybuilders you might see at the gym. Those people weren’t born with those bodies. They worked at it week after week and they started in the exact same place that you will – at the beginning. 

They put in the work and that’s all it takes. You might not have the same build or strength as others, but all you need is the drive and to show up to workout. Be honest with yourself about what your body can take. 

If you’re someone who wheezes and is out of energy just walking to the end of your driveway, you’re not going to do well if you try to jump into a high-intensity workout. Know where you stand by gauging what your true fitness level is. 

Determine what your cardio abilities are. You can start slow and gradually build in any kind of exercise. But you must know where you’re at physically so that you know where to safely begin. 

Fitness: How to Work Out Properly 

It’s so tempting to jump into exercising when you feel that rush of motivation. You want to change your body and your lifestyle and you want it now. But there’s a lot of information that you have to know and equipment to learn how to use before you start working out. 

If you don’t take the time to learn this, you’re going to end up discouraged. All it’ll take is one pulled ligament to set you back and that’s what can happen if you don’t know how to work out properly. 

One of the things that you must learn is how to warm up before a workout. Don’t ever skip this part of an exercise routine, even if you’re in a hurry. This is the part that prepares your muscles for movement. 

By loosening them up, they relax and this can prevent injuries. A warm up also increased the body’s flexibility. By being able to move easier, you perform better. A warm up also gets your blood pumping, which can help your muscles be able to handle the exercise load. 

What to Do at the End of Your Workout

At the end of any exercise routine, you’re also going to need to cool down. You want to do this step because a cool down returns your heart rate to its normal beat. It also regulates your breathing and relaxes the body. 

Never skip a cool down, either – because you don’t want to leave your body in an amped up state. Skipping a cool down leads to sore muscles and blood pooling in the lower part of your body. 

It also causes you to lose some of the benefits of the resting state after exercising. You need to learn how to work out properly in order to use any of the exercise machines in your fitness program. 

Knowing how the machine operates

Knowing how the machine operates is the first step to preventing an injury. It’s easy to develop a sprain when you’re not positioned correctly. When you know how to use the machines, it gives your body a more efficient workout. 

Being in the dark about it leads to poorer performance because you won’t be targeting the muscles correctly. You’ll end up with less desirable results, which can throw off your motivation and hamper your ability to reach your goals. 

Learn how to track your heart rate before you exercise. This step gives you an accurate picture of your fitness level, which can help you reach your goals. When you check your heart rate, this will tell you if you’re working out as hard as you should be. 

It’s a way of measuring your effort. By tracking your heart rate, you’ll be able to test your pacing and see what your resting heart rate is. This will help you know if you need to make some adjustments to your fitness routine or not. 

Another part of working out properly is learning about the types of exercises that you want to perform. You’ll need to know how many times a week you should do them, what the set of reps should be, and what level of intensity as well as how long each exercise portion should last. 

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