How do you start working out?

The fitness world is a busy place. The number of workouts you can find online can be overwhelming. How do you pick the best method of training? Which exercises should you do? Let's simplify things to help you get started. Once you start to workout regularly you will begin to learn and build understanding of the theory and practice of exercise science. So let's get started.

Fitness basics

- 150 minutes per week

-Start easy

-Keep a record

First off, goals are an important part of fitness. If you don't know what you are trying to do you won't know when you have succeeded. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends 150 minutes of exercise per week. This is an awesome goal to start with! We will discuss this goal in more depth in later blog posts. For right now it is enough to start with. Any form of movement counts! What ever you feel comfortable doing start there. Things like walking, swimming, biking, or jogging are all excellent ways to start!

Secondly, always begin at a level you can handle. Too much too fast is the way to injury and burnout. Yes you want to progress get stronger and faster. Even so building the foundations of fitness is critical. The body adapts slowly and thrives on gradual increases in intensity. We will explore more about progression and how to build strength in later posts.

Thirdly, start a fitness journal. This is the one that I struggled with the most when I started working out. However, I have come to realize the value of good record keeping. When you write stuff down you can refer back to it later. This is important and will become more important as you progress in your workouts. To start let's just use it as a way to make a record of your 150 minutes of movement per week. Write down the date, the type of exercise performed and the duration of the exercise.

Start with 150 minutes of exercise every week for the next 4 weeks. Make a record of your activity. This is the foundation of fitness.

Enjoy your active minutes, Anna