How do I know what is right for me when it comes to exercise?
You may be in the position where you've never really worked out before. Or, you may be someone who has worked out regularly but really don't know if what you are doing is what you should be doing. The key to remember is that there is no one absolute best way, or best program for everyone. Each individual is different and will respond differently to any particular workout routine. And no program will work forever for anyone, regardless of who you are. The longer you exercise, the more often you need to change your routine in order to keep your body responding. Beginners can go for probably 6-8 weeks on the same routine, intermediate 4-6 weeks and advanced 2-4 weeks. This doesn't mean complete changes, it could be as simple as changing the order of the exercises, changing the repetitions, or rest between exercises.
But before you can change the workout you have to know what to do for the workout to begin with. How much cardio? How much weight training? How much stretching? This is mainly dependent on two things, what you want to accomplish and where you are now relative to it. You first want to figure out what your main goal is and how far you have to go to get there. You must also take into account your past and present experience with exercise and physical activity. A beginner who wants to lose 10 lbs of fat vs a professional athlete who wants to lose 10 lbs will have vastly different workout routines. When it comes down to it there are really only about 3 different goals that most everyone has. They are losing weight, feeling better and getting more muscle. For each goal the workouts will be very different, however they still all contain the basic parts of an exercise routine at some level or another. Each of them will have some weight training, cardio training and flexibility training. The amounts of each and the intensity level will vary greatly and will be unique to that particular person and their specific goals. The bottom line is if you are currently doing nothing at all anything you do will improve your fitness and health (anything except doing highly demanding super advanced routines that you may find in bodybuilding magazines). If you already are working out but your progress has come to a halt you probably need to change your routine in some way. So go ahead and change the exercises you're doing, or change the order you do them in, or change the number of reps you do. Just these slight changes should give your progress a boost. For beginners or any of you who haven't worked out regularly in a long time start out with 30-45 minutes of weight training 3 times a week, every other day. On the days in between do 30 minutes of cardio either walking (outside/treadmill) or on an elliptical machine. It's not fancy, but it will get you started on a routine that you can develop consistency with. All in all it's about consistency regardless of the program you follow, you have to do it and do it on a regular basis if you want to see progress.
Mark Rogers is a fitness consultant who works with clients in their homes in the San Francisco Bay Area and with clients across the world online. He has been involved in fitness for over 15 years and has a diverse variety of experience training clients of all ages and levels in both health clubs and private homes. He can be contacted through his website http://www.markrogersfitness.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Mark_J_Rogers/212127
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