Fitness
Knowing what you want out of exercise may get you motivated to begin. Some benefits of exercising include:
- More energy
- Improved self-image
- Weight control without dieting
- Control over appetite
- Higher endurance or stamina – not being winded easily
- Better conditioned heart and lungs
- Less tension
- Greater management of stress
- Better ability to fall asleep and stay asleep
- Less chance of injury
- Toned muscles
- Healthier cholesterol level
- Quicker healing
Build your routine gradually to help prevent sore muscles, injury or burnout. You won’t see conditioning results after one weekend of working out; usually your fitness level will start to improve after 2 to 3 weeks, with measurable improvement after 4 to 6 weeks of regular exercise. Most people, however, find the feel better mentally after only doing a little exercise.
Your workout, should involve three phases: 5 minutes of warmup, 20 or more minutes of exercising in your target range, and 5 minutes of cool down.
A warm up helps loosen your muscles and helps your heart and lungs to slowly increase their level of functioning. For a warm up, try doing your activity at a slow motion pace, or do some slow easy stretches.
The cool down is also very important. It allows your body to slowly relax and helps avoid the dizziness and muscle soreness that stopping abruptly can cause. Repeating your warm up exercises or walking can effectively cool you down.
