A Beginner's Guide to Working Out: How to Start Exercising

You’ve possibly heard the saying… “if you don’t use it you lose it”.  That goes for muscle mass, flexibility, tendon strength, and cardiovascular health.  Exercising regularly is essential and one of the best things you can do for your health. 

Soon after you start exercising, you'll begin to see and feel the benefits that physical activity can have on your body and well-being.

However, if you haven’t been exercising, working it into your daily routine takes a lot of determination, and sticking to it in the long term requires discipline.

If you're considering starting to exercise but don't know where to begin, this article is for you. Here's all you need to know about starting a routine and sticking to it.

Why Exercise?

Regular exercise has been shown to significantly improve your health.

Its greatest benefits include helping you achieve and maintain a healthy body weight, maintain muscle mass, boost your cardio health, reduce your risk of chronic disease and essentially improve the quality and longevity of your life!

Additionally, research has shown that exercise can lift your mood, boost your mental health, help you sleep better and even enhance your sex life.

And that's not all — it can also help you maintain good energy levels.

In short, exercise is powerful and can change your life in so many ways!

Common Types of Exercise

There are various types of exercise, including:

• Aerobic: Usually the core of any fitness program, it includes periods of continuous movement. Examples include swimming, running and dancing. You can enjoy the same benefits through the use of treadmills, elliptical machines, spin bikes, Stairmasters, or rowing machines.
• Strength: Helps increase muscle power and strength. Examples include resistance training, plyometrics, weight lifting and sprinting. Convenient and effective Home Gyms can provide you with the resistance exercises that your body needs to maintain great muscle tone.
• Calisthenics: Basic body movements done without gym equipment and at a medium aerobic pace. Examples include lunges, sit-ups, push-ups and pull-ups.
• High-intensity interval training (HIIT): Includes repetitions of short bursts of high-intensity exercise followed by low-intensity exercises or rest periods.
• Boot camps: Timed-based, high-intensity circuits that combine aerobic and resistance exercises.
• Balance or stability: Strengthens muscles and improves body coordination. Examples include Pilates, tai chi poses and core-strengthening exercises.
• Flexibility: Aides muscle recovery, maintains range of motion and prevents injuries. Examples include yoga or individual muscle-stretch movements.

The activities above can be done individually or combined. The important thing is to do what suits you best and to have fun with it!