Considerations of a Beginning Exerciser

The hardest part to starting an exercise routine is actually committing yourself to doing so. Once you’re sure that you want to add exercise into your daily life, you have to ask yourself a few questions. How are you going to exercise? When are you going to exercise? Where are you going to exercise?

Type of Exercise

You first need to figure out what you like to do. If you used to play a sport in high school or college, this can be your exercise. The activity can be anything that’s fun and gets your heart beating. Skateboarding, roller blading and even hockey can all be good options. If you want to lift weights, then use that. The answer to this question will also depend on what your goals are.

Cardio

If you’re looking to tone up your body or lose a lot of weight, the main type of exercise you should be doing is some sort of cardio such as running, biking or playing a high intensity sport. If your main goal is to gain weight and muscle, then you should engage in resistance training. A combination of both types of exercise (weights and cardio) will yield the best results.

Schedule

Once you’ve figured out what kind of exercise you want to do, finding a time and place is next. Your daily schedule will determine the time and place of your workout.

If you go after work, try and find a place on the way back home. It’ll make it a lot harder to say no if a gym or track is right on the way home. It’s really easy to give up when you’re tired, hungry and just want to get home. Having to drive 20 minutes to get to a gym won’t help you stick to any routine.

The Bottom Line

These are the most important considerations to take when starting to exercise for the first time. Once you get these out of the way, you’ll find the reasons or excuses you had for not being physically active will be mostly gone. This will let you easily begin your active lifestyle.