Expert Advice
Spring into Shape: Tips for Starting a Fitness Program
by Rick DiScipio, Med, CSCS, NSCA-CPT, NASM-PES
Spring is here! Here are some helpful exercise tips for breaking into the sunshine months:
Set realistic goals
Don't try to do too much too soon. If you have not exercised in a while, begin with walking for 15 minutes a day, increasing the time by adding 10 more minutes each week. If you belong to a gym, hire a trainer to help you design a personalized exercise program.
Become more active
Pick ways that you can become more active in your life. For example: taking the stairs instead of the elevator, hiking with the family, gardening, mowing the lawn or taking an extra-long walk with the dog.
Enlist a workout partner
Whether it’s at the gym or walking outdoors, find someone that shares your fitness goals and motivation to succeed.
Choose a fitness program that you enjoy
If there is no passion in what you do, you will quickly lose your motivation to exercise. Enjoying what you do makes the whole 'fitness experience' a lot of fun. Whether you enjoy group exercises classes or lifting weights, research indicates that people are more likely to engage in exercise that they like.
Schedule time for your exercise
Research shows that when people skip a workout, there’s a 62 percent chance they’ll miss an exercise session the following week. Make your exercise program a part of your everyday life. Commit yourself to accomplishing your goal and don't make failure an option.
Enjoy your health journey
It may take some time and effort to make your exercise regimen a part of your daily life, but remember to never give up and to stick with it!
Rick DiScipio is an exercise physiologist at BIDMC’s Tanger Be Well Center.
Above content provided by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. For advice about your medical care, consult your doctor.
Posted April 2012
