New to Exericse

WE know it can appear daunting to kick start a fitness regime but if you recognize the importance of investing in your own well-being, we know that we can build up your confidence with exercise and hopefully convert you to becoming lifelong addicts!

We have all been faced with the realisation at some point in our lives of needing to start exercising because our lives have become to sedentary and the nutritional balance has slipped in favour of convenience, fat and sugar which has resulted in the waist line expanding or noticeably getting out of breath doing what used to be a simple task like climbing a flight of stairs.

So well done you have made the conscious decision things need to change so what do we do next? A lot of people go mad and join a gym slip on a pair of trainers from the cupboard and hit the treadmill. The next day were so soar it hurts to breath but still determined hit the gym again, By the following day intensive care beckons cause you can't breathe unaided.

Then on release from hospital decide it's easier and less painful to go back to the old way of living till the next time we decide to get fit?

It really doesn't have to be like this, to start with all you need to do is write down your daily routine and try to include some of the following guidelines for getting more active.

1. Get checked out by your GP to ensure your heart and Blood pressure are within normal ranges to begin exercise.
2. Produce a 30 minute structured routine that fits with your lifestyle (It can be 30 minutes of structured activity through the day)
3. Try to make it habit forming and fitting (If it's an effort it won't last)
4. Must be enjoyable and not to painful to start with.

Here are some examples of things you can introduce into your daily routine to make you more active without making a huge effort, that way you're more likely to stick with it.

1. Taking Stairs instead of lifts
2. Do house work vigorously (Men & Women)
3. Brisk walking for 15 minutes (Best time after eve meal)
4. Get off the bus two stops early
5. Park the car 10 minutes away from the shops and walk in.
6. Cycle with the family or friends at weekends.

Once you have made your life more active and started to feel better with more energy and if some nutrition changes have been made maybe some waist line reduction? Then it's time to step it up a gear to keep the results coming. It's at this stage you may want to venture into a gym but be sure to sit down with a well qualified trainer and clearly outline your goals and requirements from the gym, Remember it still needs to be enjoyable and manageable, so don't commit to more than twice a week at this stage or you could be setting yourself up for failure.

Alternatively you might just decide to start some regular light intensity jogging to progress you on, all you need here are a good pair of trainers fitted for you to reduce the risk of injury and seek advice on how to build up your running mileage, don't do more than twice a week if your new to running and build up slowly and remember to stretch afterwards.

Visit our flexibility page for some effective safe stretches, and if you have any other questions before you start exercising go to "Contact us" and email your questions and we will do all we can to help you get started.