What's your preference?
If you’re getting back into a life of exercise and discipline or starting out then make sure you start well by choosing what works best for you so you can stay motivated. The type of exercise you do all depends on what you like to do and what you don’t like doing, paying membership fees, and whether or not to buy equipment are all things you need to consider.
If you choose something that you don’t like to do, you aren’t going to keep doing it for a long time. Give it some thought, if you don’t like jogging, you aren’t going to get up at 6 AM to do it. If you can’t find something you like to do, choose something you hate the least, which will normally be walking, so let’s use walking as our example for an exercise programme.
Planning the exercise programme
Walking is a great exercise, as it suits all levels of fitness, so let’s use this as the example. Anyone can start a walking program at any time, it’s normally the intensity and duration that differs. Walking is also a social exercise,
as it isn’t difficult to find a training partner to chat with while you exercise. Walking with a partner will also make time go by faster.
No matter what exercise you choose, you should start at a low level of intensity and build it up over weeks, which is essential to the longevity of your exercise program. If you start off too hard, you could end up with an injury which will require time off to get over.
If you’re really in bad shape, you should start off by walking for 10 minutes each day, then, increase it by 5 minutes every 2 weeks.
To make things more interesting, you should try walking a different course every few days. You can also have a different friend to walk with you each day of the week.
Make it work for you
If walking isn’t your thing and you know you just won’t stick to it, then you may want to try a fitness centre.
I currently work at a fitness centre and there’s lots of variety to suit everyone’s needs, from swimming, gym membership, free group exercise classes and personal training sessions. If you still aren’t sure what you should do, then you should look into golf or tennis. Both are good social activities in most areas, and you can even meet new friends. Tennis is great for fitness although it isn’t always for someone who is just starting out. If you haven’t exercised in a long time, then golf may be the best activity for you as there’s less physical activity involved and more technique based.
Ultimately, it’s down to you to find out what works best and what you can see yourself committing to. Exercise and fitness is fun! you just have to try different things, get out there and see what works for you.
