Grinnell: Easy steps to get active and healthy

Starting a fitness program may be one of the best things you can do for your health. With your doctor’s OK to exercise, physical activity can reduce your risk of chronic disease, improve your balance and coordination, reduce chronic pains and injuries, help you lose weight — even improve your sleep habits and self-esteem. A lot of times getting started can be very tough and even intimidating for many individuals. Well there is some good news- starting an exercise program can be much more simple than you would think. You don’t need to be in great shape, be athletic, or have marathon like workouts to get in shape. Let’s look at some easy steps to get the groove of working out!

Asses your individual fitness level

A good way to start out is to see where you are currently at with your health and fitness status. This may sound bias but the best way to do this to hire a fitness professional (personal trainer). A lot of people get the impression that if you hire a personal trainer that you need to be attached by the hip with them and train with them all of the time spending lots of money.

That couldn’t be farther from the truth. You can utilize a trainer just once or twice to get a very good idea of where your current fitness level is at, find out what you need to work on, and set goals to get you going in the right direction. A fitness professional will help you go over your current state of health, previous and current injuries that need to be addressed, and maximize your quality of workouts to set up a safe and most affective workout plan.

Think of it this way, you wouldn’t diagnose yourself with a certain illness and pick a medication to take without consulting your doctor, so why start an exercise program with consulting a trained professional? When hiring a health and fitness professional look for a science related college degree and accredited certifications such as National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA-lift.org), National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM.org) and American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM.com).

Designing a fitness Program

After you consult a health and fitness professional or even a friend that has an idea of what to do if you are not interested in hiring someone, keep these things in mind.

Considered your fitness goals: Are you starting a workout plan to loose weight? Run a 5k? Reduce pain and injuries that have been bothering you? Reduce your blood pressure or other health risks? Have a clear cut focus on why you are staring an exercise program. Have some clear cut goals so that you have a focus, and so that you can monitor your progress as well.

Think about what you like to do and what you don’t like to do. You will never stick with something that you don’t like. Who does? If you don’t like to run, don’t run! If you don’t like to go to the gym, stay at home and workout! Choose something you enjoy and you will thank yourself. Exercise is not punishment. Have fun and be creative! There are so many things to do.

Set realistic progressions and expectations for yourself. Of course we all want to see immediate results from an exercise program, but make sure your are realistic with what you want to achieve. First you must start slow with your intensity and volume of your exercise program. I recommend staring with 3 days a week of 20 minute workout sessions consisting of some strength, cardio, and flexibility. Never set the bar too high in the beginning. You will get overwhelmed and get frustrated if you don’t do as much as you anticipated. If I see my client achieve that small goal we will increase our frequency and duration accordingly. Each week increase the duration of your workouts by 10 minutes until you eventually builds up to an hour. Increase your frequency by 1 day every 2-4 weeks until you reach 5 days a week.

Include exercise in your daily routine. Finding time to exercise can be very hard in our very busy lifestyles. To make it easier and hold yourself accountable, schedule time to exercise as you would any other appointment. You also can include exercise in your day by dong a quick 20 minute walk or strength routine during work, or playing with your kids outside. It doesn’t have to be a long bout of exercise, it can be quick and to the point!

Variety is the spice of life. There are so many modalities of exercise. Strength training, Yoga, Pilates, running, walking, and more! Try all that seem interesting to you and have fun! Also having variety in your workouts (cross-training) helps prevent boredom and helps reduce the risk of injuring or overusing one specific joint or muscle.

Allow time to properly recover. Lots of times we go at an exercise program full steam ahead. While this good attitude to have we must also look out for how much we are exercising and gauge if it is too much. This can lead to overtraining and will cause aches, pains, and fatigue that we don’t need. Plan recovery days and make sure to use a foam roll for self massage, hot and cold contrasts using either a hot tub and cold dip, or a shower, and proper nutrition (discussed in my next article).

Where do I exercise? The gym? At home? Well I like both. I encourage people to have a gym membership because paying the membership dues gives incentive to get there and workout, but also have a backup plan and have some simple equipment at home. A stability ball, resistance bands, dumbbells, and a foam roller are all you need and you are good to go at home! Try both and see what works for you. They both can get the job done.

Let’s get started!

Start slow and build up accordingly: This goes for individual workouts. Always warm-up by foam rolling, stretching, and some simple dynamic warm-ups so that your body is prepped and ready to exercise

Break it up: You don’t have to do all of your exercise at once. A few 10-15 minute bouts of exercise might fit in your schedule better than one 30-45 minute session.

Listen to your body. If you start to feel joint or muscle pain, severe fatigue or shortness of breath it might be a sign that you need to back off. On the other hand, if you are feeling like you are not exerting yourself hard enough, breaking a sweat, or increasing your heart rate a little, it means that it is time to pick it up!

Some final quick tips

Do something that you enjoy: you are most likely to stick with it.

Make a commitment: get a friend or family member that will hold you accountable. Make a commitment to yourself and your training partner.

Make reasonable goals for yourself: Don’t set to high of a bar when you are starting an exercise program. Be realistic and you won’t get overwhelmed.

Tell people what you are trying to accomplish: You need all the support that you can get. Friends and family can help you through the tough times. A good support system can mean a lot.

Starting an exercise program should not be intimidating or feel like a second job. It should be a daily activity incorporated in your everyday routine that works best for you. Find what works for you and roll with it!

Look for next week’s article for easy steps on how to clean up your nutritional intake, which in my opinion is the most important component of living a healthy and active lifestyle.

written by Justin Grinnell B.S., CSCS, NASM-CPT