Fitness and Exercise
Beginner's Quick Guide |
Easy Workouts |
Exercise Ideas
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Weight Loss Warning
Skinny Pig's Quick Guide to Starting
Exercise
People who are new to the world of
exercise have some common complaints, excuses, and misconceptions. This quick
guide will address those and provide some answers and things to think about.
Issue #1 : I hate exercising!
That might be true, but you might have
been doing the wrong exercises or you might have bad associations with
exercise from your past.
I thought I hated exercise because I grew
up as a chubby kid. I shied shy away from exercising because I was horrible
at sports. But that was only because I never had a chance to get good at
them, because I was embarrassed about the whole situation. Kids making fun
of me certainly didn't help.
If you haven't ever been athletically
inclined, you might think that any physical work feels bad. It is true that
if you push yourself too far, exercise can be painful, but working that hard
should not be your goal. Exercise at an intensity level that works for your
body can make you feel good. Besides scientific stuff like endorphins, your
muscles respond very positively to being used. Exercise can help you with
stiff muscles, back pain, soreness, and even other problems like digestive
issues or blood circulation.
It seems to me that most people who
declare that they hate exercise actually never have tried very many workout
options. They probably also associate exercise with something boring or
tedious like running on a treadmill. Exercise does not have to be like that
at all.
One of the most important things about
exercising is to find something that you like to do. Do you like
volleyball, basketball, swimming, soccer, baseball? Join a league or casual
pick up games. Martial arts can be done by just about anyone and also allow
you to develop self-defense skills. There are also activities like hiking,
biking, skiing, or just walking through your neighborhood. The point is: if
you don't like a particular form of exercise, don't do it. Do something that
you like.
Issue #2 : I'm too out of shape to
exercise!
I was in art classes all through high
school and some of college. People would often say to me, "I could never
take an art class. I can't draw!" And my response was always, "If you took a
drawing class you would be learning how to draw. It's not necessarily for
people who already know how to draw."
Nobody is saying that you have to run a
marathon next week, or ever. Nobody is saying that you even have to run at
all. If you truly are very out of shape, starting a simple walking program
would do wonders for your health and fitness.
No amount of exercise is too small to
start with. If you'd like to be able to do fifty pushups but right now you
can only do two, then start with two. If you have a hard time walking around
the block, then start with walking to the mailbox. The people who run
marathons started with running for one step.
Issue #3 : Exercise = The Gym and I have
a problem with going to a gym!
You do not have to join a gym. I hate the
gym and if I never step foot in another one I will not consider that a loss.
I can't stand going nowhere on an elliptical machine and lifting weights.
Group classes at the gym are better but I never found any to be interesting
enough or high quality enough to stick with.
If you're worried that you'd have to
spend a lot of money on going to the gym, don't worry. You don't have to go
to the gym.
If you're worried that you'd have to work
out with a bunch of sweaty jocks and cheerleader-type girls, don't worry.
You don't have to go to the gym.
If you're worried about the locker room
(who isn't?), don't worry. You don't have to go to the gym.
If you're worried about parking, your
membership card, the sales people, germs in the pool, germs on the
equipment, waiting in line for equipment, the drive to and from the gym,
etc, don't worry. You don't have to go to the gym.
Issue #4 : I'm too embarrassed to be seen
in public exercising!
You do not have to exercise in public.
There is a great invention called The DVD Player. You can use it to play
DVDs. Some DVDs show you a workout that you can follow along with, right
there on your TV or computer!
Really, workout DVDs are great. You can
get any type of workout you want - yoga, kickboxing, pilates, tai chi,
belly dancing, balance ball, and so on. At places like Amazon or eBay you can
find many that are being sold used at a discount. You can even get them at
the library.
There are two things that are great about
this: 1) You can workout at home without having to worry about what you look
like, and 2) It's a really inexpensive way to try a lot of different
activities.
Issue #5 : I don't have time to exercise!
If you are inspired and motivated to
workout, you will find the time. Until then, you can come up with any excuse
or legitimate reason why you don't have the time to exercise.
You also may not realize that you don't
have to spend a full hour exercising every day of your life. If you're
currently not getting any exercise at all, any amount that you can add into
your schedule will be beneficial. Depending on your fitness level, 20-30
minutes of solid exercise without slacking off might give you significant
results.
If you're truly so busy that you don't
have 20 minutes in your day, you can work exercise into what you're already
doing. For example, if you have to spend a lot of time on the phone, you
could be doing leg lifts or bicep curls during that time. Or, if you're busy
around the house doing chores, do some squats every time you pick something
up, or carry things around up over your head. Whatever you can do is good.
Issue #6 : I don't know what to do for
exercise!
Here is a page of
exercise ideas.
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