10 Critical Things To Know About Exercise

Want to know some critical things you need to know about exercise?  Keep reading.

Numerous people begin exercising without performing some important activities first.  They plunge into exercise eagerly, unaware that they may be setting themselves up for injury if they don’t perform these important activities before starting

Before you embark on your own exercise regimen, here are 10 crucial things that you should do.

Get a check up before starting your exercise program

This is the first thing that you should do. You should not start exercising without knowing the current state of your health. Your health condition will help identify which types of exercises you can engage in.

Typically, if you have high blood pressure you should avoid exercises laying down or with your head below your heart.  It could elevate your blood pressure.

This is the reason why you should consult your doctor before you begin exercising. This is particularly important when you have a chronic illness.

Establish your goals and plan your exercises well

Yes, that’s right! You have to plan your exercise regimen before commencing your activities. To be able to plan, you need a goal.

What are your goals in exercising? You can create short term and long term goals.

Your goals must be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time bound. You have to take into account your doctor’s recommendations, as well.

Example of short term goals

• At the end of one week, I would have lost at least 2 pounds.
• At the end of one week, I would have performed 1 hour of daily brisk walking.

Example of long term goals

• At the end of 1 month, I would have lost 10 pounds.
• At the end of 1 month, I would have performed 30 hours of brisk walking.

Make sure that you meet your goals at the specified time. If you don’t, you have to find out the reason why, and adjust your strategies accordingly.

You must also have an organized program of what exercises to do, and when you should do them. Keep a record of your activities, so you can monitor your progress.

Perform only the appropriate exercises suitable to your health condition

Based on your doctor’s recommendations, choose the best exercise for you.  For individuals with severe heart ailments, physical exertion is usually not recommended.

You should obtain your doctor’s approval for any type of exercise program you decide to participate in.

If you don’t have any chronic condition(s), then feel free to choose your own exercises.  Either way, start slow, start with high reps (15 to 20 rep counts), light weight (50% to 65% of your 1 rep maximum) and be consistent with your exercise days.

When exercising, hydrate yourself properly

When you exercise, you lose water through sweating. So, you have to hydrate yourself properly by drinking water (not soda or coffee) while exercising.

The body is made up of about 70% to 80% water and needs to maintain that level in order to be able to perform its physiological functions efficiently.

Thus, hydrate yourself often to prevent dehydration. Dehydration can cause severe and unpleasant side effects.  Aim to drink at least 74 oz of water daily.  Add 8 oz for every additional hour of exercise activity you perform.

Add another 8 oz of water daily for every 50 lbs over your target weight.

Eat properly

When you exercise, you need energy. Hence, you should eat properly because calories from food is energy. Even if you want to lose weight, you must not starve yourself.

Starving yourself will only result to complications, which can endanger your health.

You need to eat enough macronutrients such as carbohydrates, protein and fats.  Eat at least 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables, and avoid fatty meat. Also, avoid alcohol, nicotine, and excess coffee.

You should check and calculate your own macros (www.iifym.com is a great site) but the typical person needs somewhere like 55 % carbohydrates; 25% fats, 20% proteins; and vitamins and minerals to maintain their energy levels for the workouts and activities of daily living.

Of course, the percentages are rough estimates, and they can vary based on your physical needs. If you’re not physically active, your macro needs would be different.

Exercise, without proper diet, is useless. These two ought to be in tandem for you to lose weight, lose fat and to maintain a healthy body.

For the exercise to be effective, it must be done regularly and not less than an hour daily

Of course, any type of physical activity will help in keeping you healthy. However, for exercise to be truly effective, you have to do it regularly, and for weight loss purposes, it must last at least an hour per day, at least 5 days a week.

Take note you can get your activity in and outside of the gym and even at work.

Park in the furthest parking space in the parking garage or parking lot, get up and move around from your desk every hour on the hour, if possible, walk home from work, etc.  You get the gist.

You may experience soreness at the beginning

At the beginning, you can experience muscle soreness after exercising, but your body will eventually adjust.  Don’t give up.

Just know your muscles are working, repairing and growing.   To alleviate some of the soreness soak in Epsom salt.

Nonetheless, if the soreness is severe or becomes painful, stop exercising and consult your physician.

Exercise helps prevent diseases

You may not know it, but exercise can help reduce your risk for certain chronic diseases.  This is because it promotes good circulation, enhances excretion of waste products from the body, encourages heart health and strengthens the respiratory system.

It also builds and re-enforces the musculoskeletal system.

Exercise boosts brain power

Yes, exercise can hone your cognitive abilities. This is due to the fact that the transmission of oxygen to the brain is increased because the circulatory system is enhanced.

Thus, if you want to clear your brain, you can take a short break and go for a quick run, lift some weights or meditate.

Overtraining can be harmful

Too much of any good thing can be detrimental.  Even exercise.  Overtraining will not help you lose weight.  You will actually be more prone to injury.  Your body is not a machine. It needs rest too. So, don’t overdo it and take rest days.

That is when the magic happens.

An hour of exercise a day is enough for the average person who wants to lose weight or lose fat. You can extend the time but don’t go overboard.

Conclusion

These are the 10 crucial things you need to know before exercising. Take note of them and apply them correctly. You need to exercise properly and with good form in order to benefit from it. After all, the reason you exercise is because you want to stay fit, trim and healthy, and not to injure yourself.

Have fun exercising too and keep these 10 important items in mind as you do.  

Which of these ten critical tips do you plan to incorporate?

Author bio:

Adelaide is a medical technologist by profession. She’s most interested in techniques to stay fit, trim and healthy. She had injuries related to sports, which she was able to resolve eventually. So, she wants to help people overcome their health problems. Visit her website at https://www.alifebeauty.com/.