Are you considering a new exercise plan and can’t wait to get started? Just like building your house on a solid foundation, it is important to understand how your new exercise plan may affect your body and what the best forms of exercise are to achieve your goals.
Step 1: Prepare
Chiropractors and other medical health professionals are great resources for determining your current physical condition and identifying any potential weak areas that need to be strengthened before you go full bore into that new plan.
A range of motion analysis identifies the mechanics of your joints before you begin your new exercise plan to ensure they are functioning properly. For example, if you plan on doing body squats, but have a hip or knee issue which doesn’t allow you to to move through the full range of motion, you would perform the exercise incorrectly and possibly injure the area.
Gait Analysis
Running is a fun activity many people enjoy. Some of us feel like born runners. However, running is an extremely repetitive activity, and running on concrete is especially high-impact. Ensuring your knees and hips are properly aligned will prevent injury during your runs. As you can imagine, it is extremely important to have your gait analyzed if you are currently running or planning to pick up a running program like the couch to 5k program.
Overall Health
Consider having your blood pressure taken and doing a quick but thorough medical review of your health before starting out your program. If you start out right, it means you can stay active without issues and achieve your goals even faster.
Step 2: Getting Started
Gaining flexibility is a great way to start up your program. If you are already flexible continue to maintain this flexibility. Surprising there is such a thing as overflexibility, you can be naturally hyper-flexible or you can develop hyper-flexibility if you stretch too often – this can be determined by your health care practitioner. A good example would be someone like a yoga instructor who has the best intentions in the world teaching people yoga and develop over-flexibility. I also see gymnists with this issue who develop join pain or other issues from over-flexibility. If you’ve lost some range of motion, it’s important to loosen yourself up before taking the plunge into a heavy duty exercise routine.
Pilates is a great way to increase flexibility. Also, consider the free stretching classes from Akasha body basics in our building. if you are looking for a great way and extremely cost effective way to limber up.
Walking is also a fantastic and really fun exercise to start out with. Find a friend or a walking partner and get going. Many people have lost significant weight and built up tremendous health with just walking; try it!
Step 3: OK so I’ve got the green flag and I’m flexible, I’m ready to go for it – now what?
Many people consider low to mid range activity to be the absolute best form of exercise for weight loss. While there is no denying that cycling, walking and jogging are all great for heart health, the physical fitness community has started to swing to a new theory.
For people who are physically fit and want to try an intense form of exercise, burst activity shows an incredible amount of potential towards weight loss. Burst exercise refers to mixing brief periods of activity with brief periods of rest to boost your metabolism. This style includes programs such as Pace [link].
Exercises like sprinting are ideal for healthy individuals who are attempting to lose body fat.
In Conclusion
Work with a health practitioner who understands your goals and who is willing to work with you to help you achieve them. Assess your current physical health and develop a plan that allows you to reach your goals – and remember, staying healthy allows you to reach you goals more quickly.
