Starting

The following article is a small excerpt from one of my books.  I hope you’ll want to learn more and let me help you to get into the best shape of your life.

This is perhaps the most difficult part of trying to lose weight and get into shape. We have been conditioned from birth to eat at least three meals a day. You have to eat or you’ll die, it’s that simple. You sometimes eat the wrong food, or too much or too little, but you do eat. Exercise is not that simple because you can live without it. It takes a commitment and dedication to start and maintain an exercise program. Only 15% of adults exercise the recommended 30 minutes of moderate activity five days per week.

It’s much easier to say, ‘I’ll start tomorrow’, or ‘I don’t feel like working out today’. My advice to thinking like this is ‘Just do it’. Including an exercise program into your lifestyle three to five times a week is very important. Once you get yourself conditioned to working out, it’ll become just like eating and sleeping, part of your daily life.

There will be days however you just do not feel well or don’t want to work out. For these blue days here is a tip, say to yourself you will start your routine. Do one set or three minutes of aerobics. If you still do not feel like training, then stop and come back tomorrow. This way you have not broken your routine and continued the conditioning process that will help you to maintain your training program. Chances are you will finish your workout and be glad you did.

You’ve all heard the saying ‘NO PAIN NO GAIN’. Well at first you will experience some muscle stiffness and if you’ve decided to do some muscle toning you may experience some muscle soreness, but not pain. If you do experience pain you are doing something wrong.

The pain they talk about is actually a burning sensation, here is how it happens. Inside your muscle cells is your body’s energizer, an organic compound called Adenosine Triphosphate or ATP. When ATP is broken down it releases a spark of energy that stimulates hundreds of microscopic filaments and cross strands within each cell and this triggers a muscle contraction. This chemical reaction repeats constantly and it is fueled by when we eat, drink and breathe.

When you begin to exercise ATP is quickly used so your cells create more from another compound called Creatine Phosphate or CP. Once it’s all gone your muscle cells draw on sugar (glycogen). Enzymes break the glycogen down to produce CP that in turn is converted into ATP. As the glycogen is used, lactic acid is created. As it accumulates in your cells, it begins to retard the ability of your muscles to contract and thus you get that burning feeling. This process is anaerobic (without oxygen) and allows you two to three minutes worth of contractions before the lactic acid builds up and inhibits your ability to workout. In this state ATP is metabolized without oxygen because your heart and lungs cannot provide oxygen fast enough.

When you continue strenuous activity beyond this two to three minutes, oxygen is able to come to the rescue and combines with the lactic acid to produce glycogen, which is then converted to CP and finally ATP. This is the aerobic state and allows your muscles to contract indefinitely, provided oxygen remains available.

Setting up your exercise routine is like reading a roadmap. There are many different paths to get you to your final destination. Setting up a routine and sticking to it will help you get to your final destination without getting lost, however there may be a few detours along the way.

How many exercises, what type and in what order depends on your objective and is explained in greater detail in the book ‘GET FIT STAY FIT’. But generally beginners should do one to two exercises per body part. Intermediate two to three and advanced should do three to four exercises per body part.

You should also train your larger muscles first because smaller muscles fatigue first and will limit the amount of weight you can handle when you start working the larger muscles. For example when training chest the triceps muscle is also worked. If you trained your smaller triceps muscle before training your larger chest muscle, you would find you had no strength left to perform your proper chest routine.

Rest and variety are very important. If you workout every day without alternating your routine or allowing sufficient time for your muscles to relax and rebuild, you will actually be doing more harm then good to your body.

Here are some precautions you should look out for;

– You should have a physical by your doctor before starting any exercise regiment

– If you find yourself fatigued two hours after you finish working out your routine is probably too intense for your current ability and you should reduce your intensity.

– Alcohol and exercise do not mix, never have and never will. Alcohol can inhibit your performance, cause dehydration and possibly lead to injury

– Smoking inhibits the exchange of oxygen in your lungs and therefore not enough oxygen is available to your muscle that need it when working out, thus decreasing your performance. Also may cause you to have shortness of breath.

– Do not exceed your limits. Keep track of your heart rate and make sure you are performing in your desired range.

– Exceeding your limits can also cause insomnia, blurred vision, and generally a lack of energy and irritability.

I know you want to get in shape and look great.  Whatever your fitness goal…to slim down…gain muscle…tone your arms or flatten your tummy…I’m here to help you accomplish your goals and to improve your fitness level. If you have enjoyed this article and the many other free features on my site, and would like some more comprehensive information such as fitness books and CD’s to aid you in achieving your health and fitness goals, please visit my ONLINE STORE where you will find innovative natural health and beauty products to help you become the BEST YOU CAN BE !