Taking up exercise offers incredible benefits for physical and mental health, but how do you make sure you get the best out of your new regime? Whether you’re a beginner, or you’re getting back into training after a break, it’s beneficial to follow these steps to boost your health and well-being, reduce the risk of injuries and have fun.
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Go at a suitable pace
When you first start training, or you take up a new sport or an active hobby, it can be tempting to go full-throttle and put as much effort as possible into each session. While working hard is important to achieve results, it’s essential to go at a suitable pace. Try to stick to workout plans and regimes that are appropriate for your level of fitness and your health status. If you’ve never trained regularly before, or you haven’t played sport or been to the gym for months, start slowly and build up your fitness. Increase the duration of your sessions or the intensity of the workout gradually as you get fitter and stronger. If you go too hard too soon, you could put yourself at risk of fatigue or injury.
Let your body recover
Rest and recovery should be critical elements of your exercise regime. To push yourself safely and get the best results, you need to make sure that you have plenty of energy, let your muscles recover and stay injury-free. If you’ve done a hard cardio or weights session, go for a swim, a walk or a gentle jog the next day or try activities like yoga and Pilates. Take rest days and listen to your body. If you feel a twinge, your muscles are tight, or you’re in pain, take it steady. It’s also an excellent idea to invest in compression clothing from sites like THE ICONIC NZ to help your body recover after a workout. Training every day or working out several times a day can increase the risk of injury and it can also cause burnout, which will affect your performance levels.
Vary your workouts
Most of us start a new exercise routine with high levels of motivation, but it can be difficult to stay focused and maintain enthusiasm. If you tend to get bored of training, vary your workouts. Play different sports, introduce new activities or mix gym sessions with exercise classes or outdoor workouts. Make a plan that caters to your preferences. Some people love going to the gym but for others, it gets boring very quickly. If you prefer to be outdoors, why not take a hike, go for a bike ride or try your hand at kayaking or rock climbing? If you enjoy dancing or listening to music, investigate classes that will enable you to have lots of fun and meet new people while you work up a sweat.
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Set realistic targets
Setting targets is a brilliant way to motivate yourself to exercise and stick to a regime, but it only works if your goals are realistic. There’s nothing wrong with being ambitious and working towards major milestones, but it’s helpful to break goals down into manageable stages. If you dream of crossing the finish line of a marathon, for example, but you’re not a seasoned runner, start with a 5km fun run or a 10km charity walk. You can then increase the distance as you get fitter and your endurance and stamina improve. Celebrate every achievement.
Remember your why
There are multiple reasons why people decide to try to get fit or embrace a more active lifestyle. Some days, you may jump out of bed primed and ready for a morning run, but on other days, you might find it hard to muster up the energy to go to the gym or get your bike out. If you’re struggling with your motivation, always remember your why. Why did you start training? Did you want to boost your health and reduce the risk of health conditions and illnesses? Did you want to improve your mental well-being and target stress or anxiety? Were you desperate to have more energy to keep up with your kids? Did you want to lose weight or build more muscle? Did you want to feel more confident? Were you keen to add more structure to your day or spend more time outdoors? Whatever your reasons, being connected to them can help you to find the enthusiasm to get your body moving.
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Have you started a new exercise regime, or have you vowed to become more active in the next few weeks or months? If you’re on a mission to make the most of a new training routine, follow these steps. Go at a suitable pace, let your body recover, have fun, set realistic goals and remember why you wanted to get fit.
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