The Beginners Guide to Fitness

So you’ve decided to make the move towards an improved body and mind with your very first fitness regime. Congratulations! Exercise can literally add years to your lifespan, curing some forms of heart disease and helping various people to recover from certain forms of cancer. Exercise offers assistance with issues such as arthritis, and can also help to prevent and even reverse the effects of depression. Of course, on top of all this, exercising can also help people to lose weight and get into shape too! There is something of a catch though, as you will have to devote some time and effort to your exercise program if you want the benefits to really stick. This doesn’t mean you have to stick to a strict, boring and time-consuming regimen at the gym though. Gym equipment rental can offer you all of the rewards of high-quality exercise machines and training at your own time and pace.

Step one: Get Ready

The first step in approaching fitness, is to properly evaluate yourself and decide just how fit you for the physical activity that you have chosen. Whenever you’re going to start using a new machine or begin a new exercise program, it’s usually a good idea to consult with a doctor. Anyone who suffers from medical risks, as well as males aged over fourty-five and women aged over fifty-five should get medical clearance before getting started. However, regardless of the medical condition you may have, you will usually find that there is some form of exercise that you can safely do.

Warming up is the act of prepping your body for the exercise it is about to do. Remember that stretching and warming up are not the same thing. The body may be warmed with light aerobic movements such as gentle motion or slow walking, and these actions help to increase blood flow, turning up the heat in your joints and muscles. The warmer your muscles are, the less likely you are to strain them.

Understand Fitness Terms

Even long-term fitness enthusiasts may be somewhat confused about what particular fitness terms mean. These are some of the phrases and words that you may be likely to encounter on your exercise adventure:

• Cardiovascular, or Aerobic activity: These are certain forms of exercise that work to speed up your heart rate and breathing for a temporary period. Usually, cycling, walking, swimming, and running will all fall under this category.
• Flexibility training: This area of training helps to enhance the range of motion that can be withstood by your joints. Inactivity and increasing age tend to have an impact on the ligaments, tendons and muscles of your body over time, and stretching can assist in making them more versatile again.
• Weight, Strength and Resistance training: This kind of exercise aims to improve the function and strength of your muscles. Typically, exercises in this category include such things as weight lifting and workouts with stretching resistance bands. You may engage in push-ups too, wherein you work against the gravitational pull of your own body.