Beginning your fitness training- slow and steady. By Simon White
23.06.2010
When you begin your voyage towards your fitness goals it is important to realise that slow and steady is key. In my time in the fitness industry I have seen many people with good intentions have to reduce their weekly sessions simply because they are trying to do too much too soon.
When starting out as a complete beginner to exercise it is important that you know your limits as to what your body can and can’t do. That is not to say that in the not too distant future the tasks that seemed extremely challenging now will soon seem like a walk in the park. It is often the case that someone going straight into running after a long lay off from exercise can experience certain injuries like Plantar Fasciitis or ITB syndrome (which are essentially overuse injuries). I have worked with many people within a diverse range of ages, body shapes and in some cases physical disabilities and have always found that this slow constant progression is the best way for someone to see long lasting results.
If a new client is a complete beginner I feel it is a good idea to improve their base fitness by simply going out walking and then trying to do as many short slow runs as possible as an interval format. See below for an example:
Walk 5 minutes warm up increasing speed up into a comfortable jog. When you become tired or out of breath walk again until you are ready to continue slow jogging. This should be continued for the remainder of the session and it is important to keep track of the total time spent jogging so that you have a target to progress from during your next session. Afterwards don’t forget to dedicate some time to stretching because you may feel more delayed onset muscle soreness as a result of not being used to the intensity of the exercise.
After you have a base fitness it would then be a good idea for you to go onto gym based compound exercises which I will post in future articles.
So whether you are a complete beginner to exercise or have got the exercise bug back after a long lay off, remember that slow and steady progression is definitely the way forward.
Good luck on your Health and Fitness Voyage
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