Working out is the perfect way to stay in shape and take care of both your physical and mental health. However, with so many amazing exercises, it’s sometimes difficult to find just the perfect workout regimen for you. Before you decide on a certain workout program, you’ll need to find out whether your body is ready for strenuous exercise, asses your current fitness level and a few more things that will prepare you for your future fitness regimen.
Check your health
Before you start working out, you need to know whether your body can take it. You should go to the doctor and do all the necessary check-ups that will tell you whether you’re ready for the workout you want to do. Furthermore, if you have chronic medical conditions, such as heart disease or diabetes, by all means, consult with your doctor on the type of exercise you should or shouldn’t do.
Asses your fitness level
Determining your current fitness level will help you decide on the type of workout you should start with. Therefore, make sure you see what your pulse rate is before and immediately after walking 1 mile. To assess your aerobic fitness, see how long it will take you to walk 1 mile or 400 meters, or in what time you’ll run 1.5 miles. Try to do as many half sit-ups, standard push-ups or modified push-ups, at a time, to determine your muscular fitness. See how far you can reach forward while you’re sitting on the floor with your legs in front of you to test your flexibility, and measure your waist circumference, and your body mass index to assess your body composition.
Set your fitness goal
Every workout regimen will bring you to a certain goal. While some of the exercises will tone your muscles, others will help you burn calories fast, and others still will improve your endurance and flexibility. Therefore, make sure you know exactly what you want to achieve with your fitness regimen and modify your workout accordingly. If you’re a beginner or leaning towards advanced fitness level and you want to lose weight, Zumba is the perfect workout for you. A high-intensity training is vital for burning calories, and it will keep your heart rate safe. Zumba is a total-body workout that burns about 500 calories per class, which is even more effective in weight management than cardio kickboxing and step aerobics.
If you aim towards muscle toning, CrossFit will be your cup of tea. Resistance training is the key to building muscle, and functional movement performed at tremendously high intensities that CrossFit is based on, will give you incredible results. It builds lean muscle and has a very high caloric expenditure at the same time. If you work out regularly and dedicate yourself completely to the workout, you’ll improve your fitness level by 20 percent in only six weeks.
For improved performance and endurance, a boxing boot camp is the perfect workout. With quality gym equipment, you’ll do the efficient workout easily, and tighten your core in no time. Feel free to do it in pairs and bring your friend to the gym to hit the boxing class together. With a combination of quick-moving punches and fast-paced plyometric drills and jump rope, you’ll improve your coordination and speed, tighten your core and shred your arms.
The combination of dance coordination and isometrics is a great low intensity workout for those who want to improve their flexibility. It isolates small muscles with short ranges of motion leaving you with toned muscles without making you look bulky. Whether you’re at an intermediate or advanced level of fitness, the Bar Method will help you get limber and burn up to 300 calories per class.
If you want to look good, feel good and help your body stay healthy‒ start working out. Visit your doctor, check your health and find out whether you’re ready for a high or low intensity fitness program. Assess your current fitness level, and set the goal for your workout. Decide whether you’d like to lose weight while exercising, or you want to improve your stamina, flexibility or maybe strength. Modify your workout according to the goal you’ve set, and you’ll start seeing results even after a few weeks of dedicated exercising.
Guest Blogger
Diana Smith can be reached at dianasmith.dany@gmail.com
