Adjust Your Exercise Program to Your Goal
You’ve decided it’s time you implement an exercise program into your daily routine. But before you randomly choose the program that, for whatever reason, simply appeals to you, consider and clearly define what it is you wish an exercise program to accomplish for you. Matching the exercise program to your fitness goals is essential for you to stick with the program and experience success.
So, what do you want to accomplish with an exercise program? Do you want to…
1. Reduce Stress and Nervous Tension
If this is your goal, taking part in challenging physical activities and high intensity exercise that lasts at least 30 minutes, three times a week that’s located away from your home or office would meet this goal. Consider activities like tennis or basketball, both will add the benefit of improving your cardiovascular health.
Other activities to consider are energetic walking; jogging; running; swimming; rope jumping; rowing; playing handball or racquetball; or taking martial arts. The key is to stimulate the body’s use of oxygen and drive the heart rate.
2. Weight Loss
An exercise program is only a minor supplement to a sound diet program. In order to lose a pound of fat, you must work off 3,500 calories. That’s equivalent to swimming the butterfly stroke for 5 hours, nine hours of playing table tennis, and more that 5 hours of running. Whew! Exercise should be used to tone and firm muscles. Recommended activities would be calisthenics, jogging, cycling, running or rope jumping.
3. Muscle Buildup and Strength
Weight lifting, playing football or soccer, climbing or doing isometrics are all good activities if this is your goal.
4. Power and Endurance
Look for an exercise program that offers alternate high intensity bursts of exercise with rests to improve power. Increase the duration to achieve greater stamina. The ability to work through pain is a must with this goal. Some suggested activities include basketball, cycling, running and rope jumping.
5. Flexibility and Suppleness
An exercise program that provides bending, twisting and stretching a few minutes everyday will improve your flexibility and suppleness. Choosing calisthenics, yoga, karate, judo, fencing or wrestling are a few recommended programs.
As you can see, the variety of exercise programs and the results of each vary immensely. Choosing an inappropriate exercise program that does not match your vision of what you wish to accomplish, will lead to disappointment and frustration. Clearly defining what your goal is in choosing an exercise program will make choosing one easier and promise a more successful outcome.
