If you haven’t done much exercising before, or if you’re getting back into it, there are a few things that can help you to plan an exercise program for yourself.
First, make sure to warm up! There are many benefits to warming up – it is a way to slowly increase your body temperature, limber up your muscles and joints, and heart rate. You can do some dynamic stretching or light aerobic activity.
Then, use the FITT principle to focus on either aerobic or strength training, or both. F for frequency – how many times per week will you do it, I for intensity – how hard you need to work, T for time – how long will you do it at one time, and T for type – what kind of activity will you do.
For aerobic or cardio activities, use the guidelines to plan for 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week. That can be 5 times of 30 minutes each, or something else that works for you. Intensity can be measured by your heart rate, your breathing rate or METs (Metabolic Equivalents – read more here https://sites.google.com/site/compendiumofphysicalactivities/home). Some examples are here.
For strength training or resistance training, try to exercise all major muscle groups at least twice a week. Try to give your muscles a rest of 24-48 hours between bouts of exercise. Intensity can be measured by the amount of weight you are pushing against. Overload your muscles to the point where it would be hard to do more repetitions. Time is measured not with minutes but with repetitions and sets – a common thing is to repeat the movement 10-15 times, for 2-3 sets, with a rest break of 30 seconds or a minute. Read more here.
Don’t forget to cool down! Now is a good time to do some static stretching of your muscles, especially ones you used during your main exercise. Flexibility exercises can be done every day, but at minimum you should do them 2-3 times per week. Make sure you do not feel pain when stretching, feel the point of tension and stop there – this is the intensity of flexibility exercises.
