by Karen Morse,Certified Fitness Instructor,Personal Trainer,and owner of I-Shape-U Fitness
Did you know that more people today die of diseases related to obesity than any other illness? Beginning a regular exercise routine may seem difficult and overwhelming for anyone who is overweight and out of shape. Yet,fitness and weight loss may be achieved utilizing four simple steps to include exercise as part of your daily routine. The key to success is finding a fitness routine that works with your individual lifestyle.
Step One:What is the first step toward better health? One of the best slogans ever created was the Nike ad,“Just Do It”. What can you do today to begin adding exercise into your life? How much do you sit during the day? Why not take a break every few hours and walk around the block or office building? Climb the stairs,instead of riding the elevator,to help burn more calories. What about parking your car at the far end of the mall parking lot? Movement,along with a sensible diet,increases the calories you burn and the weight you lose.
Step Two: Awareness is the second step toward putting more activity into your life. There are several ways you can increase your awareness level. Use monitoring equipment to track how many calories your body is burning and what your heart rate levels are during simple activities and exercise. This information is vital to understand what changes need to be made in your life. Notice what time of day you feel most energetic. Pick your highest energy time zone and use that time zone to exercise.
Step Three:Dust off the exercise equipment you have in your house that was purchased and never used or hasn’t been used in awhile. Is that equipment under the bed,in a closet,or being used as a clothes hanger? Why did you buy the equipment in the first place? Did it appeal to you because it looked like it would be easy to use or,was the infomercial to hard to resist? A simple way to begin using any piece of equipment is take baby steps to build stamina and strength. Yes,exercise can be simple yet effective.
Start with a circuit of working two minutes on the equipment and recover two minutes. Recovery means stretching,breathing,or walking around until you feel you can do another two minutes on the equipment. Repeat the circuit three times and you have just exercised for a total of twelve minutes! Your body will adapt quickly and within days or weeks you will increase the time from two minutes to five minutes or more. Remember to recover in between circuits to maximize the most calorie burn during the aerobic portion of the workout.
Step Four:The fourth and final step,to fitting exercise into you life,is to make sure you have an emotional support system, as recommended by Dr. Phil,to empower you to exercise. Ask a friend or your spouse to exercise with you or have a fitness coach to monitor your progress and encourage you toward success. The body is an amazing machine and when properly used will give you years of satisfaction.
Karen Morse,owner of I Shape U Fitness,is a certified Pilates,Fitness by Phone coach,and licensed counselor. Karen believes in the concept of doing less on a consistent basis to build stamina and fitness into your busy life. It doesn’t matter how overweight or out of shape you are,Karen believes in using baby steps because each individual works at their own pace and energy level. Karen also facilitates 1/2 day Fitness Ball seminars once a month to encourage people to exercise while having fun. Karen may be reached at kmorse29@earthlink.net or visit her website at www.karenfitness-weightloss.com.