Proceed Slowly: A Slacker’s Guide to Getting Fit

Let’s face it – we’re lazy. We’d rather spend our time getting a pedicure than running on a treadmill. But even the best-looking toes in the world won’t make up for a body that we’ve let slide. So we decide to hit the gym. That was the easy decision. Now it gets harder – which gym? Where do we start?

Pick the Right Gym
Let’s start with picking the right gym. This may be the most important decision you make. Pick one that’s convenient for you – the last thing you want is for the gym’s location to keep you from going. Pick one that’s close to either home or work so that you can never fall back on the excuse of the gym being to far out of the way.

Get the Right Clothes
This may sound silly, but you’ll be surprised at just what a difference your appearance makes to your workout. Take a look around the gym – there are mirrors everywhere. You’ll be seeing your reflection a lot. Go out and get yourself some cute workout clothes. You’ll feel better about yourself and be better able to keep your mind on your workout.

Choose the Right Exercises
Once you’ve got the right gym and the right clothes, the next step is to find the exercises that are going to work best for you. Take your time to look around the gym before you set your workout regimen in stone.

Start with cardio – give the machines a test drive. Maybe the bike feels the best to you or maybe the treadmill makes more sense. Who knows – you may even fall in love with the elliptical climber. Whichever machine you choose, be sure that it’s one that’s comfortable. For instance, if you have joint issues, a treadmill workout may be too high impact for you or the motion of the elliptical climber might be too strange to start out. Remember, even if a particular machine will burn more calories than another, you only get the benefit of the exercise when you use the machine – so pick one you’ll come back to day after day

Now for strength training – choose the right exercises for your goals and for our fitness level. If you’ve never set foot in a gym, you’re at a different starting point than if you’ve just been absent for a while (even years). You’ve got a basic choice between machines and free weights. Here’s where a trainer can be invaluable. Even if you choose to go with the machines, it is still important to learn the basic movements – otherwise your workout could miss the target areas or, worse yet, you could injure yourself. Try them all out. Find the exercises that feel the best for you. And it doesn’t have to be one or the other – there is no rule against doing chest exercises on the machines and biceps curls with free weights.

Start At the Right Pace
This may be one of the most important pieces of advice you read here: don’t overdo it. It’s easy to want to see results quickly, but don’t push yourself too hard too quickly. That first day in the gym (or back in the gym for some of us) can feel pretty good and you might just want to go a little longer on the cardio or a little heavier on the weights – don’t.

You’ll thank yourself the next day. And the next. And the one after that. Nothing will end a newly formed workout commitment more quickly than pain. There will be plenty of days to “go hard or go home.” For now, just go and save the hard part for later.

Source: carefair.com