What is the right exercise program for you?

OK, so you decided to start getting in shape but what is the best way for you? What do you want to accomplish? Do you have weight to lose? do you want to feel better? Do you have a wedding or high school reunion coming up? Maybe you just want to reduce your stress levels. Whatever your reasons, there are different approaches to accomplishing them.

We all know that you need to find something you enjoy doing or your will not stick to it! If you hate running then don't run. For me personally I dislike running on a track because you go in circles and it's not fun. I do however love running on the grass, it's the soccer player in me I am guessing. It's like a diet, if you don't like cabbage you will not stick with the fad cabbage soup diet for more than a week. Pick something you know you will follow through on because it is fun and you enjoy it. I recently found out that I like zumba and was going to the gym on base for their zumba classes but found that the xbox kinect zumba game was convenient and fun and fit my schedule much better than the evening classes 40 minutes away.

If your goals are to be more flexible or de-stress you will want to incorporate some yoga style exercises or general static stretching (warm up first! We'll talk about this one later) into your routine to assist you in accomplishing your goals. This does not mean you have to go to a class (unless you want too). General yoga moves like downward dog, child's pose and sun salutations can be a great starting point. The picture below will take you through the sun salutation routine.

As for weight loss, you will need to get moving. Again, find something you enjoy whether it be walking or roller skating, playing on the playground actively with your kids, or joining a soccer or softball team. The goal is to get moving and burn some calories. Diet and exercise go hand in hand with weight loss, I don't care what anyone else says you need both to be successful.

Don't lose motivation:

Scheduling your workouts is important and keeping your commitments simple to start will help you build momentum. There is nothing worse than going all out and trying to workout 6-7 days a week and then crashing and burning after a week or two. Start with 3 days a week of moderate activity of 30-45 minutes and increase gradually by adding more time up to 60 minutes before adding more days. You will still see results and you will stick to your program more closely. You may even enjoy it more and get excited for the days you are doing your activities.

I have so much to tell you about but I'll leave it at this for now!

Rest is a good thing, but boredom is its brother.