Why exercise?

1. Makes you feel better physically.
   
2. Improves self-esteem and provides a more positive mental outlook.
   
3. Makes you look better and helps to control your weight.
   
4. Increases your balance, coordination and agility.
   
5. Helps prevent osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease and non-insulin dependant diabetes.
   
6. Makes you feel invigorated and more energetic.
   
7. Strengthens bones and muscle, giving you the functional strength for everyday living.
   
8. It is a good way of making new friend sand keeping your mind off food!

Considerations before exercising.

1. Have realistic expectations.  Do not expect to turn into a model overnight. (The majority of us never will.)  Try to understand that people come in all shapes and sizes and genetics plays a major part in your body makeup and proportion.  Exercise is about looking and feeling your best, not somebody else’s best.
   
2. Set reasonable goals for yourself:  Plan reachable short-term goals each week that will not leave you overwhelmed or set you up for failure.
   
3. Work exercise conveniently into your day:  You know the story, unless exercise sessions are planned during realistic time slots, your workouts aren’t going to be convenient.  Take into consideration your schedule. 
   
4. Keep it short and sweet.  Most people have hectic lifestyles and cannot afford to dedicate hours each day to the gym.  And they shouldn't!  Each workout should be short and efficient.  The consistency of regular activity is as important as duration and intensity.  Without any of these three elements, exercise is simply not effective.  Furthermore, people who get carried away usually wind up with injuries or exercise burnout.
   
5. Consider all injuries and health problems before beginning exercise.

What is a suitable exercise programme?

An effective exercise program has three main parts: the before, the middle, and the after.  The before includes a brief warm-up; the middle, or bulk of the workout, involves aerobic activity plus weight conditioning; and the after consists of a cool-down and stretch.

Warming Up

A warm-up literally warms up the body.  By increasing your internal temperature and preparing muscles for the activity ahead, a proper warm-up can help prevent injury to muscles, joints, and connective tissue.  A simple  5-10 minute warm-up will increase the blood flow to the primary muscle groups so that they are ready for action.   Light aerobic activity is an effective warm-up (such as biking, rowing, walking or even marching in place).  More specifically, warm up with a lighter version of the exercise you will be doing.  For instance, runners can start with a 5-10 minute brisk walk, and swimmers can warm up with a couple of easy, slow laps in the pool. 

The workoutIf you think that aerobics are just jumping around to bad disco music, you'd be mistaken.  The term aerobic literally means with air.  Therefore, the exercises in which your muscles require an increased supply of air (more specifically, the oxygen within air) are termed aerobic.  Aerobic activity is also known as cardiovascular activity because it most challenges your heart and lungs.  Normally exercise should last for 20-60 minutes, depending upon how much time you have and how fit you are.  People who are fit can work longer and harder than those who are not, simply because they can handle the increased demand for oxygen.  For all you beginners, don't let a few discouraging workouts get you down.  Doing aerobics is like playing the piano; the more you practice, the better you get.  Walking briskly, biking, jogging, stair-climbing and aerobic dance, are all examples of aerobic activity.

What can aerobics do for you?

1. Burn calories and help with weight management.
2. Improve the functioning of your heart and lungs, therefore making you less likely to suffer from serious problems involving key organs.
3. Improve your circulation.
4. Improve your sleep patterns.
5. Improve your state of mind.
   

Beginners should start with a modest game plan.  In fact, beginners need to aim for 40% of their maximum heart rate and work up from there.  As you improve, you can do more activity by going longer, harder, or more frequently.  But keep in mind that you should only increase the length, frequency and intensity one at a time.  Increasing all three at once is the perfect recipe for injuries and exercise burnout.

Cooling Down.

The goal of a cool-down is to gradually stop the activity, allowing your heart rate, blood pressure and body temperature to slowly return to normal.  Think about how rapidly your heart is pounding and blood is pumping following an intense bout of exercise.  Not a good time to stop.  In fact, stopping an intense workout abruptly is a sure way to get dizzy and feel terrible after a workout.  Furthermore, cooling down properly can help prevent serious health risks for older or out of shape participants.  Take an extra 5-10 minutes and slowly reduce the intensity of the exercise you've been working on.

Stretching

Stretching is definitely important for maintaining and increasing flexibility, which in turn makes it easier for you to move around.  The best time to stretch is when your body is warm, either after you have done a light aerobic warm-up or at the end of your workout following a cool-down period.  Proper stretching allows the muscles to relax and lengthen, and it can even help alleviate some built-up body tension.Somegeneralstretching guidelines include:

1. Always get your blood pumping and body warmed up before you stretch.
2. Stretch all your major muscle groups, not just the ones you think were used.
3. Hold each stretch for at least 15 seconds; never bounce.  You can still feel a good stretch with slightly bent knees.
4. Only stretch to the point of mild tension, not agonizing pain!
5. Ask a qualified trainer to show you the correct stretching techniques; there's a lot more to it than touching your toes.