Health tip

Start a regular exercise regimen. Sometimes I overlook the fact that a lot of people, believe it or not, in this day and age are unaware of the numerous health benefits of starting a regular exercise program. Not being aware of the benefits is a barrier in which someone would not implement something that would be so beneficial to their health. For the population that is aware but does not implement this idea, their barrier is often time constraints due to work and family obligations. The third barrier is costs, I wouldn't exactly refer to the cost as a barrier but rather as an EXCUSE. With local gyms and franchise gyms popping up on every corner the prices for a gym membership are more than reasonable, especially when as a society we can spend about the cost of a 1 month gym membership on a value meal from our favorite fast food place.

ALWAYS consult with your doctor before starting an exercise program. I believe if you want to get on track to all the health benefits of a regular exercise program then you should at least dedicate 20 minutes a day 3 times a week for the first month. I am preferential to a mix of cardiovascular activity and resistance training. They key is to start doing some physical activity that you can comfortably complete, or in simple terms, start out small and work your way up. Every gym has several different types of cardiovascular equipment ranging from treadmills to elliptical machines. For the beginner I recommend the elliptical or walking on a treadmill set with an incline. For the resistance training I always tell people to start on the machines and after a while work your way up to the free weights. Remember the goal is to not lift weight like a bodybuilder but to perform good repetitions with a reasonable weight, I like 3 sets of 8-10 repetitions. I believe this is a good set rep range to build strength and muscular endurance.

TAKE HOME MESSAGE...... Doing something is better than doing nothing. Do not advance to quickly or you would burn yourself out. I believe for recreational exercises that even going through the motions is better than not doing anything. I will follow up more on this in a later blog in which I'll list the benefits of cardiovascular exercise and resistance training.