Deciding What Type of Workout Program Fits You

One of the most important decisions that you will need to make prior to embarking on an active path towards improving your overall health and well-being is to define the details of your workout program. This is an extremely critical first step in that the fitness program you employ will ultimately change your overall lifestyle.

Start by taking the time to educate yourself on the various types of fitness programs and their associated benefits. Be sure to associate the benefits derived from each exercise type specifically to your personal fitness goals.

Thereafter, evaluate your current level of fitness, your physical limitations, the types of fitness programs and exercises that you enjoy, the time you have available to exercise, and your specific personal fitness goals. Once you have completed your analysis, you will be ready to take the next step: actually implementing a fitness program that is specifically designed for you. Remember, your fitness and the fitness program that you have designed are both ever-evolving and should be periodically evaluated, and thereafter modified.

Set Realistic Goals

Always make sure that the fitness goals that you are setting for yourself are realistic and achievable. While doing your research, remember to acknowledge the health warnings associated with each type of fitness program. For example, many individuals strain or pull a muscle when first starting an aerobics and/or yoga class. Although this type of injury is not severe, it can prolong the obtainment of your personal fitness goals and, subsequently deplete your motivation towards working out.

Another reason why individuals fail to reach their personal fitness goals, other than time constraints, is because their results are not occurring at the rate they expected. You must always remember that, just as with all things in nature, transformation takes time.

As you begin your fitness program, look for some of the less obvious changes that are taking place (i.e. you're not as tired in the morning, you're not breathing as hard after you climbed the stairs, your joints do not hurt as much, your brain seems more clear, you have a greater sense of well-being and calmness, etc.). However, please note that once you do achieve your personal fitness goals, it will become easier to maintain your level of health.

Stick With It

There are several reasons why people fail to achieve their personal fitness goals. More often than not, it's due to inadequate planning and the setting of unreasonable fitness goals. Probably the most important transformation that needs to take place is the realization that true health, fitness and mental well-being is a lifelong journey. In other words, it is a fundamental transformation in the way an individual thinks about fitness.

For example, an automobile is a machine that is designed to get you from point A to point B. Each of us will feel much more comfortable if we have a high level of confidence that when we attempt to drive our automobile from point A to point B, it will make it.

The way we achieve a high level of confidence in our automobile is to take care of it. How do we take care of our automobiles? By regularly changing all of the fluids, regularly replacing several of the electrical parts, regularly lubricating certain components, replacing worn out parts, and cleaning the interior and exterior parts.

In other words, we perform preventative maintenance on our automobile so that it will operate as designed, and at a high level of performance. One other point of interest is that when we replace the gasoline, fluids and components, we use only high quality, manufacturer-recommended items. By doing so, we will have a high level of confidence that when we use our automobile to travel from point A to point B, we will successfully arrive at our destination.

Our human body can also be viewed as a machine that, if cared for properly, will consistently perform at a high level and provide us with a high level of confidence. By exercising our muscles, ligaments, tendons, cardiovascular system and brain, we are essentially performing preventative maintenance.

Each time we exercise, our organs, glands, brain and many other body parts perform specific functions that are designed to improve our overall health. Couple a fitness program with an appropriate nutritional diet, and we are now feeding our bodies with the nutrients it requires to perform disease-free and at a high level of efficiency.

It's important to remember that change takes time. For example, if you plan on incorporating a weight training routine into your fitness program and have never lifted weights in the past, then your expectation should be that it is going to take some time before you're able to bench press your body weight.

Experiment with Different Programs

One approach to determining the type of fitness program to start with is to experiment with several of the exercise programs and routines that are readily available. For example, you may want to give weight training a try for a couple of weeks. In addition, you may also want to begin taking a walk in the morning and starting yoga classes at night, all at the same time. Implementing an approach of this nature is an excellent way to expose yourself, and your body, to a large array of exercise programs, and will allow you to determine what types of programs you enjoy and what combination of exercise programs you enjoy as well.

If you are a member of a fitness center, take advantage of all of the different fitness programs that they offer. Give the various exercise programs a try, and thereafter assemble the combination of exercise programs that you enjoy the most. Once you have determined the overall fitness program in which you'll partake, begin monitoring your results and make any necessary adjustments. For example, you may notice that you are not losing the weight that you had hoped to in the timeframe that you defined. Don't let this discourage you. Simply modify your overall workout program to incorporate a larger quantity of aerobic exercise.

Talk to Others

Finally, if you know individuals that are already involved in some of the exercise programs that you are considering, ask them what they like about the exercise program, what level of results they are personally seeing, how aggressive they were when they first started the exercise program, their level of fitness upon starting the exercise program, and whether there are any pitfalls of which you should be aware.

Personal fitness trainers are an excellent source of information as well. Begin your conversation with a personal trainer by asking them what types of exercise programs they believe would to beneficial for you and your personal fitness goals. They will begin by asking you whether you have any physical conditions and/or limitations of which they should be aware.

From this point forward in the conversation, you will begin to discuss the various exercise programs that would be suitable for your current level of fitness.

In addition, you will want to make sure that you explain your personal health and fitness goals with your personal trainer so that they can tailor a fitness program specifically for you.

Don't be discouraged if the initial exercise workouts are very brief and simple, as they will evolve as your fitness level improves. Remember, even the fittest and healthiest individuals had to start their own fitness regimens at one point.