• Aerobic exercise
• Resistance training (weight lifting) 
• Flexibility exercises 
• Proper nutrition 

In designing any exercise program, there are three variables to consider. 

Frequency : The number of times per week the exercise is performed. 
Intensity   : How hard you should work. 
Duration    : The time in minutes per exercise session. 

These three variables can be manipulated to change your exercise program to avoid boredom and stagnation. 

Aerobic Exercise 

Aerobic Exercise is any activity that involves the use of large muscle groups in a rhythmic fashion which can be maintained continuously. Activities include: walking, running, hiking, jogging, cycling, cross-country skiing, aerobic dance/group exercises, rope skipping, rowing, stair climbing, swimming, skating, and various endurance game activities. Always be sure to spend the first few minutes going easy to use as a warm-up. This will allow your body to slowly adjust to the new work demands it will be facing. Also spend a few minutes at the end of the workout going easy to use as a cool-down, to help your body recover from the exercise.

Frequency: 3-5 days per week 

Intensity: This will vary depending upon the individual and their starting level of fitness. For inactive people, the intensity should begin at around 50% of their maximum heart rate or equivalent to a light to moderate intensity. Maximum heart rate is determined by taking 220 and subtracting your age. To determine your heart rate you can either buy a heart rate monitor which will tell you your heart rate or you can manually determine your heart rate by taking your pulse for 10 seconds and multiplying that number by 6 to get your heart rate. To take your pulse, you can either use your carotid artery, which is on the side of your neck below your cheekbone, or your radial artery, which is near your wrist. Use the 2 fingers nearest to your thumb to feel for your pulse. Be careful to not use your thumb to feel for your pulse because your thumb has a pulse of it's own. 

After a few weeks of regular exercise, you may gradually increase your intensity. However, you never need to work out at too high of an intensity, anything over 85% of your maximum heart rate. The best advice is to use the talking rule. If you can maintain a conversation when you are exercising, you are probably exercising at the appropriate intensity. If you are too short of breath to converse, you are probably exercising at too high of an intensity. For active people, the intensity can begin at a higher level. Active people should exercise at an intensity range of 60% to 85% of your maximum heart rate. 

Whenever starting an exercise program you need to give your body time to adjust to the new stresses it will face. This means starting at a low intensity and gradually increasing to a comfortable level. Do not be too eager to exercise at a high intensity early into your program. This may lead to injuries because your body will not be able to gradually adjust to the workload and may show signs of wear and tear. 

The bottom line is that you do not need to exercise at high intensities to achieve significant health benefits. There is a higher incidence of injury associated with higher intensities of exercise and you may find it hard to adhere to an exercise program if you are constantly exercising at an uncomfortably high intensity. 

Duration: You should perform the aerobic exercise for 20-60 minutes of continuous or intermittent activity. This does not mean you need to exercise for 20 minutes at a time. Studies have shown that 10 minute bouts of exercise accumulated throughout the day are equally effective in improving cardiovascular fitness as is continuous exercise for equivalent periods of time. Thus you can do 3-10 minutes bouts of exercise during one day and achieve the same benefits of performing 30 minutes of continuous exercise. 

Duration is dependent on the intensity of the exercise. This means that lower-intensity exercises should be performed for longer periods of time (ideally 30 minutes or longer), while higher-intensity exercises do not need to be performed for as long a period. 

Resistance Training 

Resistance training is equally as important as aerobic activity and should be an integral component of your fitness program. Resistance training is important for enhancing muscular strength, muscular endurance, maintaining fat-free mass, and for maintaining bone mineral density, to prevent the onset of osteoporosis. 

Remember to always warm-up and cool-down. (Use a few minutes of aerobic activity for this.) 

Frequency: A minimum of 2 days per week, up to 3 or 4, with at least 1 day in between each workout.

Intensity: Similar to aerobic exercise, resistance training needs to start out at a low intensity when beginning the program and can gradually increase as your body adapts to the new work load. Technique is very important to prevent injuries and ensure efficient movements. After a period of about three weeks to a month, you should be performing at an intensity high enough to stimulate the muscles to grow stronger. This intensity is extremely variable for each person. However, most people are able to perform at a relatively high intensity without fear of injury, as long as they have progressed gradually. When beginning a resistance training program, be sure to have a certified strength and conditioning specialist or a certified personal trainer go through the machines or exercises with you and help you set the proper weights. Be patient and do not increase your weights too quickly, for this may lead to injury.

Duration: For most people, 1 set of 8-12 repetitions at a higher intensity is sufficient. By the last repetition, you should be working hard to lift the weight. If time permits, multiple sets, 2 or 3 sets of 8-12 repetitions may provide greater benefits. For older or more frail individuals, 1 set of 10-15 repetitions is recommended. Always be sure to perform 8 to 10 exercises that work the major muscle groups. These groups include: arms (front and back), legs (upper and lower, front and back), back (upper and lower), stomach, and chest. When you are designing your weightlifting routine, be sure to perform the exercises that incorporate multiple or large muscle groups, (i.e. the chest press, bench press, or leg press), before you do exercises that use single or small muscle groups (i.e. biceps curl or leg extension). This is important so you can maximally stimulate the larger muscle groups. Also, to allow for adequate recovery between exercises, you can alternate an arm exercise with a leg exercise. This will allow your legs to rest while you are exercising your arms and vice versa. For more information see How to Organize your Resistance Training Routine. A certified trainer should help you decide which exercises will be appropriate for you based upon what is available and what is comfortable to you. 

Flexibility

While often overlooked, flexibility training (stretching) is an important component of a fitness program. Flexibility training is important for developing and maintaining range of motion (ROM) for your muscles and joints. There are many benefits of flexibility besides increased flexibility and ROM. Additionally, stretching can: prepare tendons and muscles for the upcoming exercise, help prevent the delayed onset of muscle soreness (DOMS), which is the soreness you may experience in the days following a workout, mentally prepare you for your workout and help prevent injuries due to inflexibility. A common myth is that resistance training makes you lose your flexibility. This can be true if you do not incorporate flexibility training into your program. When you exercise, your muscles contract and can shorten up. Stretching will help your muscles stay healthy and not shorten up. Many injuries are caused by poor flexibility. Therefore stretching should be emphasized in your program.

Frequency: Stretching should be performed a minimum of 2 days per week. However, you may stretch as often as you like, up to 4 to 5 days per week. Once you begin stretching, you may notice it helps you feel better and you might want to stretch everyday. 

Intensity: Stretching should be a gentle movement. Begin the stretch gradually and go until you feel a slight stretch in the desired muscle. Stretching should not be painful. Once you feel the stretch, that is as far as you need to stretch the muscle. Anything more may cause injury. Do not use jerking movements to perform the stretch. This may also cause injury. Therefore, flexibility training is performed at a relatively moderate or low intensity. 

Duration: There is not one correct way to stretch. There are many different opinions on the proper way to stretch. I believe that any stretching is better than not stretching. You should perform stretches for all of the major muscle groups. I believe you should hold each stretch for a minimum of 10 seconds and if the stretch feels good, you may hold it for longer. If time permits, you may repeat the stretch. Each stretching session does not need to last longer than 5 minutes, unless you want to spend more time stretching. I recommend stretching after an exercise session (either aerobic or resistance training), when the muscles are tight and tired and stretching will help them recover and stay healthy. However, you may also stretch before exercising. If you do, be sure to warm-up before to prevent injury. Think of your muscles like taffy. If you stretch taffy that has not been warmed-up (cold taffy), it breaks. If you warm up taffy, you can stretch it a long way without it breaking. This is what happens with your muscles as well. 

Proper Nutrition 

Proper nutrition is essential to improving your health. You need to be aware of what you are putting into your body. You are limiting the benefits of exercise if you eat poorly. Alcohol, smoking, and drugs also greatly reduce the benefits of exercise. 

The U.S. government has established a set of Dietary Goals to improve the health status of Americans. The goals include: increasing carbohydrates to 55% to 60% of total calories, decreasing fat intake to 30% of total calories (with saturated fat being only 10%), decrease dietary cholesterol to 300mg per day, reduce sugar consumption to 15% of total calories, and decrease salt consumption to about 3mg per day. This also means that protein should provide 10% to 15% of total calories per day.

If one of your goals of beginning a fitness program is to lose weight, including proper nutrition into your program is essential. When you exercise, you will burn calories, but if you consume more calories than you burn during a day, you will gain weight. The only way to lose weight is to burn more calories than you consume. Dieting alone will not help you with long-term weight loss, keeping the weight off for the rest of your life. The most successful studies in terms of weight loss have been those that combined diet and exercise to optimize caloric deficit (burning more calories than you consume). 

The main message is to eat properly balanced meals and reduce high fat and high cholesterol meals. When you begin exercising, you may find your appetite changes and you may be more hungry during the day. This is normal. Just remember to make smart decisions regarding what you eat. If you exercise and then eat a high-fat, high calorie meal, you will be not taking full advantage of the benefits of working out. Enjoying life is important, but as long as you are going to begin exercising, you should approach health from every angle, not just from an exercising angle. See the Nutrition/ Diet link for more information. 

Continues Next Week....

Disclaimer: The information provided by this service is intended to serve as recommendations for people who desire to learn more about health, fitness, and taking care of their bodies. Before beginning any exercise program, always consult your doctor to make sure you are able to begin exercising. Certain disabilities or conditions may contraindicate some activities, so be sure to clear yourself with your doctor.