For Exercise Newbies: Start Slow!

If you've never exercised before, or if it's been more than 6 months since your last workout, you need to start (or re-start) slowly. This is very important. One of the biggest mistakes exercise newbies make is trying to do too much too soon. You might think that you're doing yourself some good but, in reality, you're setting yourself up to fail. When you push your unconditioned heart, muscles and ligaments too hard you quickly get injured, burned out or worse! Natural health expert Dr. Weil suggests the following tips for beginning an exercise program safely and effectively...

From DrWeil.com:

An essential element in keeping hearts healthy is exercise, especially aerobic/cardiovascular exercise.

# Start slowly, and gradually increase your intensity and/or duration. Studies have shown that as many as 25 percent of those who begin an exercise program stop within six weeks as the result of injury.

# Make sure your program includes aerobic/cardiovascular conditioning, which is important for strengthening the muscles of the heart and lungs, to burn fat, and to decrease the risks for chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancer. Strength and flexibility training should also be included.

# Consider hiring a qualified professional to ensure that your experience is safe and effective. Whether it's a personal trainer, a Yoga teacher, a group fitness instructor or a dance teacher, ask for credentials to indicate their level of expertise.

Learn more at DrWeil.com...

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