Before You Start an Exercise Program

webmaster@vertexfitness.com (Vertex Fitness) — Wed, 27 Oct 2010 16:00:00 GMT

Before you start an exercise program, there are a few questions to ask yourself to determine whether you should see your doctor first.

Question Yourself

Your first step is to ask yourself how active you want to be. This may sound like a silly question--you're probably planning on doing whatever you're capable of, whether that's a slow walk around the block or a vigorous step class. But if you're of a certain age or have certain cardiovascular risk factors, you may need to see your physician before beginning a program that involves vigorous (as opposed to moderate) aerobic activity.

Here's how exercise intensities are typically defined...

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Warm Up to Work Out

webmaster@vertexfitness.com (Vertex Fitness) — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 16:00:00 GMT

Suppose you were told that you only had to add an extra five to 10 minutes to each of your workouts to prevent injury and lessen fatigue. Would you do it?

Most people would say yes. Then they might be surprised to learn that they

already know about those few minutes, which are called a warm-up. If done correctly, a pre-exercise warm-up can have a multitude of beneficial effects on a person's workout and, consequently, his or her overall health.

What happens in your body?

When you begin to exercise, your cardiorespiratory and neuromuscular systems and metabolic energy pathways are stimulated. Muscles contract and, to meet their increasing demands for oxygen, your heart rate, blood flow, cardiac output and breathing rate increase. Blood moves faster through your arteries and veins and is gradually routed to working muscles.

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ACE Fit Facts Exercise Programs

Before You Start an Exercise Program

Warm Up to Work Out