by Michelle Wilkinson

Created on: November 05, 2009

If you've got out of the habit of exercise or never really had an exercise routine to begin with, it can be a challenge to know where to start, but deciding what goals you want to achieve and formulating a plan to help you achieve them is a good idea. You may simply want to lose a few pounds so you are able to walk down the road without struggling for breath, or you might want to build up your fitness so you can complete a feat of endurance (such as a marathon), or even compete in your chosen sport. Once you have established what your goals are, it then helps to give yourself a sensible amount of time in which to achieve them.

If your main aim is to lose weight, how much weight you have to lose will clearly influence the way you approach your fitness plan. If you can barely walk to begin with you are going to have to take things slower than someone who is just a few pounds overweight. Walking is always a good place to start, since it is low impact and can provide you with a gentle introduction to exercise. At the same time, though, it is possible to make your walking routine more difficult as you get fitter, by increasing your speed and the distance you cover. Swimming is also another activity worth considering if you want to work on your fitness without the pain and discomfort your joints can suffer from supporting so much extra weight when you walk. It is important that you don't simply rush into an exercise program, trying to run vigorously as soon as you start, since you may end up doing yourself more harm than good.


If you want to formulate a fitness plan that will enable you to participate in an event that requires you to be fit you need to think about how to build up your fitness levels in the time you have available. Many people decide that running a marathon to raise money for charity can motivate them to work on their fitness, and not everyone who commits to run this distance is particularly fit to begin with. You therefore have to work on building up the number of miles you run, and interval training can be an effective way of boosting your endurance. You shouldn't expect to be able to run the full 26 miles without putting the time and effort into your training, but it's also important to set aside a day of rest to enable your body to recover.


Similarly, if you're training to compete in a particular sport you have to build up your fitness over a period of time, but in activities such as running, cycling, and swimming you will obviously be more conscious of the time it takes you to cover a specified distance, so that you can work on improving it as your training starts to intensify.


When you know what you're hoping to achieve by getting fitter it will be much easier to formulate a fitness plan that will enable you to succeed in reaching your goals.

Learn more about this author, Michelle Wilkinson.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.