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Informative Articles

Baseball in Shanghai? Another American Sport Exported to China
As an athlete (or at least having been an athlete in the past) and a sports fan, one of the difficult things about finding myself on an extended stay in Shanghai, China (setting up sporting goods manufacturing and other business contacts) is the...

Skiing Exercises for Recreational Skiers
If you exercise often, you'll begin to build your strength and enhance your endurance in the muscle groups used in downhill skiing. You'll be preparing yourself for the rigors of skiing in the expert zones where both staying power and explosive...

The Fitness Benefits of Swimming
By Rebecca Blain of http://www.everything-swimming-pools.com There are many fitness benefits to swimming. By making it seem like the body weighs much less than it actually does, swimming is the perfect alternative for those who are not capable...

The history of swooping
Swooping is a very new form of skydiving, so the history of this sport has to date back to skydiving, itself. Skydiving has roots back to the very first ideas that humanity had regarding flying. It was thought that with a balloon or parachute it...

Used Treadmills, An Alternative For The Budget Conscious
In the market for a treadmill? Finding that they are a little more expensive than you thought, at least to get the ones with the features you want? Used treadmills may well be what you need. Used treadmills are big business, and growing fast. ...

 
How to Start an Exercise Program

If you'd like to start a new exercise program, pick any sport or activity that uses continuous motion (such as running, fast walking, cycling, swimming, skating, rowing, dancing) that you think you might enjoy. Start out at a relaxed pace until your muscles feel heavy and then stop. For the first several days or weeks you may be able to exercise only for a few minutes. Increase the amount of time gradually until you can exercise 30 minutes a day at a relaxed pace and not feel sore. Take a day off or go very easy any time you have any muscle soreness.

If you're happy with this program, you don't need to go any further. However, if you want to improve, follow the training methods that competitive athletes use. When a 30-minute session is easy for you, you are ready to begin training for fitness. Try to increase the intensity of your exercise on one day a week. Do your jogging, cycling or whatever you have chosen as your sport at a slow pace to warm up. Then gradually increase the pace until you


start to feel short of breath and your muscles start to feel sore, and then slow down. Then when you recover, pick up the pace again. Repeat these surges until your muscles start to stiffen and then quit for the day. Take the next day off and go easy the rest of the week. Then once a week, keep on making your one-day-a-week hard workout harder and harder. You will be continuously increasing your level of fitness.

Before you start any new exercise program, check with your doctor to make sure that you do not have anything wrong with your heart or blood vessels. Intense exercise won't hurt a healthy heart, but it can increase your risk for a heart attack if you already have a damaged heart.



About the author:

Dr. Gabe Mirkin has been a radio talk show host for 25 years and practicing physician for more than 40 years; he is board certified in four specialties. For more information and hundreds of fitness reports, visit www.DrMirkin.com

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