Exercise is intimidating if you don't know what you're doing. These five easy exercise tips will prevent injury and help you get fit and healthy.
September 2022. This article is independently written by Shelby Golding. All opinions given are hers. Shelby has been certified as a personal trainer and nutritional specialist since 2007. In 2008, she found her passion for writing about these topics and hasn't looked back.
Excuses vary, but most revolve around the difficulty of incorporating workouts into an already busy schedule. Some people feel like they don't have enough time in the day to do necessary tasks without adding in an hour's worth of exercise. Others might balk at the expense or think of exercise as another obligation rather than something they enjoy doing.
Exercise doesn't have to be a burden. You simply need to find ways to make it more accessible. If you've decided to give working out another chance, these five easy exercise tips will help you get fit and healthy.
Five Easy Exercise Tips
These five easy exercise tips will help prevent injury and inspire you to start exercising again. As you read through this list, remember that finding new ways to move your body may be the key to reintroducing exercise into your life. So keep an open mind and experiment as needed!
1. Warm Up and Cool Down
Even those who exercise regularly often skip the essentials, but the warm-up and cool-down are recommended for a reason.
Workout-related injuries are one of the top reasons why people stop exercising. They often result from a poor form or too fast exercising too much. Whatever the cause, you can prevent this common roadblock with a few simple exercises and stretches before and after your workout.
Workout-related injuries are one of the top reasons why people stop exercising. They often result from a poor form or too fast exercising too much. Whatever the cause, you can prevent this common roadblock with a few simple exercises and stretches before and after your workout.
Warming up helps loosen muscles before you exercise and reduce soreness after you're done. Use active exercises that increase your heart rate rather than passive stretches for an effective warm-up.
Meanwhile, cooling down returns your breathing and heartbeat to your normal resting rate. As a result, it prevents muscle tears and sprains. Since your muscles are already loose from exercise, passive stretches are more effective while cooling down.
2. Don’t Forget to Eat!
Many people set out on an exercise journey with the same goal, to lose weight. They might have heard that to lose weight, they need to burn more calories than they put in. However, most people don't know how to balance these scales effectively, at least not at first.
Your body needs a certain amount of calories to function. For the average person, that amount would be about 1,200 calories daily. Beginners might think they should introduce exercise while eating the same number of calories, which will help them in their weight loss goals.
But adding exercise increases the calories you need to consume to support the new activity levels. If you don't eat enough, your body will not recover from your workout, which may leave you exhausted or result in an injury.
Protein is essential for building strength and endurance. So balance it with plenty of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables to support your new exercise routine.
Your body needs a certain amount of calories to function. For the average person, that amount would be about 1,200 calories daily. Beginners might think they should introduce exercise while eating the same number of calories, which will help them in their weight loss goals.
But adding exercise increases the calories you need to consume to support the new activity levels. If you don't eat enough, your body will not recover from your workout, which may leave you exhausted or result in an injury.
Protein is essential for building strength and endurance. So balance it with plenty of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables to support your new exercise routine.
3. Focus on Form
It doesn't matter what type of exercise you're doing, if your form is wrong, you increase your risk of injury. Proper form also improves exercise endurance and performance.
Your body has a certain way that it moves. When you put unfamiliar stress or strain on the muscles, tendons, and ligaments, you might unintentionally create patterns of misalignment and compensation. This could result in an acute injury or a chronic pain problem that prevents you from working out.
Work with a trainer if you're new to a specific type of exercise to prevent injury and ensure you are using the proper form. You'll also want to avoid working out when you're fatigued or overworked. Rest days are equally important for building endurance, even if it feels counterintuitive to your goals.
4. Try HIIT to Save Time
Another excuse people use to keep from exercising is a lack of time. Unfortunately, blocking off an hour every day can feel like a huge obligation in today's world. Thankfully, current fitness trends take timing into account, and several types of exercise have become famous for their fast and easy approach to fitness.
HIIT, high-intensity interval training, is one of the best fitness trends to combat time-related excuses. Most HIIT routines are exactly 20 minutes long. These exercise routines also have many exciting health benefits, from burning a lot of calories in a short time to boosting your metabolism.
If you are only going to work out three days a week, you should focus on full-body HIIT workouts. But if you have time to work out daily, concentrate on a different body part. For example, two days of arm-related routines, two days of legs/glutes, one day of abs, etc.
HIIT, high-intensity interval training, is one of the best fitness trends to combat time-related excuses. Most HIIT routines are exactly 20 minutes long. These exercise routines also have many exciting health benefits, from burning a lot of calories in a short time to boosting your metabolism.
If you are only going to work out three days a week, you should focus on full-body HIIT workouts. But if you have time to work out daily, concentrate on a different body part. For example, two days of arm-related routines, two days of legs/glutes, one day of abs, etc.
5. Find a Workout Buddy
Motivating yourself to go to the gym or get outside and run is brutal. Maybe you succeed one day, but you're sore and tired the next, so you stay home instead.
A workout buddy could be the solution. Find someone at a similar level to you and commit to each other. That might look like meeting up three days a week to work out together or holding each accountable if you live far away from each other.
Working out with a friend may bring out your competitive side and inspire you to push yourself harder. You might also be more willing to try new types of exercise, like a spin or yoga class, that otherwise would've been too intimidating to go to on your own.
Do What You Love
These five easy exercise tips won't be effective if you don't love what you're doing. Instead, focus on finding a type of exercise you enjoy, lifting weights at the gym or hiking with friends. Working out doesn't have to be a chore, you simply need to get out there and try it yourself to see what works for you!
If pain is holding you back from a regular exercise routine, your Kailo Pain Patch can help you get out and stay active. It’s designed to relieve pain in seconds without oral medication, and a recent clinical study showed that 99% of patients felt pain relief with Kailo within 10 minutes of using the Kailo patch.
Disclaimer: Kailo should not be used if you have a pacemaker or if you are pregnant. Always consult your doctor or health care professional before using Kailo.
If pain is holding you back from a regular exercise routine, your Kailo Pain Patch can help you get out and stay active. It’s designed to relieve pain in seconds without oral medication, and a recent clinical study showed that 99% of patients felt pain relief with Kailo within 10 minutes of using the Kailo patch.
Disclaimer: Kailo should not be used if you have a pacemaker or if you are pregnant. Always consult your doctor or health care professional before using Kailo.
