Exercise For Women Is An Important Foundation In Your Life
How important is exercise for women?
Fighting off premature aging; battling more effectively those extra pounds that creep up with age and nurturing stronger/healthier bones, are all shiny attributes of, well, doing exercise!
You see the importance?
With no exercise, you could be impacted in a bad way:
Cardio is one exercise for women that does a lot for my health and appearance, strengthens my heart muscle and helps lower my blood pressure and cholesterol level.
It also helps me to burn off excess calories and lift the layer of fat covering my muscles so I can see the newly defined and toned muscles (from doing toning exercise).
To achieve a reasonably good level of fitness, do at least a minimum of three to four 20-30 minute sessions per week of cardio to help you improve stamina, decrease blood pressure and ease your stress level .
My personal cardio favorite is walking as it burns up my body fat steadily.
Toning Exercise
Toning exercise is the meat of exercise for women because it brings about real changes in the tone and strength of my muscles by strengthening and toning them and by increasing the amount of lean muscles in my body, the results - I've a fit, trim and shapely body!
Strength Training
Strength training is an important exercise for women because it builds up my bones and strengthens my joints.
This is especially crucial for us ladies as we get older because of the risk of osteoporosis after menopause and our increased fragility as we age.
Stretching
The older we ladies (or for that matter, men) get, the less flexible we become.
That's because we become less active, our circulation slows down and the collagen fiber in our body breaks down.
The effects of all these can be slowed down if we include some stretchings in our exercise program.
And the only way to increase our flexibility is to regularly stretch our muscles and tendons that control joint movement.
So remember, stretching is an important exercise for women.
Exercise For Women - What If You're Pregnant?
Big time question - Do you or don't you do exercise now that you're pregnant?
You should because exercise during your pregnancy certainly does you and and your baby lots of good.
Chief reason -
The exercises you do during this period will prepare you for childbirth by strengthening your muscles and building endurance and once your baby's born, they help you get back in shape that much quicker and easier.
That's double bonuses for you!
Start a Program of Exercise for Women
From my experience, I need to put things into perspective when I start an exercise program:
The reason why I want to start an exercise program
-Suggested by doctor?
-Plan to participate in sports event such as a marathon, running or walking?
-Just want to keep fit and in good health in general?
Make sure the exercise program I choose meets my own personal needs
Most of us ladies fail in our exercise programs because:
-We don't follow through
-The exercise program doesn't fit into our life style
-We aren't mentally prepared
-We don't know the proper way to exercise
-We don't have faith in the end result - a healthier, fitter and toned body and cannot envision it or use it as daily motivation
Despite the above setbacks, when you see your body changes, adapts and benefits from the exercise, I'm sure you'll be thrilled to carry on and that'll be the greatest source of motivation.
Exercise For Women - The Best Way To Start
Explore the options available to you thoroughly before deciding to start an exercise program.
I've found Chad , who's qualified, motivated and most important of all, he's a trainer I can relate to.
The idea is that I'm able to learn sufficient skills from Chad that'll enable me to continue the program on my own, if I want to.
And he really trains me to do that.....
Teaming up with an exercise partner
I tend to skip an exercise session when I work out alone but when I've a partner, I'm more likely not to cop out.
The right partner - one who's serious about her exercise, consistent, dependable, on-time and working close to your level of fitness, can provide you enough motivation to get you and keep you on an exercise program.
Committing to a monetary payment program such as paying an hourly rate to a personal trainer or signing up a monthly program at a gym
The gym program might be the best way to jump-start you if you've had a tough time getting started.
Personally, I think the best program of exercise for women is one that you can do at home .
I've pursued the home exercise program for many years and find it to be as satisfying as training with a personal trainer or working out in a gym.
But first, trained with a personal trainer.
Then when you've learnt sufficient skills from the trainer, you carry on the program at home on your own, supplemented by a collection of good exercise videos and books.
If you opt for a home exercise program , you need to:
Approach it systematically and just as seriously as if you were training with a personal trainer or working out in a gym
Schedule a certain time of the day for your exercise
Establish a certain place in your home for the exercise; try to find a place which is quiet and clutter-free so that you're not distracted and have enough space to move about while exercising
Socialise with those who understand your exercise need and those who have interest in exercise
You can exchange a lot of practical knowledge and useful information by sharing experience with each other.
Ah....That reminds me....
Since you're exercising at home, why not rope in your child to exercise too?
Exercise for Women: Do It The Correct And Proper Way
Through my years' of exercising at home, I've some valuable insights to share with you on how to execute the program in a correct and proper manner:
If you've never exercised before, you're overweight, you're a smoker, you're over age 60 or you've a chronic health condition (cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, kidney disease, liver disease or arthritis), consult your doctor before getting started
If you've never exercised before or it's been more than 3 months since you last exercised, it's best for you to start slowly
The first 4 weeks is the crucial period for your body to get use to the exercise routine, so take it easy and start off slowly
If you start off vigorously without giving your body time to adjust to the stress you're putting on it, you're likely to end up with sored and injured muscles that'll put you off exercising
Before you start the exercise, it's a must that you do a warm-up (3 to 5 minutes) to get your muscles ready for exercise
Wear exercise clothing that's comfortable, fitting and made of breathable material
Invest in a good quality exercise mat. I recommend mat which is thick and of good quality
After you choose the types of exercise you want to do, look for shoes that're designed specifically for that exercise
When choosing your shoes, look for these qualities in them:
-Shock absorption because without it, your feet will take most of the impact during exercise and you increase the risk of injury to your feet, legs, knees and lower back
-Right fit for your shoes
-Good flexibility at the ball of the foot to give your foot freedom to move
-Sole wide enough to provide stability
A pair of cross trainers is worth investing in as they're made with good ankle support, good lateral movement stability and enhanced shock absorption.
They're suitable for walking, aerobic dance, strength training and step aerobics.
During exercise, your body will need more water to replace water that's lost through sweating. So drink a big glass of water before and after each exercise session
Just as your body needs a warm-up to prepare for exercise, it also needs a cool down after a hard exercise workout
Whoa! It's a lot more to do putting together a program of exercise for women, whether with the help of a personal trainer, a gym sign up or you do it on your own.....
However, the most important thing is you do it the correct and proper way, so that you enjoy your exercise and avoid injury.