Add a Spring to your step

Posted on September 9th, 2019 by Andries Lodder

We have officially reached the month of spring!

It has been a long couple of cold months and many of us have been hibernating away, not doing much exercise.

Consult a GP to gain clearance before starting exercise.
If you are on medication, don’t stop taking your medication but find out when would be the appropriate time to exercise as certain medications can cause a low heart rate or dizziness during exercise.
Include a cardio component in every session. This will help to increase your cardiovascular fitness levels, allowing you to cope with longer routines.
- Cardio exercises include: swimming, cycling/spinning, running, rowing and even boxing.
Find an exercise/class that you enjoy and a trainer that encourages you to come back and keep working hard. Reasons to come back will be reasons to continue!
Encourage a friend or partner to train with you so you can encourage each other.
Remember safety and injury prevention.
If you have existing injuries and you are unsure on how to manage them, speak to your GP and consult a Physiotherapist and Biokineticist to treat the injury first before continuing. Unattended injuries are prone to come back more frequently.
Form and posture are everything. Perfect the art of the exercise before doing many reps and sets as an exercise done wrong many times has no benefit.

Exercise and a healthy lifestyle go hand in hand. Feeling energetic and seeing results will motivate you to stick to your goals and work hard!
It’s not always easy changing your lifestyle and habits that you’ve had for many years. The decision to change needs to be a conscious decision.
It starts small and continues with consistency. Start with small daily goals and weekly goals that are realistic and achievable. Reward yourself with each milestone you make and you will reach your goals.
Encourage friends and spouses to adopt a healthier lifestyle with you as having support makes it easier to stick to a goal.

For more advice on how to kick start your new healthy lifestyle don’t hesitate to give us a call.