Personal Exercise Program

When you create a personal exercise program, keep the words personal heavily in your mind. You're creating a program that is the best for your habits, goals, time constraints, budget and abilities. While there be several exercise programs available on the Internet, finding one that fits all of these can be difficult. In most cases, you can design one yourself that is a better fit for your body and lifestyle.

All exercise programs should have strength building exercises, flexibility training and cardiovascular exercises, no matter what factors you take into consideration. The personal exercise program you create should not have strength building every day, but alternate days to allow your muscles to rest and rebuild. If you don't, you face the potential of injury.

Strength training helps women past the age of menopause fight osteoporosis and gives strength, tone and firmness to the muscles. This creates the body contour you desire. Strength training can include muscle training for the abdominal muscles. While you shouldn't exercise other muscles daily, abdominal muscles are a little different. Doing something for your abs everyday is okay as long as it isn't an intense workout each day. If your belly is jelly and your workout involves 100 reps of abdominal exercises, give yourself a break to rest those muscles. If you're simply doing a few crunches a day and are in good shape, working them every day is not a problem. Design the program around your needs.

Flexibility training is important to prevent injury also. If you are inflexible, you face the potential for pulled tendons and muscles. Flexibility training can be as simple as stretching before you exercise, something you should do daily, or as complicated as yoga.

Cardiovascular training builds your endurance as it strengthens your heart and lungs. It also relieves stress, increases your metabolism and your energy levels. Most people alternate days of strength training with cardiovascular training. Cardio training can be as simple as walking briskly, for those people just starting an exercise regimen, to swimming. One form of cardio training not often thought of as exercise is fast dancing. Dancing not only increases your heart rate, it also can increase your flexibility.

Consider the amount of time you have for your exercise program. If you can barely carve out enough time in the day for a lunch or dinner, try exercises that offer the most benefit with the least expenditure of time. For instance, burst training for cardio vascular benefits doesn't require as long as a ten-mile jog but can be as effective. In burst training, you run at high speed for a minute then slow your pace to a comfortable rate for a minute and repeat that same cycle several times. Studies show this type of training is as effective as a half hour of high-paced cardio training.

Consider your pocketbook when you create your program. You don't need to buy weights, machines or other equipment if you're on a limited budget. Simply use exercises that don't involve equipment or use your own make shift equipment. Park a little farther from the grocery and carry some of those sacks. Use large canned goods for weights or take the stairs instead of the elevator.

Always keep your present physical condition in mind when you begin any exercise. If you're over the age of 40, it benefits you to check with the doctor before you begin any exercise program, particularly if you're out of shape. Once you have the okay, design your personal exercise program so you will continue it and not give it up immediately because of time, difficulty or injury.