Shape Up For Summer

 By Kris Abbey, Fitness Expert

www.betterhealthmag.com / www.spalife.com.au   

Have you been in hibernation over Winter? Has exercise been on the bottom of your priorities? Well, RESCU’s fitness expert Kris Abbey, publishing editor of Better Health magazine and Spa Life magazine, can ease you back into exercise, and have you on the fast track to a fitter, firmer body.

You’re not alone in your quest to shape up for Summer. As the days get longer and warmer, you and thousands of other Australians have decided to get into shape before Summer arrives in full swing. But before you start frantically pounding the pavement, remember to start slowly and gradually build up, so your body has a chance to catch up with the high hopes of your mind. As clichéd as it sounds, you have to walk before you run.  

In the USA, the highest rate of heart attacks occurs each year with the first snowfalls. Why? Because all those Americans who have lazed about all summer rush out and madly start shovelling snow off their driveways and footpaths. This type of activity, being a static exercise with a dynamic component, places more stress on the heart than most other forms of exercise. The result for those people whose hearts are not prepared? Myocardial infarction or, as it’s more commonly referred to, a heart attack. Your body takes time to lose fitness and, conversely, time to regain it.  

So where do I begin?

You already have. By deciding you want to get fit, whether for summer or for good, you’ve made the first big step. Now, here are a few vital components to consider:  

1) Consult your doctor before embarking on an exercise program if you’re very unfit, have a heart condition, or are over 35. Your doctor can suggest the starting point and exercises most suitable for you.

2) Set some goals, both short and long term. Long term goals are great for the big picture, but you will need smaller short term goals to make progress and to make that big goal seem achievable. For example, your long term goal may be to exercise 5 days a week for an hour each day. But your short term goal may be to exercise 3 times a week for 20 minutes. It often helps to write your goals down and stick them up somewhere so they’re staring you in the face.

3) Make an exercise plan. This is important at the start when you’re creating new habits. Once exercise becomes a habit, the plan occurs automatically. Plan what time and day you’re going to exercise and stick to it.  

If your will power is questionable, plan to exercise with a friend. It’s much harder to cancel a commitment involving someone else – one of the major benefits of personal trainers!

4) Devise a fitness program. The three main ingredients for a complete program are strength exercises, aerobic exercises and stretching. Vary your exercises so you don’t over-train some muscles while neglecting others. This also helps prevent boredom.  

Strength exercises require some type of resistance, which can be in the form of weights, or simply your own body weight, such as with push-ups, sit-ups, dips, lunges, etc. Aerobic exercises are those that get your cardiovascular system working and include walking, running, swimming, cycling, skipping and any other ‘moving’ activity.  

After your workout, stretch your major muscle groups (arms, legs and torso), as well as any smaller muscles that you’ve just worked. For example, if you’ve done dips, make sure you stretch your triceps.  

5) Know what you’re in for. Technique is very important, particularly when it comes to weight training and stretching.

Top Tip: If you’re unsure of how to correctly do an exercise, I suggest you get hold of Lisa Curry’s Total Health And Fitness. This book is great at explaining the execution of most exercise techniques and uses very clear pictures so even a complete novice can understand. It also gives some basic guidelines to help devise your own fitness program.  

6) Pick a day to start. And start!  

Kris Abbey is the publishing editor of Better Health (www.betterhealthmag.com) and Spa Life Magazines (www.spalife.com.au).  

Next week, Kris steps up Part 2 of her Shape Up For Summer program.