[Assentesy]

In our newfound zeal for exercise we might tend to overdo things and reach levels that cause us to burn out or stop putting in the time we need.

I try to do about an hour of moderate exercise, such as walking, about five days a week. I walk about 4-4.5 miles in that time. That is time and effort that I can sustain. Someone younger might want to do more; but I believe that overall moderation is the key.

The goal of exercise for most of us, is to promote daily activity and increased metabolism rates. That's what is important to long term weight control.

So set your goals accordingly. If you have been overweight much of your life and have not exercised in the past, work your way up carefully to about an hour of moderate exercise. And when you reach the level of time and effort that you can sustain for the long term, stop there and maintain at that level. Any other activity that you can do during the day that creates movement and aerobic effort is good too. But that hour is where you are giving your heart a moderate and healthy workout.

The human heart gets about one billion beats in its lifetime. A fit person is going to have a slower resting heart rate, so the bursts of moderate exercise will more than balance out. A person who is overweight and not fit is going to use up those beats faster because the heart will be beating faster constantly. That's aside from the stress of high blood pressure. So moderate exercise that helps you lose weight and stay basically fit, will be a vast improvement over the habits of the past. You do not have to become a fitness champ to dramatically improve your life and health. Just get to it and start a good, daily program of exercise that you can sustain for life.

Good Luck!

[RalfDweflywex]

I agree with you.

This time around I set only two goals for myself regarding excercise.

1) That I sustain it on a routine (at least 3x per week) basis.

2) That I practice sufficient restraint that I can still walk the next morning.

I was an athlete in my distant past, and my mind has been stuck on how much weight I should ilft, and how far I should run, and how long I should work out for at a time...of course these were programed in back when I was an athlete...at least 150 lbs and 15 years ago... (Hey, see what sustained 1 lb per month weight gain can do to an athletic 250 lb guy...)

Usually (historically) I would go to the wieght room and put on something like I used to lift...and crank out a few sets....and push myself on the track or the bike...and end up so sore I could hardly move for 4 days afterwards...

This time around...the most I want to feel is a very slight soreness later in the day or the next day....so I can return in 2 days to do it again instead of having to wait a week to be able to move without a limp...

So I am slowly ramping up my distance and intensity from what (to me) are really low levels.

In this case...no pain is my gain.

[Giselle]

This is so true. So many times, when I was younger, I'd start these exercise routines. I'd join a gym and take 4 classes a night. I'd be there every day after work - for about 3 months. Then, a year would go by where that $25 a month was getting auto-deducted from my bank account, but I wasn't going.

Even at home, I couldn't get anything consistant. I'd set time after work, but things always got in the way. It was a struggle to get that hour. Someone would stop over, I would work late, we'd have somewhere to go, I'd need to do laundry or grocery shopping, kids homework - anything would cut into my time. I'd try doing it later, but I was usually too tired. A one hour workout took 2 hours of time because I'd need to take another shower.

About 3 years ago, I finally found the ambition to get up early and work out. I only have an hour, but I have it every day. Hubby and kids are asleep. I don't worry about babysitters, or cutting into their time. Nobody is visiting. No excuses. I plan my workouts into what I can easily fit into that hour.

Currently, I'm on a special training program that requires weekend long runs. That is my only run where I need to juggle things around, but it's only temporary.