five steps beginner fitness program

Thinking of starting a fitness program? Good for you ! You are only five steps away from a healthier lifestyle.

Undertaking a fitness program may be one of the best things you can do for your health. Physical activity can reduce your risk of chronic disease, improve your balance and coordination, help you lose weight, and even improve your sleep patterns and self-esteem. And there is other good news. You can start a fitness program in just five steps

1 Assess your fitness level

You probably have an idea of your physical condition. But assessing and recording basic fitness results can give you benchmarks to measure your progress. To assess your aerobic and muscular capacity, your flexibility and your body composition, remember to note the following results:

What is your pulse before and immediately after walking 1.6 km?

How long does it take to walk 1.6 km, or how long does it take to run 2.40 kilometers?

How many standard or modified pumps can you do in a row?

How far can you lean forward when you sit on the floor with your legs in front of you?

Your waistline, just above your hips?

2 Design your fitness program

It's easy to say that you will exercise every day. But you will need a plan. When designing your fitness program, keep these points in mind:

- Consider your fitness goals. Are you starting a fitness program to help you lose weight? Or do you have another motivation, for example to prepare for a marathon? Having clear goals can help you measure your progress and stay motivated.

- Create a balanced routine. For most healthy adults, it is recommended that you exercise at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity per week, or a combination of moderate and vigorous activities. The guidelines suggest spreading this exercise over a week. More exercise will provide even greater health benefits.

2 Design your fitness program

But even small amounts of physical activity are helpful. Being active for short periods of time throughout the day can be beneficial for your health.

- Do strength exercises for all major muscle groups at least twice a week. Try to do only one set of each exercise, using weights or resistance machines heavy enough to tire your muscles after about 12 to 15 repetitions.

- Start at a low level and progress slowly: If you are just starting to exercise, start carefully and progress slowly. If you have an injury or medical problem, consult your doctor or therapist to help you design a fitness program that gradually improves your range of motion, strength, and endurance.

- Include physical activity in your daily routine: Finding time to exercise can be a challenge. To make it easier, set aside time to exercise as you would any other date.

- Plan to include different activities: Different activities (cross-training) can help avoid exercise-related boredom. Cross training using low-impact forms of activity, such as biking or water exercises, also reduces the risk of injury or overuse of a specific muscle or joint. Plan to alternate between activities that focus on different parts of your body, such as walking, swimming, and weight training.

- Try high intensity training at regular intervals: In high intensity training, you perform short periods of high intensity activity separated by periods of low intensity activity recovery.

- Allow time for recovery: Many people start to train with frenzied zeal, training too long or too hard, and give up when their muscles and joints become sore or injured. Allow time between sessions for your body to rest and recover.

- Put it on paper: A written plan can encourage you to stay on track.

3 Plan your equipment

You will probably start with sports shoes. Be sure to choose shoes designed for the activity you are considering. For example, running shoes are lighter than cross training shoes, which offer better support.

If you plan to invest in training equipment, choose something practical, fun and easy to use. You may want to try out certain types of equipment at a fitness center before investing in your own equipment.

You might consider using fitness apps for tablet and console phones or other activity tracking devices, such as those that can track your distance, track calories burned, or monitor your heart rate.

4 Start

Now you are ready to act. When you start your fitness program, keep these tips in mind:

Start slowly and gradually increase.

Give yourself enough time to warm up and cool down by walking or stretching gently. Then accelerate to a pace that you can keep going for five to ten minutes without getting too tired. As your endurance improves, gradually increase the duration of the exercise.

Exercise up to 30 to 60 minutes most days of the week.

Interrupt the exercises if necessary. You don't have to do all of your exercises at the same time, so you can squeeze in the activity throughout the day. Shorter but more frequent sessions also have beneficial effects on aerobics. Exercising in short sessions a few times a day can work better on your schedule than just a 30-minute session. Any activity is preferable to a total absence of activity.

Be creative. Your training program may include a variety of activities, such as walking, cycling, or rowing. But don't stop there. Take a weekend hike with your family or spend an evening dancing in a ballroom. Find activities that you enjoy and that add to your fitness program.

Listen to your body. If you experience pain, shortness of breath, dizziness or nausea, take a break. You may be doing too much.

Be flexible. If you don't feel well, give yourself permission to take a day or two of rest.

5 Monitor your progress

Repeat your personal fitness assessment six weeks after the start of your program, then every few months. You may notice that you need to increase the duration of your exercises in order to keep improving. Or you may be pleasantly surprised to find that you are doing just the right amount to achieve your fitness goals.

If you lose motivation, set new goals or try a new activity. Exercising with a friend or taking a class at a fitness center can also help.

Starting an exercise program is an important decision. But it doesn't have to be overly radical. By planning carefully and pacing forward, you can build a healthy habit that will last a lifetime.

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Playing sports at home: how to get your life confined

While fitness rooms and sports clubs are closed and containment limits entertainment, it is possible for you to continue practicing physical and dynamic activities at home. Here are some tips to keep you in shape alone, as a couple, as a family with children.

Many athletes are forced to adapt their practice since the limitation of travel to fight the spread of Covid-19. All you have to do is become your own sports coach and organize a personalized activity program so that you can simply let off steam in your garden and inside your home:
Basic advice to follow

The Department of Sports says that minimal physical or dynamic activity is highly recommended, giving several tips for staying in shape while staying indoors. This activity time extends to 1 hour per day for children and adolescents, and to 30 minutes per day for adults. In addition, it is also recommended to carry out various activities several times a week which strengthen the muscles and improve flexibility and balance.

Here are some simple reflexes to adopt during this particular period:

    do a few minutes of walking and stretching at least every 2 hours spent sitting or lying down. The ideal being to get up every hour and stretch your legs,
    watch television standing,
    replace one hour of sitting time with one hour of physical activity, whether low intensity or not),
    doing household chores, it uses a lot of energy and can be intensive if you put more energy into it than usual,
    do some activities that promote balance when you brush your teeth, for example, you can try doing it on one leg,
    if you have a garden, gardening can quickly become physical, unconsciously repeated flexing makes you do a significant amount of squats,
    if you also have it, use your stairs: going up and down several times a day will not hurt you! (at your own pace, of course)

Fans of fitness clubs also had to change their habits. Many athletes, "influencers" and sports coaches make videos in which they normally offer you exercise programs to do at home and sometimes without equipment. It can be general physical exercises whose goal is to work the whole body (total body) in one session or a program focused on a part of your body (your abs, your glutes, your thighs, your back, your shoulders...)

In this period of confinement, many have adapted their advice to show you that it is quite possible to continue training at home and with the means available, starting with ... your body weight! Yes, and that's enough, you will see!

They guide you to optimize your muscle building through simple exercises of which there are a large number of variations of movements to do depending on the level of each:

stretching exercises (at the beginning and at the end of the session),
    sheathing exercises for the abdominals,
    pumps (can be done on the knees): they apply to the entire upper body (pectorals, shoulders, back, abs),
    bending then squats for the legs,
    treadmill (and no puns ...) or cardiovascular exercises: heels buttocks, knee-highs, burpees, jumping jack, mountain climbers, jumped squats ...)

To name a few, of course. Sport is also about physical creativity and this is why it is possible to vary the difficulty of your exercises according to the rest time imposed between each repetition and the intensity of the movements performed; it is possible to use furniture in your living room if it is a minimum solid (chairs, sofa, table, bed ...).

On her Instagram account, the French boxer Sarah Ourahmoune who was Olympic vice-champion at the Rio 2016 Games, and world champion in 2008, offers you programs to do at home and which repeat all of these exercises. The Ministry of Sports recommends the advice of the champion because they have the advantage of addressing all seniors and all levels (beginners, initiates, confirmed).

Playing sports with your children

Sport can also be a great way to reconcile your family life and the desire to set a sports program. As much to share with the whole family to the extent that physical activities will allow all the siblings to share a pleasant, funny and all the more fun for the children!

Parents can then transform themselves into sports teachers and, while applying a certain number of physical movements selected in the personalized programs, integrate games! This makes it possible to provide a physical education for his children while mixing fun and entertainment.

The boxer Sarah Ourahmoune also offers programs associating sporting activity and games like here with what she calls "the sheathing Beret" where it is a question of choosing a small object to put between the two people in order to recover it the most quickly possible; "the cat-socks" where you have to slide a sock in your pants at your ankle and the first who takes the sock of his opponent wins; stone / sheet / scissor cladding without counting all those that will be the fruit of your imagination.

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Home sports: Kim Kardashian's coach reveals her favorite abs and gluteal exercises

If you want to follow Kim Kardashian's incredible sports program, look no further, E! take care of you.

The coronavirus may force gyms to close and people to hide in their homes, but that doesn't mean we have to relax physically. As Blake Lively's personal coach Don Saladino told E! : "To strengthen your immune system, you have to keep your muscles toned and eat healthy. If we stop training and moving, it will affect our quality of sleep, which will affect our immune system."

So whether people are looking for an easy way to exercise even in social distancing or just new exercises to add to their sports program, bodybuilding guru Melissa Alcantara knows all the tricks. She explains to E! News that she will be organizing daily home sports sessions that she will post in her Instagram story on @FitGurlMel so people can follow them from home.

But beware ! The coach likes to incorporate a lot of jumps, even with Kim. She says: "Kim has a LOVE / HATE relationship with sports at home with everything that involves jumping. BUT she knows that it is what is most effective and she gives her all!

Without further ado, here are Melissa's favorite exercises!

Buttocks:

1) Sumo plio squats in bodyweight: 4 (series) x 30 (repetitions)

Chest forward, body well covered, and make sure your back and neck are straight. Inhale down, and exhale to propel your jump. Land softly on the feet, sheath well to control extension and reception. Go down 2-3 cm below the horizontal to use your glutes and hamstrings as much as possible.

2) Crab walk (resistance band above the knees): 4 x 20

I love this exercise. Put yourself in a squat position (chest forward, back and neck aligned, body sheathed, flexion a little below the horizontal) and move sideways one leg at a time, one side and then the side. 'other.

3) Bust readings: 4 x 8 - 12

Use a weight bench, sofa, or dumbbells / heavy objects to block your feet and keep them from getting up. Get on your knees, chest forward, and gain good weight to control the movement downhill. Exhale while going up while contracting the glutes and adductors at the same time.

Abs:

1) Extended leg raises: 4 x 20

With a dumbbell in each hand, keep your lower back flat in contact with the ground, and exhale while lifting your leg 90 degrees. Control the descent by inhaling, and just before the foot hits the ground, raise your leg!

2) Crunch with resistance band (or rope on pulley): 4 x 30

You can use a resistance band to make rope crunches on a pulley by attaching it to a bar or a stable support. Leave in kneeling position and exhale while going down while slightly rounding the upper back but keeping the lumbar and abdominals well sheathed. Going back up, let your abs stretch and come back down before coming back completely to 90 degrees on your lap.

3) Combined crunch (Mel style): 4 x 20

Sit on the floor and bend your knees about 60 degrees, then tilt your chest back, chest forward, until you feel your abs contract. Lift your feet off the ground and open your abs. Exhale and bring your elbows back towards your knees, forming a V. Make sure you breathe out while crunching and inhale when you return to the starting position.

If her subscribers miss her videos, the celebrity coach has a website where fans can buy her 21-day training program at home. Each session lasts 25 minutes and is available on its Fitplan app with one week offered for each new subscription.

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Confinement: physical activities to do at home

In this period of confinement imposed by the spread of Covid-19, maintaining physical activity contributes to staying healthy in body and mind. The site of the Ministry of Sports, high level athletes and individuals offer via social networks applications and videos to practice fitness, yoga, stretching or muscle building ... "To save lives, stay at home and move at you! "

Let's make the most of the containment “Stay at home! This is the watchword launched by the authorities to fight against the spread of the coronavirus responsible for the Covid-19 pandemic. And there are millions of us now living in a new situation, that of confinement. To get out of it at best, perhaps it must be lived as one more human experience.

 

How to keep fit during confinement? Since last Monday, sports stars, specialized sites, fitness rooms, ministries, federations, individuals, everyone has been using their videos to help stay healthy in body ... and spirit.

Physical activities: initiatives are multiplying on social networks

Rémy Chifflet, yoga teacher at La-Roche-sur-Yon, had never considered making videos. But when the government ordered the gyms to close, he pushed his couch and plugged in his webcam. Result, a session of one hour on the assumed artisanal side: it leaves the frame regularly, the phone rings during the session ... "I did it to maintain a practice and a link with people who practice year-round . And then on second thought, I said to myself that it could help everyone and I decided to share widely, ”explains this big bearded man with a black bun. While he only has a hundred students, his first video recorded 1,500 views.

The video is also not in the habits of Swedish Fit, a channel with 12,000 subscribers in dozens of theaters in the Paris region and beyond. But on Monday, "we received more requests for online courses than reimbursements," said Louise Walkden, spokesperson for the company. So, even if all the employees are partially unemployed, a very small handful organized themselves on Tuesday to improvise with two mobile phones a 35-minute music session combining cardio, muscle strengthening and stretching ... and movements adapted for do not scratch the parquet or disturb the neighbors below. After this premiere, seen by nearly 30,000 people, the group plans to broadcast a video a day, accessible to all. “Basically, we have an ethical objective of putting people in motion. We felt a responsibility, ”explains Ms. Walkden.

On social networks, these initiatives are multiplying, including on the part of personalities. Vincent Parisi, ju-jitsu champion, consultant and coach on BeIn sport, offers a fitness session for all levels every day from his salon.

Pole vault champion Renaud Lavillenie publishes a daily journal of his confinement activities on twitter every day: Monday exercise bike, Tuesday weight training exercise with his daughter as weight, Wednesday frantic back and forth on ten meters of lawn in his garden...

While categorically limiting outings to short jogging downstairs, the Ministry of Sports launched a vast campaign on social networks under the slogan #BougezChez Vous, recalling that the health authorities recommended at least one hour of physical activity per day for children and adolescents and 30 minutes for adults. The ministry regularly publishes lists of websites and applications offering all kinds of physical activity online for all ages and all levels, free or paid. Many have already existed for a long time, but some have already put specific “containment” proposals online, with activities that can be carried out in 2 m2 and without special equipment. 

The positive effects of physical activity during confinement

Paradoxically, circumstances can thus lead to the discovery of new disciplines. Cristina Beccaria, a 55-year-old architect who has been confined for almost two weeks in her small apartment in Rome, has abandoned the online courses offered by her usual gym to create a tailor-made program. 

Upon awakening, a hyperventilation session offered by an extreme Dutch sportsman. Then a little yoga and pilates during the day, and finally in the evening a group dance meditation class via an application that allows him to see each participant in a myriad of small windows on the screen. "It paces the day, and physical exercise helps to channel energy, because over time it becomes harder and harder not to be able to go out. We are not normal, but it allows us to escape the feeling of loneliness and fear, ”she testified. 

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Why is the rower the perfect exercise for women? Our explanations

Choosing an exercise program can be complicated, especially if you are a beginner. Getting back in shape doesn't necessarily mean climbing the mountains or running a marathon. Using a rowing machine is a great way to improve your overall health, as well as having a low impact and being accessible to all ages and fitness levels.

This equipment which imitates the movements of rowing allows indeed a complete training of the body; Ideal for losing weight, toning and building muscles and increasing endurance, this game-changing machine. Rowers work on several major muscle groups and will help you develop both your upper and lower body. Most importantly, using a rower makes your heart and lungs work, giving you a full heart workout.

Efficient cardiac training

The benefits of regular cardiac exercise include weight loss, increased stamina and a stronger immune system. The endorphins released while you exercise can also help improve your mood and quality of sleep.

Because it requires the use of many large muscle groups, a rowing machine is an effective way to increase your heart rate and increase your oxygen supply for effective cardio training. The adjustable resistance on most rowers allows you to work easily to your target heart rate and slow down if necessary.

Weightloss

Regular training on a rowing machine can help you burn calories, tone your muscles, and increase your energy levels. An average workout with a rower burns 600 calories per hour. It is more effective than many other home gym machines on the market. 

An average workout with a rower burns 600 calories per hour

On a stationary bike with no arm involvement, you should ride for about 78 minutes to get the effects of a 60-minute workout on a rowing machine. Combined with a healthy and balanced diet, constant use of a rowing machine is a great way to help you reach your weight goals.

Upper body training

As you would expect, rowers offer stellar upper body training. The rowers work the rhomboids in the shoulders, the trapezoids in the upper back and the lower back. The benefits of a stronger back and shoulder include improved posture and reduced back pain.

In addition to your back, rowers also provide good training for your biceps, pectorals, and abs, which helps you develop a stronger trunk. Because you have to maintain a strong grip on the oars, you will also develop stronger hands and wrists, which is a big plus for anyone who enjoys activities such as climbing or yoga.

Lower body training

Perhaps one of the best benefits of a rower is the lower body workout. In fact, rowing enthusiasts see rowing primarily as training for the lower body. The main leg muscles involved are the quadriceps in the upper front of the thighs, but the calves and glutes (buttocks) are also used.

Strengthening your legs and glutes will help you slim down and burn calories faster. In addition to improving strength and muscle tone, resistance training on a rowing machine is a great way to maintain flexibility and balance.

Low impact cardio exercise

For those who are overweight or have existing joint problems, high-impact workouts may carry more risks than benefits. A rower is a great alternative for those who are unable to perform weight-bearing exercises, such as running, hiking, walking, and yoga.

The movement of rowing is natural and low impact, which puts minimal pressure on the joints. Like stationary bikes, rowers are great for preventing injury and are also a great way to strengthen and knee after surgery.

While back strain is a concern, you can minimize your risk by maintaining good posture. The latter will concentrate the effort on your legs and remove the pressure on your back.

Increase endurance

Rowing machine workouts may seem exhausting at first, but the long-term benefits of regular exercise will increase your stamina and give you more energy. Because rowing exercise is cardiovascular and works all of your major muscle groups, it is a much more effective routine than many other types of training. With repeated use, you will gain endurance and boost your metabolism.
Convenient

The rower allows you to enjoy the benefits of rowing without having to live near a water point. You can buy an affordable rowing machine to use in the comfort and convenience of your own home. Sometimes motivating yourself to train is more difficult than the exercise itself. Simple and accessible workouts, like the rower, are much more attractive.

Affordable

You can find many basic machines that won't drop your savings. You don't have to sacrifice the quality of your rowing machine to save money, as there are many models with extended functionality for less than 200 euros. You can have access to a rower in your gym, but if rowing is your main form of exercise, you can save money in the long run by getting your own rower.
Easy to use

If you're just getting started, the maze of complex workout machines at the gym could make your head spin. Do not worry ! Rowing machine exercise is relatively simple to learn and ideal for all ages and physical conditions.

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To stay in shape after 50, brain activity is more important than physical activity

The head would be stronger than the legs: researchers from Geneva have established that preserving brain activity is more effective than physical activity in aging in shape.

To age well, it is better to think than to run! This is the lesson to be learned from a study carried out by researchers in Geneva using data from more than 100,000 people aged 50 to 90 years and published in the journal Health Psychology. Research that shows that brain activity is more important for staying physically fit than physical activity for maintaining good cognitive skills.

Several studies have already shown the link between the practice of regular physical activity and admitted that this promotes the survival of new neurons and preserves memory. What pique the curiosity of scientists at the University of Geneva who wondered if the opposite - use his cognitive skills to keep good physical health - was also true.

Verbal, memory and frequency of physical activity

To find an answer, they gathered data from 105,206 people aged 50 to 90 in the SHARE survey on health, aging and retirement in Europe, which covers the population of 25 countries. Their cognitive abilities were measured every 2 years over a period of 12 years using a verbal proficiency test (they had to name as many animals as possible in 60 seconds) and a memory test (how memorize 10 words and then recite them). Physical activity was measured on a scale of 1 to 4 ranging from "never" of activity to "more than once a week".

The analysis of these elements from statistical models enabled them to measure the impact of physical activity on cognitive performance over time and whether the level of this cognitive activity made it possible to predict the evolution of the capacity to conserve good physical activity.

An "inevitable" decline from the age of 50

What has been confirmed by this work is that physical and cognitive capacities experience an "inevitable" decline from the age of 50, but that cognitive capacities mainly influence physical activity and not vice versa. "This study supports our theory that the brain must make a real effort to get out of a sedentary lifestyle and that by working on cognitive skills, physical activity will follow," said Boris Cheval, one of the authors of this study. 

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