Fitness Plan

Starting Your Personal Fitness Program

Feeling good about how your body looks and works

Everybody knows that it is important to be fit. Your level of fitness is a major factor in your lifespan, and getting in shape should be a priority.

There are more and more articles in newspapers and magazines about the cost of not having a daily workout; the impact on your health, the social effects of being unfit. Getting fit should be on your 'to-do" list all year round, and not just a New Year's resolution that doesn't make it past the first few days of January.

It is easy to start your personal fitness program, and then run out of enthusiasm. With a busy work schedule, and social life, it's a common enough occurrence that people drop out of exercising on the basis that they don't have enough time. With everything that is important you don't find time, you make time. The most obvious answer to this, and something that most fitness instructors will suggest, is just to get out of bed a bit earlier, and use that time to exercise. Of course, to some this may seem like a nightmare, and not something to inspire them. Night-owls should look for something to do in the evening, perhaps a late workout session at the gym, or installing some home exercise equipment so that you can watch TV as the same time as working out.

Not everyone is suited to a traditional fitness regime of steps, pilates or a membership to a fancy gym. Try walking or biking after dinner. You might find it rewarding to try other methods to keep fit, such as martial arts   or swimming. It is not important how you get fit: only the results matter. If you find that you enjoy volleyball, for example, then that will extend your enthusiasm for your fitness regime. Doing something that you hate, or which you feel stupid doing, won't last very long.

Keep your enthusiasm up in other ways, by working out to favorite tracks, or by keeping a log of how well you've done. You can work out with a friend and have a competition; or you can set yourself goals in your fitness regime, and reward yourself when you achieve them.

Fitness should be something that you work towards for all of your life, and a daily exercise routine will certainly help you achieve that goal. Even if your exercising consists of a short run everyday, and you never end up with a full six-pack, that does not matter. Fitness is not about getting the perfect body, it is about a general physical state where you feel more energetic, and you feel good about the way your body looks and works.