If you're hoping to make exercise a part of your everyday routine, there are some easy ways to begin. Photo / 123rf
If you're hoping to make exercise a part of your everyday routine, there are some easy ways to begin. Photo / 123rf
Personal trainer Samantha Bluemel shares her top tips to help you prioritise your health and wellness in a way that will support, not hinder, the busy and unique lifestyle you lead. This week, she shares how to start a new fitness routine.
Oh, exercise. You wonderful thing. I’mso happy we’ve arrived at my favourite subject in this series. We’ve also hit February 2024 already, which is secretly the perfect month to start a new fitness routine. The January rush of New Year resolution fanatics (not you, I know) at the gym is behind us, kids are heading back to school, the height of our summer’s humidity is (hopefully) receding and things have settled back into a familiar pattern. Only this year, you’ve decided to start implementing new systems that build new habits. And now it’s time to get your body moving.
If you’ve never incorporated exercise into your daily routine, or perhaps taken a break lately, I can promise you one thing. No matter how small you start, you’re instantly going to feel a positive difference in your body and mind. It makes an excellent first port of call when considering changes to your lifestyle given its immediate benefits, and will have a catalyst effect on other areas of wellbeing. The vast array of options makes some form of movement accessible to nearly everyone, and it can easily be integrated into an average day without too much bother.
Focusing on how you feel every day is the best way to measure the effects of exercise in your life, especially to begin with. This goes both ways - you don’t want to overdo it and end up feeling tired, sore or worst case, injured. Allow yourself to be intuitive about the way your body is adapting and serving you through this process.
A reminder that this series is all about making small, systemic changes to your unique lifestyle, and that it’s best to stick to one or two achievable new systems at a time. So it’s important to consider your personal starting line before embarking on any new fitness adventure.
If you’ve been pretty much sedentary until now then a CrossFit membership probably isn’t for you. But if you’ve been regularly exercising and think it’s time to increase the intensity, I encourage you to tackle something more challenging. Equally, consider your week ahead: what time can you realistically devote to this new routine? Where can you carve out some time to bookmark for exercise? Start small - it could be one 20-minute walk outside a day to begin with - and take your time to build in this new habit without overdoing it.
Make it enjoyable
I don’t want to slap you in the face with a condescending remark about how exercise can be enjoyable and you just have to find the thing that works for you. But I’m going to - it’s absolutely true.
Or if you’re determined to stick to your guns, find the thing that sucks the least. Of course I know that going for a run is horrible for some, and that working out on a big gym floor filled with people is the stuff of nightmares for others. And that’s okay. You really don’t have to fight an uphill battle against yourself when it comes to exercise.
You could try swimming or cycling outdoors, yoga, Pilates or a boutique-sized group training studio with a community to connect with. There are dance, sport or at-home online workouts that can easily be done with zero equipment in your living room. Personal training, or meeting a workout buddy. And of course, walking. My love for walking knows no bounds, it’s truly one of the best ways to get the body moving and mind feeling clear.
Factor in cardio and strength training
If your starting line is walking, ignore this for now while you concentrate on building a habit of daily exercise. But if you’ve got a good routine down and know you have more in you, consider the importance of including both cardio and strength training in your exercise routine.
Cardio includes any steady-state exercise like walking, running or cycling, or more high-intensity options like sprinting or incline runs. It promotes our heart and lung health more than anything else, and improves the body’s ability to move oxygen to the muscles and brain. Strength training includes anything that puts your muscles under load, such as weights, pilates and functional training. It builds lean muscle mass and looks after bone and joint health, reducing the chances of injury, particularly as we age.
Both are essential for long-term health and quality of life, and I encourage you to make time for whichever area is currently lacking in your exercise routine. We normally favour one over the other, so remember to keep things achievable as you add a new component. One strength-based class a week to begin with for example, increasing to two or three once you’ve found the type that works for you.
Personal trainer Samantha Bluemel reccomends including both cardio and strength training in fitness routines for a balanced approach.
Recovery and rest
Here’s the part you’ll like hearing: recovery and rest is just as important as the exercise itself. Your body needs time to repair muscles and replenish its energy stores, so a day or two off a week is important to maintain a happy, pain-free body.
Recovery practices before and after your workout are also essential to avoid injury and keep your muscles supple. Stretching, foam rolling and mobility work promote flexibility, range of movement and protect your spine, which all starts to feel pretty paramount once you reach your 30s and beyond. It can be hard to know where to begin with this step so it’s worth looking up an easy sequence to follow online, or finding a class that teaches you the kind of movements that you can incorporate into your workouts.
And if you want to take things a step further, give contrast therapy a go. This practice of alternating between intense heat (usually a sauna) and icy cold (usually an ice bath) is incredibly therapeutic for the body and mind. You’ll feel like a million-dollar athlete after every session.
There’s no better feeling than getting out of your head and into your body with movement. Learn something new, challenge yourself, gain confidence and revel in the process of getting strong and fit, one small step at a time. It’s all there for the taking.
