A Word of Warning
While I will always promote, encourage, and endorse getting started by getting oneself up off of the couch and start moving – after all, that’s what I have been preaching for decades now, I do have to give a word of warning.
Caution needs to be taken by those who have not been physically active during the previous several months or years in order to avoid injury.
When you begin a new activity, avoid doing too much of a good thing all at once. In other words, if you have not been walking briskly for 20-30 minutes on a regular basis, then you might want to start out walking for 10-20 minutes 2-3 times per week and then increase the walking time 5 minutes per week until you are walking 30-60 minutes per day 3 times per week.
Once you can accomplish this task, then you can add 1 day per week for a total of 5-6 days per week. This incremental increase in activity will give the bones and muscles time to adjust to the new stresses being placed upon them.
With that said, if you have been fairly active during the last several months, then starting a new activity may not be anything to worry about and you should be able to jump in with gusto rather than slowly working your way into it.
What are the Risks?
If we stress the bones too much too soon, we can actually create stress fractures because we do not allow the bones enough time to remodel themselves. Too much of a good thing can lead to injury.
For example, there has been an increase in the number of injuries among children between the ages of 7-17 years because they are participating in sporting activities 3-7 times per week year-round, and the tissues do not get a chance to repair themselves. There is a lot of growing that goes on during this age span which may also put them at risk for injury. This over-activity can lead to stress fractures, overuse syndromes, muscle tears, ligament injuries and so forth.
I think that we all know and understand that as we age, our bodies do not heal and repair themselves as quickly as they did when we were young. For this reason, it is super important that we be a little conservative in establishing our initial routines – that we don’t just dive right in at full speed. We do need to ease our way into our new routine. You will find that as you do so, while you may not have the instantaneous results that we would all love to have, you will end up better off in the long run, and that is really our goal.
So Let's Get Started
The Beginner Regain Balance program that I have developed and used in my clinic with hundreds of patients does just that. It eases you in to a manageable and doable exercise routine that gives you the results that you desire at a steady and safe pace.
Gain access to the Beginner Program by clicking on the button below.
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