Make Time For A Symple Exercise Plan
Illawarra Mercury
Wednesday November 19, 2003
I REMEMBER when I was overweight, the only form of exercise I did was to walk into the kitchen and my work-outs consisted of lifting food out of the fridge and into my mouth.
The thought of going to a gym filled me with great apprehension - what a nightmare trying to keep up with those fit people and those dreadful mirrors all over the place.
Most of us can think of a good reason why we don't want to do exercise - I mean, who has time in this busy world? But can you afford not to exercise?
Studies have proven that we all need to move our bodies if we want wellness, so if you work too many hours, haven't enough hours in the day, are too busy running around after kids or just can't get motivated, here are some tips to get you started:
1. Start slowly with a five to 10 minute walk and gradually build it up to 30 to 40 minutes at least four to five times a week.
2. Wear a hat and comfortable clothing to give you room to move and protect yourself from the hot sun. Wear good-quality leather joggers that have arch support.
3. Do some stretches before setting off to avoid needless damage to ligaments and muscles.
4. Vary your exercises so boredom doesn't set in. There are lots of ways to exercise apart from walking, such as bike riding, swimming, dancing, gardening, aerobics, using weights, aqua aerobics and rollerblading. Why not take your dog for a walk and both of you can reap the rewards? Any activity that gets your heart pumping is great.
5. The more muscle tone you have, the more your body will burn fat. Look at other ways to help tone muscles - lift weights, swim, walk up stairs (instead of catching the lift or escalators), or use an exercise bike or step/treadmill machine.
Exercise is vital for wellbeing, as it encourages our metabolism to increase and can, if you have a sluggish metabolism, give it a kick-start.
It's also great for burning those unwanted kilos. Once you have completed your work-out, your metabolism will continue to work for hours afterwards.
People who exercise will lose more weight and keep it off longer than someone who does no exercise.
Annette's cookbooks - Symply Too Good to Be True 1, 2 & 3 - and CD Menu Planner are sold in all good newsagencies, or visit her web site at www.symplytoogood .com.au
© 2003 Illawarra Mercury