FortiesDiet.com

Effective Exercise Program

Achieving fitness over 40 demands an effective exercise program. An effective exercise program should include a combination of weight training exercise and aerobic exercise. Weight training builds healthy muscle. Aerobic exercise strengthens your cardiovascular system. Both activities help you lose fat, but they assist in fat loss differently. Both types of exercise enhance your fitness level. The dynamics between cardiovascular exercise and muscle building / weight training exercise are more important when we are over forty.

Before you begin any exercise program, consider your own fitness level and consult your doctor. Find a level of exercise that is right for you. You should start with a level that is moderate for you, one you can maintain, and will not cause injury.

First, you want to establish a rhythm that is easy to implement and track. This will serve the purpose of integrating a healthy habit into your overall lifestyle. This is critical because even a small steady amount of fitness exercise over time is much more valuable to your long term cardiovascular health than a short term fitness exercise period.

Here is an overview of a sample exercise program:

Now that we have established a daily exercise routine, let's further define our exercise program by specifying each workout by body part. Over the course of two weeks, we want to work each major muscle group at least twice and allow for adequate rest in between.

Now we can assign specific weight training exercises for each body part. I must strongly encourage you here to use the amount of weight that is right for you. Proper form is more important than maxing out the amount of weight, especially when just starting out. Find a weight where you can execute the indicated amount of reps. Use the weights below as just an example.

A daily exercise program is best with 1 or 2 days off for rest per week. I usually do 5 days of a regular exercise program during the week. Then do some outdoor activity such as hiking on Saturday, and rest on Sunday. Choose what is best for you. Make sure to rest each muscle group in between workouts. Rest periods should be 2-4 days. This is when the body is re-building the muscle. This is critical, especially for those of us over forty.

Now add is some aerobic activity to enhance your cardiovascular fitness as well as burn fat. If you are just starting out, I would suggest 20-40 minutes of brisk walking. Once you become comfortable with that, add in short jogs during the walk - "jog/walking". It will surprise you how much this adds to your workout. Then you can work yourself up to jogging 2 or 3 times per week. When you combine aerobic activity with a muscle building workout, you will be surprised by how quickly you can transform your body and increase your energy level. Begin by taking small steps in your exercise program and work your way up. Be sure to track your progress as you go.