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Tips on Starting Your Own Fitness Routine
Here are some tips for setting up your very own fitness program.
 | Most importantly, talk to your physician or therapist before you start
your program. They can tell you how to exercise, how not to exercise, and
what benefits you can expect.
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| Establish and dedicate a consistent schedule for your workouts and
stick to it. Do not simply wait until you have some free time.
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| Keep an exercise log. Think of each workout as another deposit into
your fitness savings account and your exercise log as your bank book.
We have made available for download an Excel spreadsheet that will
automatically crunch the numbers and keep your totals.
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| Start gradually. There are three elements to varying your Cycle
workouts - speed (RPMs), length of workout (minutes or hours), and resistance.
We recommend very little resistance for your first few workouts. Indeed,
resistance should be the last element that you increase. First, increase your
time and then add resistance if you wish. Exercise should be fun, not painful.
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| To avoid muscle strain, start each workout slowly in order to "warm up."
This lets your muscles and tissues a chance to stretch. Additionally, your
circulatory system increases the rate of blood and oxygen flow to those
muscles. Start at a slower pace and then gradually increase the RPMs (watch
your Cycle's digital display) to a comfortable workout level.
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| Avoid interruptions or distractions. Work out in a place where you
will not be interrupted or distracted by the phone or your family.
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| Do something while you work out. Exercise by itself can be boring.
Listen to music or a book-on-tape, watch TV, look out the window, or close your
eyes and meditate or daydream.
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| Breathe. It is impossible to workout for even two or three minutes
while continuing the slower breathing rate that you had before starting your
workout. If you have asthma and use an inhaler, ask your doctor about taking a
puff about five or ten minutes before your workout. Many people do not find the
need to "gasp-breathe" entirely by mouth throughout a workout. If you have to
pause, rest, and "catch your breath," one reason might be that you are
breathing too slowly. A good rule of thumb for many is to breathe in through
the nose and out by mouth, once each two or three crank-arm revolutions. |
Need assistance in selecting, purchasing,
fitting, customizing, or using your Saratoga fitness products?
Rand-Scot is here to help you let our products make a positive
impact in your life. Use our Contact Us forms
or telephone us at (800) 467-7967 (8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. MST) to learn more.
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