Captdhd's Blog I'm On The Right Side Of The Turf!

I should be the last old fat guy in the world to be doling out exercise advice but I’m going too anyway!

This tends to be that time of year where the gyms get overrun with new memberships though by the first of February the enthusiasm seems to have eked out of the air and things get back to the dull roar of normal. That is just too bad!

For you, if you are inclined to make exercising a resolution this year I hope you make it over the start up chasm and make it a regular practice in your schedule. Your entire life will certainly benefit from it in so many ways.

Three years ago I was a virtual new-bee wandering into the gym for the first time in near 30 years. At the time 6 months post-surgery it was easy for me to start out slow and by doing so it made the lifestyle change to a reasonably regular exercise schedule adaptable.

If there is any one piece of advice I could offer it would be that you do just that. Start out slow, work up to a level that challenges you and allows you to meet your goals. You should be a bit sore but you shouldn’t be laboring to walk 2 days later. If you go in the gym and come away hurting yourself you are near 100% likely to fail. Your health is too important to not be doing something.

I have journaled my exercise and its effect on my general health, blood pressure, glucose numbers, weight, etc. since the start.  (maybe a second piece of advice there)  For the past couple of months I have added an extra observation to my workout notes. I have been adding a caption on how my previous routine has affected me physically, how do I feel right after, and also a day after. I’ve really been in search of my boundaries.  If I had any real brains I would have documented this aspect from the start as well.

Knowing what you can do is good, knowing what not to do is equally important.  More is not always better,  in fact sometimes “too much” especially “too quick”, can produce some pretty unhealthy results and breed some serious failure.

It’s a fresh new year with a new outlook, elect to do the gym, low and slow for starters, you will set yourself up for success. Your blood pressure and waistline will love you for it too!