The American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association jointly recommend that healthy adults under 65 should do moderate-level cardio for 30 minutes a day, five days a week or vigorous cardio for 20 minutes a day, three days a week, plus at least two days of strength training each week. The following tips can help you get your exercise routine established and keep it exciting over time.
Keep an Appointment
Keeping fit is critically important to maintaining lifelong good health, so take your time in the gym (or wherever else you might get your exercise in) seriously. Set a regular time to work out, at least three times a week, then stick to it; consider this an appointment with yourself and block the time out of your day accordingly.
Hot and Cold
Always warm up before performing any sort of strenuous exercise, then cool down afterward. Warming up allows your cardiovascular system to make the necessary changes to prepare your body for intense exertion; cooling down lets your body adapt back to a state of rest. Five minutes is the absolute minimum time you'll find recommended for a warmup or cool down, but at least 10 to 15 minutes of gradually ramping your activity level higher before you workout, then gradually slowing down at the end, is ideal.
Even if you don't have time for a full warmup, just taking things a little slower at first gives your body a chance to adapt.
Cross Train
If you're following a set workout program, consider switching to a new program--or at least alternating back and forth between two different programs--every six weeks or so to help you avoid the dreaded "plateau." You don't have to give up your routine--Tuesday can still be back day and Friday can still be legs day, for example--just introduce a little variety by doing a different set of back exercises and a different set of leg exercises or by performing the same exercises with free weights instead of on a weight machine.
By the same token, many exercisers find doing the recommended amount of cardio to be tedious at best. Try different types of aerobic activity--different gym machines, outdoor activities like rollerblading or biking, group classes like cardio kickboxing--to keep things fresh; you might just find one that you like so much you get excited about doing it.
Intervals
Up your workout intensity--which lets you reduce the length of your workout, too, if time is a consideration for you--by including high-intensity intervals of strenuous anaerobic exertion in your aerobic workouts. This can be as simple as alternating two minutes of walking with two minutes of running or walking for two minutes then doing a set of pushups or squats before going right back to walking. Make sure to keep moving--it's the continuous moderate-intensity exertion, highlighted by brief peaks of high-intensity exertion, that make intervals an effective training tool. They're also great for busting through workout boredom.
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