According to the U.S. surgeon general, "In addition to weight control, physical activity helps prevent heart disease, helps control cholesterol levels and diabetes, slows bone loss associated with advancing age, lowers the risk of certain cancers, and helps reduce anxiety and depression." Developing a safe, effective workout plan that fits into your lifestyle is important.
Goals
To develop an effective workout plan, there are several factors -- such as present fitness level, age, health and skill level -- which must be taken into consideration. Your lifestyle and time constraints will play a factor. You also need to decide what you want to accomplish. A bodybuilder, competitive swimmer, marathon runner and someone who just wants to be healthy should have different workout plans to meet individual goals. Plan to train for the specific activity you are interested in pursuing.
Beginning
Consult with a physician before beginning a vigorous exercise program if you have heart problems, high blood pressure, arthritis, dizziness, fainting spells or have recently been hospitalized. Do not work out at a high intensity level without a doctor's approval if you are more than 40 lbs. overweight. Additionally, if your exercise goals are strenuous, check with a physician if you are a male over 40 years old or a woman over 50.
Activities
Your workout plan should include cardiorespiratory endurance or aerobic exercise. This can include activities such as walking, swimming, biking and running. Add some muscular strength exercises, which use power to exert force for a brief period of time, such as weight lifting. Muscular endurance, which is sustained repeated contractions of muscle groups, such as push-ups, should be included. Include flexibility, or stretching exercises also, such as sit-and-reach or yoga.
Some exercises can fulfill multiple categories. For example, running is both cardio and muscular endurance for the legs.
Your workout plan should include a warm-up at the beginning and a cool-down at the completion. For example, when running, you might want to start with walking and end with stretches, the flexibility aspect of your workout plan.
Schedule
Your schedule is influenced by your lifestyle, time constraints and goals. The surgeon general recommends at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise five times a week. Try not to schedule intensive exercise using the same muscles on consecutive days. However, depending on your schedule, walking three times a day for 10 minutes at a time qualifies as a 30-minute walk. Try to schedule exercise two hours after eating. Additionally, don't exercise in extremely hot, humid weather. According to the President's Council of Physical Fitness, "Heat and/or digestion both make heavy demands on the circulatory system, and in combination with exercise can be an overtaxing double load."
Progression
For exercise to be effective, you need to challenge yourself. You need to work hard enough and long enough to tax the body to bring about improvement. As your workout plan continues, you will need to modify it regularly to increase the intensity, frequency and/or duration of the activity. For example, if you have been walking for a while, you might choose progress by walking farther or faster, or else starting to jog.
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