When searching for a topic to post for Fitness Friday, I saw this article and knew it was an important one to share. With the steady incline in obesity rates for both children and adults, I’m ecstatic that fitness has become the “in thing to do”. Sure, we all want to look good, but improved and sustained health is the true benefit of maintaining an active lifestyle.
That being said, people see infomercials on TV for popular fitness programs like P90X, Insanity, TurboFire, etc. and want to jump right in hopes of getting in shape as fast as possible. However, attempting to go from a couch potato to a fitness guru overnight can lead to muscle/joint strain, burnout, injury or worse. If you’ve led a pretty sedentary lifestyle and are not used to exercising, it may be better to start slowly with light to moderate aerobic exercise to get your heart, joints and muscles prepared for a more vigorous exercise or weight lifting program.