Choose an activity:
- Exercise class
- Treadmill
- Cycling
- Zumba
- Outdoor running
- Swimming
- Other activities that can increase your heart rate. E.g. walking, skateboarding and mountain biking.
Make a strict plan on how often you are going to exercise during a typical week.
You can stick to one activity or keep it different every week.
Try and aim for an average of 5 sessions each week.
Plan how long each season will be.
When you’re starting out it is important to ease yourself in, so aim for 15 minutes per session for your first week and quickly build this up to 20 - 30 minutes after this. Once you’re in the swing of things you can then increase the length of your sessions from 20 - 60 minutes.
Think about the structure of each workout
During the first 5 minutes, start off slowly then gradually build up the pace every minute to a level that feels fairly hard - on the exertion scale this will be building up from 2 - 6.
During the main section of your workout, aim to exercise within the 6/10 to 7/10 intensity level zone. This will form the bulk of your training session. You should be breathing hard, sweating lots, not be able to talk in full sentences, and not able to read a book. Once you’ve been training for a few months consistently, you can then start to go within the 7 - 9 intensity level zone.
For a minute or two at a time can make your workout more intense without increasing the length of the session.
In the last few minutes of your session, decrease the speed and work rate every 30 seconds bringing your heart rate down gradually. Close to the end of your session, your heart rate should have decreased to a point where your breathing is almost back to normal.
Stretch, stretch, stretch
- Do not stretch cold muscles. It is far better to stretch after a run than before
- Do stretch lightly before and after a 10 minute warm up
- Ease into each stretch: do not bounce or force it
- Hold each stretch for 10 -- 15 seconds
- After an activity hold each stretch for 30 seconds; repeat once or twice
- Exercise class
- Treadmill
- Cycling
- Zumba
- Outdoor running
- Swimming
- Other activities that can increase your heart rate. E.g. walking, skateboarding and mountain biking.
Make a strict plan on how often you are going to exercise during a typical week.
You can stick to one activity or keep it different every week.
Try and aim for an average of 5 sessions each week.
Plan how long each season will be.
When you’re starting out it is important to ease yourself in, so aim for 15 minutes per session for your first week and quickly build this up to 20 - 30 minutes after this. Once you’re in the swing of things you can then increase the length of your sessions from 20 - 60 minutes.
Think about the structure of each workout
During the first 5 minutes, start off slowly then gradually build up the pace every minute to a level that feels fairly hard - on the exertion scale this will be building up from 2 - 6.
During the main section of your workout, aim to exercise within the 6/10 to 7/10 intensity level zone. This will form the bulk of your training session. You should be breathing hard, sweating lots, not be able to talk in full sentences, and not able to read a book. Once you’ve been training for a few months consistently, you can then start to go within the 7 - 9 intensity level zone.
For a minute or two at a time can make your workout more intense without increasing the length of the session.
In the last few minutes of your session, decrease the speed and work rate every 30 seconds bringing your heart rate down gradually. Close to the end of your session, your heart rate should have decreased to a point where your breathing is almost back to normal.
Stretch, stretch, stretch
- Do not stretch cold muscles. It is far better to stretch after a run than before
- Do stretch lightly before and after a 10 minute warm up
- Ease into each stretch: do not bounce or force it
- Hold each stretch for 10 -- 15 seconds
- After an activity hold each stretch for 30 seconds; repeat once or twice