5 principles to a healthy exercise plan

Health and Fitness are among the 7 elements to TheGetHappinessPlan.com (free exercise guide at website) and the indicator of happiness for people in the later years of life. Exercise is essential to health and fitness. But, health and fitness routines are very personal. If you can afford professional advice for a customized program, go for it. For me, I have read, listened to others, and tried different regiments. The exercise routine I have found most effective and enjoyable has some basic fundamentals and specifics. The fundamentals are: 1. rotate different activities. This prevents myself from getting bored with any one activity. In addition, it gives different muscle groups time to recuperate so I don´t over inflame any one thing. And lastly, it enables me to work on different needs such as weights for muscle tone and fat burn, cardio (running or swimming) for my heart rate and circulatory system and get out into nature.

2. Construct your plan based on your abilities and goals. If you have physical issues, find alternatives. For example, swimming is low impact on joints, chair yoga can be a great substitute if unable to do floor yoga, walking is great if running is difficult. There are alternatives to nearly every situation if one looks.

3. Routines and discipline are important. However, start slow. It is a marathon, not a sprint to health. Stay consistent but don´t be too hard on yourself if you falter. Just step back onto the treadmill.

4. Monitor your results and adjust. Ideally you can start with an exam to know basics such as weight, blood pressure, resting and exercising heart rate, and body fat. Also, your flexibility and strength with basic exercises. Then gauge your progress and adjust if you don't see the improvements you are seeking.

5. As you feel yourself getting stronger and healthier try adding different things. I recommend everyone try yoga just because my experience with it has been remarkable in terms of healing. If you feel yourself hitting a plateau in some regard, this is also a good time to add or change something. One of my own successes with this was when I felt I was no longer able to lose weight and did not want to increase my weight training regiment so I added 120 seconds of core exercises 2 to 3 days per week on my walking and swim days. Suddenly, I saw results. A very good investment of time!