Working out is one of the best things you can do for your body. Giving your body a chance to be active and fit allows not only your heart to work harder and become stronger, but your lungs will also become more efficient. Exercise helps you burn more calories which can help in weight loss efforts, while also helping your muscles to become stronger and more effective during everyday tasks. Knowing all of this, it's easy to see why so many people try to work out on a regular basis. But if you're pushing too hard, you might be setting yourself for injury – and that's not going to help you with your health goals.

How Fit are You Already?

When you're new to working out, you should be asking yourself just how long it's been since you last worked out. If you can't quite remember when you last used your tennis shoes, it's time to go to your doctor for a checkup to make sure you're ready for an exercise routine. Together, you and your doctor can figure out the best possible plan for your health. If you have worked out recently, you need to ask yourself just how fit you feel you are. Try walking a mile to see how long it takes you, for example. If it takes you more than 30 minutes, you might not be in the best of shape. If you can walk the mile in less than 20 minutes, you're in decent shape, but can easily improve. Some fitness clubs offer fitness testing to see how strong you are now, or you can simply start off slowly and see how you do when you first begin any exercise program.


Slow and Steady Will Ensure Health

But what do you do when you want to exercise at a slow and steady pace? Thankfully, your body already knows what it can and cannot do – and it will tell you when you're doing too much or when you are going to hurt yourself. However, if you're new to the exercise program, here's what you should do to check in on your pace.

• Can you breathe? – You should not be breathing so hard that you cannot complete a sentence. Make sure to try to talk aloud when you are exercising from time to time to see if you are pushing your heart and your lungs just a little too hard.
• What is your pulse rate? – Many exercise machines can help you monitor this – or you can stop to check your pulse from time to time. Ideally, you want to have your pulse be about 60 to 70% of the maximum heart rate for your body. You can find out the maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from 220. Then take this number and multiply it by .6 and .7 to find out your target heart rate.
• Does it hurt? – If you're hurting during and activity, stop it. Then slowly start again and if it still hurts, stop what you're doing altogether.

When you are doing aerobic exercises, you will want to start off with short amounts of time and then slowly expand into longer periods of time. Whenever the exercise becomes easy, that's when you need to increase your time. This same rule applies to lifting weights. If things seem a little too easy, increase the weight or the repetitions you are doing to make things tougher. But always start small and work your way up to higher repetitions and weight.

When You Have Pain, You Have Nothing to Gain

Too often, people are told that things have to hurt in order to prove they're working. This is far from the case. Sure, you might be a little sore a few days after a new workout, but you should not be in excruciating pain. If you are in pain, you might have already injured yourself due to trying to do too much too fast. Trying too much can lead to torn ligaments, stress fractures, and even more serious injuries that may require surgery. If you feel pain during an exercise, stop. And if you don't know how much you can lift or how long you can do an aerobic exercise, it's always better to aim low and see how that goes before you try something harder. It will take time to become stronger and fitter, but that's okay. There's no prize for the person who hurts themselves the most.

Does Stretching Really Help?

Some people are on the fence about stretching – and so are many fitness experts. Stretching should be done at the end of a workout, when the muscles are warm and loose. A few basic stretches includes touching your toes and pulling your arms up behind your back to keep things from getting too tense. Or you can simply pull your body in different directions until you feel like the muscle is loosening. Just be sure you are stretching slowly and easily. Stretching should not hurt; it should be soothing and gentle. It's better not to bounce when you are stretching, and instead slowly push yourself into the stretch until you cannot move any further.

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