How to Create an Appropriate Fitness Program For Yourself

One of the primary keys to staying healthy is to keep up with our fitness throughout our lives. Regular exercise helps us grow healthy and strong both physically and mentally! However, we’re all at different stages along our fitness journey, and we should create our own fitness plan to reflect that! Here are a few tips for creating a fitness program that reflects your goals and current fitness level.

Assess Your Current Fitness Level

We all have goals and ambitions when it comes to our fitness, and each of us has our own definition of what it means to be healthy. Take the time to think about your goals so you can assess your fitness level in the most meaningful way for you. Here are some questions you can ask yourself to evaluate your fitness level:

• Do you have trouble breathing walking up flights of stairs?
• How far can you walk/jog/run in 12 minutes?
• What is your heart rate recovery time after you walk/jog/run for that time?
• Do your activities of daily living leave you sore and/or in pain?
• Can you touch your toes without bending your knees?
• Can you rest in a squat with your heels flat on the ground for 60 seconds comfortably?
• Are you able to lift your own body weight in a pull-up?
• Are you able to maintain proper form when performing lifts?

Every month or so, be sure to complete your assessment again to track your progress and make any necessary changes to your fitness program.

Creating the Fitness Program

Remember Your Goals

Having clear goals from the start will make it much easier to develop your fitness program. So, what are you trying to accomplish? It’s worth remembering that you can always adjust your goals later on as needed.

Start Slow

As you start ramping out your physical activity, it’s important to do so slowly. Outlining your goals may inspire you to hit the ground running at full speed, but there’s no rush! Starting slowly, taking breaks and leaving plenty of time to recover from intense workouts will keep you free from injury and on a trajectory toward achieving your goals in the long run.

Be Creative

If you decide to write out your fitness plan, and we highly recommend doing so, be sure to give yourself some flexibility when it comes to your activities. You don’t want to burn yourself out doing the same exercises! Instead, consider allocating space for activities like walking, running, bicycling, your favorite sports and hiking with the family.

Get Stronger and Get Moving with MissionFit!

MissionFit is dedicated to strengthening Baltimore youth through classes and an open gym. It’s our goal to encourage positive traits, like respect and teamwork, and provide children with a place to gain self-confidence and enjoy some exercise. To learn more about our classes or donate to support our mission, visit our website. Want to Support? We’re making health a possibility and a priority for Baltimore’s youth. If you want to support us, here are two easy ways to do so:

1. Donate here!
2. You can put your online shopping to good use by donating a percentage of your purchase with AmazonSmile! To get started, sign in here, search for “MissionFit” and select us as your charity of choice.