An exercise routine is like a pocket full of change, it’s not the coins so much as will it buy what you want.

Apparel makers will tell you that people come in all shapes and sizes - from athletic to want-to-bes. What’s under the clothing is also different in terms of lean mass (muscle, bone, vital tissue and organs) and fat mass.

Any time is a good time to start. Being physically active and maintaining a healthy weight is good practice for all age groups. Make it a practice to get some exercise every day. Children, teens, adults, and seniors - all can improve their health and well-being and have fun by including moderate amounts of physical activity in their daily lives. Start easy - there’s nothing to be gained by rushing things. The real benefit is a life-long routine of physical fitness.

There are many different ways to go about it. Try for exercise routines that are varied. Try for a variety that will benefit all major muscle groups. Doing the same thing every day can be boring and is less beneficial. A good bench mark is about 30 minutes a day of moderate exercise. Less is ok - better than being sedentary. Exercising longer will reap more benefits.

An optimal ratio of fat to lean mass is an indication of fitness, and the right types of exercises will help you decrease body fat and increase or maintain muscle mass.

The keys to selecting the right kinds of exercises for developing and maintaining each of the basic components of fitness are found in these principles:

Specificity - pick the right kind of activities to affect each component. Strength training results in specific strength changes. Also, train for the specific activity you’re interested in. For example, optimal swimming performance is best achieved when the muscles involved in swimming are trained for the movements required. It does not necessarily follow that a good runner is a good swimmer.

Overload - work hard enough, at levels that are vigorous and long enough to overload your body above its resting level, to bring about improvement.

Regularity - you can’t hoard physical fitness. At least three balanced workouts a week are necessary to maintain a desirable level of fitness.

Progression - increase the intensity, frequency and/or duration of activity over periods of time in order to improve.

Some activities can be used to fulfill more than one of your basic exercise requirements. For example, in addition to increasing cardiorespiratory endurance, running builds muscular endurance in the legs, and swimming develops the arm, shoulder and chest muscles. If you select the proper activities, it is possible to fit parts of your muscular endurance workout into your cardiorespiratory workout and save time.

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Fitness - Let’s Get Going
A couple of thoughts on fitness and how to go about an exercise routine. The decision to take up an exercise program is the first step but how important is step 2?