The Exercise Resolution: Where Should You Start?

“Start Exercising” is a popular resolution, and joining a gym is often a result. But what should a usually sedentary person do first? Weights? Machines? Spinning? My answer is none of the above.

My advice is to start with
exercises that help restore what your body has lost from a sedentary life style. Look for classes or instructors in Restorative Exercise™, Pilates, Yoga, gentle stretching, or self-myofascial release. Done correctly, these forms of exercise will help restore blood flow, muscle yield, stability, coordination, and body awareness, all important aspects of true health. These aspects are also pre-requisites for safely performing other types of exercise that incorporate more load, more repetition, and/or more speed.

These restorative routines can be done every day, and most advanced exercisers and athletes keep these techniques in their programs for better performance and injury prevention.

If possible, it is best to work with a professional instructor in person, and the quality of instruction is usually best in a private session.  However, there are online and home DVD options.  Here are some of my favorite online and DVD resources for recovering from a sedentary lifestyle:

The Restorative Exercise™ Institute with Katy Bowman

Yoga Tune-Up with Jill Miller

Pilates Anytime

And if you are in the NYC area and need some help, shoot me an email and we’ll get started!

Happy 2015!