Before starting to work out make sure you get a full physical from your doctor and a letter stating it is ok for you to do physical activity. Many gym and aerobic centers will require this before letting you start.

Depending on how long it has been since you last did regular exercise it is recommended that you start off slow and gradually build up your workout to harder levels.

It is generally recommended to start off at the gym with just the treadmill and the lifecycle for the first week or 2. This is to wake the muscles up and to slowly get you prepared for a harder workout.

You will generally want to find a speed on the treadmill that is a pace you can keep up with little discomfort and do it for 20 minutes. After this take a 5 minute break, stretch a little and have a drink of water, then go back and increase the speed just a bit then do another 20.

Remember that pushing yourself too far is taking a gamble that you may not be able to live with. In a casino you can put everything you have on the roulette table and maybe you win and maybe you lose, but in the gym if you push too hard you can die, so take things slowly.

Many people make the mistake of getting back into an exercise program and going all gung ho an trying to get back in shape in just one hour, well let me tell you this will not work. The only thing this will do is make you very sore the next day and you will not be able to workout that day, and it will make you lose interest fast in the gym. Discomfort in ok pain is not.

Depending on how long it has been since you last worked out, I recommend working out 4 or 5 days a week. This may seem like a lot but if you were trying to win a poker tournament you would go to a casino or an online casino and poker room to practice almost every day right? So you will have to do the same with the gym.

Working out 5 days a week does not necessarily mean you have to go to the gym every day. I recommend the gym 3 times a week and the other day or 2 you can just go for a long fast paced walk around your neighborhood. Try to vary the things you do so that you do not work out the same parts of your body 2 days in a row.

Most professionals will tell you that if you work out your arms and chest on a Monday do not exercise those muscles again for at least 48 hours. This is to give the muscles time to heal and grow. It is this straining and resting of the muscle that makes it grow not just the working it out. If all you did every day was work the same muscle group in a few days the muscle would be more likely to tear in a painful experience and the only thing you will be able to do for several months will be playing in an online casino from your laptop in bed.

Should you work out when you have a cold? How about if you have a fever? For many avid exercisers, especially beginners who have just managed to make walking a habit, stopping to give your body a rest can feel very threatening. You are afraid that if you stop, you may never start again. But there are certain circumstances when exercise can do more harm than good, especially when you are recovering from an illness like the common cold or the flu.

If you decide to exercise when you are stuffed up, make sure you really check with your body first. Do you feel excessive fatigue? How is your breathing? Does it feel difficult to fill your lungs as you normally would? Make sure you keep track of your pulse, both at rest and while you are working. If it seems unusually high, you might want to consider taking another day off.

If you do decide to take up the challenge, take it slower than usual. For example, even though it may be your day for hills, modify your schedule and keep it flat. If it is a fast pace day, walk at a normal speed instead. Don’t try to beat the clock this time. Finally, make sure you drink plenty of water. Hydration is crucial, especially when fighting off a cold. The following is a summary of guidelines you should follow if you decide to walk despite the sniffles:

• Wait until you are in the latter phase of your cold.
• Take your morning pulse; if it is 10 beats higher than normal, take another day off.
• Do a modified version of what you normally would do until you feel better.
• Start out slowly; if you feel okay, pick up the pace gradually.
• Drink plenty of water and make sure you get adequate rest.
• Listen to your body. If it doesn’t feel right, then it probably is not.

A simple stuffy nose is one thing, but exercising when you have a fever or other flu symptoms can be more damaging than good. Because a fever indicates that your body is fighting an infection, your immune system is on overdrive in an attempt to suppress the attacking virus. If you go out and exercise at such a time, you are putting even more strain on an immune system already under extreme stress as it attempts to fight off the intruder. Exercising will steal some of the energy away from the task at hand (healing) and could set your body up for a prolonged and more severe attack.

If it is the flu or fever you suffer from, take time off! Wait until the illness has subsided. Be honest with yourself about how your body feels. Pushing yourself when you are not ready will only drag the healing process out longer, setting your goal further and further back.