A lot of exercise programs like Insanity have really taken off over the last couple decades. Many people believe that they need to give a fad fitness program a try if they heard it worked great for others. The problem is that everybody’s situation is different. Bill Tokmajian, a fitness expert with 20 years of experience, wrote about this in an article on The Inquirer. He points out that people that workout the wrong way may get the wrong results. They may also injure themselves if they don’t account for their own vulnerabilities. When you are creating a fitness program for yourself, you need to make sure it works for you. It doesn’t matter what works for anybody else if your program doesn’t give you the health benefits that you need or causes an injury. Here are some things that you need to be aware of.
Your Gender
It is hard for some people to accept, but there are profound differences between men and women. This is one of the first things that you need to account for. If you are trying to lose weight, you need to understand that your body is going to expend energy differently depending on whether you are a man or a woman. Women tend to burn fat to create energy, while men burn carbohydrates. Why is this important? According to a level 3 trainer we spoke with, there are a couple of reasons:
- If you are a woman with a very low body fat index, you are going to need to be much more cautious when exercising. You won’t be able to burn energy as easily, which will make it harder to exercise.
- Women will need to adjust their diets differently to make sure they lose weight while working out.
You also need to understand that women tend to recover more quickly after working out. This is something that we need to account for. Finally, the bodies of men and women make them susceptible to different types of injuries. Women use their quads more than other parts of their legs, which means they need to be more careful when doing squats or other exercises that could cause injury.
Health Issues
There are a number of different health issues that you need to account for after having an accident. You don’t want to be unrealistic about the impact these problems will have. According to the American College of Cardiology, if you have a family history of a disease such as ARVC, then you must be a lot more careful with exercising. You are going to have a higher risk of having a serious heart problem after. Previous injuries could also have an effect. Some sprains and other injuries may not have fully recovered. You need to be cautious to avoid irritating them further.
Your Age
Many people are very physically active when they are younger. They don’t want to admit to themselves that they are going to have a harder time keeping the same pace as they age. As you get older, your endurance is going to decline and the risk of injury is going to increase. Unfortunately, it is more common for people to take things to the other extreme. They drastically cut back on the intensity of their exercise program. This leads to them not getting the exercise they need. This can be a problem, because leading a stagnant lifestyle in your 50s and 60s can significantly increase the risk of diabetes, heart disease and other chronic health problems.
Your Need for Aerobic Exercise
Some people have a greater need for aerobic exercise than others. You need to take this into consideration. One man I know said that he can’t sleep well if he doesn’t get at least 15,000 steps a day. This is significantly more than the average person. Other people need to exercise more because they have diabetes. You need to be aware of your need to use greater energy levels and get more exercise. Then adapt your workout program accordingly.