Exercising for Beginners

If you've been reading our articles closely enough, you may have noticed a theme in our advice: Exercise often and eat well and ye shall be golden. But exercising is one of those things that can seem daunting to a complete beginner. You may not even know where to start. To help you get motivated, get prepared, and get moving, we've put together these tips from Beijing United Family Hospital (BJU) experts about learning to love exercise. 

Step 1: Get motivated

We know, we know: Getting out of the house to go run around in a circle or lift heavy things just so you can put them back down again isn't the most appealing way to spend your time. Not to mention how gross and sweaty you'll get and how dumb your hair will look afterwards. If you can look past all that, though, there are plenty of big-picture reasons why exercising is going to feel good – it just might not be straight away. Exercising regularly can prevent and control disease, give you more energy, and reduce stress. Need to hear more? We've got 15 reasons why exercising will make you happy in the long term.

Step 2: Get your body ready 

Now that you're convinced that exercise is important, it's time to take some steps to make sure you're going to be able to exercise safely. Choose what kind of exercise you want to do and make sure you're all set up for it. Buy or borrow any equipment or clothing you'll need to do it properly. Read up on how to prevent common injuries in that activity. Do some conditioning exercises at home to make sure you're body's ready for the task. And then, when you start, ease into it so that you don't get injured. Got it? If not, read our in-depth article about getting into sports without getting injured here. 

Step 3: Make it happen

Exercise doesn't have to take up your whole life. When it comes to moving, anything is better than nothing. If you really don't have time to add a new activity into your life, make sure you're getting the most out of your daily life by making your existing habits more impactful. You already know you should take the stairs instead of the lift and add small walks into your day. Want to go deeper? Check out our life hacks for sneaking more exercise into your day here. 

Step 4: Soothe sore muscles 

Once you fall in love with exercise and the way it makes you feel, it's entirely possible that you'll become so gung-ho about your new lifestyle choice that you'll push your muscles too far from time to time. If you wake up the day after (or two days after, or three days after…) your workout to muscles so sore that you can't remember a single one of the 15 reasons to exercise we outlined above, don't be so quick to throw in the towel. A great way to soothe sore muscles is by moving those same muscles and get your blood pumping through them. You can also try a massage or a hot bath to encourage circulation. Want to learn more about why our muscles get sore? Read this.

To make an appointment with a BJU medical professional, please call the 24hr Service Center at 4008-919191.