DIY fitness plan for summer

Let’s face it, regular physical activity is one of the most important things you can do for your overall health and well-being. If you have a good fitness plan and stick to it, you’ll strengthen your bones and muscles, manage your weight, sleep better, reduce your risk of heart (and other) diseases and you’ll even improve your brain and mental health. You’ll be more flexible; have more energy and you’ll feel on top of the world.

The benefits of having a fitness plan

Having a fitness plan to regulate your physical activity has many important benefits that you should consider before getting started:

• It will help you avoid over-training or under-training: both can set you back or cause you to give up.
• You have a structured schedule: you can enjoy your ‘off days’ guilt-free.
• It’s easy to track your progress: if you are keeping up with your fitness plan then you know you are on track and getting fitter.
• You have goals set our ahead of time: with a fitness plan you have goals and you can celebrate them when you achieve them.
• You don’t burn yourself out: many people try to do too much too soon. This can affect your discipline and put you off exercising completely.

 How to draft a fitness plan

To put your own fitness plan together, you need to follow this step-by-step guide:

• Step 1: Think about your fitness goals. What do you want to achieve? Are you trying to lose weight, build muscle or run a 5km fun run without walking?
• Step 2: Decide how much time you have to dedicate to your fitness plan. You’ll need to exercise regularly and for a minimum of 40 minutes three times a week – depending on the exercise you decide to do. This will need to increase as you get fitter but it is a good place to start. You must start low and progress slowly.
• Step 3: Choose the days that you intend on exercising and draw up a table to add your activities for each day. There are many resources on the internet that can help you choose the exercises you need to do for the fitness plan you are creating.
• Step 4: Include your activities in your schedule – making sure you don’t do the same thing each day. You will get bored very quickly and that will make you lose interest. You will need to update your schedule as you get fitter.
• Step 5: Make sure you have the right tools. For example, you need running shoes if you are going to run. You’ll also need some comfortable sports clothes. You definitely don’t need expensive branded outfits and shoes. There are many places that sell reasonably priced unbranded sports clothes and shoes that will work perfectly fine.  
• Step 6: Stretch before and after you exercise. Chances are you will get stiff the first few times you exercise. Stretching before and after you exercise will help avoid it.
• Step 7: Drink lots of water during and after exercising. Make it a habit to drink water so that you can flush your system clean. If you’ve been sweating, you’ll be thirsty. It won’t be so hard to down a glass or two of water!

Remember to also check in with a sister at the clinic or your family doctor to make sure you are in good health before you start your fitness plan. If your sister or doctor says you are good to go, then you are ready to go full steam ahead!

Good luck! Be disciplined, stick to your plan and soon you’ll be flexing those muscles and showing off your new summer bod!