How to start your aerobic training program:

Consider first setting your goals for sometime in the future; make sure they are realistic. Start easy, be kind to yourself. Many of us start out joining a gym and telling ourselves that now we will train every day! Six out of ten people going to gyms drop out in the first month. That¡¯s a staggering 60% of the people. The numbers are just as high for those that buy exercise equipment and don¡¯t use it. So you need several ingredients, not necessarily in order of importance, but because you want to be successful in your training.

1. Desire or motivation that is from who you are, not to get something.

2. Energy: This means you need to start thinking about eating better. No matter \rwhere you are with nutrition you can always improve (see nutrition for details). You \rneed nutrients as well. Vitamins, power foods, high technology nutrition is available; \ryou just need to make the effort. Without good fuel it¡¯s hard to get the energy to \rtrain.

3. Set your goals within yourself and make them realistic. Remember, there is no \rcause and effect so you can¡¯t cause health; you can only live it.

4. Make the time, create a loose schedule with alternatives, if need be.

5. Stick to it. Remember, consistency is more important than intensity.

6. Understand the basics of bio-mechanics, even for walking (posture, the \rmuscles, the stretching, the meditation and imagery) to get the most from your \refforts.

7. If you are in a family or a relationship, you need support and encouragement, \rnot grief for leaving them alone so often. Get them to start with you (that¡¯s really \rtough sometimes). It¡¯s always easier if your partner is doing a similar program with \ryou.

8. If you smoke, start making an effort to cut down, if that¡¯s really what you want \rto do. If not, it will not make a huge difference so much as your attitude towards it \rwill. Use coltsfoot, an herb you can buy in health food stores and smoke it. It will \rcleanse your lungs, and help you to get off tobacco. You will find the desire will \rslowly fade away as you get healthier. We don¡¯t need to harp about it. JUST DO IT! \rQUIT.

9. If you eat more than a plate at a sitting, just start eating less, and limit snacks \rto fruit.

10. Maybe it¡¯s some of the food you eat. Cut down on fats, sugar, liquor, canned \rfood, and packaged food full of hidden fats and sugars. I¡¯m sure you already know \rthe stuff that doesn¡¯t really help your body.

11. Eat more of the good stuff: fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole foods, grains, \retc.

12. Drink more water, read more books, and have more fun in your life. Why not?

Of course there is more, but this would be a great start. Remember that when you \rwork holistically you have a better chance at success. You will be working on several \rlevels of health at the same time.

A few days you make it, then you miss one, and eventually another. I know, and I¡¯m \ra professional trainer, it happens to me. Life is always changing, that¡¯s the beauty of \rit. That does not mean we give up; just go with the flow. Set some realistic goals, \rand know that you will miss some days. Make it up again, and don¡¯t beat yourself \rup about it.

The majority of people drop out of their health programs primarily because it is very \rhard to get motivated. There are a few myths about motivation for working out -- \rthat knowledge will do it, or maybe we feel guilty because we are overweight -- but \rthe key is if you don¡¯t have the energy none of that will matter. It¡¯s really about \rmetabolism. Once you get older if you don¡¯t exercise, your own body will start to \rthink you don¡¯t need the hormones and energy. Basically, it starts to shut down. \rWhen you do exercise, it¡¯s hard and your body feels like it¡¯s really stressed. It¡¯s not \rvery pleasant, in fact, it hurts many times when you start to train.

To really increase the energy level and have your body and brain work with you, you \rneed to take the nutrients to get your body working again. The food you eat needs \rto be better quality with more servings of natural fruits and vegetables. If you are \reating junky food there is no way your body will be able to have more energy.

You need to consider antioxidants, vitamins, and some form of growth hormone like \rDHEA or Deer antler extract which is natural (IGF1 which is a pre-curser to HGH). \rTake care with Human Growth Hormon always consult your doctor. I personally \rdon't recomend HGH, because if you take it your body stops producing it, there are \ralternatives. You can¡¯t take very much of this as it turns to testosterone and so you \rneed to consult a doctor for medical advice. (see my web page for more information \rabout this along with other nutrients). Most doctors don¡¯t recommend very high \rdoses of either of these nutrients, so get professional advice. A small amount can \rdo wonders for the human body. These nutrients increase metabolism, build \rmuscle, and help the body to become anabolic (for building and repair of tissue). \rThis is important: to not be catabolic (destructive down cycle) any longer. If you can \ruse these health products, they are the best.

The research necessary to take the vitamin and nutrient business to its highest level \ris being done with these products. Your success in a fitness program is dependent \ron your nutrition program.

The minimum goal for an aerobic activity is five times a week for over thirty minutes \reach session, and even up to sixty minutes if you are only going to walk. Five times \ra week, not three times as we have heard. That doesn¡¯t mean it has to be all running \ror all walking. You can play tennis, golf, and walk briskly, or take a nice walk with \rthe family. Families that train together, stay together. Play ball with the kids, for this \rto be effective and considered an aerobic activity, you need to do it over a half hour \rand get your heart rate up about 60 to 70% of your max. By then you start to burn \rsome fat. As you increase this ability to burn some fat your brain says ¡°Hey! This \rperson is active. Let¡¯s improve the metabolism.¡±

As you exercise you also decrease your appetite so you eat less. This is when your \rbody will start to create more hormones, endorphins, and pain-reducing substances \rcalled antefolins, which will help you to feel better. Remember, you have to get over \rthe hump before you feel good from exercise. Then weight is not a big problem and \ryou will slowly and naturally level off to your natural weight. This all helps to reduce \ryour stress as well as helping you to feel more successful and some enhanced self-\resteem. Balancing your body this way also helps reduce the risk of heart disease as \rwell as diabetes. It helps you create more of HDL, which is the good cholesterol, and \rreduces the LDL & VLDL, the bad cholesterol.

A moderate exercise program always helps you sleep better. It enhances the \rdigestion and the lymphatic systems (the cleanser of the body tissues). All this helps \ryour body to work at the ultimate level. Remember, this is going to take time. Diets \ror any fast way will not last. We know now that when you diet or change anything \rtoo drastically your body goes into shock. Then the next time you eat, it holds on to \rit. You gain all the weight back, your body just needs to know you are not a couch \rpatato.

So it¡¯s best to not focus on the weight. When your body is operating at its optimal \rlevel, you will be at your correct weight eventually. It all depends on your body type, \ranyway. You could still be heavy and be incredibly fit and healthy. Isn¡¯t that the \rpurpose of all this?

A sample schedule for the beginner fitness enthusiast: \rNote you can replace walk for run- if you have been a runner, if not don't start \rrunning unless you are prepared to find all your sore, and injured places coming to \rthe surface.

Day One.

Take an easy twenty-minute walk at a nice brisk pace. (Walk ten minutes from your \rstarting point and turn around.) Find a nice place to walk, away from lots of cars. If \ryour neighborhood is good place well, great. If not, take the extra time to drive to a \rpark, beach, pasture or the country. No sense huffing and puffing more carbon \rmonoxide. (Living in Los Angeles is like smoking ten cigarettes every hour. \rCherniscki). You need to be able to keep up a conversation. If you are in oxygen \rdebt you won¡¯t burn calories as well so take it easy at first. Upon returning, spend \rabout ten or fifteen minutes stretching.

Consistency is more important than intensity. If you don¡¯t do it regularly the brain \rthinks ¡°well, this body doesn¡¯t need much energy so we can store all these extra \rcalories in the thighs or butt.¡± But if you start with some regular activity, just \reveryday stuff can contribute the message to the brain saying ¡°hey we need more \renergy.¡± The brain begins to think this body is active and needs to increase the \rmetabolism. Every two hours do something for at least ten minutes is another \rtechnique. Then your brain will take you to a higher metabolic level. As you increase \ryour exercise program you will have more byproducts called free radicals. This is \rmore reason for us to work with nutrition as well, because you need to increase the \rantioxidants to keep the body healthy from the free radicals.

Day Two

Just stretch for ten to fifteen minutes. If you are near water, maybe swim for ten to \rfifteen minutes. Or do a more easy walk if you are sore.

Day Three

Walk briskly for twenty-five minutes. Stretch for fifteen, or if you have it down, it \rcould only take ten minutes to get a good stretch.

Day Four

Swim and stretch for at least twenty minutes and ten, respectively.

Day Five

You might miss one. . .Or walk maybe longer and easy or hard depending on how \ryou feel.

Day Six

Walk a good deal faster for thirty minutes. If you feel tight walking, stop after you \rbreak into a light sweat and stretch for a few minutes. Regarding the legs and \rgluteus muscles. Then continue, finishing up with a good ten minute stretch.

Day Seven

If you didn¡¯t miss one day, take an easy walk, swim or stretch, maybe do something \rwith family or friends. If you got sore at all during the week, then rest and just \rstretch or swim. Note: I like to add crunchies to all my workouts, strengthen the \rabdominals is a good way to trim the belly.

Continue this program until you can walk thirty minutes without losing your breath \rat all. This can take two weeks for most people and up to four weeks for others. If it \rtakes you longer, stay with twenty-five minutes for two months, and then move into \rthe next level. If within two weeks your body serves you well, you can proceed with \rthe next level.

We will have an easy day and then a hard day for the rest of the training. If you miss \ran easy day, don¡¯t worry about it.

Continue on the following day with a brisk walk for thirty minutes. Now we will start \rto burn some fat. From now on, you workouts should last about forty-five minutes. \rSo give yourself an hour to work it into your daily routine, if you don't feel like \rtraining don't know that you can do something easy.

As you get stronger, your easy days become more like your hard days when you first \rstarted. Walking can increase to five times per week within the first few months, \rdepending on your body. You have to listen to it and pay attention. If you can get \rthe advice from a certified personal trainer, please do. It never hurts to have more \rinformation. At this level it¡¯s not as critical as it will be when we start the \rstrengthening program using weights, running or strengthening exercises.

Six to Eight Weeks

Most bodies will start to enjoy working out from here on out. After six or eight \rweeks, start your strength-training program. Once again, listen to your body. If you \rdon¡¯t feel quite ready at six weeks, take eight. What¡¯s the rush? You have your whole \rlife ahead of you. At this point is when I recommend the use of a certified personal \rtrainer.

You can go in either of two directions with this addition to your program, with \rvarious levels of intensity depending on your body and your abilities.

If you are able and willing to run for your particular goals, you may now start to run. \rStart with easy jogging for twenty minutes every other day, and weight training \revery other day. Running at this time should be at least three days a week, the same \rfor weight training. There is some evidence, however, that we could get by with two \rdays of weight training (solid whole body sessions) and still do okay. Include one \rday of rest. The day you rest could be a very easy workout, either stretching, \rswimming or family fun.

For weight training we need to start just as easy. Many of us think that weight \rtraining will build large muscles. We see all these big bodybuilders, and although \rsome of us admire the dedication it takes to build that kind of body, it is not \rnecessarily true that weight training builds large muscles. It all depends on how you \rtrain, how much you train, and your age as well as the system of training. We know \rthat by stressing any muscle naturally (exercises) or unnaturally (weights) we work \rwith the law of irritation and adaptability to produce the result we want.

Basically, this means the body will adapt to irritation. Adapting can mean for size of \rmuscle as well as for the functioning of the muscle. Adapting also can mean the \rheart and lungs adapting to more stress and improving the functioning of this \rsystem (aerobic conditioning). The irritation could be considered the stress exerted \ron the body (heart and lungs) by running or walking more and increasing time and \rduration. Then we consider strength in the muscles by more and more progressive \rexertion (making the body work progressively harder). This can be achieved by \rdoing more and more pushups or other exercises. Using weight training for \rincreasing strength, as well as burning more calories, we would have to build by \rlifting more times and more weight.

There is another way to use weight training to develop strength as well as \rendurance. This system works on the premise that using progressively more weight \rbuilds size and strength. Starting with more weight and then progressively reducing \rthe weight with longer repetitions, we build endurance in the muscle instead of \rbulk. This is a good way to shape the body without building mass.

It¡¯s widely known now that for older women weight or resistance training is \rbeneficial to stave off osteoporosis.

Please note: This section is not to take the place of medical advice. I recommend \rthat you speak to your doctor before undertaking any kind of exercise program, \respecially weight training. See a professional; it will be a good investment in your \rbody.

see web pages http://www.molinamassage.com or http://www.betterbacksystems.com

Othon Molina Ph.d. c LMT has been involved in the health field as a manual therapist \rand personal trainer for over thirty five years. He has studied with some of the top \rdoctors and healers of our times. His specialty is treating sports injuries, back \rproblems, and teaching others how to improve their health or athletic competition \rusing nutrition and fitness technologies.

One of his specialties is Kinesiology. He has been a runner all \rhis life, and competed in many triathlons, 5k's, 10k's and marathons. Competing at \ran elite level gave him the experience to help train others. Recently he coached and \rworked with the female champion of the German team of triathletes.

Some of his clients include: Bob Hope, Jane Seymor, Essam Kashoggy, Jim Nabors, \rTony Robbins, Mark Victor Hansen, Carol Burnett, San Francisco Ballet, Allvin Alley \rDance troupe, some of the top Olympic and international elite athletes, team doc \rand new trainer for the German professional triathletes. He also trains massage \rteams worldwide, as well as health professionals in Hawaii.