You don’t have to be a professional athlete to have a good exercise plan. There are many great options for beginners or for people with special physical needs.

There are three dimensions of exercise:

• Cardio
• Strength
• Flexibility

It is important to have a routine which includes every dimension.

Cardio is an exercise activity which raises your heart rate and improves lung, heart, and circulatory system function. You don’t have to ride twenty miles uphill on a bike to achieve a good cardio workout. When it comes to cardio training, it’s not what you do– it’s how you do it. There are many low impact cardio options available so, various knee, hip, or back pain are not excuses to skip this exercise. An example of a low impact cardio workout includes yoga or Pilates. These activities can lift your heart rate without a lot of pounding on the joints. In fact, adding a cardio exercise to your daily routine can eventually help ease aches and pains. This applies to the other two dimensions of exercise as well.

Strength training can help improve or maintain your muscle structure. Your muscles are what move your bones. It is important to add some strength training to your routine. Having one weak muscle can cause many problems. Muscles help you breath, speak, swallow, digest food, and move your body. Strengthening your muscles can help you to avoid unnecessary injury later on down the road.

Flexibility is the third dimension of exercise. Flexibility lengthens your muscles and also eases or decreases aches and pains. Other benefits of flexibility include better posture and better joint health. A static stretch is the most common and can generally be done by people of all ages, regardless of skill level. These are gentle and slow stretches which are held anywhere between 10-30 seconds. An example of a static stretch would be a seated leg hamstring stretch.

Now let’s get moving!