Diabetes And Starting An Exercise Program

Here are some tips to help you start an exercise program that fits into your diabetes managemetn plan

Starting a new exercise program can be overwhelming if you've never exercised before of if it's been a long period of time since you have exercised on a regular basis.

Don't take on too much too soon.  If you decide to do 20 minutes of exercise every day don't jump to 45 minutes a day because you think you'll accomplish more sooner.  Or you might try to use a videotape exercise session two times a day instead of one to speed things up.  What you might just do is get yourself injured or not be able to keep up with the pace you set for yourself and end up sabotaging your exercise program.

 Make your exercise convenient for you.  You wouldn't go ten miles out of the way to get your clothes cleaned, would you?   By the same token, if you join a health spa make sure it's nearby so it won't be a big inconvenience to get there.  Who looks forward to driving 45 minutes to get somewhere?  Make it easy on yourself.  The enthusiasm you have now may have low periods and you don't want distance to be an excuse you can give yourself not to exercise.

Be specific about what you want to do.  If you have vague notions about what you plan to do and about what you expect to get from your exercise program you may get off track without even knowing it.  If you want to walk for fitness but don't know how to plan for it or what to expect from it then you're not being realistic.  Read up on walking for fitness and try to talk to some people who are actually doing it if that's possible.  You may even want to write your plan down.  Don't worry about being too specific.  You may just write: "Will walk 15 minutes a day this week".  As long as it's something you can go back to in order to check on your progress.

Don't try to follow someone else's weight reduction and exercise plan.  Their plan was specifically made to accommodate their needs and goals.  Your friend might be able to walk three miles a day but just because you want to work out with him or her doesn't mean you should change your exercise program.  If you only set aside 15 minutes for your walk or run do that part of it with your friend and then stop.  Don't try to "keep up" with anyone.  There's no need to be competitive when you're exercising.

Be flexible and disciplined.  You may ask how can you do this at the same time?  If you oversleep one day and can't do your morning bicycling don't be hard on yourself and call yourself a failure.  Maybe for that day you can do it in the evening.  Or you may even have to skip a day and start over the next morning. Being disciplined might even help you when it comes to being flexible. When you do have to skip a day of exercise for whatever reason being disciplined will help you get back to your exercise program the next day.

These are just some of the things you can do to make your  exercise program one you'll look forward to doing AND enjoying!