You know exercise is good for you. You’ve probably told yourself more than once that this is the week you’ll finally start, only to feel unsure of where to begin or what actually counts. The good news is that getting started is simpler than most people think, and it begins with understanding what exercise really means.
Exercise is a structured and repetitive form of physical activity aimed at improving or maintaining fitness, health, and strength. This definition alone is overwhelming! We hear words like fitness, health, and strength all the time, so how does that affect you?
What Is Fitness?
Fitness is the state of being physically capable of performing daily tasks without excessive fatigue. The good news is that most of us perform fitness activities in our daily lives without knowing it: cutting grass, gardening, walking our furry family members, or just walking. The list is endless. Think about what you’re doing right now, and let’s start there.
What Does Health Really Mean?
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), health means more than simply not being sick. It’s a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being. Our health is what drives us to be who we want to be. We want to be healthy, have energy, think clearly, and feel confident. Most of all, we want to be happy! Exercise helps open the door to all of it. Exercise triggers the release of “happy hormones,” including endorphins, dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine, which boost mood, reduce stress, and help relieve pain.
What Strength Actually Involves
Strength refers to the physical power, mental fortitude, or moral courage needed to endure strain, exert force, or resist pressure. Most people think of strength as muscular power or physique, but that is only part of it. The willingness and perseverance to reach a goal are as mental as they are physical. Again, exercise can improve your mental state by reducing stress, depression, and anxiety, while boosting mood and cognitive function.
Questions to Ask Before You Start
As a personal trainer for 26 years, I always ask my clients three questions before we get started:
- Do you feel uncomfortable with any exercise or in any atmosphere? You need to feel at ease. That’s important not only for your growth but for your confidence, so the experience stays positive.
- Is the exercise easy, medium, or hard? If it’s easy, it may not benefit you, depending on the exercise. If it’s hard, you likely won’t come back, which creates a negative experience. The exercise should be medium intensity, challenging enough to work but still attainable.
- Are you having a positive experience? This is the most important question. You need to feel safe, effective, efficient, and engaged. Clients who have a positive experience accomplish one of the biggest challenges: consistency.
How Much Exercise Do You Need?
My recommendation is to start exercising two to three days a week for 30 minutes a day, with a day of rest in between. This pace gives your body time to recover between sessions, lowering your risk of injury and burnout while you build the habit.
Those 30 minutes don’t need to be complicated. A simple mix works well: a few minutes of light warm-up, 15 to 20 minutes of the main activity, whether that’s walking, cycling, bodyweight exercises, or light strength training, and a few minutes to cool down and stretch. The goal at this stage isn’t intensity. It’s showing up consistently.
Rest days matter just as much as workout days. Your muscles repair and get stronger during recovery, not during the workout itself. Skipping rest days to “catch up” or push harder usually backfires, leading to fatigue, lingering soreness, or an injury that sets you back further than a planned day off ever would.
Once two to three days a week start to feel comfortable, usually after a few weeks, you can gradually add a fourth day, extend your sessions, or increase the intensity. Small, steady increases keep the experience positive and sustainable, which is what actually keeps people exercising long-term.
Pay attention to how your body responds along the way. Some muscle soreness after a new activity is normal, but sharp pain, persistent joint discomfort, or exhaustion that doesn’t improve with rest are signs to scale back and reassess, not signs to push through.
Work With Michael
Michael Heim is a personal trainer with 26 years of experience, and his guidance is part of the broader support Big Easy Weight Loss patients receive.
Ready to make exercise part of your plan? Schedule an appointment with Michael Heim to get started.