Preparing for an Adventure
Our vacations all contain components which will have you walking, hiking, canoeing, skiing or biking. Doing some sort of preconditioning will help you to feel more fit and confident. You should consult with your physician before embarking on a new exercise regiment.
The best exercise to prepare for an activity is that activity itself. While this is not always an option (you may not have a river or snow nearby) you can at least get some sort of cardiovascular workout to help your endurance. If you're going to walk for exercise try to do a portion of your route at a fast clip. The goal is to get your heart pumping and work up a sweat. Load up you day pack and take it along with you. The added weight will give your shoulders and back a bit of a work out. If you belong to a gym or fitness center the exercise machines like the stair master, exercycle, rowing machine or treadmill can all help you get your pulse rate up. Lifting weights or using nautilus help to build muscle strength but be sure to do some sort of aerobic activity as well.
Set yourself goals (ie, walking a mile faster each time, increasing the mileage on the exercycle, etc.) and give yourself a couple of weeks to get used to the routine. Getting started is almost harder than exercising. It will take awhile for your body to get used to the activity but once it does you'll find that it becomes more difficult to miss a day of exercise than it was to motivate yourself to start. So start by exercising your will and then your body will take over the task.
Stretching is important to help prevent injuries. Some people prefer to warm up before stretching and some like to stretch before their work out. The idea is to include some stretching in your routine. Take it slow and easy, don't bounce.
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For more health related info you can check out these sites:
Center for Disease Control & Prevention
1922 River Rd.
Guilford, VT 05301
Telephone: (802) 257-0152
FAX: (802) 257-2784