It is quite difficult for us to assess our physical abilities, so when we start playing sports, we choose too little or too much load. Sometimes we even set ourselves such ambitious goals that we are unable to fulfill them and give up the planned regular training after just a few attempts. In addition, we harm the health of the heart. That’s why experts recommend starting with easy-to-achieve goals that will increase self-confidence and the desire to continue playing sports, and only increase it after the body gets used to regular exercise.
Exercise is not torture
Physical activities should be enjoyable and you should not feel tired and like you have been through a meat grinder after exercising. If you feel pain or discomfort during exercise, stop because the purpose of exercise is to improve health, not harm yourself. The “all or nothing” attitude is allowed only for professional athletes, not amateur beginners. To check your physical abilities, you can contact a physiotherapist and perform various exercise tests under his supervision; according to their results, the specialist will recommend the desired exercises and load. Also, it won’t hurt if you visit your family doctor to check your general health, undergo a stress test and do an echocardiogram before you start playing sports. In addition, it is advisable to take blood tests and know your blood pressure indicators.
How fast should the heart beat?
When exercising, you must monitor your heart rate – it should not exceed the aerobic threshold, which is 80% of the maximum heart rate; if the pulse starts to beat faster, it is necessary to rest until the number of beats decreases. If the body is not used to physical activity, when starting sports, the pulse may exceed the aerobic threshold in the first minute, so the training intensity will have to be reduced and increased again. The aerobic threshold is calculated as follows: subtract the person’s age from 220 and calculate 70-80 percent of it. So the aerobic pulse of a 30-year-old person is 133 to 152 beats per minute (220-30=190, 190 -70% to 80% =133 to 152). For older people and those who have not exercised for a long time, the aerobic threshold should not exceed 70% of the maximum load. However, you should not rely on the pulse alone, the ability to talk during exercise is also a good indicator: during low exercise you can easily talk or even sing, during medium exercise you can talk, while during high exercise it is difficult to talk because you even have to pant. In order not to harm your health, you should avoid overloading, because it will not improve the health of the heart, but harm it. You should also be careful when lifting weights during strength training, especially those over 40 years of age, because then you can easily injure the spine, joints and ligaments.
Do you have to exercise every day?
When starting sports, three to four training sessions per week will be enough, they should be strength and cardio training. After strength training, a two-day break should be followed, and cardio training can be done on the third day. Various equipment is used in strength training – large and small balls, rubber bands, dumbbells, etc. On the other hand, walking, jogging, cycling, running are good cardio exercises. Start with a 20-minute workout, after a while devote to it 30 minutes and so on until you reach an hour. On the other hand, on holidays, you can combine training with spending time with your family and go for a longer walk or even a hike. It is important that the body feels comfortable the next day after activities – if the lower back starts to hurt, it is a sign that the load was too much.
Why do I get a headache when I do sports?
Headaches may occur due to missing or too short a warm-up period, or due to bloated air during sports. Often, so-called exertional headaches clearly indicate that a warm-up phase is necessary before physical activity in order to gradually raise the body temperature and promote blood circulation. Headaches are probably related to increased blood pressure in the brain and usually occur during strenuous exercise. Warm up by walking slowly or jogging in place, climbing up or down stairs, or doing standing movements that involve raising your arms overhead. Thus, the pressure in the body will increase slowly and safely. After exercise, it is important to warm up for a few minutes and allow the heart rate to return to its normal rhythm, for example, jogging slowly, walking after jogging, stretching after strength exercises. This will help your body to calm down and your body to feel better after intense work.
The cause of headaches can also be improper breathing during exercise, as a result of which the body begins to lack air. It is important to remember that on exhalation the body becomes lighter, the muscles relax and it is easier to perform both stretching movements and leg lifts, while inhaling and holding the breath, the body tenses up and, for example, when exercising, it cannot stretch as far as it would be possible during exhalation.