Beginner Workouts: Build Healthy Habits for Life

Can beginner workouts help individuals who want to improve their health by helping them lose weight and improve their quality of life?

Beginner Workouts

Individuals new to exercise do not need to go through intense workout sessions to gain the benefits of physical activity. Basic exercises and beginner workouts that can be done at home or outdoors, whichever is better or more convenient, are recommended when starting a fitness regimen to lose weight and improve overall health.

Health Benefits

Basic exercise sessions are the building blocks of a fitness program. They encourage habits that lead to significant weight loss and lifelong weight management skills. Here are a few workouts considered easy because they don’t require gym equipment, their intensity can be adjusted to match an individual’s physical activity level, and some can be done from a chair or bed for those who have trouble standing for long periods. Exercising offers immediate benefits, including increasing brain health and improving mood and long-term effects like decreased disease risk. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2024)

Easy Exercises

For individuals who are completely new to exercise, low-intensity activity sessions can help burn more calories so long as they don’t compensate for the hunger that the physical activity creates by eating more. Combining diet with exercise is essential if weight loss is the goal. This can involve learning to eat lean protein, fruit, and vegetables and watching portion sizes. Studies of low-intensity exercise show the body burns fat when performing basic exercise and physical activities. (Lee D. et al., 2021) Another study looked at the effect of beginner workouts on cortisol levels. Cortisol is a hormone associated with abdominal weight gain when levels stay elevated for long periods. The study found that low-intensity exercise decreased circulating cortisol levels. (Gerber M. et al., 2020) Beginner exercises to lose weight also help individuals (Vina J. et al., 2012)

• Increase self-confidence
• Decrease stress levels
• Improve sleep
• Establish healthy habits
• Burn calories to stimulate weight loss and sustain weight management.
• Develop strong muscles

Basic exercise remains a core component of fitness programs for many. This includes individuals with type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular disease. (Apostolopoulos V. et al., 2014)

Easy Workouts

Types of beginner workouts include:

• Bodyweight training
• Chair workouts
• Dancing workouts
• Online workouts
• Shadowboxing
• Stairclimbing
• Aqua jogging
• Biking
• Walking
• Gardening and yard work

At-Home

Set short-term goals to complete three workouts during the first week, then gradually add workout days until you can perform some form of physical activity on most days. The type of exercise chosen is less important than the consistency of the program.

Bodyweight Training

• No special gym equipment is needed to burn calories and build stronger muscles.
• Take 10 to 15 minutes for five incline push-ups against a surface that allows the body to be at an incline, such as a countertop, bathroom sink, etc.
• Five chair squats
• Five walking lunges or stationary lunges, holding on to a countertop for support.
• Repeat the sequence two to three times.

Chair Workout

• Individuals who are uncomfortable standing for long periods use a sturdy chair and complete 10 to 15 minutes of movement with a seated workout several times weekly.

Dancing

• Put on music and dance for 15 to 30 minutes.
• No choreography is necessary.
• The important thing is to move to the music.

Online Workouts

• Many online workouts are free, and most offer easy workouts for beginners.

Shadowboxing

• Shadowboxing is easy, with no equipment required, and it helps to decrease stress.

Stairclimbing

• Take 10 minutes to walk up and down a flight of steps.
• Those who don’t have a staircase available can use a step or platform.

Outdoors

Exercising outside provides extra perks. There are stress-relieving benefits to breathing fresh air and enjoying the outdoors.

Aqua Jogging

• Try pool running or aqua jogging for those with joint pain when walking for long periods.
• Floatation devices keep the upper body afloat.
• Once in the water, walk without letting your feet touch the bottom of the pool.
• If no floatation device is available, individuals can walk in the water with their feet on the pool floor.

Biking

• Take a leisurely spin around the neighborhood
• Ride on a continuous path or track requiring 20 to 30 minutes of pedaling.

Walking

• A 30-minute walk workout can be counted as daily exercise.
• Walk slowly for five minutes.
• Pick up the pace for 20 minutes
• Cool down and walk slowly for five minutes.

Gardening or Yard Work

• Spending time in the garden or yard is a great way to work muscles and burn calories.
• Digging, weeding, raking, and mowing are all recommended activities that count as exercise for beginners.

Injury Medical Chiropractic and Functional Medicine Clinic

Remember, as a beginner, the point is to get the body moving, establish a workout routine, and gradually build confidence to increase exercise enjoyment and health benefits. Workouts for beginners, especially those who still need to maintain an exercise program, are designed to develop life-long habits of well-being. At Injury Medical Chiropractic and Functional Medicine Clinic, we focus on what works for you and strive to develop fitness and better the body through research methods and total wellness programs. These natural programs use the body’s ability to achieve improvement goals, and athletes can condition themselves to excel in their sport through proper fitness and nutrition. Our providers use an integrated approach to create personalized programs, often including Functional Medicine, Acupuncture, Electro-Acupuncture, and Sports Medicine principles.

Exercise Prescription

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024). Benefits of Physical Activity. Retrieved from www.cdc.gov/physical-activity-basics/benefits/?CDC_AAref_Val=https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/pa-health/index.htm

Lee, D., Son, J. Y., Ju, H. M., Won, J. H., Park, S. B., & Yang, W. H. (2021). Effects of Individualized Low-Intensity Exercise and Its Duration on Recovery Ability in Adults. Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland), 9(3), 249. doi.org/10.3390/healthcare9030249

Gerber, M., Imboden, C., Beck, J., Brand, S., Colledge, F., Eckert, A., Holsboer-Trachsler, E., Pühse, U., & Hatzinger, M. (2020). Effects of Aerobic Exercise on Cortisol Stress Reactivity in Response to the Trier Social Stress Test in Inpatients with Major Depressive Disorders: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Journal of clinical medicine, 9(5), 1419. doi.org/10.3390/jcm9051419

Vina, J., Sanchis-Gomar, F., Martinez-Bello, V., & Gomez-Cabrera, M. C. (2012). Exercise acts as a drug; the pharmacological benefits of exercise. British journal of pharmacology, 167(1), 1–12. doi.org/10.1111/j.1476-5381.2012.01970.x

Apostolopoulos, V., Borkoles, E., Polman, R., & Stojanovska, L. (2014). Physical and immunological aspects of exercise in chronic diseases. Immunotherapy, 6(10), 1145–1157. doi.org/10.2217/imt.14.76