Instead of starting with 45-minute sessions
that include a mile run, a 3-minute session including a run
of a block or two may be adequate. Once it has been established
that such minimal achievement levels do not cause overstrain,
the program’s general shape should be maintained until the specific
short-term goals have been reached.
For those on better condition, a faster start
is more appropriate. Again, the rule requiring regularity in
all the basic phases of the program should be observed.
Mealtimes should be carefully considered in
scheduling the daily exercise round. Most authorities believe
that engaging in vigorous exercise within an hour before or
after a meal may interfere with the digestive processes. That
suggests that the exercise time should start at least an hour
to an hour and one-half after eating. Conversely, one should
allow at least an hour between an exercise session and the next
meal.
Some other factors are important. Exercises
taken immediately before bedtime may interfere with relaxation,
and sleep, through stimulation of the adrenalin flow. Late-evening
exercises should, in fact, be followed by an hour or so period
of winding down. At other times of the day, the winding down
period may be somewhat shortened, and may often be dispensed
with altogether.
A psychological element appears to enter into
the choice of time during the day. Many persons feel that by
scheduling the fitness session in the early morning, they can
“get it over with” and thus avoid having other responsibilities
of the day interfere with exercising. Others prefer the noon
hour. Some like the later afternoon, when the exercise round
provides a break in the day’s routine. The late afternoon session
acts as a kind of afterwork, before-dinner tonic for many persons.
An orderly, systematic approach to exercising
calls for establishing a special time during the day for working
on fitness. The principle of repetitiveness and its corollary—overload—are
also founded on the idea of system and regularity.
Most fitness authorities even suggest that
system ought to govern the order in which exercises are taken.
One version of an exercise circuit for ten different parts of
the body is illustrated here. Each person has options here:
depending on personal fitness goals, other exercises may be
more appropriate for the same circuit.
The systematic approach should also govern
decisions on the numbers of repetitions for each exercise.
