This is a very common subject where you'll get a different answer from every person you ask. What I am going to do here is try to outline my thoughts on how someone should go about starting to exercise. The first thing you need to do is to give yourself an honest opinion of what your current fitness level is. If you start off thinking that you are more able then you really are, you have a lot higher chance of getting injured, and then stopping your routine completely. We want to avoid this, so whatever fitness level you say you are, make sure it is accurate and honest. When I speak of "fitness level" I'm not going by any guidelines, I just want you to be aware of what you can do, so you don't start off trying to run 20 kms or bench press 90kgs (~200lbs).

Before you start exercising, we need to figure out exactly what you want to do. Do you want to concentrate on cardiovascular exercises or lifting weights? I recommend doing a combination of both; I personally put a little more emphasis on weights then on cardio. But when I was starting out, I spent more time concentrating on cardio, and then eventually moved over to more weights then cardio.

When you do cardio exercises you burn calories and get your heart pumping, when first starting off on a cardio machine make sure you start on a low setting, don't push yourself and let your heart rate work its way up slowly. Depending on your fitness level, when starting it is easier to start on a bicycle, or by walking on the treadmill instead of jogging or doing a ‘stepper’. This will allow you to spend more time building up your cardio by keeping your heart rate at the desired level, instead of overdoing it and having to cut your workout short. If you do not have access to a cardio machine, get outside and get some fresh air. I’ll always recommend exercising outside over inside, because fresh air and sunlight help in making you feel better and live healthier. For people just starting out, it’s best to start going for walks. Going for a 45 minute walk everyday can be one of the healthiest and most life changing decisions you can make. If you find yourself out of breath, take a rest and continue when you can, it is important to start small and work your way up. So to start, go out for a 15 minute walk every day, then every week or two, add another 5 minutes to the length of time, until you are up to your desired amount, which is recommended to be at least 45 minutes.

Lifting weights or using the machines at a gym will help you to build muscle, which naturally burn more calories then fat. So, what this means is if you can build up more muscle mass, then your body will use up extra calories while at rest. I see this as being a lot like investing in dividend paying companies, where the dividends can be considered as ‘free money’ gaining muscle could be considered as ‘free weight loss’. If you are lifting free weights, it is very important to have somebody to help ‘spot’ you until you get comfortable with the amount of weight you can handle on your own. I recommend always having someone to spot you but that isn’t always a possibility, so just make sure if you are lifting by yourself that you are doing a weight that you KNOW you are comfortable with. For someone just starting out, I will usually recommend using the machines at a gym because they allow you to lift weight in safe and controlled motions which will help target the proper muscles. Once you feel comfortable with what you can lift, you can move over to the free weights to have more freedom of which muscles you want to concentrate on. If you do not have access to a gym, I highly recommend picking up a set of adjustable dumbbells; they are by far my most versatile set of weights while working out at home. I personally use two bars with a set of metal plates that I can switch out to give me the desired weight. The other item I would recommend is an adjustable bench that can do both flat and inclined positions. With these two items you can cover just about any muscle group you want.

If you choose to get a membership at a gym, I recommend hiring a personal trainer for at least one or two sessions because they can teach you all the exercises you can safely do at your current fitness level. If you want to continue using your trainer then by all means go ahead, but if you want to save some money I recommend taking what you have learned and use it on your own, then if you want you can book a session every couple of months to get a new evaluation of where you are and to learn some new exercises to use in your workouts. One thing I have noticed is sometimes a personal trainers methods may not match with what you believe is best for you. You should always assume the trainer knows best, but if you don't feel right about something or if an exercise hurts or pushes you beyond your limit, then let them know and if they are a good trainer they will be able to give you a different exercise that can work the same muscles without the same personal discomfort.

In order to make sure you can keep up with the schedule what we need to do is to turn this into a habit, so for the first month do not skip one planned day, NO MATTER WHAT. If you can go a whole month straight without missing any workouts, then you've started to develop this into a habit which means you will not have to force yourself to go, it will become easier to go every day until it becomes just who you are and you never have to think about doing it, you’ll just do it. After the month is completed still try as hard as you can not to skip a day, because as soon as you skip one, it will be that much easier to skip another and another etc.

I hope you can use this information to start an exercise routine that suits your needs. With the proper motivation to help you build this into a habit you can be living a happier and healthier life in no time. Believe me, as soon as you start losing a few of those extra pounds you will begin to notice it, and start to wonder how you could have ever lived with them in the first place. The lost pounds will become your motivation to continue getting more fit. As one last point, always remember to balance your exercising with good nutritious food which I hope to cover in an article to come in the future.