Guidelines

Getting Started

  • Get good shoes that have been properly fitted to your feet

  • Get new sneakers every six months.

  • Wear wicking fiber clothes when exercising – not cotton.

Terms

  • “Rep” means repetitions of how many times you lift the weight.

  • “Set” is a completion of the assigned repetitions, done in a row, at one time without resting. We rest between sets.

Always and Never

  • Never work same muscle group two days in a row, give the muscle 48 hours of rest.

  • If using Fitness Bands, always check them for tears before using.

  • Always look to exhaust or fatigue the muscle. The weight bearing exercises should be hard enough to really challenge your muscles; about 15-17 on the Borg scale.

  • If you are on the floor, roll over to one side to come up.

  • If an exercise calls for you to bend forward, bend at your hips, not your waist and keep your back and shoulders straight. Bending improperly at the waist may cause spinal fractures in some people with osteoporosis.

  • If you have had a hip repair or replacement, do not do any lower-body exercises without approval from your surgeon.

  • If you have had a hip replacement, do not bend your hips farther than a 90 degree angle.

  • Always breathe! Never hold your breath!

  • Do not jerk the weights into position; always use smooth and steady movements to avoid injury.

  • Never “lock” or fully extend any joints. Always keep them slightly bent.

  • Muscle soreness that lasts a few days is normal after strength training. If your joints are sore or if you pull a muscle, you are overdoing it.

  • If a movement causes you pain, lessen the range of the movement.

  • Take 3 seconds to lift or push the weight into position hold for 1 second, then take 3 seconds to lower the weight.

  • Stretch after strength building or endurance exercises, never stretch when your muscles are cold.

  • When stretching, never bounce, ease into it slowly and steadily. A mild pulling sensation is normal but should not cause you joint pain.

  • If you take break from exercising for several weeks, when you return, start at about half the effort you were putting in when you stopped and gradually build back up.