Exercise is one of the most powerful tools we have to enhance and maintain our overall health. If you are new to exercise, though, getting started can feel a little intimidating. 

Maybe you have been inactive for years and aren't confident you can move? Perhaps you are dealing with a chronic ailment, such as a bad knee or shoulder, that makes you wary of stressing that area? Or maybe you are worried about inflicting a new injury if you try to exercise? Let’s talk about how you can sensibly start a productive training routine that improves your health and keeps you from any undue suffering.

Starting an exercise routine does carry risks, and it is wise to be careful when transitioning from a sedentary life to regular activity. Why? Because increasing exercise intensity and duration stresses your body beyond what it is typically accustomed to. This is a good thing, in that it will push your body to adapt and become fitter. It is also a risk factor for injury, because your joints and connective tissue might not adapt quickly enough to hard, repeated stresses, leading to injury. This is true, even in well-trained athletes. Data from collegiate athletes consistently show that sports injuries are most common early in the season, after athletes resume training and competing in a deconditioned state from the offseason. 

The biggest mistake everyone makes when adopting or resuming exercise training is going too hard too soon. This is where exercise intensity can overwhelm your ability to recover and adapt between sessions, and injury can crop up as a result. Typical injuries that can result include strains, sprains, or tendonitis. All of these can stem from excessive stress on your muscles and connective tissues with inadequate recovery.

The antidote to this is simple: start easy. A friend of mine who works in cardiac rehabilitation has a good saying: “You can never start an exercise plan that is too easy.” His point is profound. And he speaks from a wealth of experience, having spent decades helping people with cardiovascular disease successfully adopt regular exercise. When you begin exercising, your goal should be to apply the minimum effective dose. This is a volume and intensity of exercise just slightly above what you are used to. Gently stress the body, and you will gradually adapt, getting fitter with minimal risk of injuries.

What does the minimal effective dose look like for you? For most sedentary people, transitioning from no planned exercise to two or three sessions per week, about 20 minutes each, is a great starting point. Over time, add a few minutes per session day by day. After you’ve been exercising regularly for 8 weeks or so, you might transition to three to four planned sessions per week. Keep in mind that this is just a best guess based on what works best for most people. Everyone is an individual, so you can always start with less. Maybe 10-minute sessions to begin with?

No matter how long your sessions are, you will want to keep your intensity easy at first. Think of a 2-3/10 level of effort. Your workouts should feel easy and easy to tolerate. In the beginning, end each session confident that you could have done more. 

Another key part of staying healthy is the daily warm-up. Even with easy exercise bouts, it is best to warm up each day at an even easier pace. A dynamic warm-up, in which you move at an intensity of 1-2/10 effort for the first 3-5 minutes of the workout, can further reduce your likelihood of injury. Warm-ups raise your core temperature, help your joints move more smoothly, and prepare your body for more intense exercise. 

Exercise mode is another important factor to consider for safe exercise. Low-impact aerobic exercise modes, such as elliptical trainers, stationary bikes, and rowing ergometers, are great choices to minimize stress on your connective tissue while improving your cardiorespiratory fitness. For strength training, keep your weights light and focus on moving with proper form under control to build a strong, injury-free foundation you can build on later. 

Workout footwear is also crucial. For weight-bearing exercises such as walking and jogging, shoes with good cushioning to absorb shock can benefit your joints. For strength training exercises, shoes with solid soles, such as minimalist footwear, skateboard shoes, or Converse, are the best choice to enhance balance and stability while improving your strength.  

Exercise applies stress to your body. That stress promotes adaptations that lead to better fitness over time during recovery. So the key point is: you have to recover! Good sleep and good nutrition are key pillars of good recovery. Keep your exercise volume and intensity manageable, support your training with good recovery, and you can expect incremental fitness improvements without injury. Gain without pain is possible and honestly, more fun!

The best way to reduce your risk of injury is to start slowly and gradually increase the duration and intensity of your workouts over time. Warming up before exercise, using proper technique, allowing adequate recovery, and listening to your body can help you build fitness safely.

For many beginners, starting with two to three sessions per week lasting about 20 minutes is a practical goal. As your fitness improves, you can gradually increase the frequency, duration, or intensity of your workouts based on your comfort level and recovery.

A proper warm-up increases blood flow to your muscles, raises your body temperature, improves joint mobility, and prepares your body for physical activity. Spending just 3–5 minutes gradually increasing your activity level before exercising may help improve performance and reduce the risk of injury.

Mild muscle soreness one to two days after a new workout is common, especially when you're beginning an exercise program. However, sharp pain, swelling, joint instability, or pain that worsens during activity may indicate an injury and should be evaluated by a healthcare professional before continuing your exercise routine.

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