Starting a brand-new series of exercise routines can be ambitious and requires that you take a few precautions, especially if you are out of shape and haven't exercised for a while.

First of all you should consult your doctor before you begin to get back in shape. You do this for two reasons. One, you don't want to push yourself beyond what your body can safely do. For example, if you have high blood pressure, strenuous exercise may push your blood pressure into the danger zone where you are at risk for having a heart attack or stroke. So find out what your health issues are before you begin.

The second reason to see a doctor is that you want to have a baseline to compare yourself against in a few months time. After three months of exercising, has your blood pressure decreased? Is your weight down? What about your percentage of body fat, has that decreased? Good results can give you added incentive to keep going with your exercise program. Poor results can let you know that your exercise program is not working and needs to be modified.

Once you decide to get in shape, you may feel like just jumping into an activity full bore. But to get in shape after a long period of being sedentary and not exercising at all, you need to take it slow in the beginning. Weekend warriors are famous for getting injured because they think they can do more than their bodies are actually capable of.

The lesson is that you have to pace yourself at the outset. If an exercise calls for 30 minutes of activity, and you begin to tire out after only 5 minutes, that's a clear sign that you need to slow down and possibly alter your routine. Then you can slowly work yourself up to 30 minutes. The key is to listen to your body and let it be your guide. That way there's much less chance of you overexerting yourself.

It doesn't matter if you exercise only infrequently or if you do it everyday, but it's essential to do warm up exercises before starting your main exercise program. Warm up exercises help to loosen and stretch the muscles and joints. They also increase circulation in your body slowly so your blood pressure and heart rate don't have a sudden build up or spike. Warm ups mainly help to prevent injuries to your muscles, such as muscle pulls or strains. Warming up doesn't mean that you will completely eliminate the chance of injury. It simply lessens the chance that it will happen.

Many times when a person decides to get in shape, they have in mind one particular body part. For example, they might want to get 6 pack abs, or they want to lose weight in their hip area. But the best exercise plan is one that gives you a full body workout. Ideally you want to work every muscle and joint in your body. And that includes your heart muscle so that your cardiovascular system is improved. And then, once you've done this you can concentrate and work on the areas of your body that you are really interested in.