We all know that in order to be our healthiest we need to get regular physical activity and exercise. Finding motivation, time, and knowing where to start exercising can be a challenge for many people. The good news is, just about everyone can start exercising and getting more physical activity very easily. These tips for beginners will help you start living a healtheir and active lifestyle in no time!

One of the things that discourages people from exercising is thinking they have to jump right in and do a workout video from start to finish or be able to jog 3 miles every morning. It can be very overwhelming to try to do any of these tasks at first. If you are out of shape, you might feel out of breath just by walking up a flight of stairs!

So the best way to get started in exercise is to start small. For example, in your first week to start exercising, you may decide to take the stairs instead of the elevator at work, or you may go for a casual stroll through your neighborhood for 15 minutes. Maybe you could watch an exercise video and simply march in place while you learn how they do the moves.Maybe one day you will practice strectching and warm up exercises, but not to the whole workout yet. Slowly incorporating more activity into your lifestyle will help you get in enough shape that you will not feel like you are going to collapse on the floor trying to keep up with an aerobics video!

Fitness expert Richard Simmons was one of the first people to introduce me to the concept of starting small when you want to lose weight and get fit. One day while watching a television special about him they showed him working with people. At first, he only had them watch his videos. Then he would have them start snapping their fingers or tapping their toes. Then he would get them slowly raising their arms. Before long, the person was seeing results and could keep up with the entire workout video! When you start off small, getting in shape is not nearly as overwhelming!

Below is a demo of Richard Simmons' video "Sweatin to the Oldies":

Keeping track of your progress anytime you get any physical activity will help you stay motivated to keep exercising. You can download a free printable exercise log that will help you write down exactly what activity you did, for how long you did the activity, and any notes or feelings you may have about it.

At first, it may seem silly to record when you exercise and what you do, especially if all you have written in the first week is "swept the floors" or "raked leaves" or "took stairs instead of elevator". However, before long you will be writing "took 30 minute brisk walk" or "danced for 30 minutes".

You will also be able to see if you are meeting your exercise goals. If your goal for example is to exercise 30 minutes a day, three days a week, you will be able to tell by Thursday if you need to exercise or not for the rest of the week.

You can learn more about how to get started exercising in a variety of ways. You can join a fitness center near you that may have beginner classes. You can also speak to your physician about guidelines and resources you can try to start living a more healthy and active lifestyle.