**Collaborative post**

If you have made a decision to get fit and healthy, you’re probably excited about starting your exercise routine. It’s tempting to start working out every day and doing long sessions of intense exercise. Surely, the more you do, the faster you’ll get results?

Unfortunately, it’s not that simple and it’s very important that you start slowly. People often find this frustrating because they don’t feel as though they are making much progress, but it’s better in the long term. Here’s why it’s so important to start your new workout routine slowly.

You Could Injure Yourself

There is a big risk of injuring yourself when you start a new workout routine because your body is not used to it. If you push yourself too hard from the moment you start, you could end up injuring your muscles and ligaments and put yourself out of action for weeks or even months. If you are doing a high-impact exercise like running, you could even fracture your hip (visit orthocentralcoast.com.au for more info on these kinds of injuries). Your muscles and joints need time to strengthen so they can withstand the strain that they are put under when exercising. That’s why you need to start slow and gradually build it up, so your body has time to keep up.

You’ll Kill Your Motivation

Pushing yourself too hard will also kill off your motivation to exercise. It’s likely that you will feel sore, exhausted, and in pain. Finding the motivation to follow a routine is hard enough, but it’s much harder if you are constantly in pain after your workouts. Again, you have to remember that your body isn’t used to this, so it needs time to recover before your next workout. That’s why rest days are just as important as your workout days. Instead of trying to do a workout every day, start out with two or three days a week. When you become more confident and you get into a bit of a routine with it, you can start gradually increasing it. Remember, results always take time, so don’t lose motivation if you don’t see a difference after the first few weeks.

It Will Take Over Your Life

It’s easy to put exercising before everything else when you first start working out. After all, it’s probably the thing you are looking forward to most in your day. You will want to find time for that new workout routine. However, if you don’t keep it balanced, your whole life can become exercise-focused and that isn’t healthy either. All of your other responsibilities fall by the wayside and then you start getting overwhelmed. In this situation, people usually abandon their workout routine altogether because it simply isn’t sustainable, and they feel as though they have failed. It’s much better to stick to a less intensive, more realistic routine instead of scheduling your entire life around daily workouts. Finding simple workouts you can do at home is a great way to add exercise to your daily routine if you have a busy schedule. 

If you hit the ground running and start exercising every single day, you might feel great for a week or two. But sooner or later, you will end up injuring yourself or burning out. You will have far better long-term results if you start slowly and build it up.