by George Mahl Sports Editor

One of the first things I did when I arrived at Shannon’s Health and Fitness Center this past Monday was fill out a piece of paper regarding my family’s medical history. At first, it may seem irrelevant, but believe me it is very important. The reason being is because some medical conditions that happened to family members in the past may also happen to you in the future.

Nonetheless, after I filled it out I did something I had not done in a long time – stretch. It is very important that you stretch before you begin exercising. I then talk to Karen, my personal trainer, about having a cardio workout, which is good for the heart, and a strength workout.

We then go onto the treadmill for about 20 minutes. I start walking at around 1MPH and slowly get up to 3MPH. In all, I walked for about 1.5 miles. I must say that I have not walked that distance in a long time. After I was through though, I did feel invigorated and my self esteem went up after this exercise.

I did not walk on an incline, rather on a straight path while on the treadmill. Karen recommended that I start on the straight path and keep doing that until I get comfortable.

One of the stereotypes that people have about working out is that you have to stretch before you exercise. Well, that is true, but that is not the only stretching you need to do. It is of the utmost importance that you stretch after a particular exercise, so your muscles don’t tighten. They still may tighten up, but it won’t be as bad as if you don’t stretch after finishing an exercise.

After walking on the treadmill, it is important to stretch your hamstrings so they don’t tighten up. When stretching any part of your body, count to ten.

One of the things that was a wake up call to me before I got on the scale, was my weight. I currently weigh 262 pounds. That is the bad news. The good news is that I now know I need to be at a reasonable weight so that I don’t put my health at risk.

The next column will discuss what I did on my third visit to Shannons Health and Fitness Center and also the proper foods to eat when working out.