I recently posted an update on this article, which can be found by clicking on the following title:

For Exercise Consistency Find Your Ideal Workout Motivator

Hi folks,

Even though I love to train for Ironman races I also enjoy doing other things, including currently an online writing course with AndiLit. My latest homework assignment (yes, I am doing homework at the age of 68) has been posted on my other website, under the title, ‘Chez Ollie.’ If you want to read it, any advice on my writing style would be much appreciated. The events described in this story occurred when I was a young man and inexperienced, not as a veterinarian but as an athlete. As I was writing the story I ‘got to thinking’ about the dangers of ego when training, and what it must be like for people who are new to training but need to find a suitable a workout program.

If you don’t know what you are doing, how should you go about the process of exercise if you are advised by your doctor to do so, for instance. Exercise is marketed all around us in many guises, and it is the basis of a lucrative fitness industry. I asked myself, where would I start? Then I thought, money would certainly impact the choices open to me, but I would probably start with the Internet, and select something ranging from almost no cost to extremely expensive depending on my pocket book and nature. Where would you start?

You can go on line at your public library, select a program that requires little or no equipment apart from a floor and that freely available resource, gravitation.

OR

everything in between (see below)

OR

you can pay hundreds of dollars a month for a personal coach and spend thousands of dollars a year on equipment and racing expenses (see my previous blog on the cost of Ironman training), plus pool and gym fees, Pilates, Yoga, etc., etc.

From a Google search on ‘workout plans for beginners,’ page one. From: http://goo.gl/zLVPU

Just as an experiment, I decided to explore ‘Internet Exercise Space,’ to see what is out there and how it might be perceived by a beginner. A Google search, using the term ‘workout plans for beginners,’ resulted in the page in the image on the right. You will notice that there are eight sites to choose from for ‘beginner exercise basics.’ I then examined one of these sites that most appealed to me and which provided guidance specifically for beginners, including what to wear, where to workout.

Website for people beginning an exercise program. From: http://goo.gl/7G6jc

Which led me to the next location on the web for those getting started, in the figure on the left. Most of this material was pretty good, with the exception of the fact that it was mixed with a lot of marketing material. There is nothing wrong with marketing, but I think that the trick is to find your way through this maze of material towards what you personally need, whilst avoiding being hoodwinked by glitzy stuff that costs a lot and delivers little. It is clear that there is an overwhelming range of choices available to the beginner. I will continue this Internet Exploration to see if I can come up with some guidelines for the optimal selection procedure for the unitiated.

At least I will learn something from it, that’s for sure.

-k Your Medical Mind