About 50% of people who are concerned enough with their health to begin exercise programs drop out within six months to a year–even cardiac patients who stand to benefit the most from exercise drop out at a rate as high as 70%. Studies show that those who withdrew from exercise programs reported that their workout routines were boring or the facilities were expensive and inconvenient.

The most important factor when starting an exercise regimen is to set realistic, attainable goals. If you're out of shape, don't try to run several miles or swim 30 laps in the first week or two. You're better off concentrating on the length of time you exercise, not on distance. Researchers have found that runners who aim for 30 minutes during an exercise session, for example, are more likely to keep running than those who go for mileage.

Testing yourself will help you monitor your progress and enable you to stick to your activity once you see your fitness improve. Exercising with other people can also increase your enjoyment, and entering amateur races is yet another tool for motivation.

How Much Exercise Do You Need? The amount you personally need will depend on your goals. In order to achieve a training effect and thereby cardiorespiratory fitness, you'll need to perform aerobic exercise three to five times a week, according to the American College of Sports Medicine. Depending on how fit you already are and how intensely you exercise, each session should last 20-60 minutes, in addition to the warm-up and cool-down activities you perform. You also should exercise at your target heart rate.

Exercising less than this will not help you achieve an adequate training effect for fitness. However, experts have recently found that if you simply want to improve your health and increase your odds of living longer, you don't necessarily have to engage in a rigorous exercise program to achieve the training effect. What's important is simply being physically active.

Most people could expend 2,000 calories if they simply jogged for 30-40 minutes five days a week, or walked 5-8 hours per week. Paffenbarger's study also showed that simply walking nine miles a week will significantly reduce one's chances of developing heart disease.

Matthew Mishr

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