How often, how long and how hard you exercise, and what kinds of exercises you do should be determined by what you are trying to accomplish. Your goals, your present fitness level, age, health, skills, interest and convenience are among the factors you should consider. For example, an athlete training for high-level competition would follow a different program than a person whose goals are good health and the ability to meet work and recreational needs.

Your exercise program should include something from each of the four basic fitness components described previously. 

Each workout should begin with a warmup and end with a cooldown. As a general rule, space your workouts throughout the week and avoid consecutive days of hard exercise.

WARMUP - 5-10 minutes of exercises such as walking, slow jogging, knee lifts, arm circles or trunk rotations. Low intensity movements that stimulate movements to be used in the activity should be included in the warmup.

            MUSCULAR STRENGTH - a minimum of 2 X 20-minute sessions per week that include exercises for all the major muscle groups. Lifting weights is the most effective way to increase strength.

            MUSCULAR ENDURANCE - at least 3 X 30-minute sessions each week that include exercises such as calisthenics, pushups, situps, pullups, and weight training for all the major muscle groups.

            CARDIO RESPIRATORY ENDURANCE - at least 5 X 30-minute bouts of continuous aerobic (activity requiring oxygen) exercise each week. Popular aerobic conditioning activities include brisk walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, rope-jumping, rowing, cross-country skiing, and some continuous action games like racquetball and handball.

            FLEXIBILITY –  10-12 Minutes Daily Stretching exercises performed slowly without a bouncing motion. This can be included after a warmup or during a cooldown.

COOLDOWN - 5-10 minutes of light exercise gradually reducing the heart rate to 50%.