IT?S HARD TO GET BACK INto exercise training after leading a sedentary lifestyle for months or years.

Here are some effective tools that can help one start an exercise program.

An accurate weighing scale will help one set long-term or weekly weight loss goals. One of my clients got discouraged for almost one week with her weight since she weighed six pounds more than her real weight when she used a different scale, after sticking to her exercise and eating program.

Based on feedback from people I?ve worked with, they weigh less when they use low-cost bathroom weighing scales. When they use the doctor?s scale or other digital scale, they get shocked upon seeing additional 3 or 5 pounds. It?s better to invest on expensive weighing scales like a doctor?s scale or high-quality digital scales to ensure accuracy.

Weigh yourself once or twice a week, preferably in the morning.

Heart rate monitor

I always require my clients to get their heart rate monitors whenever they start an exercise program so they know how they are progressing. Also, knowing your heart rate while exercising will help you regulate the exercise intensity and avoid exercise stress and injuries.

An example is one who started an hour of spinning class with an average of 135 beats per minute (bpm). Five weeks later, his average heart rate is 120 bpm after doing the same exercise. This shows that he should start increasing his intensity by adding resistance to the spinning bike or increasing speed to increase the average heart rate. Other heart rate monitors give the total number of calories after each exercise.

Synchronize music and exercise

A recent study published in the Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology shows that the synchronous application of music to our exercise intensity results in much higher endurance. Therefore, it is a great idea to use iPod or MP3 players while exercising, cycling or running.

Mini notebook

Record your weight and exercise progress in a laptop/notebook so you can analyze what you can improve on. Graph your weight loss progress and exercise intensity improvement by recording your average heart rate and exercise duration.

You can also create a daily food and exercise log. With Wi-Fi ready notebooks, you can easily search calorie values of food by the most popular calorie counter web sites. Other notebooks contain programmed food and exercise journal with calorie values.

E-mail the author at mitchfelipe@gmail.com.