Here at the Mature Fitness Shoppe, we wish you success in all your health and fitness endeavors. We hope you'll take a moment to review the following advice. The recommendations provided below are not intended to address every safety issue involved in exercise training for mature adults (or exercise modifications for particular health conditions). Instead, we've focused on a number of key safeguards and helpful pointers designed to assist you in achieving the beneficial fitness program you deserve.

• Always obtain medical clearance from your personal physician prior to beginning a new exercise program or increasing your physical activity level.
• Drink water before, during, and after physical exercise.
• Always breathe naturally and regularly during exercise. Never hold your breath.
• Avoid performing exercise on hard or slippery surfaces (like ceramic tile) or otherwise risky flooring (like thick carpet that might "catch" your shoe and cause a stumble).
• Keep audio volume at a moderate level during exercise-to-music activity.
• Wear sturdy, supportive shoes designed for the specific activity you're undertaking and comfortable workout clothing loose enough to permit free movement.
• For warm-weather outdoor exercise, wear porous fabrics that allow perspiration to evaporate.
• For cool-weather outdoor exercise, wear layers of lightweight clothing (which can be unzipped or removed as your body heats up, then re-donned as you cool down again).
• For all outdoor exercise, wear sunscreen, protective hats or visors, and sunglasses.
• Indoors or out, avoid hot or cold temperature extremes (as well as excessive humidity) during physical activity.
• For optimal results, follow a well-designed regimen that includes aerobic activity, muscle conditioning, balance training, and flexibility work. However, simply becoming a little more physically active in your day-to-day life offers important health benefits.
• Include thorough warm-up and cool-down periods in all exercise workouts. Warm-ups and cool-downs lasting at least (or just over) ten minutes apiece are appropriate for most mature adults.
• Severely decrease your exercise intensity (or stop and rest, as necessary) if you experience any of the following slow-down signs: dizziness; significant shortness of breath; queasiness or nausea; shakiness. Check with your doctor if any of those warning signals tends to recur during or after exercise.
• If you ever experience pain or tightness in the throat or chest, stop exercising at once and immediately consult a physician. Moreover, see your doctor if you develop any suspicious symptoms during or after physical exercise.
• During exercise, if you begin to feel exhausted (or if you are unable to carry on a conversation in a normal tone of voice), slow down and establish a more comfortable pace.
• During strength exercise, if a muscle begins to burn (or becomes so tired that you lose control over the movement of a limb), rest that muscle for a while. Work individual muscles and muscle groups only to the point of feeling fatigued, never to the point of pain, collapse, or exhaustion.
• If a movement causes pain in a joint, stop performing that movement and omit it from future workouts. Minor discomfort to the musculature around a joint is not cause for concern.
• Exercise at a moderate rate of speed (not too fast!), and move in a smooth and controlled manner.
• Never bounce during stretches or force a joint to over-stretch beyond its natural range.
• As necessary, use balance support (for example, touch the wall, a sturdy chair, or some other securely stable object) in order to decrease the risk of falling during physical exercise.
• Low-impact exercises, such as walking, will be much kinder to your joints than high-impact exercises, such as jumping jacks.
• Maintaining your best posture during physical activity increases exercise benefits and may help to prevent unnecessary injuries.
• The best remedy for normal muscle soreness in the days following a workout is usually mild physical activity (for example, easygoing walking).
• After consuming a heavy meal, waiting for about two hours before performing energetic exercise is a good rule of thumb.
• It is generally inadvisable for mature adults to perform strenuous exercise more that five days per week (although most people can tolerate mild activity, such as walking, on a daily basis) or for much longer than one hour at a time.
• Undertake progression only gradually. Adding about ten percent more work at any given time is usually enough and is unlikely to cause undue soreness or other problems.
• If you experience urinary accidents during exercise, consult your personal physician.
• Take a day off from exercise if you have a bad cold or the flu, or if you feel really run down for any reason. Never exercise when you have an elevated temperature.
• Undergo regular physical examination as determined in cooperation with your physician.