By John Destacamento You've been away from your exercise routine for quite awhile, now you're ready to make your comeback! Here are a few tips to remember before you begin your routine. Short Cardio Warm Up before Resistance Training - Remember, tension on cold muscles may increase your risk of injury. Warming up on a cardio machine from 5 to 10 minutes will load your muscles with blood and oxygen which prepares the muscle for strenuous exercise. Also, a cardio warm up allows your blood to circulate through out your nervous system, waking you up with a slight rush that’ll help you get jump started into your routine. Remember to Stretch - Warm up first, then stretch. Most people get it backwards. Your muscles and tendons are similar to rubber bands, they do not stretch too freely when it’s cold. Educate yourself with a little bit of anatomy so you know the proper way to stretch a particular muscle. Consult your personal trainer (if any) and ask them to show you techniques that are best for you. Start with the basics - If you are strength training, start with the most easiest machine weights. Begin with the largest muscles first and finish your routine with your smaller ones. Use machines with the most basic movements , such as the Seated Chest Press, Shoulder Press, and Leg press. Even if you’ve learned how to perform advance free weights and exercises, take it easy, if you haven’t been in the gym for quite awhile so some of those supporting muscles and tendons may have weakened. Don’t increase your risk on injury. Don’t over do it! - Perhaps you have the motivation to take your body to the extreme today, however you may not feel the same the next couple of days if you over-train your muscles. Since you’ve been away from exercise in this nature, be sure to know when to quit. Stop your repetitions when you feel slight tiredness or fatigue. Discontinue your exercise when you feel your energy has dropped. Getting back into your routine slowly and increasing the intensity gradually day by day is the key. Overtraining your body or a muscle can lead to strains, injury or severe soreness. Overworked muscles tend to heal slower which leads to a longer recovery period. You must let a muscle completely recover before you exert it again! Monitor Your Nutrition Carefully - Your nutrition should support the activity change in your body. If you’ve raised your daily activity level , you should raise your intake of nutrition. The average individual consumes approximately 1500 to 2500 (male), 1200 to 1800 (female) of calories per day (assuming this person does not exercise). Increase your caloric intake about 25% for the first two weeks, this will support to replenish your muscles that crave protein for recovery. If you are trying to lose weight and perhaps have a hard time consuming extra calories, try supplements that will efficiently support your type of work out. Supplements work well because they are nutritional food without calories. Begin with an alternate day work out rotation - If you’re making a comeback, obviously your endurance and stamina is not where it use to be. You’re probably not ready to work out 5 to 6 Days a week not just yet. You should start with a 3 day a week, alternate day weekly rotation and gradually increase the frequency after the 2nd week. Give your body extra time to recover from fatigue and if you’re on a muscle development plan, you need at least a day rest between workouts to efficiently consume the extra nutrition. [|]