The summer is over, fall will soon be here and it’s a great time to consider a realistic exercise program. There are a few things to consider before you take your first, second or 10th attempt at a fitness regimen. The best programs that can truly deliver excellent benefits to your health often require the least overall impact to your time and body.

Running, swimming, biking, weight training, intervals, yoga, the menu to choose from is pretty large. For those of you who need to make a choice, it’s always best to start with an easy low impact exercise program that fits the average person. Sometimes it can be done by starting small and work up to a moderate level of exercise 3 or 4 times a week.

Now many gyms and certified personal trainers will tell you they have the perfect program for you. But many of you have been there, done that and got the T-shirt, only to quickly drop the program. Many gyms and trainers do have great programs, but signing up may be a commitment to which you are just too unsure about. I think it’s fair to say we have all been there, many false starts and numerous broken New Year’s resolutions, so what’s the answer?

Before we jump down the rabbit hole discussing my opinion of what’s best in the world of self-paced low impact fitness, let’s first look at something that is rarely discussed, the negative aspect of exercise. It is so common to be told by your doctor, family and just about everyone else you talk to, you need to get some exercise. We have all heard the talk at work or at gatherings, Betty did her first 10K, John is taking on Ironman next year and Bob plans to lose 70 pounds and run a half marathon in the coming months. All great goals and many who set these types of goals do achieve them, but at what cost? Often people put a huge effort toward their fitness and dieting just to end up suffering through pain along with starvation level rations that lead to a one and done mentality toward wellness programs.

Most people starting a new fitness regimen do not think about chronic exercise and chronic cardio. In fact, most people will be lucky to consistently make exercise a regular aspect in their lives. But for those of you who will get so caught up in the idea of becoming healthy, you may fail to recognize the health hazards that come with both self-paced programs and programs run by fitness professionals. Chronic exercise can and does place your body under tremendous stress and it promotes inflammation in the body, stresses joints, impacts your immune response and can drive overeating, with the overeating component killing any misguided diet plans.

Often exercise is used for weight loss and to improve cardiovascular health, but due to the stress and inflammation, both objectives can be missed and even backfire on you. Your overall health is dictated by your nutrition, which is the most viable way forward for weight loss and cardiovascular health. But your body needs lots of movement, so finding balance in moderation and recognizing that exercise should make you feel great and something to look forward to doing is important to your overall wellness.

Listening to your body and not letting your mood change your consistency to stay on top of eating right and being active is the best way to find your wellness. It is important to remember you will see your best results by starting all exercise programs slowly, staying consistent, working low impact actions such as walking, with short bursts of higher intensity activities. Reduce then manage your carbohydrate intake to really see progress and feel great.

Here are a few simple rules to follow which will help you keep your exercise easy and effective:

• Walk a minimum of 5,000 steps a day and work up to 10,000 steps.

• If you’re really out of shape or have health issues, consult your doctor to find out the level of exertion he or she recommends.

• With your doctor’s approval, add brief moments of fast running or sprinting periodically during your walks.

• Find stairs and walk them as often as you can, then work up to a fast paced trot up and down if your mobility can handle that.

• Have you done at least one pull-up lately? Dead-hang pull-ups throughout the week can be great for strength training. Cheat to get started — have someone help you until you build strength enough to do just one pull-up.

• Weight training and lifting heavy things often is something we all need to do. Does this mean joining a gym? No of course not, dumbbells at home, a watering bucket, use your imagination. Just make an effort and use good judgment on how much weight you should lift without injury.

• Do old-fashioned functional fitness, such as sit-ups, push-ups, lunges and squats.

• Mix it up, doing a little bit of all the above three to four times a week. Once you feel progress, increase each activity, just listen to your body. You do not need to overdo it to see results quickly.

For those of you who are hardcore athletes, you may want to consider if your workouts put you into that chronic exercise category. Adjust your workouts to place less stress on your body and keep in mind in the last few years, the elite pro athletes have started mixing low impact with brief high intensity regimens to their programs and are seeing amazing results. They have also started looking more closely at their macronutrients leveraging a much tighter control on carbohydrate input, keeping protein and fat well-balanced.

No matter whether you’re an exercise beast or a newly sprouted couch potato leaving your sedentary life behind. Start low and slow, turning on your high intensity movements in-between. Keep weight training engaged and learn to eat the right blend of your macronutrients, reduce carbs, and increase protein and good fats.

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Judd Jones is a director for The Hagadone Corporation in Coeur d’Alene.