Fitness trainers and coaches see people making the same mistakes over and over when they’re starting an exercise program. Probably the biggest mistake people make is setting unrealistic goals. If you’ve spent the last 30, 40, or even 50 years being out of shape, don’t expect to get in shape overnight. But with dedication and the right program, it can happen.

It is important to remember that exercising should become a permanent part of your lifestyle. When it comes to kicking off a new workout regimen, taking it slow and easy will help you get better long term results, and will make you more likely to keep exercising for the rest of your life. It can help to prevent, correct or overcome many of the maladies we get as we age.

Here are some common mistakes that people make when they start a new exercise program:

1. Not drinking enough water: Water is the magic elixir of the body. For most of us it is the only fluid we need to drink. Everyone should drink at least 8 - 8 ounce glasses of water every day. If you’re over 200 pounds, you should drink at least 12 – 8 ounce glasses.

2. Not warming up prior to any exercise activity: Our muscles need time to adjust to the new demands we will be putting on them with an exercise program. Start with a few minutes of light aerobic exercise or calisthenics before you go into your exercise routine, whether it’s aerobics or strength training.

3. Not cooling down after any type of exercise: Don’t just finish your workout and head for the showers. Take a few minutes to do some easy, slow exercises to lower your heart rate and stretch your muscles. Abruptly stopping strenuous exercise without lowering your heart rate can be very dangerous.

4. Not stretching enough: You should stretch before and after any exercise activity. Flexible muscles will be less likely to be strained than if they are tight. As mentioned above, take a few minutes to warm up first. And your warm-up should include stretching and either light aerobic exercise or calisthenics.

5. Exercising too intensely or not intensely enough: Don’t try to fit an entire week’s worth of exercise into one day on the weekend. Of course you want results, so you do have to push yourself some. You need to exercise intensely enough that you work up a little sweat if you’re working with weights. Actually, to make progress with strength training you need to work each muscle to failure – where you feel you can’t do any more of that particular exercise. If you’re doing aerobic exercise, get your heart beating within your training zone, which is roughly 50 to 75 percent of your maximum heart rate (MHR - you can use 220 minus your age to get an approximate calculation of your MHR, but if you’re over 40 you should ask your doctor to help you determine this more accurately).

6. Lifting too much weight: This is a more common mistake with men. We think that the heavier the weight we lift, the more progress we will make. This is a great way to guarantee an injury. Start with a weight you can handle and gradually increase the amount as your muscles adapt.

7. Jerking while lifting weights: This often goes hand in hand with the previous mistake of lifting too much weight. You need to be able to control the weight you are lifting. If you are jerking the weight, you probably have too much weight and you are bound to pull some muscles or strain something. I often recommend weight machines for people new to weight training because the machines will help keep you working with better form than what a novice can do with free weights (barbells and dumbbells).

8. Picking a program because it’s “in”: Pick exercises that you can enjoy, not the ones that “everyone is doing.” You need to plan on exercising for the rest of your life. If you don’t pick something you like doing, you won’t stick with it. Also, make sure it is a form of exercise you can do safely. If you haven’t exercised in a long time, many high stress forms of exercise can be dangerous for a mature person to do if they aren’t extremely careful.

If you watch out for these pitfalls, you will have a much better chance of developing an exercise program that works for you and one that you can stick to. Take it slow and easy, enjoy yourself, and be persistent. The results will help to improve your quality of life immensely.