In one sentence, describe what the following article is about: With a serious lung disease like COPD, you have to be exceptionally careful when you start physical activity.  Although exercise can help improve your COPD, you still need to ease into activities slowly.  If you haven't been overly active, it's best to start very slowly with exercise.  Don't feel like you need to be exercising for significant amounts of time. Many physicians will recommend starting with just five or 10 minutes of activity. Incorporating more activity into your daily life and being active for longer periods of time will help you build confidence in yourself and also strengthen your body. Increasing your lifestyle activity is a great way to stay active without overdoing it.  These are not cardio activities, but they also help keep your body moving and your lungs working.  Lifestyle activities are those exercises that are a part of your normal daily routine.  They can include chores or yard work, walking up and down stairs and walking to and from your destinations.  If you have COPD, some of these activities may be difficult for you initially.  This is what makes lifestyle activities a great place to start improving and measuring progress. For example, if you have trouble walking for long distances, make one of your first goals walking to get the mail everyday.  Or if you have trouble with stairs, ask a family member to help you take the stairs more often during the day. When you're ready to progress to more structured exercise, you need to plan to include a warm-up.  This is an essential component of safe exercise for those with COPD.  The purpose of any warm-up is to slowly get your body primed for more intense exercises. Warm-ups are especially important for those with COPD because your body needs extra time to get your breathing rate, heart rate and body temperature elevated. A warm-up can also help prevent muscle soreness and improve flexibility. Start by doing some simple stretches or walk very slowly for at least five to 10 minutes. Unless cleared by your physician, you should only participate in aerobic activities that are low in intensity.  This level is the most safe for patients with COPD.  Try using the perceived exertion scale to help you stay at a lower intensity.  It's a one to 10 scale, with one being completely sedentary and 10 being your maximum level of exertion. Those with COPD should aim for a three to four level on this scale.  You can be slightly out of breath, but it shouldn't be difficult to breathe.  You should be able to talk and get out short sentences without having to take a breath. Activities you can try include: walking, water walking, biking or using the elliptical. Aerobic exercises are great to help improve the condition of your lungs and improve your cardiovascular system; however, strength training is an essential form of exercise as well.  Strength training, especially in your core and upper body, can help strengthen the muscles around your chest cavity.  These help aid your body in breathing by strengthening the muscles that help with inhalation and exhalation.  Only include one to two days of strength training each week.  Also, there is no need to do more than about 20 minutes of these exercises. Use light weights or weight machines to help build strength and muscle tone. Both pilates and yoga are great exercises to help strengthen your muscles.  They are often specifically recommended for patients with COPD.  Both yoga and pilates are low-intensity exercises that have a significant focus on breathing.  They help keep your heart rate and breathing pace low while having you practice deep breathing exercises. This can help improve your coordination and improve your breathing function if done regularly. Try including a yoga or pilates class one to two times a week.  These may be used as your strength training exercises as well.
Summary: Ease into activities. Increase your lifestyle activity. Always do a warm-up. Add in low-intensity cardio exercises. Do light strength training. Try pilates and yoga for breathing exercises.

In one sentence, describe what the following article is about: You may want to get fit to look better in your clothes, to feel more confident, or to improve your health, but these reasons may not be specific enough to motivate you. Instead of focusing on general reasons, try to come up with something very specific and personal to motivate you to go to the gym.  For example, if you have a child, then your motivation might be something like, “I need to go to the gym regularly to be a good example to my son.” Or, you could go even further and say something like, “I want to walk my daughter down the aisle on her wedding day, so I am going to the gym today.” You can also base your motivation on an upcoming special event. For example, you might say something like, “I want to look amazing at my 10 year high school reunion, so I need to go to the gym today.” Having a realistic fitness goal can be a great way to stay motivated to go to the gym regularly. Try setting a SMART goal that you can accomplish by going to the gym. SMART stands for specific, measurable, achievable, results-focused, and time-based.  For example, your goal could be to reduce your 5k time by 2 minutes by the end of the next month. This is a specific goal that is measurable and achievable. It is also something that you will clearly know when you have accomplished it (results-focused) and it has a deadline, so it is also time-based. You could work toward this goal by running a 5k course on the treadmill at your gym 3 times per week. Working out will always seem like an unpleasant chore if you force yourself to do activities that you do not enjoy. Instead, find an activity that you enjoy doing to help make visiting the gym something you look forward to.  Try different classes at your gym, such as spinning, step aerobics, kickboxing, and high intensity interval training (HIIT). If you don’t like one class, then take a different one. Showing up a little early for class can help you make friends and feel more invested in your workouts. Use different machines, such as the treadmill, step machine, stationary bike, and elliptical walker. If your gym has a circuit training station, try it out to see if you like it. Taking some time to chat with the trainers and regulars at your gym is a good way to make going to the gym a more pleasant experience. It will also help to keep you accountable because if you stop showing up, people will notice.  Try saying "hi" to the trainers and regulars you encounter each time you visit the gym. After a few visits, you might want to introduce yourself to the trainers and regulars.  For example, if you encounter a regular or trainer on your way into the gym, say something like, “Hi! My name is Chris. I don’t really feel like being here today, but I am here! How are you doing today?” You may also consider getting an accountability buddy. This can be someone you meet at the gym or a friend who also needs help sticking to their gym visits. Send each other texts throughout the week each time you go to the gym, or plan to meet the person at the gym a few times each week.
Summary:
Think about your biggest motivation to go to the gym. Set goals for yourself. Participate in exercise routines and classes that you enjoy. Get to know the trainers and regulars at your gym.