Editor’s Note: The following is the first in a six-part series of columns from Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor. Move & Improve is an outreach program, promoting healthful lifestyles for Maine people, of EMMC’s Community Wellness Service. Elanna Farnham coordinates the Move & Improve program.

The best reason to begin a physical activity program is a genuine desire to improve your health, appearance and fitness capacity.

Start by designing a physical activity program around the four components key to physical fitness:

. Aerobic fitness is the body’s ability to take in and use oxygen to produce energy. Examples include but are not limited to walking, biking, stair-stepping, swimming, jogging, dancing and rowing.

. Muscular fitness is a deliberate activity designed to strengthen and condition your muscles. Muscles can be toned by using weights, Nautilus machines, elastic tubing (Dyna-Bands) and even your own body weight (push-ups, for example).

. Flexibility is the ability to bend joints and strengthen muscles through a range of motion. The best time for working on flexibility is at the end of your activity session, when muscles are warmed up.

. Body composition is the makeup of the body’s lean body mass and body fat. Focusing on the positive aspects of what you eat will help your commitment to enjoying more healthful foods and maintaining a healthful weight.

The health benefits associated with regular physical activity

include lower risk for developing heart disease, adult-onset diabetes and osteoporosis.

The three basic steps to improve your fitness include:

. Know your current fitness status. When you begin your physical activity program, you can anticipate an increase in your fitness level. Begin by knowing what your body can comfortably handle and slowly increase your activity to the next level. For example, walk for 30 minutes at a slow pace and improve that pace over time to cover more distance in the same period. People with a less active lifestyle can begin by walking two 15-minute sessions and improve to a 30-minute continuous walk.

. Design your program to achieve your goals and stick with it! Goal-setting can be viewed much like climbing a ladder, with emphasis placed on reasonable distances between rungs. Ask yourself these questions:

. What do I want to accomplish?

. Why do I want to accomplish this goal?

. How can I stay motivated to succeed?

. Guidelines for setting your goal begin by visualizing the result. Be realistic but challenge yourself. If it takes 20 minutes to walk a mile, aim in a month to be able to walk a mile in 17 minutes.

Set specific, not general goals. For example, aim to be physically active four days a week, for 30 minutes a day, for one month.

Set short-term goals for success. If the overall goal is to lose 10 pounds, aim to lose 4 pounds in one month. This goal is realistic and achievable.

Check your progress and celebrate your success. Setting your goals and writing them down will help you to motivate yourself to a successful outcome. It allows you to make a contract with yourself and be more committed. Find a fitness friend for support and motivation.

Visualize the best you can be and go for it!

For more information about the Move & Improve program, contact Farnham at 973-7245.