BILLINGS - For beginners, getting off the couch and into some exercise may not be as hard as you think.

Billings Clinic physical therapist Joe Bloyder says that starting an exercise program can be safe and easy as well as effective.

A first area to consider is the amount of physical stress on the body.

“Low impact type of activity is really ideal to get back into it, i.e. walking, an elliptical trainer, a bicycle, stationary bicycle. Those things are a lot more forgiving than starting to go for an old jog if you haven’t done it for several years,” Bloyder says.

Bloyder says with the right combination of techniques, low impact exercises may give still effective results.

“The most effective way to burn calories is a combination of both resistance training and the cardio-vascular aspect as well,” Bloyder says.

Bloyder points out that these types of exercises can be simple, time convenient, and require very little cost or extra equipment. He suggests simple exercises where subjects move their own body weight, such as the “runner’s complex,” a series of squats, jumps, and lunges that are linked together in a fluid pattern and repeated several times.