While staying fit is something that some folks find easy to do, others need a lot of planning and assistance to achieve this goal. The purpose of the advice shared here is to help each individual figure out which path is right for their personal fitness journey.
Strength training is one of the best types of exercise that not only does what it says- strengthen (and build) muscles, but it is also fantastic for shedding fat. If done correctly it can be every bit as good as a treadmill. Some studies show that it is actually better than a treadmill. Thats because the bigger you get in terms of newly acquired muscles, the more energy your body needs to feed them. It does this by burning calories and burning up fat reserves. Plus it actually does this when you are out of the gym in a resting state. Talk about win-win.
Heres a posture tip that will save your back from trouble when lifting weights. Once you lift up any gym bar or dumbbell (e.g. bicep curl) squeeze your glutes together (butt cheeks). This will stabilize your spine and prevent injuries to your lower back. Once you contract your glutes they will form a belt around your spine and pull it in to protect it. A rounded back sets you up for an injury.
Do this with any weight you also lift above your head (think shoulder press). Your lower back can get pinched real bad if it isnt in a strong position. You dont want to end up giving a chiropractor of physiotherapist your hard earned cash.
Never make the mistake of sticking with the same workouts each time you train. You need variety to help with motivation. Plus, once your muscles are used to doing certain exercises, you receive less benefit from doing them.
Some people find exercise a chore, but alas, we all need to do it, especially if you find yourself out of breath doing normal everyday tasks. To liven it up listen to fast-paced music when doing an exercise routine. Studies have shown that music with a quick pace will increase your heart rate, therefore helping you expend more calories. It also increases your motivation and takes the boredom out of what you are doing.
A sports bar, eaten 15 minutes before you work out, is an effective way to also charge your energy. While it is not a good idea to eat a heavy meal right before working out, a nutritionally balanced pre-workout bar can give you the same energy that a full meal would and infiltrates your digestive system much faster.
If you want a full body workout go swimming. It works practically every muscle in your body and is also great for your cardiovascular system. Nearly everything gets a thorough workout when you swim, your lungs, your arms, legs, abdomen, heck even your neck. It is also great for improving your stamina, and water also has a calming therapeutic effect on a lot of people. Some people with anger issues should definitely swim a whole lot more.
It is essential to choose something you enjoy doing if you want to get in shape. Even better if you can get a friend to also join in. If you cant then what can you do on your own? Skipping? Running? Swimming? Or what about buying a treadmill? If you dont like the idea of joining a gym you can buy a cheap treadmill like the R 5.2 on Amazon. It only costs a few hundred pounds and will be cheaper than most gym subscriptions.
A lot of people dont like running, but they actually enjoy running on a treadmill. The good thing is to stave off boredom you can challenge yourself like setting a new PB time for a chosen distance. Or running at a faster speed. You can also blast up your stereo for motivation.
Hurting your arm does not mean you cannot work it out. If you focus on your opposite arm you can still build strength in the injured arm. This happens because when you work out one arm, the muscle nerve fibers in the other arm are stimulated as well. By training the healthy arm for a couple of weeks while healing, you can see upwards to 10 percent strength gain in the injured arm.
Make sure that you don’t get addicted to working out. By this I mean, you have to make sure you don’t go to the gym all the time or feel the need to constantly work out. This leads to you believing that you need to get bigger and turning to other sources to help.
Heres something that doesnt involve payment, going to a class or getting on any piece of equipment. It simply involves stairs. Take them whenever you can. If you have a lift at work, take the stairs. Even make an excuse to walk around going up several flights as much as you can.
In parking lots take the stairs instead of the lift. Dont take an escalator in the mall if there are stairs nearby. Or how about walking up and down your stairs 10 times in a row in your home. You can turn this into an exercise session, where you walk up and down 10 times, take a rest then do it again. Take 2-3 stairs in a row to spice it up.
Exercise alone isn’t going to be enough to get you in top shape. Just because you exercise for 30 minutes every day doesn’t mean you can eat fast food all the time. You also need to use healthy eating habits to get the full effect and to get your body in its best shape. You also dont want to waste all the effort you have put into your training program and throw it away on a diet full of twinkies, donuts and fast greasy food.
If you’re looking to get fit, the tips shared here will help you no matter who you are or what your fitness goal is. Educate yourself on all the tips and try and incorporate them into your everyday fitness routine. Spend the necessary time to achieve real fitness, and the rewards will be long-lasting.
