Fitness and exercise are an important part of leading a healthy life. People who exercise regularly have healthier hearts, and are less prone to problems related to obesity as well as depression and other mental illnesses. Read on to find out how you can set up your own fitness program and start to feel great!
If you supplement your workouts with high protein drinks, try drinking them immediately after the point where you are unable to continue your reps. If you do not use supplements, you can also try this with a pint of whole milk. Many studies have indicated that this can lead to gains in muscle mass of up to five pounds over two months.
Avoid exercising when you are under the weather, unless you are only sick above the neck. To be on the safe side, it is best to just take the day off to rest. Besides that, all of your efforts from exercising would not go toward building your body up, but they’d go toward healing it from your illness.
Count your reps in reverse. Start with the number of repetitions you wish to complete, and count towards zero from there. It actually makes your exercise sessions appear to be less hard or long, since you are giving yourself the luxury of smaller increments of time. Telling yourself you only have so many more is much more motivating.
Exercise when your mood is bright. When you are in a really good mood, take the time to go exercise. The better you are feeling, the more you will likely push yourself. Exercising can also help you feel better than you already do, so going when you feel good is only going to make you feel even better.
If you are sick, take the time to heal instead of exercising. This is especially true if you are experiencing symptoms below the head. Your body will mostly be putting its resources towards healing itself rather than trying to build the muscle you are training for, so any work you do will more than likely be of little benefit. It’s better to rest up.
Check your pulse to see if you need time off. If you had a strenuous workout, check your pulse the next morning. If it is still elevated at all, your body is telling you it needs time to repair itself. Take it easy for a day.
Try to mix it up during your work outs. Keep it fresh and try new machines. Look up new work outs that you can try and new exercises. This will help keep it more interesting when you work out and will lead to working out more parts of your muscle.
If you are one of the many people who sit at a desk all day, using a recumbent or regular bike for your workout may not be your best bet. Instead, try an exercise like running or soccer that gets you into an upright position and stretches out your muscles. Working out in a different position than you are accustomed to prevents the aches and pains that result from being in the same position all day.
A great tip to help you get fit is to not overlook the effectiveness of simple body weight exercises. Push ups, pullups, sit ups, and squats with only your body weight are very good exercises that are often overlooked. You can do them anywhere because you don’t need any equipment.
Before you start out a fitness routine, you need to be realistic with yourself. Look at your schedule and figure out exactly how many days and how long you can really work out. Over committing yourself is one of the fastest ways to burn out, and give up.
If you are having difficulty staying on track when it comes to exercising, ask a friend to help you. Having another person can help motivate you and help you avoid being lazy. This will help you to gain motivation when you are working out at the gym.
Give your muscles time to rest between exercise sessions. You should never intensively lift weights on consecutive days because this can cause your muscles to become fatigued and injured. An easy way to do this is by alternating the days you spend doing weight-lifting or other strengthening exercises with days that you spend doing cardiovascular exercise.
A great way to motivate yourself to keep up with your fitness is to track your results. About once a month, weigh yourself, and take all your measurements to see how much you have improved since you started. This is good because you will see actual tangible results of your accomplishments.
Do simple cardio exercises to build up your heart rate and to burn more calories. Beginners can start out by adding more steps to their day, avoiding elevators and escalators and taking the stairs instead. Walk at a brisk pace when possible. And when running, you can alternate between a running pace and a walking pace to slowly build more cardio exercise into your routine.
If you get bored with your fitness routine, try another one. Sometimes, it can be boring to do the same workout over and over, so switch it up. Instead of doing a cardio workout, try yoga or Pilates. Do more strength training workouts. This way you won’t get bored as easily.
Be consistent with your workouts. Remember that two 90 minute workouts are not the same as six 50 minute workouts. Theoretically they are burning the same calories, but having something more attainable each day as opposed to cramming it into two days, will benefit you long term and be more worthwhile.
As you can see, staying fit isn’t as intimidating as it seems. Fitness is very important, and now you can join the millions of people who exercise and reap the health and mental benefits. Follow these simple fitness tips and you’ll be well on your way to looking, feeling, and being great!
