Keeping your body fit is an important part of your overall health. It is a broad topic with much to learn. You may even find it difficult to find a place to start. The following tips and advice will give you a jump-start to your fitness goals.
Make sure and find a workout routine that you enjoy so you can keep doing it. If you don’t enjoy your exercise, chances are you are going to find reasons to stop doing it. Try out different exercises and different times to see what works for you. It may be that zoning out on the elliptical does the trick or taking a morning swim keeps you motivated. Jogging around the track before dinner could be your ticket to weight loss. Find what keeps you going back for more and you’ll be well on your way to losing weight.
If you’re looking to get in shape another thing to consider is to gradually increase the difficulty of your regimen. If you increase it too fast you will lose your motivation, and too slow, the results will be too slow. For example if you used to walk 30 minutes a day at a rate of three miles an hour increase it to thirty minutes, or increase your speed to three and a half miles per hour.
Work out your abs without doing crunches. That’s right, all you have to do is to take a deep breath and on the exhale, simply squeeze your belly to your spine and hold it for about 10 seconds. You’ll be working your transversus abdominis muscle, which lays behind more prominent abdominal muscles but can flatten your stomach noticeably.
Pay up front for the gym and your trainer! Sometimes money is the best commitment we can make that will insure we will exercise regularly. If we have already paid the fees for the gym and for our trainer we will be much more likely to take advantage of the services we’ve paid for!
Believe it or not, your body needs sugar after a workout not just something full of protein. Try to get at least 20 grams along with your supply of protein. Protein travels by way of sugar to the muscles you just worked in your routine. Just make sure to limit the rest of your sugar for the day as to not undo what you have done.
Dips can improve your fitness quickly. If you want an incredible work out for your shoulders, triceps and chest muscles, then dips are for you. There are quite a few ways to approach them too. One way is to position yourself between two benches. Try adding weight to the dips as well.
Do not make TV your primary source of fun and enjoyment. Do activities that require you to get up and move around. Play a sport like tennis or be a troop leader. You can combine charitable works with being active and losing weight. Work at a soup kitchen or run a marathon for a cause.
Instead of just running and running to try and build up your running speed, you should try some sort of weight training. Recent studies have shown that any type of resistance training will reduce the lag on your body and will actually allow your body to move forward faster.
Before you begin your regular exercise routine, perform dynamic stretches instead of static stretches. Stretching is key to preventing injury during exercise, and dynamic stretching greatly reduces your risk of injury compared to static stretching. Dynamic stretching also provides you with a gradual warm up to your exercise, saving you time in your fitness routine.
Do not forget about the muscles you can’t see! Some of the abdominal muscles do not usually get a workout, because they are hidden. To fix this, tightly suck your tummy in and hold it for as long as you can, several times a day. This will help to give you a flatter stomach.
If you find yourself struggling with chin-ups, change the way you think about them. Instead of thinking of it as pulling your chin up to a bar, think of it as pulling your elbows down. Just by taking advantage of this simple mind trick, your chin-up efforts will seem a lot easier!
When training with weights, you should not use a weight lifting belt. Using a weight belt will, over time, gradually weaken your lower-back and abdominal muscles. Training without a belt will increase the strength of your back and ab muscles and force you to lift with proper technique and form.
If you are an avid runner, a great tip is to try to run faster over shorter distances. The reason for this is because it will help to improve your running form. This will not only help you perform better, but also, you will not be as likely to injure yourself.
When you are lifting weights, follow the method of multiplying the amount of weight you lift by the amount of times you lift it. This method is proven to help a person build more muscles. Also, once you get use to this routine and you feel comfortable, try increasing both numbers.
Despite popular belief, you probably don’t need to be using a weight belt. Overuse of belts can have detrimental effects. You end up having a weaker lower back and ab muscles which then become vulnerable to getting injured if you’re constantly wearing a belt.
Read up on how the body works. You will find it quite helpful when making diet and exercise decisions if you understand how the body works. Certain foods will digest faster than others and others will just basically turn to fat. Learning as much as possible will help in the long run.
Like we said above, if you follow these tips, you’ll be on your way to being in better shape. Then you will be able to add to your knowledge base and continue building fitness. Improving your fitness takes time, so habitual application of these ideas is the best way to proceed.
