Everybody wants to feel fit and healthy, but sometimes it’s so hard to get in to the right habits to reach our goals. To help you get going on efforts that will pay off, we’ve put together this list of fitness tips that will get you into shape in no time.
An easy way to get the benefits of a stair stepper in your own home without purchasing a stair stepper is to climb up and down the bottom step of a staircase. Increase your speed to make it a cardio workout, or add squats to the stepping motion to make it a strength exercise.
Adopt a positive mental attitude. Much is made of the physical workouts and the fitness program you follow, but if your head isn’t there, the rest of you won’t be. A good fitness program starts and ends in the mind, so if you want a strong, lean body make sure that your mental attitude is there first.
Stretch problem areas more than those that are already flexible. This will loosen them up, even if not at first. If you leave these areas tight, it can lead to pain, especially if you exercise often. Take the time to stretch tight muscles before and after a workout and you’ll start to see them loosen.
A great tip for healthier living is to perform strength training. Strength training keeps your muscles strong and healthy. Having more muscle mass is a great way to manage your weight because the more muscle mass you have, the more calories you can consume. This is because the extra calories will go to the muscle instead of the fat. Strength training is also helpful in preventing osteoporosis.
You should always hold your stretches. It does not matter your age, if you are not holding the stretch for at least thirty seconds, you are not maintaining your flexibility. The older you get, the longer you need to hold the pose to achieve the same result. Add thirty additional seconds if you are over forty.
As you prepare for a strength training workout, skip the pre-workout warmup on the treadmill. Instead, increase the efficiency of your workout by spending those fifteen minutes warming up the targeted muscle groups that you will be working on during your session. You can then spend those fifteen minutes on the treadmill, after you complete your routine.
Try increasing your running speed if you want to participate in a sprint. When doing this, you should see to it that your foot lands under you as opposed to in front of you. Use your toes on the back leg to push off and move forward. If you will practice this, you will see your running speed increase.
When working out, a great tip to recover quicker from a brutal workout is to lightly exercise the same muscles the next day. You should use a weight that is around twenty percent of the max weight you can lift. Perform two sets of 25 reps. Doing this will send more blood and nutrients into the muscles, which will aid in their recovery.
A great fitness tip is to start performing preacher curls. Preacher curls are one of the best exercises you can do to build up your biceps. They help build up the lower portion of your biceps as well as your forearms. Good form while doing preacher curls is important.
A counter intuitive tip when it comes to fitness is to not overdo it. Perhaps you don’t have the same problem as most people and you are super motivated and you go to the gym nearly every day. This is great, except sometimes you may push hard, end up injured, and not getting in any sort of fitness related activity.
Do not let any excuse come between you and your workout. Even if you are away from home and the gym, you can still find ten minutes to walk up and down stairs, or jog around a parking lot. Letting something stop you from working out is putting yourself on the path of quitting. Don’t do it!
What’s better than setting a goal, sticking to your plan, and then seeing the great results? We hope these tips will inspire you to get going, get fit, and feel better than ever. Come back and read these tips again when you feel you need a bit of motivation. You can do this!