Exercise is a scary word to many people. Most people think of a fitness program of something boring and painful and avoid it at all costs. However, exercise is very important for your body and it can be fun, too! Read on for some tips on staying fit and having fun!
Starting a garden is an unorthodox, yet great way to get some exercise. Many people are shocked when they find out that gardening is hard work. For example, a garden requires weeding, digging and a lot of squatting. Gardening is only one hobby you can take up to stay in shape.
Whatever fitness routine you choose, be sure to include cardio-vascular exercise. Staying heart and lung healthy is extremely important, and a cardio workout will do just that for your body. Try to do 30 minutes of cardio or aerobic exercise at least 3 times a week. This can take the form of running, biking, using a treadmill or elliptical trainer, or swimming. Remember not to overdo it. If you find yourself short of breath, you should take a break until your heart rate slows down.
Keep your body measuring on a regular schedule. You need to keep track of your progress after a set amount of time and keep doing it to see what is working and what is not. It is recommended that you measure every four weeks or so. Take measurements of waist size, body fat, etc. Seeing these numbers will give you motivation to stay on track and achieve your goals.
To prevent injury when working out, you should stretch after you’ve sufficiently warmed up your muscles. Do some cardiovascular exercises (jogging, running, bicycling, etc.) first and then stretch your muscles. If you stretch too early, you can leave yourself vulnerable to pulled or torn muscles. Stretching after cardiovascular exercise, also helps to improve flexibility.
Pay attention to the equipment of the exercise club you choose. Make sure the equipment is well maintained, up-to-date, frequently sanitized and has enough space between each machine. Enough space ensures adequate personal area to exercise, while properly maintained equipment ensures accident free, safe training. Always check the equipment before you use it.
You can climb hills much easier and faster by shifting your sights upward. Try only looking at the top of the hill, while tilting your head and eyes upward. This incline causes your air passages to open up more, which means that you can get more oxygen more easily. This will cause you to be able to breathe much easier while running up the hill, without getting as tired out as you would have, if you would have continued looking down as you ran.
If you are going to use a bench, you should always test it first. If the bench is too hard, it may cause a misalignment in your spine that can weaken your arm. Test the bench by pushing a thumb into the padding. If you can feel the wood underneath the padding, find a better bench to use.
There are some exercise pros that support increasing strength by stretching the same muscles you just used in your workout. These are brief stretches done in between sets. Make sure to stretch for about 20 or 30 seconds. Those who stretched between sets are shown to increase their strength by 20 percent. Proper stretching is generally agreed to prevent muscle injury before and after a workout. The risks of improper stretching, including stretching in between sets that includes too much intensity in your stretching exercises can increase your risk of injury or soreness. It is very important to consider the different types of stretches and current advice about all stretching so that you can properly perform stretches.
Kick yourself in the bottom, literally! Slowly pulling your leg back up until your foot touches your bottom is a great method for increasing both flexibility and range of motion. Being able to actually touch the two takes time and effort, but can help improve your posture and running speeds.
Keep your squatting posture perfect to help you build up abdominal muscles. Many people believe that squats are only beneficial to the legs and butt, but that is not the case. If you always use proper form when squatting, this can actually work out both your abs and your chest as well.
When you are doing repetitions of an exercise, try counting backwards to your goal instead of forwards to it. It’s a mental trick. When you are concentrating on those big numbers you tend to think it is impossible to do more, while just the opposite holds true when you are decreasing your count. You may find those sets that were hard to get through are a little easier this way.
Don’t let yourself get burned out. If you absolutely cannot stand the thought of going to the gym today, don’t go! Everyone deserves an occasional day off, and if you force yourself to go, you may be setting yourself up to quit later down the road. Don’t be afraid that you will ruin your progress by losing one day. You won’t.
Get rid of that pouch with your pooch! Taking your dog for a walk or run has always been a great way to get in shape. Now, many fitness and canine enthusiasts are taking it one step further. Try any number of new pet-friendly workouts that either use Fido as resistance or give you a workout while training your dog.
Building forearm strength is easier than you might know and can be done almost anywhere. When you are finished with your newspaper, save a few sheets for working out. Place a sheet from the paper on a table or other flat surface. Simply start at one corner and crumple it into your hand, pulling the paper in as you go. Try to make this take about 30 seconds for maximum effect. Do this with both hands.
Staying fit isn’t so hard when you know what you can do to be fit and enjoy yourself while you do it! Now that you know how fun fitness can be, why not start now? Make an exercise program that suits you and soon you’ll be looking and feeling better.