The art of fitness is so much more than just lifting weights. It takes a great deal of determination, lots of sweat and some knowledge, to really make your routine work for you and your body. The tips below can help you to improve upon your personal fitness plan for a healthier body.
To keep physically fit, it is important to remember that daily or at least frequent exercise is important. Exercising only once a week, even if it’s for a long period of time, will not be as effective as exercising for a short time every day. Consistency is key in keeping fit.
Simple pushups can help you tone triceps. Try to avoid normal pushups though, but target the tricep muscles by merely shifting your hands so that your fingertips touch and your hands are following a 45 degree angle. This exercise is extremely effective.
A great way to help you get fit is to start incorporating intervals into your cardio. Going all out for thirty seconds and then resting for thirty seconds, is much more effective than if you were to just perform at a steady rate. Cardio with intervals also requires less time.
To exercise your ab muscles, you should do crunches. Simply lay flat, backside down on the ground. Then raise your legs with your feet still on the ground and knees pointed upward. Place your hands behind your head and slightly raise your upper body off the ground, but don’t come all the way up. This strengthens your core muscles.
Runners can effectively increase their overall speed not by increasing the length of each running stride, but by trying to increase the actual speed of each individual stride. In the ideal stride, your foot should always land on the ground directly beneath your body instead of landing in front of you.
You can enhance the quality of your workouts by taking a moment to loosen up the joints in your hips and lower back. With both hands on the squat rack, slowly lower your body until both thighs are just parallel with the ground. After 30 seconds in this position, slowly raise yourself back up. This should be performed for about five to ten minutes before each workout.
You can improve the form of your squats by using a bench as a prop. It helps make sure that you have the proper posture for these types of exercises. Stand in front of a bench and bend down as if you were to sit on it, then pull yourself back up.
When going to the gym or working out, you should have the mentality to get bigger and increase the amount of sets and repetitions than the previous day. This will lead to you being stronger and you will also have much more endurance than when you had first started.
If you want your kids to get more exercise, try making it a competition. Buy everyone in your family a pedometer. Each day mark down how many steps each person has walked. At the end of the week, tally the totals up and see who the winner is. Come up with a good prize for the winner – a new toy, an extra desert, or getting to choose dinner for the night.
To prevent injury during bench presses, give the bench itself a test by pushing your finger into the bench cushion itself. If while pressing the cushion you can touch the wood in the bench, move to another one. Benches that are hard can actually cause spine misalignment which affects the nerves in your arms and weakens them.
It’s always better to start with small steps to your ultimate fitness goal. Simple things like taking advantage of all opportunities to walk. Always walk to the blue box when you need to mail a letter. There will likely be one close enough to you that you can make the trek easily.
Exercise your hamstrings with extended ankle leg curls. You can do these while either standing or sitting down, but make sure that you extend your ankle in the entire process. This elongates and stretches the hamstrings, as well as exercises the rest of your legs. This is especially beneficial to a runner.
Those with asthma can safely exercise everyday if they stay hydrated. It’s reported that dehydration may increase the likelihood of an asthma attack while exercising. A recent study found that those with exercise-induced asthma had a significant decrease in their lung function when dehydrated. The theory is that dehydration can cause a tightening of the lungs’ airways.
It is crucial to check that you are not over training from time to time. Too much training or exercise can have negative effects on your muscles and body. To check if you are overdoing it, check your pulse in the morning after a workout. If your pulse is 10 or more beats a minute higher than usual, you are over training.
Crumple newspaper to improve your tennis or racquetball game. Take the newspaper and crumple it with your dominant hand for about thirty seconds. Do the same with your other hand as well. This will help you to build forearm strength, which in turn, will improve your endurance level during the game.
If you’re having difficulty motivating yourself to stay active, think about including your dog in your fitness regiment. Dogs love to run, and you might be able to pick up some of that energy and remind yourself that you could enjoy running, as well. Research has also shown that those who exercise with Fido are more likely to stick with it, compared to those who exercise on their own or with a human friend.
The art of fitness is one that can be enjoyed by nearly everyone, but only those who very seriously, get into it, will try to perfect their personal routine every chance that they get. Now, with more fitness knowledge to add to your “bag of tricks,” you can easily become a healthier person.