Unfortunately, good intentions will not help you to get into shape! You have to be physically active to reap benefits. There is so much information available on the subject of fitness. Here are some suggestions that others have found helpful to become or stay fit:
Set specific exercise goals. An easy way to do this is to look up fitness requirements for certain jobs, such as the FBI field agent list. Having solid goals will inspire you to keep working towards them. With a bit of determination, you can slowly, but surely, meet your goals.
A really good way to help you get fit is to put up pictures of your ideal body around your house. By constantly being aware of the body you want to have, you’ll be more likely to stick with your fitness goals. You can get creative with where you place these pictures.
Be realistic with your goals and realize that they don’t have to weight related. Make a goal to work two times a week, or to make it to a class once a week. Small goals are much easier to achieve than big ones and they will keep you motivated as you get used to your new routines.
Make sure you’re stretching before and after your workouts. You want to do moving stretches, like jumping jacks and windmills, in the beginning, to loosen your muscles up. Afterwards, you should do stationary stretches to stretch out your muscles and let your body cool down, after your work out, to avoid getting any cramps.
You can improve your strength more quickly by shaving ten percent off the time of your workout routine. Your muscles, then, will need to work that much more to meet the demand you are placing on it. Plus, it will increase your overall endurance levels too. For instance, if your full body workout normally takes 30 minutes, aim to finish in 27 minutes instead.
If any injury occurs with one arm, there is no reason to not work out the other arm. Doing this has been found to increase the non-exercising arm’s strength by at least 10%. This is achieved because working out the one arm stimulates the muscle fibers in the other arm.
If you are a student, join a sports team of your choice. Sports teams are great to instill discipline and will help you to get in shape quickly and efficiently. The constant exercises and running that you will do during practice will help you to get to your weight goal desired.
When pursuing your workout goals, try to do the same workout in ten percent less time. By working out intensely within a shorter time period, your muscles are forced to work harder. In addition, your endurance is improved. If you do a leg workout in exactly one hour, then do the same workout in 54 minutes the next time you do your leg workout.
Play a game or two. Video games, and tabletop games like foosball, table hockey, and ping pong, have all shown to be excellent ways to improve your hand-eye coordination. If you play a sport of any kind, you will need to improve on this, so pick up your game remote or a paddle!
Pay special attention to your hamstrings if you run. Your hamstrings are responsible for giving you quick bursts of speed, fast push-offs, and slowly building up your pace. You want to make sure these are flexible and well taken care of, as an injury to these can be detrimental to any runner.
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.
When doing crunches, you need to make sure you are protecting your neck to reduce an injury. Pretend there is an orange in between your neck and your chest. This will help to reduce any extra strain you may have. It will also make your body in the proper alignment so that you are getting the full benefit.
To build up shoulder and arm strength you should work on pull-ups. Pull-ups work out different muscles based on the distance between your hands. The further out they are the more the back muscles are used to pull you up. The closer in they are the more they use your arms and shoulders to pull you up. Pull-ups are one of the best exercises to perform because they have very little capability of damaging muscles.
One way to get fit is to replace all your lazy sedentary habits with active habits. For example if you watch TV for about three hours a day this can be replaced with a one hour walk and two hours of TV. By doing this you get some exercise into your regimen and don’t sacrifice something you enjoy.
The older you are, the longer you should stretch. As you age, your muscles and ligaments become less pliable. To make sure you get the most from your stretches, check that you are holding them for long enough. If you are under the age of 40, 30 seconds should be enough. If you are over 40, try to hold the stretch for a full minute.
If you have a hard time squeezing in time to workout, add three, 10-minute workouts into your day. At least 30 minutes of exercise every day is recommended to stay fit, and you get the same benefits whether those 30 minutes are all together or broken up into smaller amounts of time. The important thing is to make sure you stay active!
Hopefully, with the information you just read, you will be equipped to maintain or become physically fit! There is so much information on the subject of fitness. Apply the suggestions that fit your lifestyle. Stick to it! Remember, good intentions will not get into shape! You have to work for it! But, the benefits are worth it!