The number of choices available is overwhelming when it comes to choosing a fitness program. Often, people are willing to put in the work to stay in shape but find it difficult to pursue something that is effective. Read the tips in this article and use them to formulate a fantastic fitness strategy fit for your individual needs.
No matter what your gender happens to be, you should still do strength training as part of your exercise routine. You don’t have to worry about bulking up and looking like a body builder unless you actively try for that result. Those types of builds don’t happen overnight and a casual person won’t achieve those builds.
If you don’t already have a personal trainer, consider paying for just a few sessions. Often times you don’t need to pay for ongoing training, just a couple sessions to get you on the right track, and find out what kind of exercises you should be doing to meet your fitness goals as well as learning proper techniques for executing them.
In order to maximize your weight fitness routine, try loading up your bench press with 25% more weight than you could max out at. Do not attempt to complete the exercise, just hold the weight above you with a spotter’s assistance. Next, take the weight off and show what you’ve got.
If jogging or hitting the gym is not your thing and you love gardening, how about getting the shovel and wheelbarrow out and getting in a little exercise in your yard? In fact, the National Institute of Health, lists gardening among the moderate exercises that are recommeneded for combating obesity. Just weeding for 30 minutes can burn over 150 calories and you’ll work muscles in your back, legs and arms, without the jarring that jogging and aerobic exercises puts your body through. So the next time you dread putting on your jogging shoes, pick up a hoe and take care of that flower bed you’ve been meaning to get to, for the last month. It’s fun and great for your body.
Make sure that the shoes you buy for your workout actually fit your feet properly. Your feet are biggest during the middle of the day, so that is the optimal time to go shopping for a pair that fits. The fit should be just right, not too loose or too tight. Make sure that you also have about a half inch of space at the toe for some wiggle room.
Do not equate a workout with calories burned. A lot of people make the mistake of deciding that just because they had a workout, that means they can add on a few extra servings or eat that fattening desert. Weight loss in fitness is about burning more calories than you take in. If you eat to replace the calories then your net gain will be zero.
You can save time in the gym by only resting as needed. It is not important to rest between every set. You can take rest breaks as needed. You will probably need less rest between your early sets, and more breaks as your muscles fatigue. This can cut your gym time by fifteen to twenty percent.
You can make your legs much stronger by performing your standard leg crunches in reverse. This causes whichever leg you have in the front to get a great full muscle workout. These crunches are almost exactly like the standard leg crunches, except you are not stepping forward, you are stepping backward.
When you are performing chin-ups, you should imagine pulling your elbows down as hard as you can. Do not think about pulling yourself up because this will make the exercise seem harder. When thinking about pulling your elbows down, chin-ups seem a lot more doable. Watch your numbers go up as you apply this technique.
Never use a weight belt. While many trainers will tell you that they are great for everything, weight belts actually weaken your abdominal and lower back muscles. They put heavy pressure on muscles you are not working, causing your muscles to pull from areas they normally wouldn’t, namely your abs and back.
When you are not a morning person and you want to build a morning exercise habit, start with an activity that doesn’t even seem like exercise. For instance, for the first few weeks, go for a nice outdoor walk that doesn’t require you to change into fitness wear. Next thing you know, you body will have built a habit and you can progress to a more intense exercise.
Do not buy in to the “only crunches” mentality. It does not matter how much you work out your abdominal muscles. If the rest of you is out of shape, you will not be able to get that washboard stomach you are hoping for. Use full body exercises to slim yourself down and then focus on the parts you want.
After you workout it’s important to do cool down exercises. Exercising causes your blood vessels to enlarge which makes your heart work harder to maintain your stamina during a workout. Cool down exercises help your body to gradually return to it’s normal functioning state and prevent unnecessary cardiovascular strain.
Protein shakes and other weightlifting supplements are most effective when consumed immediately after a workout. Fitness enthusiasts who concentrate their exercise routines on building muscle mass will do lots of weightlifting and also likely use protein shakes to fuel their workouts. Research has found that the best time to fuel up is directly following exercise, rather than hours after finishing or before starting.
Try using the US Marine Corps’ fitness plan to gauge your level off fitness. See if you can do twenty pull-ups, one hundred crunches, and a three-mile run in under 18 minutes all within a two hour time period. If you can, you’re on par with the standards of the Marines. If not, keep working and see if you can reach this goal.
The tips in this article are invaluable in helping you sort through the overwhelming amount of fitness programs and advice out there. They yield noticeable results that will keep you feeling good and staying in shape. The advice allows you to pursue your fitness goals in an organized, straightforward manner.