Fitness Advice You Can Use At Any Age
Your steps have become slower, you can’t reach up high or stoop easily to pick things up. Your overall physical abilities have diminished. It is time to start a fitness program. You should check out the possibilities–at a gym or at home. Consult your doctor. Once you decide on a program, follow it diligently. Read on for more tips on how to get fit and stay that way.
Remember during your workouts that your abdominals are muscles, just like any other group in your body. You need to build regular rest days into your fitness program. Even if you swap between cardio and strength training on subsequent days, you still need to give your abs a day off every now and then.
For a healthier diet, try limiting beef intake to one day a week. Fill the other days with leaner, healthier cuts of meat such as chicken and fish. Giving your body a variety of meats will allow you to digest properly and to experience flavors that are better for your inner body.
Dancing the Michael Jackson Thriller dance is a great way to get fit and practice for Halloween dance parties. Search for “Michael Jackson Thriller” on YouTube.com to find the music video. Watch the video once all the way through to get the big picture. Then, start from the beginning and watch five to ten seconds of the dance at a time, practicing the moves after each pause. After thirty seconds of the dance, go back and try to perform the entire dance up to that point. Practice until you have learned the entire routine. Your friends will be “thrilled” by your dance skills!
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.
Forward lunges are a very effective way to increase the strength of your leg muscles, but reverse lunges really step up the pace. During forward lunges, one leg is active for only half of each lunge. Backward lunges engage the front leg for the entirety of the workout, which quickly tones and strengthens the muscles.
When you are eating out, take your time with the menu. Many restaurants now offer a healthy selection of meals that are full of nutrients and are low in calories. If you can’t find anything that looks like it will benefit you, don’t be scared to speak up and they might be able to make you something.
If you are a runner, log the mileage on your running shoes. Shoes get worn out and when they do they can cause pain and injuries if they are still used. A good rule is to replace your running shoes every five hundred miles, even if they feel like they still have some miles in them.
Although some people may not agree, riding a horse is a great form of exercise. Many parts of the body are used almost simultaneously. Basic stability on a horse requires use of the leg, abdomen, back, and arm muscles while keeping a correct posture and holding the reins.
Pay attention to your food intake. Learn about what kind of food is healthy and plan ahead of time, just what you will eat for each meal. Shop accordingly and take the time to cook. A healthy food intake will help you lose weight and build up your body through fitness.
Milk is a great way to get the protein your muscles need while you increase your strength. Low-fat or non-fat milk is an even better way to get the protein needed to get muscle without gaining any fat. The protein and calcium in low-fat milk is great for people who are looking to get lean and maintain their strength while they drop body fat.
Make sure that you keep your workouts under an hour. After about 60 minutes, your body starts to products more of the stress hormone called Cortisol, which can cause you to waste away your muscles. Make sure that you maximize your workout and do not waste your time with excessive workouts.
If you have a hard time getting motivated before you work out, establish a schedule and make exercising your priority. When the day is done, you can find out whether or not your excuse was really true, or you were just letting it be true. You will see that you had time after all.
Drink supplements after your work-out. When your body is in its rest period it’s really just repairing all the damage incurred during the work out. Drinking a protein supplement or shake can help you immensely, as it flushes your body with all the amino acids you need to repair. In general, people who drink supplements directly after their workout have been found to gain around 5 more pounds of muscle over 8 weeks.
When you are cycling, you should keep your pace between 80 revolutions and 110 revolutions per minute. You will be able to ride farther and able to ride faster. To get a feel for your revolutions per minute, you should count the number of times your right knee comes up in 10 seconds and then you should multiply it times six.
A great thing to do to keep you motivated to maintain and increase your fitness level is to keep a fitness journal. It can help you record and review your program and assist in determining what it is you like to do and what has proved successful in the past.
The hardest part usually is getting started. Once you have followed your fitness program for a week or two, it will become second nature. Habit is a wonderful thing. It begins to carry you. The program becomes a part of your daily life, and fitness and good health are the result.
