Tag: fitness

Fitness & Fun – They’re Not Mutually Exclusive

Posted on by Joy

Taking care of our bodies is one of the greatest responsibilities that any of us ever encounters. However, the thought of starving ourselves, running laps, and never having a night out on the town is enough to turn anyone off of the idea. But, y’know, it is possible to make healthy living enjoyable.

Unless you’re a professional athlete, getting fit should be about fun and enjoyment while still seeing positive results. Find the right balance with these tips below. You’ll be on the right track in no time.

 

Combine Fitness With Travel

Very few things in this world can offer the same level of enjoyment as exploring new territories. Find a way to blend travel with fitness, and exercise will soon evolve from chore to hobby. Once you’ve achieved this goal, success is virtually assured.

Organised events are a fantastic option. Global Adventure Challenges let you push your body to the limit in a controlled environment while getting to meet new people. Runners, meanwhile, may prefer completing the Olympic marathons over a period of a few years.

Aside from getting to see the world while getting fit, it may provide a chance to raise money for charity. If that doesn’t give you a heightened sense of satisfaction, what will?

 

Focus On Fitness Rather Than Weight

The vast majority of fitness newbies make the mistake of focusing solely on their weight. Moreover, they often wrongly assume that reducing the number on the scales is the target. Not only does this add pressure, but it can also encourage the monotony of making changes aimed solely at that goal.

Adding lean muscle while losing weight will give you a far better appearance. Better still, it’ll improve physical performance in the gym and on the sports field. The most notable factor, however, is that you won’t need to starve. Whether it’s supplements or tasty meals that are good for you doesn’t matter. Being able to eat properly during your transformation can aid emotional health too.

Above all else, no two bodies are the same. As such, focusing solely on a supposedly magic number is simply illogical. Besides, the whole notion of setting a goal weight means that you might stop doing some of the activities you enjoy in favour of the ones that you hate.

 

Make It Competitive And Social

Getting fit is a personal journey. However, that doesn’t mean it has to remain a private and unsocial adventure. Regular human interaction is crucial for maintaining the sense of enjoyment. Meanwhile, you can use those fitness buddies as a source of motivation and competition too.

Many people now use fitness gadgets to hold competitions against their friends. Alternatively, signing up for a Play Football five-a-side league or similar sporting event can work wonders. It’s a great way to get a group of friends together, and you’ll feel far less guilty about a sinking a pint afterwards too.

It’s true that dedication is needed for quick and optimum results. For those that just want to take care of their health, though, making it fun removes that need for speed. As long as you reach the intended destination, the length of the journey shouldn’t matter.

Fed Up Of Seeing Limited Fitness Results? Read This

Posted on by Joy

We all know that looking after our bodies is a crucial part of human life. However, hitting the gym isn’t simply a case of looking after our hearts and vital organs. Most people that lead a healthy lifestyle also do it with hopes of seeing improved fitness and physical appearances.

There’s no point in denying the fact that looks play a crucial role in modern society. As well as garnering improved perceptions from others, it will provide a boost of self-confidence. However, it can be quite disappointing when the results are underwhelming. After putting in the effort, it’s only natural that you crave the best improvements.

Limited results have probably seen you question whether it’s even worth the effort. Don’t give up just yet. Employ the following strategies, and you should see better results than ever.

Give Your Diet A Boost

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Image credit: Elvert Barnes – https://flic.kr/p/2nw2B

Every fitness enthusiast appreciates the fact that diet forms the foundation of any positive health plan. Employing good eating habits is relatively easy. But choosing a strategy that encourages the best results possible can be very testing indeed.

HCG injections are a fantastic way to take your weight loss or toning up to another level. Combined with the right food plan, you’ll see quicker results than you ever thought possible. Human nature dictates that we love speedy progress, so this can be a great tool for rediscovering your motivation.

Try to drink more water too. This one change will give you more energy and brings improvements to your skin too. That added glow will make those body shape enhancements feel even greater.

Change Your Workouts

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image via pixabay.com

All exercise is a step in the right direction, and you should be pleased with the fact that you’re already active. However, you shouldn’t settle for anything than 100% maximised results. Anything less than perfect is a missed opportunity.

One of the key elements is to keep your body guessing with mixed workouts. Aside from working different muscle groups, the variety should keep your mind entertained too. Just be sure that you find the best regimes for each muscle group. This chest routine, for example, should see you get far greater results than your current solution.

If you start to feel that progress has slowed, try something else. There’s always a sense of trial and error involved. But the reward of unearthing the best option will work wonders.

Team Up With A Friend

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Image credit: By English: Lance Cpl. Nicholas Rhoades [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

To some, this might sound counterproductive. After all, training with a friend causes another distraction. On the contrary, your exercise buddy can be your extra motivation. In turn, this should stop you from missing days without good reason.

Two heads are better than one, and you’ll be able to trade tips. Meanwhile, the natural competition should lead you to better results too. Most importantly, though, you’ll enjoy working out more than ever before. Once working out becomes fun, you will want to keep pushing forward even if progress is a little slower than you’d like.

We all want fast results, but it isn’t a race. Losing that urgency could actually be your secret weapon to reaching your full potential.

A Beginner’s Guide To Starting An Active Fitness Routine

Posted on by Joy

Living a healthy life is not a choice – it is an obligation. If you want to make the most of your body, you need to make sure that you have an active lifestyle. There is no question about whether getting fit will make you healthier, but did you know that it can also make you happier? When you workout on a regular basis, it will improve your mental health, which means that you will feel content. Here is how you can start a fitness routine in no time.

Prepare your mind

Before you do any exercise, you need to make sure that you are in the right mindset for it. If you go into this with the wrong attitude, you will find that it is difficult to keep up with the routine. Your heart needs to be in it when you first start. If you are starting this routine because someone else is forcing you to do it, you will struggle to stick with it. You need to want to get healthy before you do so. Otherwise, you will not manage your new lifestyle.

Buy fitness gear

When you get into the right mindset, you will know where to start. Part of that process includes getting the right fitness gear for yourself. Take a look at these March finds from Beyond Yoga for some inspiration. If you get a few items that suit you, it should motivate you to start your workouts. When you change into your fitness clothes, that will signify that it is time to exercise. Studies show that when people have the right gear for a particular hobby or sport, they are more likely to succeed at it.

Find a sport to suit you

There are loads of different sports out there – you just need to find one that suits you. For example, you might find that you have a knack for tennis or that you can’t get enough of yoga. Whatever sport you choose, you need to make sure that you practice it regularly. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect, and so you need to do a little each day. From team sports to solo exercise routines, there is something for everyone. Speak with people who already play a sport and ask them what they suggest for you.

Join a fitness class

If you struggle to work out alone, you might want to join a fitness class. Look for a range of classes online so that you know what is available in your area. When you find a class that you enjoy, it can become part of your social calendar. You will have a chance to meet new people, while you exercise, which means that the experience will be highly rewarding. You might feel a little afraid the first time you attend a new class. Don’t worry. That feeling is normal. Everybody has to start somewhere, and you will soon find that the other class members welcome you into their ranks.

Keep a diary of your progress

Once you have started exercising, you should also keep a diary of how often you work out and how you felt afterwards. Keeping track of how your new active lifestyle is affecting you will mean that you stick with it. When you can see that exercise makes you feel better than you once did, you will find that you start to enjoy it more and more. If you write down every time you go to the gym, you should start to see a positive pattern. Buy a cheap journal and start writing down everything now. Before you know it, you will be a fitness freak like the rest of us!

6 Things You Should Ask Your Personal Trainer

Posted on by Joy

When undertaking any training program, it is important that you ask you trainer as many relevant questions as possible in order to establish exactly what will be involved and the best means of making the most of your time. You will also want to receive reassurance that your personal trainer is fully qualified and has your best interests at heart. If you happen to be a resident of Victoria’s state capital you might even want to enquire about gym membership prices in Melbourne. Regular sessions at a good gym could prove to be a great means of augmenting your sessions with a personal trainer.

 

gym training
image credit: photostock – freedigitalphotos.net

 

Below is a list of 6 questions that you should ask your personal trainer:

 

1. Eating before & after a workout

Many people are unsure of exactly what and when they should eat before and after a workout. A good personal trainer would normally provide a diet sheet as part of the service, but it could be necessary to clarify any points of uncertainty and to inform your trainer of any allergies and food intolerances that you might have.

 

2. Frequency of training

If you happen to have an existing physically debility or injury, it is important that you discuss this with your personal trainer. Also, if you are planning on augmenting your program by making regular use of a gym, your trainer will need to be made aware of this in order to adjust your regime accordingly.

 

3. Professional qualifications

Never be afraid or embarrassed to ask your trainer about his or her qualifications. After all, you will be the one that is paying good money for this particular service and you have every right to be certain that you are in the safe hands of a fully qualified professional. Ask to see certificates and documents in order to establish the facts beforehand. A reputable trainer would have no problem at all in providing his or her credentials as proof of competency.

 

4. Professional Liability Insurance

It is an absolute must that you ask your trainer for proof of professional liability insurance. Failure to provide proof would be a clear indication that the trainer in question is not insurable and is failing to abide by the professional standards of his or her industry. Once again, do not be afraid to ask as it is your health and safety that is of primary concern.

 

5. Criteria

Be sure to ask exactly what criteria that your trainer would be using when determining your exercise programme. You should expect to be informed by your trainer that he or she intends to carry out a full assessment to determine your individual needs. What you do not want to hear is that your trainer will be providing you with a comprehensive programme that will cover all aspects of a standard training programme. If this happens to be the answer that you receive then you will know that you are not dealing with a reputable professional and your best bet would be to end the discussion right there and then.

 

6. Personal Suitability

Although your trainer might well fulfil all of the aforementioned criteria, you will still need to establish their suitability to your individual needs. If they have had no experience of training someone of your particular age group or physical disposition, it could well be the case that he or she is unsuitable for the task.

 

Summary

The hiring of a personal trainer is not a decision that should be taken lightly. A reputable personal trainer should be able to tick all the right boxes when answering your questions.

 

 

 

 

Want to Know How to Bulk Up Without Gaining Fat?

Posted on by Joy

Bulking up without gaining fat is actually quite straightforward depending on your metabolism, though it requires you to lift heavy and understand diet and nutrition.

bulk up
image credit: stockimages – freedigitalphotos.net

 

Diet 

Your diet plays a major role in how successfully you bulk up without gaining fat and it’s not just how much you eat but what you eat and when that’s equally important. Also, it’s often wise to forget everything you think you know about calorie consumption, diet and nutrition and start afresh with a blank slate.

In terms of how much food to eat to maximise muscle growth, as a simple rule of thumb you should eat ten percent more calories than you burn to maximise muscle growth and minimise fat storage.

This might seem as though you risk gaining fat, but by maintaining a small calorie surplus you’re aiding your body’s ability to synthesise proteins and turn them into muscle and you minimise fat storage in the process.

 

Exercise regime

A major mistake many bodybuilders are guilty of is exercising more than they should and not providing their bodies with ample rest.

If you look at weight training programs to bulk up you won’t find any that advocate training every day and most limit workouts to three or four sessions a week so as to allow the body ample time to recover.

Weight training programs for those looking to bulk up usually involve a 45 minute workout three to four times per week and they consist of low repetition sets using heavy weights with short breaks or breathers between each set.

Working out every day won’t help you to bulk up because your body needs time to recover if it’s to gain muscle mass and the only result you’re likely to see in addition to fatigue is atrophy.

 

Post workout cardio

Opinions differ on the subject of post workout cardio with some advocating it as a means of burning fat at a higher than usual rate and others claiming it results in atrophy, which is muscle reduction and the opposite of hypertrophy which is muscle gain.

For maximum effects, post workout cardio shouldn’t exceed 30 minutes – 15 to 20 is more advisable – and shouldn’t raise your heart rate above 50 to 60 percent of your maximum.

Moreover, if you’re going to engage in post workout cardio, stick to less intensive forms of exercise, with a relatively light spin on an exercise bike being one of the most preferable, and don’t forget to have a post workout protein shake beforehand otherwise atrophy really will kick in and you’ll waste the gains from your weights session.

Since cardio exercise is such an excellent way to burn fat, it’s highly advisable to add one or two pre-breakfast cardio sessions per week to your training regime, though have a whey shake beforehand so as to ‘break the fast’ and prevent atrophy.

Pre-breakfast cardio – just 20 to 30 minutes – is widely recognised as being one of the best ways to burn fat fast.

 

Supplements

There are seemingly countless supplements on the market, many of which should be given a wide berth regardless of your exercise goals.

Many bulk and mass gainers are excellent examples of supplements that you should avoid when trying to bulk up without gaining fat, for although they’ll certainly help you bulk up, many contain such high carbohydrate levels that you’re going to need to do extra cardio sessions to burn those carbs and prevent them from clinging to your body and cling they will.

However, there are a few bulk and mass gainers on the market that come highly recommended – most of these contain higher levels of protein than carbohydrates – so take a look at some reviews and make your own mind up.

The best supplement for building muscle mass and bulking up is and always has been whey protein powder pre and post workout. It’s important to have protein in your system when working out and then immediately afterwards also.

Bulking up without gaining fat is likely to be a lot more straightforward than you think or have been led to believe and requires you to eat sensibly – including understanding what to eat at what time – lift heavy and use the right supplements.

The Benefits of Using an Elliptical Over a Treadmill

Posted on by Joy

Treadmills and elliptical machines are two of the most popular pieces of workout equipment in the whole gym. They are both good tools for getting an excellent aerobic workout indoors. Treadmills have been around a lot longer than ellipticals, and both have pros and cons. Let’s compare the two, so you can see why I prefer using an elliptical over a treadmill:

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Photo by Elliot Cable 0n Flicker

 

When you compare these two machines, you can’t help notice that a model like this compact elliptical machine offers an impact free workout. If someone has joint problems or pain when running, an elliptical machine offers no impact with the ground, making it much more comfortable for them while still offering an intense cardio workout.

 

If you’re training for some kind of marathon or race, then using a high quality treadmill is probably the best thing for you. Having said that, the elliptical always offers an excellent cardio workout with maximum efficiency. You get an all over body workout with an elliptical, as the arms allow you to move your entire body while working out, whereas the treadmill focuses more on the lower half of your body. You can pretty much burn the same amount of calories with an elliptical, but exert much less pressure on your joints!

 

The elliptical also has a lot of features, which is great for someone who gets bored easily. Treadmills have features like incline, but ellipticals often have the most features for you to take advantage of when looking for a great, challenging workout. You could program the elliptical to stimulate climbing a mountain, or perhaps a hill climb. One major difference is that you can even go backwards on the elliptical, something you can’t do at all on the treadmill. This focuses on your legs in a totally different way and gives you a great workout!

 

So, in conclusion:

 

  • Using an elliptical machine can be much less stressful on your knees, hips, and back than running on a treadmill.
  • Elliptical machines have moving upper body handles or poles, similar to ski poles. These let you exercise all over your body for a great workout.
  • You can pedal an elliptical in reverse, working your hamstring muscles harder than in forward motion.

 

Using one of these machines is considered to be low impact, and a great alternative to jogging and running. If you’re using it properly, it shouldn’t cause you any knee pain. If you’ve decided to use the elliptical machine, then you should remember to keep a good posture, with your shoulders back, head up, and your stomach muscles tight. Look straight on and avoid looking at your feet. Don’t lean on the handles too much, and allow your lower body to support the weight.

 

As cardio is a necessary part of any exercise routine, it’s important you work out what’s best for you. If you’re training for a race of some kind, then a treadmill can probably help you better. However, an elliptical offers much more variety and health benefits!