Fitness & exercise Tips
Read these 15 Fitness & exercise Tips tips to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. Each tip is approved by our Editors and created by expert writers so great we call them Gurus. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about Womens Health tips and hundreds of other topics.
Limit Dead Food
This includes cooked foods, canned foods, and processed foods. Processing of food destroys most of the enzymes. Enzymes are necessary for chemical reactions in the body and many vitamins are destroyed during heating, milling, refining, etc.
Cooked foods provide bulk and satisfaction, but they should be limited for health.
Adapting an exercise plan to personal need
Adopt an exercise plan you AGREE with yourself to get fit.
Aim at clear and realistic goals.
Graduate your program to exercise.
Reward yourself for effort and progress.
Encourage yourself with others.
Enjoy yourself .
Chew Food Thoroughly
The better you chew your food, the easier it is for the rest of your digestive system to do its job. Your food should be almost a liquid in your mouth before you swallow. Remember, you are NOT what you eat; you are what you absorb.
Make sure your gear fits
Whether it's shoes, a tennis racquet, or a helmet, make sure your gear fits you properly and is designed for the specific sport — and level — in which you're participating. For example, running shoes do not provide ideal support for playing volleyball.
Create a game plan
The first step in creating a game plan is to clarify your fitness goals. Determine what you want to get out of your training efforts. Is it more size? Better symmetry? Enhanced definition? Each of these objectives requires specific training protocols and, thus, a different game plan. By defining exactly where you want to go, you'll have a much easier time getting there.
Body type vs. gain in weight
There are three basic body types: Ectomorph, Endomorph and Mesomorph. Some put on weight with difficulty, others put on fat easily and few build muscles watching television. The genetic differences between individuals is great.
Tracking fitness level
Your heart rate is an important guide to your level of fitness. Exercise increases your heart rate temporarily but helps your heart to work more effectively in the long term,improving your performance when you are active and helping to protect you from illness.
Consult a physician
If you are a new exerciser,40 yrs of age or older, have a heart condition or knee problems, or are 20 percent overweight or more, it is crucial to consult a physician before you begin on a Cardiovascular Program.
Choose Whole Foods Often
You can tell a whole food because it has only one ingredient--itself! It appears in nature just as it is. God made whole foods. Sugar cane and sugar beets are whole foods. The refined granulated white or brown sugar derived from them is definitely not whole.
A fresh vegetable salad, on the other hand, is made from a combination of whole foods.
Water, water
To avoid dehydration, drink water before, during and after physical activity. On hot days, don't exercise in the middle of the day and wear light-colored, loose, comfortable clothing so body heat can easily escape.
Total body workout
No matter what your body type, the Ultimate Aerobic & Anaerobic Program will provide an excellent total body workout, or an excellent warm up for your specific exercise program. The combination of upper and lower body aerobics provides muscle stimulation with the resultant increased nutrient & oxygen rich blood flow, to all the muscles of your body.
Stress buster
See exercise as a stress-releaser. A simple shift in attitude can do wonders for your stress levels. If you've had a long, hard day at work, exercise is something to LOOK FORWARD TO to relieve your stress and revive yourself.
Steps to positive body image
Appreciate all that your body can do. Every day your body carries you closer to your dreams. Celebrate all of the amazing things your body does for you --running, dancing, breathing, laughing, dreaming, etc.
Vary your routine
The best way to avoid complacency is by constantly varying your exercise regimen. Variety is the spice of training. Not only does it help to keep your workouts fresh, but it also fosters more complete development of your physique.
What do the scales say?
Instead of weighing yourself on a scale, use a body fat monitor. If you've been working out, it's possible that you're losing fat, but making up for it with lean, mean muscle. Muscle weighs nearly TWICE as much as an equal amount of fat. Looks a LOT better, too.
| Guru Spotlight |
| Jennifer Mathes, Ph.D. |
