Staying fit is probably the most important thing to do if you want to be healthy. Beginning a fitness routine can be intimidating and you might benefit from some advice to get you started. Here’s some tips that can jump-start your fitness goals.
Spend no more than one hour at a time lifting weights. After an hour your muscles will begin to suffer from severe fatigue. With this in mind, don’t do multi-hour weight lifting sessions.
Good knee health depends on strong thighs. A very common sports-related injury is tearing the ligament found behind the kneecap. You must do exercises that work your hamstrings and your quads in order to safeguard your knees. Exercise your legs with leg curls and leg extensions.
Abdominal Muscles
Your abdominal muscles need more varied exercises than just crunches. It’s been proven that crunches don’t burn much fat; one study even resulted with only one pound burned after 250,000 total crunches! You really are not doing as much exercise as you thought if you are just doing crunches. Find other ways to exercise your abdominal muscles for the best results.
Write down the exercises you do every day. Note your regular workouts as well as any extra moving you do. Purchase a pedometer and record your steps into your diary as well. Seeing everything in writing will help you to determine what is working best for you and will best help you toward your goals.
In order to keep motivated on their weight loss program, most people need to see immediate results. Rather than weighing yourself constantly, try using tight-fitting clothes to help provide motivation. Pick a tight outfit and try it on every week; this will gauge how well you are doing.
Get quicker results by completing your exercise regimen in 10% less time than you usually do. This results in muscles working harder and gaining greater endurance. An example of this is to try to work hard in a shorter amount of time than you normally would workout.
If you plan to start working out, refrain from referring to it as working out or exercising. Using those terms can make you feel less motivated and excited about exercising. When refering to exercising, try calling it by what you are actually going to be doing, such as cycling or running.
Constant running can be both beneficial and also damaging to a body over long periods of time. To minimize the risk of damage or injury, run only half of your normal distance for one week out of every six. Not running as much lets your body rest and recover so you can continue running without any injury.
Listen to your body when it tells you to rest. Trainers often tell you to rest only after specific exercises, or only when you are changing from one type of exercise to another. However, you should pay attention to your body’s advice more than the advice of your trainer. Take a break if your body tells you to do so. Otherwise, you may be risking an injury.
Try improving your fitness by walking your dog. Dogs love to walk and run, and will be thrilled to spend more time with you. Take it slow at first. Cover a block or two in your first walk, and than you can add more distance over time. It is one of the benefits of owning a dog.
Remember that these strategies can help you start reaching your fitness goals. You can use more information to become even more fit if you desire. Better health is created over the long-term, so practicing these tips and others, regularly, is the way to go.