Friday, 17 May 2013

Shape Up Your Body With This Fitness Advice

By Steve Jones


Fitness is about more than exercising; it's about a lifestyle. People who start getting fit, feel better about themselves and are happier and stronger than their sedentary counterparts. If you are ready to get started and do what it takes, here are some quick fitness tips that can start helping you today.

Crumple newspaper to improve your tennis or racquetball game. Take the newspaper and crumple it with your dominant hand for about thirty seconds. Do the same with your other hand as well. This will help you to build forearm strength, which in turn, will improve your endurance level during the game.

Fitness is more fun when you vary your workouts. By doing the same workout everyday or even a few times a week, your mind and body are bound to get bored quickly. If you vary your workouts several times a week, it not only gives your mind something to look forward to but it also gives your body a nice change. By doing different exercises, you are working different muscles each time, which in turn will result in maximum weight loss and a more toned body.

Always stretch before doing exercise. If you are over the age of 40, then you should hold your stretches for 60 seconds each, as opposed to thirty seconds. This is because your muscles are not as pliable after you reach 40, so they should be stretched a little more.

If you have limited time for fitness regimes, focus on core training first. Your core is your back and stomach. By working out and building up the muscles in these areas, you can avoid back pain or a weak back later in life and improve your body's posture and balance.

One thing that you need not schedule in your fitness program is the rest breaks you take when you are working out. It can be tempting to tell yourself you must rest for ten minutes after a half-hour of exercise. In fact, it is better to listen to your body and take breaks when you feel you need them.

An exercise class is a great way of continuing your fitness routine through the winter months. Many people are less inclined to exercise during the winter, especially if they have an outdoor routine. Try signing up for something completely different to your regular exercise: if you typically cycle, try yoga. If running or jogging is your preferred routine, try free weights. Who knows, you may find that you really enjoy this new form of exercise, and if nothing else, it's a healthy way to get through the dark winter months!

Always keep some healthy snacks somewhere on you. If you keep some good cereal bars in your backpack or purse it can help to overcome cravings. Another good place to stash good food is in your desk at work as this can help you when you really want something to eat.

To get the most out of your cardio workout, try interval training. Go as fast as you can for two minutes, and then rest for a minute. By moving your heart rate up and down like this, your workout is maximized, which means those calories are getting burned quicker than ever.

As you get older, you need to devote more time to stretch during warm-ups and cool-downs. Your body's muscles become more stiff as you age. This is irritating but unavoidable. Fortunately you can take steps to counteract the effect by holding each of your stretch positions a little longer, as you get older.

Sometimes, the hardest part about improving your fitness is just getting started. Reading advice is one thing, but implementing it is a whole other ball game. Hopefully this article has provided you with advice to boost your "fitness motivation." So what are you waiting for? Slim your flab into fab with these fitness tips today.




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