It doesn’t have to be New Year’s Day or a high cholesterol reading to bump you off the sofa into a fitness routine. There are incredible benefits to working on your fitness, including increased energy, better endurance, and even lowered cholesterol. It can add years to your life, and stave off visits to the doctor.
If you are ready to get fit, you need to know how to avoid injury. You also need to know how to keep motivated. These tips will show you how to ease into a fitness regime.
Anytime you embark on a new wellness program you should see your doctor. A complete physical check will alert you to any issues that need special attention. For example, if your blood pressure is elevated, you will need to avoid over-doing cardio exercise until you are in better shape.
Exercise and nutrition
What time to get up every day, how to floss, how to get to work, where to put the coffee mugs in the cupboard; imagine if you had to reinvent every daily task. You would be exhausted and never have time for anything new. That’s the importance of routine. Routine is not a sign of boredom or laziness. Routine is what makes life easier.
Adopting a fitness regimen means it has to become part of the things you do without thinking. So you want to start with small measures, and increase them over time. Don’t expect to lose 20 pounds in a week, or be totally sculpted in a month. Pick an exercise you enjoy. It can be walking for five minutes, or you can pick an app for your mobile device. A popular program now is High Intensity Interval Training, or HIIT. Though it says high intensity, you can start with as little as three minutes a day.
The next step is booking your daily dose of fitness. Write it on your calendar, with a set time. If you can make it the same time every day, it’ll be even more routine. Stick to three to five minutes, because if you start with too much time, you are likely to quit after your initial gung-ho attitude dies down. Once you have sustained this routine for a couple of weeks, you can start upping your time. The best part is, the longer you stick to it, the more you’ll miss it if you skip a day.
A healthy diet is an important complement to your fitness changes. A sedentary life often combines itself with bad nutritional choices. You can approach diet changes just like exercise – with small and easy changes that can be increased over time. Start with adding one vegetable a day. After a week, add two vegetables. Add in things like measuring your food portions, and drinking another glass of water every day.
Motivation
Many times, a fitness routine is started with an eye towards a far-off goal, like a class reunion or wedding. It can get you started on the right path, but it may not sustain you for the long haul. If you can find ways to motivate yourself every day, you are less likely to fail at achieving your goals. Here are some ways to get excited about starting and sustaining your efforts.
One great motivator is getting some great gear. If you look at a recent tweet by Tommie Copper, you’ll find information about how gear made by Tommie Copper is ideal for sports. The copper and zinc encapsulated fabric is moisture-wicking and will enhance your fitness efforts. You’ll have fun getting prepped for your workouts.
Having friends or family on the journey with you will keep you accountable, and it’s a lot more fun to make exercise and meals more social. See if you can find an exercise buddy, or someone to listen to your daily recitation of food choices. Ask fellow employees if they want to meet for morning walks. Join an online discussion about smart food choices.
A final motivator is your own health. Each day, try to spend a bit of time meditating on your process. Congratulate yourself on your successes, and promise to sustain your progress just for today. Before you know it, you will feel better physically and mentally about your great new regime, and carrying on those feelings will be reward in and of themselves.
You did not arrive at your current lifestyle overnight. Making lasting changes will take a commitment to make planned, progressive steps, plus some motivators to keep you going. Believe in yourself, and start today.
