Self Awareness Helps You Create A Fitness Plan For Life
Lots of standard fitness programs are very challenging indeed. It is important to remember that you are the expert on your own body, even if you are in very poor shape. Nobody knows you like you do! For this reason, it is often a good idea to take standard fitness programs with a grain of salt. You can learn some good things from most programs, but it is important to know how to modify programs for best results. Read on to learn more.
Many diet and exercise programs recommend changing your diet and way of life entirely and all at once. These programs tell you to clean out your kitchen, throw away all your food and start running a mile a day. This is a recipe for failure. Change your habits bit by bit. Finish the food you have, but add some healthier choices. When you have used up your less healthy foods, replace them with better, more natural whole foods. Begin making more active choices in the course of each day. Walk, take the stairs, ride a bike or take part in an active game for 15 or 20 minutes one to three times daily.
When you begin working out, you do not have to lift heavy weights, do multiple repetitions of exercises or participate step by step in challenging aerobic and cardio routines. Choose lightweight dumbbells, and do the number of reps that feels comfortable to you. When you participate in workouts, whether on video or in a gym, do what you can and substitute less challenging moves if you feel overwhelmed, stressed or out of breath. If you ever feel pain, stop. You want to develop fitness habits for life. This will not happen if you are miserable while exercising.
As you begin to add more activity and exercise to your life, you will find that you want to exercise more. You should still be careful not to overdo it, even when you get in really good shape. Always alternate your exercise routines from one day to the next. Do strength training one day and aerobic exercise the next to allow your muscles to recover between workouts. Take a day off from exercise once a week. You may really want to exercise on that day. If this is the case, play some active games or do some stretching or yoga to keep your muscles active without too much stress. Rest is an important part of fitness.
Be sure to vary your exercise routines so that your muscles do not become so efficient that they stop having to work hard. Do a variety of strength training activities, such as dumbbell workouts, using weight machines, rowing machines and so forth and doing hard physical labor when you can. Vary your aerobic and cardio workout with videos, classes, running, cycling, dancing and playing very active sports.
When you start slow and pay attention to your own instincts and what your body is telling you, it is easy to create a tailor made fitness plan that is just right for you. Of course, it is always a good idea to listen to experts; however, you should never let any teacher or trainer bully you into doing more than you feel comfortable with. Listen carefully and learn as much as you can from experts. Combine this with your own knowledge of your own body to create a fitness plan for life.
