Tips For Getting Back In Shape Again
Improving your level of fitness after you have fallen off the fitness wagon for a long time can be difficult. However, it can be done. Check out the article below to learn some excellent tips on how to begin getting yourself back in shape.
The first step is improving your diet. Although exercise is an important component of fitness, your diet is even more important. Consuming unhealthy food will negatively impact the way your body operates. Therefore, before you begin to exercise, you need to start eating healthier foods so that you can eliminate all the harmful toxins from the unhealthy food.
Once you have improved your diet, you can gradually introduce exercise. It is important that you do not start too fast. If you have not done any kind of exercise for a long time, you should not start out running. Instead, simply try walking. Walking is one of the best low-impact exercises out there, and it is very effective at increasing your heart rate and burning calories. Start out walking a very short distance, and gradually increase your distance to one mile and then two miles. Once you feel comfortable, you can start out jogging, but once again, start out slow.
If you live a busy life, finding time to exercise can be difficult. However, there are small ways that you can get in some exercise during your hectic, day-to-day life. For example, whenever you go to work, park farther away so that you can walk farther. Whether your office is on the 3rd or 15th floor, take the stairs instead of the elevator. Climbing stairs is an incredible low-impact exercise. If you are a busy stay-at-home mom, you can also get in some quick exercises while taking care of the kids. For example, if you have five minutes free, you can do some jumping jacks, pushups, squats, lunges, etc. In addition, did you know that housework can actually help you burn calories? Mopping the kitchen floor burns about 112 hours per hour, and vacuuming rugs burns about 180 calories per hour. Before you know it, you can get a great workout by simply doing some housework.
Finally, if you have the time to do strenuous exercise (and your physical fitness is good enough), make sure that you properly warm up first. To warm up properly, you should first do light exercise in order to get your heart rate up a little, but not too much. Then, perform stretches, but make sure you do not overdo stretching because too much stretching can actually impede performance. Having said that, not stretching at all can cause injury. The key is finding just the right amount of stretching. Unfortunately, there is no set amount. This varies based on how much exercise you plan on doing, as well as your current fitness level.
As you can see, it is possible to improve your current level of fitness. Just remember that fitness is a marathon, not a sprint. It is going to take some time to get back in shape, but by utilizing these great tips, you can do it.
